Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Restriction of movement
Israel demolishes Bedouin village for 50th time
BEERSHEBA, Israel (Ma‘an) 9 May — Israel on Thursday demolished a Bedouin village in southern Israel for the 50th time in two years, locals said. A large force of Israeli police raided al-‘Arakib as bulldozers demolished homes in the Negev village, said local landowner Aziz al-Tori. “We confirmed that we will stay steadfast in our lands, despite the injustice and tyranny of the Israeli authority,” al-Tori told Ma‘an. “We will rebuild our houses, even if they demolish them thousand times.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593859
Israeli forces demolish 3 houses near Jericho
JERICHO (Ma‘an) 8 May — Israeli forces demolished three homes in the Jericho village of al-‘Auja on Wednesday, locals said. Witnesses told Ma‘an that Israeli bulldozers, escorted by military vehicles, arrived in the village and began demolishing three houses owned by Abed Raheil and Salman Njadi under the pretext that they were built illegally in Area C, which is under full Israeli control. Israeli soldiers did not allow the owners to collect their belongings, Njadi added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593283
Israel orders Yatta residents to demolish properties
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 9 May — Israeli forces on Thursday handed nine demolition orders to families near Yatta in the southern West Bank, a local official said. Troops issued Mahmoud al-Najada and his sons orders to demolish their properties east of Yatta, said Rateb al-Hbor, the Hebron popular committee coordinator. Al-Hbor urged human rights organizations to stop Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians from their lands.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593844
IOF demolishes agricultural facilities, uproots trees in al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 8 May — The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have demolished Palestinian agricultural facilities and tin huts in Idna [or Idhna, Ithna] and Koum villages west of al-Khalil. Israeli bulldozers and patrols stormed on Tuesday a number of villages west of al-Khalil and demolished a number of houses and agricultural facilities, in addition to uprooting dozens of fruitful trees, local sources revealed. The IOF also handed demolition notices to a number of Palestinian residents in the area, the sources added to the PIC reporter.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7ovkbZ9YcMOUsWtwwzDjK20dLHh7x17q83w0iVjY8mWCqY4h%2bfvbUkjZWlORhzjHWdseSRA51br1TEafOUFZVYfpcsCYM84ZEvtz7AQpN0po%3d
Mayor: Israel razes 10 properties in Jenin industrial zone
JENIN (Ma‘an) 9 May — Israeli forces demolished on Thursday 10 commercial properties in the Barta‘a industrial zone in Jenin, the local mayor told Ma‘an. Mayor Ghassan Qabha said Israeli military bulldozers and vehicles began razing the properties at 6 a.m., because they were not licensed. The installations demolished include a used car parts warehouse, a car servicing shop and an iron shop. Eight demolition orders were also handed down, giving owners three days to remove their wares from the properties, Qabha said. Qabha said Israel aimed to harm the economic sector in Barta‘a, which is located near the wall. The mayor said the industrial zone used to be thriving, attracting traders from the West Bank and Palestinians in Israel. Approximately 6,000 Palestinians in the Barta‘a enclave have been severed by the wall from Jenin, the UN says.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593769
Settlers uproot dozens of olive trees in Hebron village
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 10 May — Israeli settlers on Friday uprooted dozens of olive trees in a village in the southern West Bank. Residents of Maon settlement uprooted around 70 trees in al-Tawani village, east of Yatta, said Rateb al-Jbour, the Hebron popular committee coordinator. The trees belonged to Khader al-Amour and Kayed al-Amour, al-Jbour told Ma‘an. He said settlers were trying to confiscate more Palestinian land in the area to expand the illegal settlement … Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said “police received a report about the damaging of some 62 Palestinian-owned olive trees” in the area. She also noted that “slogans such as ‘price tag’ and ‘mutual guarantee’ were scrawled nearby.” “Price tag” is a euphemism for hate crimes, primarily committed against Palestinians by Israeli extremists.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594193
Jewish settlers chop down olive trees in Al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL/HEBRON (PIC) 9 May — Jewish settlers chopped down 15 olive trees near Susiya area in Yatta town, south of Al-Khalil, on Wednesday. Ratib Al-Jabour, the coordinator of the popular committee in Yatta, said that the olive trees, south east of Yatta, were more than 15 years old. He pointed out that the same area came under settlers’ attacks for three times where trees were cut off and tents were torn down in a bid to terrorize citizens out of it and annex it.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7WUK6PbN3187mbWcg9ZsR1ZciS11jz2UOAwmkgkZCjtutmzYUtjhbvLhXwCLx6H%2frGmv%2fUIuJ%2f55I1%2fNi8c9q2ZRnMpZiwnjFb28CQfEZh5Q%3d
Dweik: Settlement freeze has no basis on the ground
OCCUPIED WB (PIC) 8 May — Head of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Dr. Aziz Dweik, confirmed that Israeli settlement construction continued in the West Bank, saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s order to freeze settlement construction has no basis on the ground. Israeli Army Radio reported Tuesday that Netanyahu informed Housing Minister Uri Ariel of his decision to freeze settlement construction in the West Bank…
Meanwhile, an Israeli official source has denied that the government was “considering another freeze on settlement construction in an effort to jump-start negotiations with the Palestinians,” Haaretz Hebrew newspaper revealed. There has been no change in Israeli settlement policy, the Israeli radio quoted an Israeli official as saying.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s78J9upa4iq6DDH2fmtz6D9gasG51lEU5CKgrY%2fomPMnj86ElXVpI0iLja0VOsZpBb9y7XFJfeYXRkrqkFu5rG3GTZ025XoxzDYrHWjjdYh7w%3d
Israel sanctions plan to build 296 housing units for settlers east of Ramallah
NAZARETH (PIC) 9 May — The civil administration of the Israeli army approved on Wednesday a plan to build dozens of housing units in place of a military base and annex them to the nearby settlement of Beit El in the east of Ramallah city. According to the Hebrew news website Walla, the new outpost will include 12 multi-story buildings composed of 296 apartments. Walla noted that the building of this outpost would start immediately based on direct orders from Israeli war minister Moshe Ya’alon and any Palestinian objection to the plan would be considered after initiating the construction. Walla affirmed that Ya’alon ordered the removal of an Israeli border police base in the area and its annexation to Beit El settlement as a prelude to giving the place to Jewish settlers and initiating the construction process. It added that chief of the central military command in the West Bank Nitzan Alon had signed documents transferring the ownership of this site to the settlers, noting that about 80 square meters of the area on which the outpost would be built belongs to a Palestinian citizen.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7rP%2faLcB7vEgojMtUgzaHyHOcqpqgn0w1gZf9RCUnYYxtpaqiX1bIyR8aGBqbxuLqNaeu7%2fy3XvX3mQlIL%2blTE1oAh4AUrNdRFIFcW1izL84%3d
Israel sets up gate on Bethlehem village road
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 8 May — Israeli forces on Wednesday morning set up an iron gate on the road between al-Walaja village and Beit Jala on lands in the Cremisan valley area. The al-Walaja village council said in a statement that the road was being used regularly by residents. The closure is causing serious problems for villagers trying to reach their lands. The closure will prevent students from reaching a nearby school, the council added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593438
Treatment of non-Jewish religious sites and worshipers
Occupation notifies the demolition of a mosque in the Negev
NAZARETH (PIC) 9 May — The Israeli occupation authorities have notified, a few days ago, to demolish the only mosque in the village of al-Far‘a in the Negev, southern the 1948-occupied Palestine, Palestinian sources said. Atteya A’sam, head of the Regional Council of the unrecognized Arab villages in the Negev, said: “This mosque has been built since 1985. However the Israeli authorities are claiming that it is a new unauthorized building.” A’sam added in a press statement that the demolition orders have no justification, and that their only aim is to displace the Palestinian residents, and warned of the consequences of harming the Islamic holy sites … For his part; Arab MK Taleb Abu Arar considered in remarks to Quds Press Agency that the implementation of the demolition order against the village’s mosque has transcended all the red lines
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7mO36oGKf%2b0c6O77RdtqknHB548p7LJX7xBZI0XlqbxEftSOA5UL1gMA8tSm0fu8PK46oYkh22VmbU4l5pvLI8K0ofpfm7%2bVLz%2fYg3p8NSdQ%3d
Israeli minister to push for Jewish prayer at al-Aqsa
JERUSALEM (AFP) 8 May — Israel’s minister of religion will seek to amend the law in order to allow Jews to pray at the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, a top ministry official said Wednesday. Speaking to a parliamentary committee, ministry director Elhanan Glat said Naftali Bennett, the minister responsible for the religion portfolio, was likely to seek government approval for such a change…
Although Israeli law technically does not bar Jews from praying inside the compound, the matter is at the discretion of the police who, for reasons of public order, have never allowed Jewish prayer to take place there since 1967. “How can we accept the fact that Jews don’t have the right to pray at the place which is most sacred to them?” asked Moshe Feiglin, an MP from the radical rightwing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party. Feiglin, a known extremist, was kicked out of the sprawling plaza by police in March…
According to mainstream religious leaders, Jews are forbidden from entering for fear they would profane the “Holy of Holies” the inner sanctum of the Second Temple … rightwing radical activist Yehuda Etzion, who was convicted in the 1980s for planning an attack on the mosques and who wants to build a third temple at the compound, told AFP it was “time to get back what is ours.”
Several thousand visitors enter the site each week, including several dozen Jews who attempt to pray without getting caught, according to police figures.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593596
Jordan fury as Israel quizzes mufti on Jerusalem Day
JERUSALEM (AFP) 8 May — Israeli police briefly detained a top Muslim cleric on Wednesday as Israel marked Jerusalem Day, sparking a furious response from Jordan, whose MPs unanimously demanded the expulsion of the Israeli envoy … Police said Mufti Mohammed Hussein was questioned by detectives in connection with an incident at the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound a day earlier in which “chairs were thrown at a group of Jews.” After six hours of questioning, he was released without charge, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said … Hussein’s detention was condemned by the Palestinians and sparked a furious response from Jordan, which has custodianship over Muslim and Christian sites in Jerusalem. During a parliamentary session in Amman, MPs unanimously demanded the government expel Israeli Ambassador Daniel Nevo and recall its own envoy from Tel Aviv, the official Petra news agency said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593632
Mass rallies in Egypt in support of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa
CAIRO (PIC) 10 May — Egyptian governorates on Friday have witnessed mass rallies in support of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque; called for by the Muslim Brotherhood. The marchers denounced the ongoing Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque, and demanded the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to intervene to protect it from the Israeli violations. In Al-Azhar mosque, a number of demonstrators set fire to the Israeli flag, and chanted slogans demanding the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. They also raised Palestinian and Hamas flags and banners condemning the occupation aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque.The Egyptian Ministry of Endowments condemned in a press statement “the terrorist practices of the Zionist entity against Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinian people and holy sites”, and called for confronting them.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7Z25OZy5cxcW8suUYDmkluQg61KA%2bcRT5%2ffA%2fnAEu7MjVF8tlgoIhKiVDEEVRTm5HWVp48E0QWL2esDNf7nzUJtYm6kUoZe7MtnfzIC%2f1Q2A%3d
Israel apologizes to Egypt over police attack on diplomats, clergy
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 May — Israel has officially apologized to Egypt after Israeli police officers attacked Egyptian diplomats and a Coptic clergyman at a church in Jerusalem, Israeli state media reported Thursday. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry summoned Israel’s ambassador in Cairo after the attack during Orthodox Easter celebrations at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Israel Broadcasting Authority said. Israeli police say they were not notified of the attack but that they will investigate immediately, the IBA reported. Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Amr Roshdy told Egypt’s daily Al-Ahram that Israeli authorities tried to stop Egyptian diplomatic officials from attending Coptic Easter mass.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593944
US urges Israel to ensure freedom of worship
WASHINGTON (JTA) 8 May — The Obama administration said “freedom of worship is a core human right” in response to reports that Israel hindered the access of Palestinian Christians to holy sites on Easter Sunday. The State Department, in response to a reporter’s question about reports that Israel had kept Palestinian Christians from reaching Jerusalem on Sunday, the Eastern Orthodox Church’s Easter, said it was aware of the reports.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-urges-israel-to-ensure-freedom-of-worship/
Palestine calls emergency Arab League meeting
CAIRO (Ma‘an) 9 May – Palestine has called an emergency meeting of the permanent representatives of the member states of the Arab League to discuss the recent Israeli escalation against Islamic and Christian holy places in Palestine, the ambassador of Palestine to Egypt Barakat al-Farra said. Al-Farra said the Israelis have been practicing a series of assaults against East Jerusalem, al-Haram al-Sharif (al-Aqsa Mosque) and other Muslim and Christian holy places. These assaults, he added, are outrageous violations of international and human laws.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594082
Violence / Raids / Attacks / Clashes
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory (2-8 May 2013
PCHR 9 May — 4 Palestinian civilians were wounded during incursions in the West Bank. Israeli forces wounded 4 civilians while offering protection to Israeli settlers as they carried out attacks. Israeli forces have continued to open fire in the border areas in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces opened fire at gravel collectors and people picnicking in the northern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported. Israeli forces have continued to use excessive force against peaceful protestors in the West Bank. 3 protestors were wounded during peaceful protests against the annexation wall and settlement activities. A woman and a 9-year-old girl were wounded during weekly protest in al-Nabi Saleh. Israeli forces conducted 79 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and 2 limited incursions into the Gaza Strip. 45 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were arrested in the West Bank…. [Details of these and other events follow]
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9482
From Jerusalem Day clashes to stone-throwing settlers: A week in photos May 2-8
Activestills 10 May — This week: Palestinians arrested as Israelis march (and bicycle) to Jerusalem, Israeli settlers and Palestinians throw stones, African immigrant women and children are released from prison, a graphic novel portray the popular struggle, shrink-wrapped animal rights activists ride through Tel Aviv, activists demand more Mizrahi Jews on their bills, and the Separation Wall continues to surround Al Walaja.
http://972mag.com/from-jerusalem-day-clashes-to-stone-throwing-settlers-a-week-in-photos-may-2-8/70811/
Photo collage: Israeli forces arrest dozens in Jerusalem Day clashes
Activestills 9 May — Photos by: Anne Paq, Yotam Ronen, and Oren Ziv — Dozens of Palestinians were arrested during clashes that erupted at the Old City’s Damascus Gate during a Jerusalem Day march staged by right-wing Israeli activists. Among the detainees were three photojournalists — including Activestills photographer Oren Ziv (lower left) — and an unknown number of minors, all arrested by border police, mounted policemen, and undercover forces. Jerusalem Day is an Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of East Jerusalem from Jordan in the Six Day War of 1967. In past years, right-wing activists have marched through the Old City chanting “Death to Arabs” and “Muhammad is Dead”, prompting Israeli authorities to clear streets of Palestinians and ordering them to close their shops in the Muslim Quarter.
http://972mag.com/photo-collage-israeli-forces-arrest-24-in-jerusalem-day-clashes/70778/
Palestinian ‘shot in head’ in clashes with Israeli troops
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 10 May — Israeli forces on Friday shot a Palestinian man in the head with a plastic-coated bullet during clashes near Hebron in the southern West Bank, a local official said. Ibrahim Awad, 21, was hit in the head when clashes broke out after prayers in Beit Ummar, popular committee spokesman Yousef Abu Maria said. Abu Maria said Palestinians were protesting settlers’ continuous violations in Hebron.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594268
2 Israeli soldiers wounded near Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 10 May — Two Israeli soldiers were wounded in clashes with Palestinians at al-‘Arrub refugee camp north of Hebron, locals said Friday. One soldier was hit with a rock the other with a glass bottle, and both in the head. Soldiers fired tear gas randomly at people and houses, locals said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594282
Israeli soldiers detain injured man from ambulance
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 10 May — Israeli soldiers on Friday detained an injured young man from an ambulance in Ithna [or Idhna]near Hebron, locals said. Jihad Theeb, 22, was shot by an Israeli soldier in both his thighs while working in his farm. Theeb, accompanied by two others, was on his way the hospital when Israeli soldiers stopped the ambulance. The driver was ordered to take Theeb to an Israeli military ambulance. The two people accompanying the injured man were also taken into custody, locals said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594309
Clashes as PA police ‘mistakenly shoot woman’
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 9 May — Clashes broke out overnight Wednesday between Palestinian Authority police and residents of the Sa‘ir village in Hebron after forces said they accidentally shot a woman. A number of minor injuries were reported in the incident as residents hurled Molotov cocktails and stones at PA police, residents said. Forces used tear gas to disperse the clashes, locals said. Khalida Kawazba, 30, was killed when PA police opened fire at the car her allegedly wanted husband Nawwaf was driving. A security source told Ma‘an that police had ordered Kawazba to stop, but he instead accelerated, “forcing police to open fire.” … Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki was asked to intervene in the incident. Zaki described the fatal shooting as unacceptable and said an inquiry panel will be convened to investigate the incident.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593762
Witnesses: Settlers open fire in Hebron village
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 10 May — Israeli settlers raided a village near Hebron on Thursday night and opened fire at Palestinian homes, witnesses said. Settlers entered Beit Einun village and shot live bullets at Palestinian homes. They raided Jihad al-Jabari’s home, damaging windows and terrifying his family, locals told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594172
[Settlers injure man and his sons]
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 11 May — …Meanwhile, a father and his three sons were injured when Jewish settlers attacked their car south of Nablus on Thursday night. Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of monitoring settlement activity north of the West Bank, said that settlers from Yitzhar settlement threw rocks at the car of Ibrahim Khader injuring him and his three sons. He said that the father and his sons were taken to Rafidiya hospital in Nablus city where their injuries were described as moderate, adding that the car was badly damaged in the attack.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7dRm0%2f2vx9bJSnuiwuBEYXo7pQbVMbE2273GF1GS8qcFyyJnnBhvqW1UadvgNCLIHYMphOn2vs38UhhkmaMzYonQjyhZ7O8luxxlERV%2f2FDc%3d
[Settlers attack Palestinians in Ras al-Joura, north of Hebron]
PIC 9 May — …Meanwhile, other groups of settlers escorted by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacked Palestinian civilians in Ras Al-Joura, north of Al-Khalil city, on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses told the PIC that IOF soldiers and settlers in 15 vehicles stormed the suburb, adding that settlers provoked citizens and together with soldiers fired at civilian homes. They said that confrontations then took place during which young men threw stones and empty bottles at the invaders.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7WUK6PbN3187mbWcg9ZsR1ZciS11jz2UOAwmkgkZCjtutmzYUtjhbvLhXwCLx6H%2frGmv%2fUIuJ%2f55I1%2fNi8c9q2ZRnMpZiwnjFb28CQfEZh5Q%3d
Settlers storm evacuated settlement south of Jenin, attack citizens
JENIN (PIC) 8 May — A horde of Jewish settlers under military protection stormed on Tuesday evening the area of the evacuated Tarsala settlement south of Jenin city and harassed some Palestinian citizens. Local sources reported that more than 200 Jewish settlers aboard buses came to this area near Sanur village and stayed there for two hours bullying Palestinian passersby and performing rituals. Then, they roamed around on Jenin-Nablus street singing and behaving provocatively before going to Mabo Dotan settlement near Ya‘bad town. During their tour, the settlers chanted racist slurs against the Palestinians and tried to attack some vehicles, eyewitnesses reported.
Other eyewitnesses told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that the settlers blocked the roads on the evening of the same day near Shiloh junction and Za‘atara junction and embarked on attacking Palestinian cars, which prompted the drivers to take other long routes.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7diUg4kHO88jXa51EbDo6X1BzubQfldlsudREpregHMYlixjPBbmz75dlHq6jmeIB5mOZ3vdl05Tte066uHjO4R98CtjEWlgjpJGzd9Bvo1U%3d
Settlers stone Palestinian vehicle in northern West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 May – Extremist Jewish settlers hurled stones at a Palestinian vehicle near the northern West Bank village of Urif Thursday afternoon, locals told Ma‘an. The attack resulted in material damage the vehicle, and no injuries have been reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594094
Clashes at Aqsa mosque
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 8 May — Young Palestinian men clashed Wednesday with Israeli officers and settlers around the al-Aqsa Mosque compound as Israeli forces and police officers denied worshipers entry to the holy site … At the Council Gate, young Palestinian men struggled to pass through crowd-control barriers, but Israeli officers blocked them and attacked the worshipers with clubs and pepper spray. Separately, clashes erupted between young Palestinians and Israeli extremists at the al-Qattanin Gate after rightists chanted “this is the Temple’s Gate.” Israeli police intervened to end the dispute.
Also Wednesday, Israeli police assaulted journalists and protesters waiting at the Damascus Gate in advance of a demonstration by right-wing Israelis coinciding with “Jerusalem Day,” a controversial national holiday celebrating what Israelis call the “reunification” of the city. Fifteen people were detained including children and two journalists, a Ma‘an reporter observed. Several others were beaten with batons and rifle butts.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593471
Israeli forces, Palestinians clash near Nablus checkpoint
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 10 May — Clashes erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinians on Friday afternoon near the Huwwara military checkpoint south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, locals said. Dozens of Palestinians protested on Friday against settler attacks against the al-Aqsa mosque. Israeli forces fired tear gas toward Palestinians, while Palestinians threw stones. No injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594249
14 injured in Silwad clashes
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 10 May — Fourteen people were injured with rubber-coated steel bullets, and dozens more suffered tear-gas inhalation in clashes in Silwad northeast of Ramallah, medics said. Asif Hami, 17, was hit twice in the head and suffered severe bleeding. Clashes broke out after Israeli forces closed the main entrance of the village and prevented people from reaching their lands. The area faces a threat of confiscation from the nearby Ofer settlement. Israeli forces fired tear gas at protesters and passing cars.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594306
Detentions
IOF storms house of martyr Salah Darwaza and arrests his son
NABLUS (PIC) 8 May — Ahrar center for Prisoners’ studies and human rights condemned the arrest of the son of martyr Salah Darwaza, Ezzedine aged 19, from Nablus. Um Al-Noor, the martyr Salah Darwaza’s wife, told Ahrar center for Prisoners studies and human rights that a large number of Israeli occupation soldiers stormed after midnight her house after blowing off the doors, and arrested her son Ezzedine. She said that Ezzedine is a student at Al-Najah National University and that he has been preparing for the final exams, scheduled to start on Wednesday morning. However due to this arrest, he has been deprived from completing his studies.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7q%2fygiTbHtgNmWEuk2dC1ro8h1oiaTzuvJ%2fZLPJkDLmLROi%2b57A0qv1tTgjnVHWvOxEfQdsQh9Og5cnG0Ul%2bUH9NOLpx6WUtRmlDNWBdCKW4%3d
Mother, daughter briefly detained in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 8 May — Israeli police on Tuesday briefly detained a mother and daughter after taking them for investigation at the Russian compound in Jerusalem, relatives said. Umayma Qarain, 44, and her daughter Wala, 20, were detained as Israeli forces raided their house, searching the roof and garage. No specific allegations were made against them, the family said.
Meanwhile a court in Jerusalem extended the arrest of activist Inam Qlembo and proposed either house arrest or deportation. She was arrested April 2 at a protest following the death of a Palestinian in Israeli custody. Her lawyer said the court will reconsider her case on May 22 but without releasing her in the interim period.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593380
Undercover Israeli forces detain Palestinian in Jenin
JENIN (Ma‘an) 8 May — …Israeli forces in plainclothes surrounded a taxi at the entrance to Jenin and fired gunshots into the air before detaining Mohammad Zakarna, a Ma‘an reporter said. Zakarna, from Qabatia south of Jenin, is affiliated with the al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fatah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593605
IOF raid homes in Nablus, kidnap nine young men
NABLUS (PIC) 8 May — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped at dawn Wednesday nine Palestinians during violent raids on homes in Nablus city and its villages. Local sources told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that the IOF stormed different neighborhoods in Nablus city and kidnapped a young man named Ahmed Al-Sous from ‘Askar refugee camp. They also raided the areas of northern mountain, Faisal street, Mamoun street and downtown, and kidnapped Ra’ed Al-Sayegh and Izzuddin Darwza. Other families were reportedly handed summonses for interrogation issued against their sons by the Israeli intelligence. Many summonses have been issued since more than a week by the intelligence against Palestinian young men in the Nablus area.
Six other young men were taken prisoner by the IOF during raids on homes in Beit Furik east of Nablus city. Some personal computers were confiscated in this campaign. Consequently, violent clashes broke out between young men and the invading Israeli soldiers in different areas of Nablus.
In different separate incidents, the IOF stormed at dawn Wednesday the area around Jalama checkpoint to the north of Jenin and raided the greenhouses there. The IOF also established a checkpoint at the entrance to Sabah Al-Khair suburb, searched the passing vehicles and checked IDs…
It was also reported that Israeli policemen and border guards launched last night a campaign to hunt down West Bank workmen who entered the 1948 occupied lands to work in construction sites. The campaign targeted workshops and warehouses where the workmen stay and sleep and concentrated in Haifa, Khadira and Mutalat. Workmen from Jenin told the PIC that the IOF kidnapped 10 of their friends during the campaign.
Six other Palestinian citizens were also kidnapped during different raids in Ramallah and Al-Khalil cities.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7mCLJJxqUUVK%2fC7FTRsGoZ%2bHZBjjOYHqL1Y%2buwl9kzVrE7f4wiv%2fFbhmAamE6CfGXgqp%2bzF1FqyaVlzVD0KgqYSSWEzuh9d25w1U2kHW5c4Y%3d
Israeli troops arrest dozens in West Bank raids
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) 9 May — Israeli forces detained dozens of Palestinians on Thursday in dawn raids across the West Bank. Israeli forces detained 12 Palestinians in al-Zawiyah village, north of Salfit...
In East Jerusalem’s Abu Dis, forces raided the home of Nafez Jaffal and detained his sons Mahmoud, 15, and Muhammad, 14. Several jeeps raided Abu Dis at 4.30 a.m. and searched the home before taking the teenage boys in their pajamas and without shoes, their father told Ma‘an. Jaffal, who spent five years in Israeli prisons, said his sons were terrified and that the Israeli troops treated them brutally…
In Idhna, near Hebron, troops broke into and searched several homes belonging to members of the al-Tmeizi family. They filmed inside the homes and assaulted 45-yaer-old Yousef al-Tmeizi, 45, resident Raed al-Tmeizi told Ma’an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593867
Israeli forces detain 4 in Jenin village
JENIN (Ma‘an) 9 May — Israeli forces detained four Palestinians Thursday from the Burqin village in Jenin, locals said. Locals said seven Israeli military vehicles entered the village and raided a number homes. Four Palestinians were detained in the operation, including two brothers. Locals said those detained were between the ages of 16 and 18, adding that they were taken to unknown locations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593796
Israeli forces detain Palestinian security officer
QALQILIYA (Ma‘an) 10 May — Israeli forces on Friday detained a Palestinian Authority security officer in a village near Qalqiliya in the northern West Bank. Israeli soldiers raided Kafr Thulth at dawn and arrested Maj. Mahmud Shawahneh, Palestinian security officials told Ma’an. Shawahneh, 40, is an officer in the Preventive Security Service.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594203
PA security forces arrest 5 Hamas members in West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 8 May — Palestinian Authority security forces arrested five Hamas members in the West Bank on Wednesday, the Islamist group said. The Hamas affiliates were detained in Nablus, Qalqiliya and Tulkarem, a statement said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593463
Hamas: PA forces detain 9 members in West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 May — Palestinian Authority security forces arrested nine Hamas members across the West Bank, Hamas said Thursday. Forces of the Fatah-led PA detained Hamas affiliates in Nablus, Ramallah, Qalqiliya and Hebron, Hamas said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593934
PA security forces continue political arrests in West Bank
WB (PIC) 10 May — PA security forces have escalated political arrests against Hamas supporters in the West Bank, where 9 of the movement’s supporters were arrested while 2 others were summoned, in addition to extending the detention of 2 students … In a clear exchange of roles, the Israeli forces arrested on Thursday a young man wanted by PA security agencies. Fadi Mousa Ghneimat, 30, was arrested by Israeli forces after storming his house more than once … MP Samira Halaiqa called for an immediate end to PA political arrests against the Islamic bloc cadres and supporters in violation of the agreement signed between the Islamic bloc at universities in the West Bank and the PA security agencies … She called on PA to put an end to the so-called revolving door policy as part of the security coordination between PA and Israeli security agencies.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7lRwJLrSWt%2biIgkGEIU7GPlzc11qCMWp2FzHgB76q8APej%2bjWDzFNKSAtGHw0oPeGZQj2GcXACSgSGrZoSf7MPwiXnli%2b8TmW7jshtt5jrvY%3d
Detainees / Exiles / Court actions
Nativity deportees mark 11 years in exile
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 May — Twelve of 13 Palestinian resistance fighters deported to Europe in 2002 following an Israeli invasion of Bethlehem mark 11 years in exile Friday despite promises they would be repatriated after two years. In April 2006, during a major Israeli incursion into the West Bank Israel named Operation Defensive Shield, Israeli forces besieged the Nativity Church in Bethlehem after dozens of fighters took refuge in the church. After 40 days, the negotiations involving international organizations ended the siege with the deportation of 13 fighters to European countries and 26 others to the Gaza Strip. Only one deportee, Abdullah Dawood from Balata refugee camp near Nablus, was repatriated to his family in Nablus in March 2010, but only after he died in Algeria. Dawood, who died at 48, was a former director of Bethlehem intelligence.
Jihad Jaara, 42, from Al-‘Arrub refugee camp near Hebron, was deported to Ireland. He left in Palestine a wife and four children whom he has not seen since he was deported. He told Ma‘an on Thursday he is banned from leaving Ireland and is not allowed to work or study.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594122
Abu Sisi’s isolation extended for 6 additional months
NABLUS (PIC) 8 May — The Israeli Central Court has decided to extend the prisoner Dirar Abu Sisi’s solitary confinement for six additional months, Tadamun Foundation for Human Rights revealed. Ahmed al-Beitawi, a researcher at the Foundation, said that the court extended Abu Sisi’s isolation until October under the pretext of being a threat to Israel’s security. Abu Sisi was transferred in March from his isolation cell in Ashkelon prison to another one in Ohli Kedar jail under worse conditions, al-Beitawi said. The kidnapped Ukrainian resident suffers from heart problems, asthma, gallbladder, lipids and migraines all of which have worsened due to medical negligence … Abu Sisi, 42, was abducted from the Ukraine on February 19, 2011 by the Mossad. He is married (to a Ukrainian citizen), the father of six children, and holds a graduate degree in electrical engineering. He was the key engineer of Gaza’s power plants..
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7ViZJjl4IQuZvJjMxwFiugnsxmG256Kr10ruLTB6%2fh5JdJwoHER9bcfNv55FsmTCz%2b4rRx34GRWW%2bXQTZEXVCuwo1wfpnEnfnEveuJkdau1A%3d
Israeli military court approves Issawi deal
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 9 May — An Israeli military jury on Thursday approved a deal to release Samer Issawi, who ended a 266-day hunger strike after reaching the agreement with Israeli military prosecutors. At Ofer military court, the military jury expressed disappointment with the “very lenient” deal but accepted it, Issawi’s lawyer Jawad Bolous said. Issawi, who appeared in court, “looked skinny, but it was clear his health was improving,” Bolous added. Issawi ended a nine-month hunger strike on April 23 after Israeli authorities agreed to release him eight months later. He is being held in Ramle prison and will be released on Dec. 23. Issawi went on hunger strike after Israeli forces arrested him and accused him of violating the terms of his amnesty under an October 2011 prisoner swap. Under the agreement signed at Kaplan Medical Center in April, Issawi will be freed to his hometown Issawiya in East Jerusalem. He had rejected several earlier proposals to deport him.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594051
Israel frees 2 long-term hunger strikers
JENIN (Ma‘an) 9 May — Israel released on Wednesday two long-term hunger strikers from custody after an Israeli military court reduced their sentences. Tareq Qaadan, 42, and Jafar Ezz al-Din, 41, from Araba in Jenin, said situations in Israeli prisoners were “dangerous”, particularly at the Rimon and Nafha jails, during a celebration held to mark their released. They said Palestinians were suffering in Israeli jails and called on Arab and Muslim leaders to secure the release of Palestinian detainees … On May 2, an Israeli military court reduced their administrative detention and ordered their early release by two weeks. Izz al-Din and Qaadan were on hunger strike for over 90 days in protest over being held under administrative detention. They ended their strike once the decision for early release was announced following a protracted appeal.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593894
Ofer court sentences Palestinian journalist to five months
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 8 May — The Israeli Ofer court sentenced Palestinian journalist Musab Shawer Al-Tamimi on Tuesday to five months in jail along with a 2000 shekel fine. Tamimi, who works as a correspondent for a local radio station in Al-Khalil, was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces on 25/2/2013. Tamimi, who is also in charge of the prisoners’ issue at the radio station, was sentenced on the international day for the freedom of the press.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7xGMoDJlgOQ9Zc%2fKBqDDkco%2f0ESfhYR7g2x7Z1RXO6XAc7BJsZ1GaK%2foXBxs3VSJaUzY%2bfCSHyoeWvMV%2bPmksLVoZvVCiA8LM6VQbiF1%2bHIs%3d
PPS: Suspect in settler stabbing in serious condition
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 8 May — A Palestinian suspected of fatally stabbing a settler is in a serious condition in an Israeli prison clinic, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said Wednesday. Salam al-Zaghal was seriously injured on April 30 after he allegedly stabbed an Israeli settler to death at a checkpoint near Nablus. Israeli police said he was arrested after engaging in a gun battle with security forces. Al-Zaghal underwent stomach and leg surgeries and has 45 stitches, the PPS said in a statement. The PPS called on Israel to move al-Zaghal to a hospital outside the prison.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593520
Gaza siege
IOF incursion in northern Gaza
BEIT HANUN (PIC) 8 May — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in armored vehicles advanced into the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning. Eyewitnesses told the PIC that six military bulldozers advanced 300 meters to the east of Beit Hanun town and leveled cultivated land lots. Israeli reconnaissance planes are meanwhile seen hovering over the coastal enclave since the early morning hours.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7lpcso0LwHxq9YI8QKafuVNUiaO6USd8HFFlzB6qYeFLoKzjsHcPwKk%2bhqXlz7syN1RDR7J%2b6q5a7Qxtqo21tYMoMUFtDr3YR6XdN%2bxHvKow%3d
B’Tselem’s findings: Harm to civilians significantly higher in second half of Operation Pillar of Defense
Press release — Four times as many uninvolved Palestinian civilians were killed in the final four days of the operation as during the first four days — After several months of field research and crosschecking data, human rights organization B’Tselem published a report today (Thursday, 9 May 2013) reviewing harm to civilians in Operation Pillar of Defense. The report provides statistics on the numbers of Palestinians and Israelis killed over the course of the operation, which lasted from 14 to 21 November 2012. The report challenges the common perception in the Israeli public and media that the operation was “surgical” and caused practically no fatalities among uninvolved Palestinian civilians…
B’Tselem’s report raises suspicions that the military violated International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Breaches of two major aspects of IHL are of greatest concern: lack of effective advance notice of an impending attack and an unacceptably broad definition of what constitutes a ‘legitimate target’. The report analyzes nine cases in which Palestinian civilians were killed or injured by the military and which raise suspicions of IHL violations.
http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20130509_pillar_of_defense_report
Israel won’t pursue criminal charges despite damning Gaza report
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 May — The Israeli army said Wednesday it has found no incidents warranting criminal investigations into the conduct of its soldiers during Operation Pillars of Defense, despite a report suggesting its inquiry was lacking. The army’s comments follow reports by Israeli rights group B’Tselem that the army had failed to investigate cases of civilian deaths sufficiently, particularly those where it found the military may have been in violation of international law. “Because the military refuses to provide real information about incidents in which Palestinians who did not take part in the hostilities were harmed, B’Tselem is unable to investigate the lawfulness of each and every military strike during the operation,” a report issued Thursday by the rights group read.
In response to the report, the army said the majority of civilian deaths “were as a result of unintended damage connected to an attack against military targets, or alternatively were as a result of operational errors, where civilians were mistakenly identified as terrorist operatives.” B’Tselem found that in some cases, investigations into civilian deaths were not carried out.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593863
DC museum to honor two Hamas journalists
Times of Israel 9 May by Adaam J. Jevin Areddy — A journalism museum in Washington DC says it will honor two Hamas-member journalists killed during Operation Pillar of Defense in November. Newseum announced on its website this week that it plans to add Mahmoud al-Kumi and Hussam Salama to its journalists memorial, a two-story structure of glass panels etched with the names of over 2,000 “reporters, photographers and broadcasters who have died reporting the news.” Al-Kumi and Salama were killed on November 20 by an Israeli air strike during the height of hostilities with Gaza. Both were Hamas members and worked at the time for the Al-Aqsa television network, which is funded by Hamas. According to Al-Aqsa at the time, the IDF targeted their vehicle even though it was clearly marked ‘TV’. In response, the IDF issued a statement accusing the Al-Aqsa network of acting as the voice of terror by featuring programs that praise and incite attacks on Israeli civilians. Moreover, the IDF claimed that al-Kumi and Salama functioned as Hamas operatives, in addition to being Al-Aqsa cameramen, and were targeted on November 20 for their terror ties.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/dc-journalism-museum-to-honor-hamas-linked-journalists/
Haniyeh welcomes Bahrain parliament delegation
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) 9 May — Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh welcomed on Wednesday a parliamentary delegation from Bahrain ahead of their three-day official visit to the coastal enclave. The delegation, which includes Bahrain Parliament Speaker sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Dhahrani, was greeted by Haniyeh in a tent erected on the ruins of the cabinet building in Gaza City, a statement read. Haniyeh applauded bilateral relations between Palestine and Bahrain, praising the gulf state’s continued financial aid to Palestinians. According to the Bahrain News Agency, the visit is being held to strengthen parliamentary relations between both sides … Bahrain was among the first countries to donate to reconstruction efforts following Operation Cast Lead, contributing $5.4 million to UNRWA, the Palestine refugee agency.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593775
Influential Muslim cleric al-Qaradawi visits Gaza
GAZA CITY (AFP) 8 May — Influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi on Wednesday started a visit to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, crossing via Rafah, on the border with Egypt. An AFP photographer said Egyptian-born al-Qaradawi, who is a citizen of Qatar and close to the Muslim Brotherhood, arrived in the territory shortly after 9:30 p.m. Sheikh al-Qaradawi led a delegation of 50 clerics from 14 countries and was greeted by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh...
Ahead of the cleric’s arrival, the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority said such visits were “harmful” to the Palestinian people.
“The Palestinian Authority’s position has been clear; each visit of political significance which gives legitimacy to Hamas’ rule in Gaza is harmful to the Palestinian people and their interests,” PA minister of endowment Mahmoud al-Habbash said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593708
Qaradawi urges Palestinian resistance to ‘hold onto arms’
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 May — Influential Muslim cleric Yousuf al-Qaradawi on Friday called on the Palestinian resistance to hold onto its arms in a sermon at a Gaza City mosque. “I advise all the people of Gaza to be patient and continue to build their country, and continue resistance,” the sheikh told worshipers at al-Omari Mosque. “We will not give up on the resistance, and we will not give up our arms,” he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594234
PA: Qaradawi passport ‘fake’
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 10 May — The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Interior has put out a notice informing countries that recognize Palestine that cleric Yousef al-Qaradawi holds a ‘fake’ Palestinian passport. In a letter, the ministry called on all countries to take legal action to seize the passport if it is used contrary to international law, the official news agency in Ramallah Wafa reported. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh handed al-Qaradawi a Palestinian passport during his visit to Gaza. Salam Fayyad is recognized internationally as the Palestinian prime minister even though Haniyeh’s party won a 2006 election over its rival Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank … Al-Qaradawi arrived Wednesday and stayed in Gaza for three days.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594299
Palestinian deputy hopes for Gaza Port under Turkey’s supervision
World Bulletin 8 May — Jamal al-Hudari, Head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege on Gaza and an independent deputy, said they hoped the Gaza Port would be run under the supervision of Turkey. Speaking to Turkish press on Wednesday, Hudari said they would propose a draft on developing the Gaza Port to Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his upcoming visit to Gaza. Hudari said Erdogan’s upcoming visit was a “golden opportunity” for them and they were hopeful that Turkey would accept the reestablishment of the port if a detailed project would be submitted. He expressed hope that the Gaza Port would be run under the supervision of Turkey. Goods which arrive in a Turkish port can be loaded to ships under Turkey’s supervision and brought to Gaza, said Hudari summarizing their proposal. He said “Gaza’s import, export and passenger transportation could be done by this way and it would also spoil Israel’s excuses based on “security concerns.” “If accepted, Arab and Muslim countries would support the project financially,” said Hudari.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=108436
BDS
Video: BDS campaign gaining momentum worldwide to support Palestinian civil struggle
RealNews 9 May by Yousef Alhelou in Gaza – General overview of progress in BDS. Interviews with Haidar Eid, Ayah Bashir and others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uor-VFikNzM&feature=share
Church of Scotland agrees to reword report on Israeli settlements
Guardian 9 May by Severin Carrell — The Church of Scotland has moved to defuse a furious row with Jewish leaders and the Israeli government after agreeing to change a controversial report on Israeli settlements. Senior figures in the church met Jewish leaders on Thursday after an official report entitled the Inheritance of Abraham?. suggested the church consider political action including boycotts and disinvestment in Israel in protest at illegal settlements in the occupied territories. The church and society council, which is to present its report to this year’s meeting of the Church of Scotland’s governing body, the general assembly, later this month, has agreed to reword the paper’s introduction to make clear the church has never challenged the right of Israel to exist.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/09/church-of-scotland-israel-settlements
SodaStream ‘treats us like slaves,’ says Palestinian factory worker
EI 9 May by Stephanic Westbrook — A professionally-produced video recently appeared on YouTube, taking the viewer on a carefully-constructed tour of the production facilities for the Israeli company SodaStream, manufacturer of carbonated drink machines. The 8.5-minute video focuses on the firm’s factory located in Mishor Adumim, the industrial zone of the illegal Israeli settlement Maale Adumim in the occupied West Bank, and its Palestinian workers. The underlying message throughout the video is that the company’s settlement factory is a “fantastic sanctuary of co-existence” and, despite being built on stolen Palestinian land, is beneficial to the Palestinian economy and workers. The video was recently shown to M., a Palestinian employee of SodaStream who has worked on the assembly line at Mishor Adumim for a long time and lives under Israeli occupation in the West Bank. M. spoke to The Electronic Intifada on condition of anonymity. His immediate reaction to the blissful setting presented in the video was one of shock.”Lies” “I feel humiliated and I am also disgraced as a Palestinian, as the claims in this video are all lies. We Palestinian workers in this factory always feel like we are enslaved,” M. said.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/sodastream-treats-us-slaves-says-palestinian-factory-worker/12441
Other news
Al-Wafaa campaign organizes first aid convoy to Palestinians in Syria camps
BEIRUT (PIC) 10 May — European al-Wafaa campaign announced it will send the first aid convoy to the Palestinians in the refugee camps inside the Syrian territories early next week. This popular move is considered the first of its kind from abroad sent to support the Syrian camps since the start of the crisis, more than two years ago … The campaign revealed that the convoy will be launched on Saturday morning from the area of Deir Zannoun in Lebanon, where the trucks loaded with aid will converge in preparation for entering the Syrian territories. It said that this convoy has been organized in coordination with some international bodies, as the UNRWA, and asserted that it will be followed by other convoys.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s740icmqBUNINRcXPYqwKBX0eCiTwwi8c0RkjWcaYyjWKDEANF4lVGLkzDzKXg%2fTjju36bwYBh21dH4M61mjrIjd5tSFt1P%2fKF5IjI7%2fPmx84%3d
An Israeli industrial park is a wild West Bank for labor rights
Haaretz 11 May by Tali Heruti-Sover — Israeli labor regulations apply in the Mishor Adumim industrial zone, but inspectors don’t cross the Green Line to enter Area C, so there is no one to enforce them — Imagine the following scenario: Five men in a small room are applying heat-resistant paint to aluminum products. The room isn’t ventilated, and the workers have no masks. They know this isn’t either healthy or safe for them, but they’re not complaining. And imagine this: Forty workers at an industrial complex in the desert. They have one small refrigerator at their disposal. The cold water runs out after an hour. For the rest of the workday, they drink tap water from a pipe outside … At the Adumim Industrial Park, which is within the Ma’aleh Adumim municipal boundaries, most of the factories and businesses are Israeli-owned. The workers are Palestinian − from Jericho, Abu Dis and other communities near Jerusalem. Israeli inspectors don’t go there.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/an-israeli-industrial-park-is-a-wild-west-bank-for-labor-rights.premium-1.523269
Palestinians say there’s oil in West Bank
RAMALLAH, West Bank (UPI) 8 May — Palestinians report growing indications of oil in the occupied West Bank, which Israel may be quietly exploiting even as Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu resists U.S. pressure to freeze Jewish settlement expansion in the territory. Givot Olam Oil Exploration of Jerusalem disclosed some years ago it had made a commercial find estimated at 980 million barrels at its Meged field in eastern Israel right on the so-called Green Line that demarcates the West Bank. The geological strata at Meged appear to run eastward into Palestinian territory around the village of Rantis. Meged-5, part of the 62,500-acre exploratory block the government leased to Givot Olam for 30 years in April 2004, has reserves estimated at 1.5 billion barrels. That’s not a major strike in the general scheme of things but it would have an immense impact on Palestinians’ aspiration for statehood and the West Bank’s shaky, Israel-dependent economy that’s based on agriculture.
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2013/05/08/Palestinians-say-theres-oil-in-West-Bank/UPI-29751368049686/
Settlers, Palestinians unite to trash garbage plan
Times of Israel 8 May by Stuart Winer — Settlers and Palestinians posed a united front against a government plan to build a large refuse dump near Jericho that, they say, will pollute millions of cubic meters of spring water every year. Residents of the Palestinian villages of Ramon and Nuima, along with Bedouin from the Khavanah tribe and Jewish settlers from Michmash and Rimonim, signed a petition titled “Peace with the Environment” to protest the scheme, Maariv reported on Tuesday.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/settlers-palestinians-unite-to-trash-garbage-plan/
Palestinians, settlers discuss situation in Hebron
[with VIDEO] BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 May — Young Palestinians and Israeli settlers have held a series of meetings to discuss possible coexistence in Hebron in the southern West Bank, Israel’s Ynet news site reported Thursday. A short video was added to a report which highlighted that most of the Palestinian participants refused to reveal their identities of appear on camera. Such events are rare in the occupied territories. Palestinians refer to meetings with settlers as ‘normalization,’ a taboo for the majority.
According to the report, young Palestinian men from Hebron in the southern West Bank have been participating in meetings with Jewish settlers from Efrat settlement in Gush Etzion bloc south of Bethlehem. “For a short hour, two completely different worlds would meet here. Young Palestinian men from Hebron and Jewish Yeshiva students from Efrat settlement have been involved in monthly meetings. However, to document these meetings was not an easy job as the participants at the beginning refused to let us take photos of them, and asked us blur their faces because revealing their identities may create serious problems within their societies,” the report said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594080
Qatada ‘to return to Jordan if it backs torture pact’
LONDON (AFP) 10 May – Bethlehem-born cleric Abu Qatada will voluntarily return to Jordan if a treaty with Britain that forbids the use of evidence obtained by torture in legal cases is ratified by the Jordanian parliament, his lawyer said on Friday. Lawyer Edward Fitzgerald gave the pledge at Britain’s Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) in London, which is hearing a bid by the radical preacher against his detention for breaching his bail conditions. British interior minister Theresa May announced the new treaty on April 24 in London’s latest bid to deport Abu Qatada — whose real name is Omar Mohammed Othman — after a 12-year legal battle.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=594210
Opinion / Analysis / Reviews / Interviews
William Sutcliffe: the power of the West Bank wall
A visit to the West Bank with the Palestine festival of literature made William Sutcliffe rebuild his novel The Wall — Guardian 10 May – -No matter how many photographs you have seen, coming face to face with the wall in the West Bank is a shock. We often use the word “concrete” as an antonym for “imaginary”, but when I first touched this eight-metre-high edifice of concrete, alongside what would otherwise have been a quite ordinary street, my first reaction was disbelief. How had this been thought of, let alone built? Up close, this wall seemed both real and implausible … As a novelist, and a diaspora Jew disturbed by Israel’s ever-increasing military belligerence, the more the world ignored this wall, the more interested in it I became. During the 10 years of its construction, as this part-wall, part-fence spread across the West Bank, tracing a perplexingly circuitous route, I slowly became convinced that this edifice was more than just a wall. It was a symbol of something. But to discover exactly what, I had to start writing … The phrase “military occupation” trips off the tongue easily. Only in close proximity to the invading army do you begin to get any inkling of what it must feel like to live your life at the mercy of hostile foreign troops. In a lifetime of movie-watching I have seen thousands of weapons, but at Qalandia checkpoint I felt, for the first time, the power of the gun.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/10/william-sutcliffe-west-bank-wall
Turkey’s man in Palestine
Daily Beast 8 May — In a global first, Turkey has created the position of ambassador to Palestine. Mike Giglio speaks to the diplomat, Sakir Torunlar, and reports on the country’s push for regional clout — When pressed on the subject, Sakir Torunlar, Turkey’s veteran diplomat in Jerusalem, concedes that he has acquired a place in the history books — “maybe one line,” he says, sitting down for coffee at a hotel on the Bosphorus during a recent trip to Istanbul. Torunlar, who has been consular general in Jerusalem since 2010, took on a new title last month: the world’s first ambassador to Palestine … Despite Torunlar’s new title, his job will essentially remain the same. As consular general in Jerusalem, he had already acted as a de facto ambassador to Palestine. But the title of ambassador, Torunlar says, sends a message. “The job I have been doing since submitting my credentials did not change from the week before,” he says. “It’s a symbolic change. But it has weight.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/08/turkey-s-man-in-palestine.html
Virtuality, geopolitics, and the one-state solution / Amira Howeidy
Al-Ahram 8 May — On 1 May, Internet giant Google changed the home page name of its google.ps domain from Palestinian Territories to Palestine. To the people of this region, their international allies and enemies, this is symbolically a big deal in the 64-year-old Arab-Israeli conflict since the creation of Israel on Palestine in 1948. For the first time in more than six decades, it’s not the usual suspects — zealous Palestinians and Arabs — who’re using the P-word, but rather the biggest thing on the Internet since the Internet began. Not only does Google serve one billion requests on its search engine daily, its services have become paramount to information gathering and, as with its Google Maps application, an important reference point. Its influence on the Internet’s two billion plus users who account for one third of the world’s population should not be underestimated. The Guardian’s Tom McCarthy put it best in his 3 May headline: ““Palestine now recognised by greater power than US or Israel — Google”.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/2545/19/Virtuality,–geopolitics–and-the–one-state–solution.aspx
Robbing refugees and Holocaust survivors / Aner Shalev
Haaretz 9 May — A country that uses the Holocaust to justify its establishment but preys on refugees and neglects Holocaust survivors undermines the basis for its own existence — The decision by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation led by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni to promote a law that would limit ‘infiltrators’ (in the government’s language) ability to send money and property out of Israel has transformed Israel into a pirate state. More than this, it is transforming Israel into a state that steals the poor man’s lamb of the fable, taking the paltry property belonging to the weakest, who even when they are deported cannot freely use the money they earned here in order to support their families. To paraphrase the Bible, have you deported and also inherited? … And regarding the refugees among us, it’s worth listening to the cries of Holocaust survivors, which were recently echoed in the heartbreaking words voiced by survivor Dora Roth in the Knesset. In Israel today there are Holocaust survivors going hungry. In the State of the Jews there are Holocaust survivors who lack heating in the winter. A Kafkaesque bureaucratic maze surrounds the stipends that are supposed to be distributed from various sources to Holocaust survivors. Not just the elderly and the sick but even healthy young people would find it difficult to understand the mass of regulations, conditions, tests, declarations and forms that regulate financial support for Holocaust survivors. Add to this the humiliating committees that check survivors’ pasts and their health and financial status in order to raise obstacles in their path and pay out the least amount possible. The hidden goal is apparently to let time do its work. Time works to the benefit of the state’s coffers. This abuse must stop.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/robbing-refugees-and-holocaust-survivors.premium-1.520040
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