Violence / Detentions
Palestinian killed after suspected car attack near Huwwara
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 31 Dec — A Palestinian was shot dead after a suspected vehicular attack near the Huwwara military checkpoint in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus, Israel’s army said. A spokesperson for the Israeli army told Ma‘an that an assailant ran his car into Israeli forces who were stationed on highway 60 near the Huwwara checkpoint for security purposes. The forces opened fire on the man, killing him on scene, the spokesperson said. The Palestinian was identified as Hassan Ali Hassan Bozor, 22 from the town of Raba east of Jenin. One soldier was moderately wounded in the suspected attack and was taken to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, Israeli media reported.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769593
Palestinian shot during clashes 3 weeks ago dies from complications
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 31 Dec — A Palestinian man who was shot and injured by Israeli forces in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah earlier this month succumbed to his wounds on Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. The ministry said Shadi al-Ghabeesh, 38, was released from Ramallah’s Palestine Medical complex on Dec. 13, after having recovered from being shot by Israeli forces during clashes in al-Jalazone refugee camp on Dec. 4. Doctors said al-Ghabeesh was released in a stable condition. Due to what is believed to have been complications from the bullet injury, al-Ghabeesh fell ill on Friday, his family said. By the time medics reached the family home to treat al-Ghabeesh he had already passed and medics pronounced him dead. Al-Ghabeesh’s body was taken to Palestine Medical Complex for an autopsy and the Palestinian police are investigating the incident. [IMEMC has Palestine TV video and photo of Ghabeesh being attacked]
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769603
A Palestinian mother of four shot 17 times for being a bad driver
Haaretz 2 Jan by Gideon Levy & Alex Levac — Mahdia Hammad was hurrying home to feed her baby. Border Policemen signaled her to stop, but she continued to drive, slowly. Then they sprayed her car with bullets — Here, next to the house’s fence, is where the car rolled to a stop after it had continued to move even though its driver was already dead. And here’s where the Border Policemen stood as they shot dozens of bullets into her car. It all happened on this normally quiet residential street at the edge of the town of Silwad, north of Ramallah. Only the shell casings still scattered along the side of the road and the fragments of the shattered windows of the Hyundai Lantra testify mutely to what happened here last Friday. This is where Israeli troops killed Mahdia Hammad, a 40-year-old mother of four, the youngest a child of 10 months. In Israel it was claimed that she tried to run over the Border Policemen, who were standing in the street. Her husband claims that she was an inexperienced driver who was hurrying home to feed their son and was apparently rattled by the sight of the Israeli force and lost her head. One way or the other, nothing can explain the rage and lust to kill that seized the troops. They sprayed her car and her body with bullets in a frenzy of shooting that continued even after she was dead. Together with Ashraf Idabis and Iyad Haddad – field-workers for the International Red Cross and the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, respectively – we spent a few hours at the scene this week, taking testimonies from residents and passersby who witnessed the incident. (Continued)
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.694876
Army attacks the weekly protest in Kafr Qaddoum
IMEMC 1 Jan — A Palestinian TV cameraman was injured, and many protesters suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation, Friday, after dozens of Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly nonviolent protest against the Wall and colonies, in Kafr Qaddoum town, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia. The Popular Committee in Kafr Qaddoum said this week’s protests also marked the 51st anniversary of the establishment of Fateh movement, and commemorated the third anniversary of the death of Sheikh Sa’id Jasser, who died of severe effects of tear gas inhalation. The Committee stated that dozens of residents marched from the center of the village, carrying Palestinian flags, posters and chanting for ending the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and the escalating violations. Morad Eshteiwy, coordinator of the Popular Committee in Kafr Qaddoum, said dozens of soldiers, accompanied by an armored bulldozer, invaded the village and fired live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs. Eshteiwy added that Palestinian cameraman Enaal al-Jada’ was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet in his leg, and received the required treatment by Red Crescent medics. Many Palestinians also suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation. The soldiers surrounded Kafr Qaddoum since early morning hours, and tried to hide between trees and various areas, but the protesters managed to uncover the ambush attempts, before clashing with the soldiers. [See also Soldiers attack the weekly protest in Bil‘in]
http://www.imemc.org/article/74416
Army injures twenty Palestinians near Qalqilia
IMEMC/Agencies 2 Jan — Israeli soldiers attacked, Friday, dozens of Palestinian protesters in ‘Azzoun town, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, wounding twenty Palestinians, including one who suffered a moderate injury. The Qalqilia office of the Red Crescent Society (RCS) said the soldiers shot and injured two Palestinians with rubber-coated steel bullets. Another Palestinian was shot with a sponge-tipped bullet in his abdomen causing a moderate injury that required hospitalization. The RCS added that seventeen Palestinians received treatment for the effects of tear gas inhalation after the soldiers fired dozens of gas bombs at the protesters, nearby homes and property.
http://www.imemc.org/article/74422
Settlers attack taxi driver, shut down main road
IMEMC/Agencies 1 Jan — Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement Mabo Dothan, built on the land of Ya‘bad, to the southwest of Jenin, Thursday, assaulted a Palestinian taxi driver and hurled stones at Palestinian vehicles. Mohammad Mahmoud from the village of Tura said that a number of Israeli settlers attacked and beat him up after closing down the main military gate at the entrance to Ya‘bad. He said the Israeli army closed the gate and prevented cars from passing through, while settlers hurled stones at vehicles. Mahmoud added that the settler attacks were coupled with curses and racist phrases against Arabs. The settlers closed down the main road leading to Ya‘bad from the western side and hid between olive trees.
http://www.imemc.org/article/74411
2 Israelis killed, 7 injured in Tel Aviv shooting
[with 2 videos] TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 1 Jan — A shooting was carried out Friday near a Tel Aviv pub, killing two Israelis and injuring seven, Israeli police and medics said. Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said in a statement that the shooter opened fire on Dizengoff street before fleeing the scene. Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom said in initial reports that paramedics arrived to the scene and treated nine victims. Al-Samri confirmed that two were killed and medics reported the injured to include two in severe condition and five in moderate condition. Israeli media reported that some of those injured were hit by broken glass that shattered when the attacker opened fire. Al-Samri said that all injured were taken to Tel Aviv-area hospitals for treatment. Police were combing the area for the suspect and investigations were ongoing following the attack. The suspect was identified as Mohammed Melhem, 29, a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the town of Wadi Ara. The spokesperson said that background information had yet to be gathered on the attack, and the Tel Aviv Municipality told Israeli media that it was not yet clear if the incident was a suspected “terror attack” or criminally motivated. Video footage from a surveillance camera shows a man shopping in a grocery on the street of the attack before grabbing a gun out of his backpack and opening fire outside the store. The suspected attack marks the first in the coastal city since Nov. 19 when two Israelis were stabbed and killed near Tel Aviv’s Panorama building by a Palestinian from the Hebron-area village of Dura in the occupied West Bank.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769610
Israeli settler stabbed in Hebron dies from wounds
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 30 Dec — An Israeli resident of the illegal Hebron-area settlement of Kiryat Arba died Wednesday from wounds sustained during a stab attack earlier this month, Israeli media reported. The man, identified by Israeli media as Genady Kofman, 41, was left in critical condition after being stabbed by a Palestinian near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron’s Old City on Dec. 7. His alleged attacker, 21-year-old Ihab Zakariya Maswada, was shot dead by Israeli border police. Witnesses in the area at the time said Israeli forces prevented Palestinian emergency services from reaching him to medical care after he was shot. Israeli media reported that Kofman was a maintenance worker at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the term used in Judaism for the site of the Ibrahimi mosque, and a father of two. Kofman was one of 21 Israelis to be killed during attacks carried out by Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel since Oct. 1 . . . More than 140 Palestinians have been killed during the same time period.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769580
Israeli forces detain 16 Palestinians from West Bank
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 31 Dec — Israeli forces overnight Wednesday detained 16 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, a prisoners’ rights group said. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society told Ma‘an that four Palestinians were detained from Bethlehem, identifying the detainees as Ahmad Amer Odeh, 20, from the ‘Aida refugee camp, Ahmad Mahmoud Shakarneh and Noor Izzat Shakarneh from the Nahalin village, and Muhammad Salem Khalil Jibrin, 20, from the Tuqu‘ village. In Nablus, the group said that Ahmad Ramzi Nassar, Muhammad Wajih Qatt, and Abd al-Ghani Ragheb Salhab were detained. From the Hebron district, Muhammad Hashem al-Ajlouni, 18, and Khalil Ali Eid Barakat, 24, were also detained. Anis Zaher Alawneh was detained from the Jaba‘a village near Jenin, while Mahmoud Nabil Qabha, 30, and Issam Rateb Qabha, 26, were detained from the Tura checkpoint, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said. Four Palestinians were detained from the town of Shweikeh in the Tulkarem district, identified as Bashir Mustafa Nayfeh, 55, and his son Muhammad, 29, as well as Shadi Anwar Farrah, 12, and Ahmad Fadi al-Zaatari, 12.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769594
Israel returns confiscated buses to Palestinian transport company
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 1 Jan — Israeli authorities on Friday returned 11 buses to a Palestinian transport company that were initially confiscated for transporting youth to demonstrations. Palestinian Ministry of Civil Affairs told Ma‘an that the buses were returned to the al-Tamimi bus company in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma‘an in November after eight of the buses were seized that the transport company was an “illegal association known to have links to the Hamas terror organization.” The buses were reportedly taken on the grounds that the company had been providing transportation for large groups to partake in “violent riots” against Israeli forces, the spokesperson added at the time. Regular demonstrations — often organized by local universities — had been frequently held near the Israeli military checkpoints that surround and control movement in and out of Nablus prior to the November seizure. Such demonstrations often led to large-scale clashes between youth and Israeli soldiers.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769607
PA security forces suppress peaceful Palestinian march in Ramallah
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 30 Dec — Palestinian Authority security forces on Wednesday prevented a peaceful Palestinian march in Ramallah’s al-Bireh neighborhood from reaching a checkpoint outside the nearby Israeli settlement of Beit El, protesters told Ma‘an. Witnesses told Ma‘an that PA forces stopped hundreds of protesters from continuing their march to the Israeli checkpoint by setting up their own flying checkpoints and blockades. Leading members of the Fatah movement, PLO Executive Committee members, and officials from other Palestinian factions were reportedly present for the demonstration. Dozens of youth left the march after Palestinian forces suppressed the protest, and instead headed to an area in al-Bireh near the illegal Israeli settlement of Psegot where protesters clashed with Israeli forces.
PA security forces last week also blocked protesters from reaching the illegal Beit El settlement area. The forces reportedly assaulted several journalists and prevented them from covering clashes that broke out between the forces and protesters at the time.A Palestinian media rights group launched an investigation into the incident and demanded that the Palestinian Authority hold security forces accountable for violations committed against the media.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769583
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (17-30 December 2015)
PCHR-Gaza – Israeli forces escalated the use of excessive force in the oPt – 17 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children and a woman, were killed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 106 Palestinian civilians, including 34 children, 2 women and a journalist, were wounded in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces continued to target the border area along the Gaza Strip – A Palestinian woman was wounded in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces conducted 104 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and 6 limited ones in the Gaza Strip – 130 Palestinian civilians, including 28 children and 4 women, were arrested. 26 of them, including 13 children and a woman, were arrested in occupied Jerusalem. Ahrar Centre for Prisoner Studies in Nablus was closed and its contents were confiscated. In addition, a Zakat Committee in Bethlehem was raided. Israeli gunboats continued to target Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip sea, but no casualties were reported 23 Palestinian fishermen, including 2 children, were arrested and 6 fishing boats were confiscated in the northern Gaza Strip. (Continued)
http://pchrgaza.org/en/?p=7722
Return of Bodies / Funerals
Coroner: Israel’s conditional release of bodies prevents autopsies
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 31 Dec — A Palestinian coroner responsible for performing autopsies on the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces condemned on Thursday Israel’s conditional handover of bodies. Head of Al-Quds University’s Institute for Forensic Medicine, Sabir al-Aloul, told Ma‘an that the demand by Israeli authorities that Palestinian bodies be buried immediately after their return prevents autopsies from being carried out. “Israel freezes the bodies of the Palestinian martyrs in mortuaries held at -35 degrees which prevents autopsy for 24 to 48 hours,” al-Aloul said. The burial of the body of 38-year-old Baseem Salah — delivered on Tuesday — was reportedly delayed after coroners were unable to immediately autopsy his body, still frozen after the handover. The Palestinian Ministry of Justice adopted a resolution to perform autopsies on the bodies of all Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in effort to document “Israeli crimes,” al-Aloul added . . .
A number of Palestinian families on Wednesday refused in a letter the conditions proposed by Israel for the return of their relatives. One of several complaints issued by the signatories was that families should be allotted time to request an official autopsy on their dead. Autopsy reports are used in official paperwork necessary to file cases against Israeli authorities at the International Criminal Court. “The freezing prevents autopsy results that document the crime, which means a loss of important information for bringing Israel in front of the International Criminal Court,” al-Aloul told Ma‘an.
Al-Aloul said that Israeli conditions also prevented autopsies that would resolve accusations that Israel has been “stealing” organs from the bodies of Palestinians withheld by the state. Palestinian delegate to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, on Nov. 3 wrote a letter to the president of the UN Security council that included an accusation of organ harvesting by Israel. The delegate referred to reports that the body of Muhannad Okbi — killed after reportedly killing an Israeli soldier in a Beersheba bus station — was returned to his family without corneas. The allegations have yet to be confirmed. According to autopsies al-Aloul had performed on Palestinians killed since Oct. 1 so far, the coroner said that those killed were “shot in the head and the chest many times from a very close distance.” Some bodies also showed the use of expanding bullets — also known as “dum dum” bullets — the use of which is illegal under international law. Israel has repeatedly denied claims that its forces use such bullets, though Palestinian medical examiners have on occasion documented their use.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769590
Israel returns bodies of 7 slain Palestinians from Ramallah
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 31 Dec — Israel on Thursday released seven bodies of Palestinians who were shot dead during alleged, attempted or actual attacks on Israeli military and civilians, the Palestinian liaison office said. Israeli authorities originally announced that 11 bodies would be released, but decided last-minute to hold four of those set to be released for “security reasons.” The seven bodies were released to their families in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah after 4 p.m. The Palestinian Civil Defense said that the bodies of Suleiman Shahin, Ghassan Hammad, Issa Assaf, Wissam Abu Ghweileh, brothers Fadi and Shadi al-Khasib and Ahmad Taha were released.
On Wednesday, a number of Palestinian families came together and signed a letter which stated their refusal to comply with Israel’s conditions of release concerning the bodies of their loved ones. Israeli authorities have demanded that families of slain Palestinians agree to bury their dead at night, immediately after release of the remains. The letter, which was published on social media, stressed the “natural and legal right” of the families to be granted the remains of their loved ones and bury their dead in an appropriate religious and cultural manner. Families said burying their dead at night not only goes against traditions, it also prevents many family members from being able to pay their last respects by attending the funerals. The signatories also pointed out that each family should be allotted time to request an official autopsy on their dead, particularly due to rumors that Israeli authorities have been removing certain organs before releasing remains.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769591
Funeral held for 3 Palestinians after Israel returns withheld bodies
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 1 Jan — Thousands of Palestinians on Friday attended a joint funeral for three Palestinians whose bodies were returned by Israel the night before, locals told Ma‘an. The three were killed by Israeli forces while carrying out actual and alleged attacks on Israeli military and civilians in November, two of whom were brothers killed within a week of one another. Mourners marched from the Palestine Medical Complex towards the family homes of the slain Palestinians, before going to Jamal Abd al-Nasir mosque, where prayers were held. The three bodies were then carried to al-Shuhada cemetery in al-Bireh where they were laid to rest. One of those returned was the body of Fadi Muhammad Mahmoud Khasib, 30, who was shot dead after running over and lightly injuring two soldiers at a bus stop near the illegal Kfar Adumim settlement. Fadi carried out the attack days after his 31-year-old brother Shadi — whose body was also returned — was killed by an Israeli settler near the same settlement after Israeli police said he “walked out his vehicle with a knife in his hand and was shot dead.” Locals told Ma‘an at the time that Shadi got out of his vehicle to check for damage following an accident and was shot dead by a settler. The third body returned was that of Sulaiman Shahin, 22, from al-Amari refugee camp, who was killed after carrying out a vehicular attack that left three Israelis injured south of Nablus.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769608
Israel hands over 23 bodies of Palestinians slain during attacks
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 1 Jan — Israeli authorities on Friday handed over the bodies of 23 Palestinians killed while suspected of carrying out attacks on Israelis, Palestinian officials said. Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances caravaned into the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron carrying 17 of the bodies, which were delivered to hundreds of Palestinians awaiting the handover. The 17 were transferred from Israeli to Palestinian authorities at the Tarqumiya crossing before being taken to Hebron’s al-Ahli hospital, where the bodies were received by Palestinian officials and relatives. Palestinian National Security forces paid tribute to the bodies before they were transferred to the hospital morgue where they await autopsy. The bodies are expected to be buried on Saturday. Following the delivery, chief prosecutor of the Hebron area, Ashraf Mashaal, told Ma‘an that a team of prosecutors had been formed in order to determine the ultimate causes of death for the Palestinians killed, adding that the decision had been approved by relatives of the slain.
Three bodies of Palestinians from the Ramallah area were also turned over by Israeli authorities near the Ofer detention camp. Israeli authorities handed over the body of Mohammad Muneer Salih Hassan, 24, from the village of ‘Arura, who was shot dead after opening fire on an Israeli military patrol north of Ramallah on Nov. 19. The bodies of Anas Bassam Hammad and Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Ayyad, both 20 years old from the village of Silwad, were also handed over. Hamad was shot and killed after running his vehicle into Israeli soldiers on Dec. 7, injuring two, while Ayyad was killed after allegedly carrying out a vehicle attack in Silwad that caused no injuries.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769609
Court actions / Prisoners
Wife of main Duma suspect: We want a halachic state, but we don’t burn people
Ynet 1 Jan by Oded Shalom & Elisha Ben Kimon — Outside the hall of Judge Erez Nurieli, right at the entrance, officials had placed a tiny sign reading “behind closed doors.” It’s a typical courtroom on the second floor of the Magistrate’s Court in Petah Tikva, which is next to a large shopping mall and opposite Beilinson Hospital . . . There is nothing particularly unique in the courtroom of Nurieli, who for over a month has been presiding over one of the most serious cases of Jewish terrorism yet seen in Israel. The hearings are held behind closed doors, off-limits to both the media and the public. Also a secret is the identity of the central suspect in the murder of three members of the Dawabsheh family from Duma. He was brought to Nurieli’s court on Wednesday, when a prosecutor’s statement was filed against him that over the next few days will lead to an indictment. We are not allowed to see him. Perhaps he has been beaten, with visible signs of bruising on his body, and is in a poor mental state due to the torture he claims he has undergone during Shin Bet interrogations. And maybe his well-known smile, seen in a photo that shows him on a swing with his baby daughter, is still on his face . . . He is 21 years old and grew up in Gush Etzion. She is 22, and grew up in Jerusalem. Their daughter will turn one on Saturday. They are well-known among the hilltop youth, who left a comfortable and warm home in favor of illegal outposts that were erected one after another in the West Bank . . . The main suspect has been arrested and indicted in the past after opposing security forces during outpost evictions. He refused to show up to the court hearings on the principle that he doesn’t recognize the authority of the Israeli court. He requested instead to be judged in a rabbinical court. The suspect’s wife has also clashed with security forces during outpost evacuations. Three years ago, she was indicted for conducting a “price tag” activity in a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, which included vandalizing a car and spray-painting graffiti against the prophet Mohammed. According to the indictment, she carried out the action along with the sister of the bride from the “wedding of hate.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4747139,00.html
Soldier whose gun was used in extremist wedding celebration sent to prison
JPost 1 Jan by Yaakov Lappin — A soldier from the IDF’s Haredi Netzah Yehuda Battalion has been sent to 21 days in military prison on Friday, after an investigation found that his assault rifle had been illegally used by extremists as part of their celebration at a wedding in Jerusalem last month. Police, the Shin Bet, and the IDF have been investigating last month’s notorious wedding event, in which far-right activists waved guns and knives while dancing, and stabbed a printed photograph of Ali Dawabshe, the Palestinian toddler burned to death with his parents in an arson attack on their West Bank home last summer. Following an investigation ordered by IDF Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen.Gadi Eisenkot, the military questioned soldiers who were present at the event, and found that one of the rifles swung by the extremists belonged to a Netzah Yehuda soldier who was at the wedding. “The soldier did not supervise his personal firearm, and allowed it to pass from one person to another. Today, the soldier was placed on trial and judged by Kfir Brigade Commander Col. Guy Hazot. The soldier was sentenced to 21 days in military prison,” the IDF Spokesman Unit said on Friday.
Separately, Col. Hazot tried two other soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion on charge of assaulting Palestinian security prisoners who were in army custody. Col. Hazot ruled that both soldiers had acted contrary to IDF regulations. One soldier was ejected from the battalion, while a second was suspended from all combat operations, and will be transferred to an administrative position.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Soldier-whose-gun-was-used-in-extremist-wedding-celebration-sent-to-prison-439090
Jordanian held in Israeli prison reinstates hunger strike
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) — Jordanian prisoner of Israel, Abdullah Nuh Abu Jaber, reinstated his hunger strike on Thursday, after Israeli authorities reportedly reneged on promises to meet his conditions, Jaber’s lawyer said. Hanan al-Khatib, a lawyer with the Prisoners and Former Prisoners’ Affairs Committee said Jaber continued his hunger strike on Dec. 27th after being transferred from Israel’s al-Affula hospital, where he was being treated after already having been on hunger strike for 47 days, back to al-Ramla prison hospital. Jaber said he had initially suspended his strike on Sunday, after he met with an Israeli intelligence officer who allegedly promised to meet his conditions. Jaber was demanding that Israel continue his treatment at al-Affula hospital, allow his family to visit, allow him to contact the Jordanian ambassador, and eventually release him to Jordanian authorities. Instead, Jaber was transferred back to al-Ramla prison hospital after ending his strike. Jaber reportedly contacted the Israeli intelligence officer after his transfer. Jaber immediately reinstated his hunger strike after the intelligence officer allegedly apologized to Jaber and informed him that his demands would not be met. Jabers lawyer told Ma‘an that Jaber had since been moved to solitary confinement and was allegedly assaulted by the al-Ramla prison hospital’s manager. Al-Khatib added that Palestinian prisoner Muhammad al-Qiq is also on hunger strike and being held in solitary confinement in al-Ramla prison Israeli authorities against the standards of International Humanitarian Law.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769597
Palestinians defy Israel’s Jerusalem ban
Al Jazeera 26 Dec by Patrick Strickland — Two Palestinians have taken refuge in an International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Jerusalem in defiance of an Israeli order banning them from entering their home town for several months. Samer Abu Eisheh, a 28-year-old freelance journalist from occupied East Jerusalem, recently received orders from the Israeli military informing him that he was banned from Jerusalem for five months. Another Jerusalemite, 32-year-old Saleh Abu Sbeih, was handed a six-month ban. “I don’t know why they are giving me a military order,” Abu Eisheh said, speaking to Al Jazeera by telephone from inside the ICRC office. “I am a media man.” Abu Eisheh said he expected Israeli forces to arrest him nonetheless. Asked why he and Abu Sbeih chose the ICRC office, he said that “no place in Jerusalem is safe, but the ICRC” was the most secure option. “We know at the end of the day they will arrest us – tomorrow, after a week, at some point. We will not make it easy and we will raise our voices. “I don’t have any place to go,” he said. “That’s why we are not going anywhere.” Israeli forces regularly arrest influential members of Palestinian communities, including political leaders, and activists, according to rights organisations. (Continued)
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/palestinians-defy-israel-jerusalem-ban-151226035734229.html
Punitive demolitions
Israeli forces prepare for demolition of Palestinian attacker’s home
JENIN (Ma‘an) 1 Jan — Israeli forces carried out predawn raids across the occupied West Bank on Friday, detaining two and carrying out preparations for the demolition of a home of a Palestinian killed while carrying out a vehicular attack, locals said.
Locals told Ma‘an that Israeli forces raided the village of Raba east of Jenin and stormed the house of Hassan Bozor, who was shot dead on Thursday after running his car into Israeli forces near the Huwarra checkpoint south of Nablus. The forces took measurements of Bozor’s family home in preparation for its demolition, locals said, the latest to be demolished through Israel’s policy of punitive home demolition, illegal under international law and labeled by rights group as “collective punishment.”
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769605
Israel to demolish family house of Palestinian suspected of shooting
HEBRON (WAFA) 30 Dec – Israeli forces Wednesday handed a notice to demolish the family house of a Palestinian accused of perpetrating a shooting attack in late November in Deir Samet village, southwest of Hebron. WAFA correspondent said Israeli forces handed an order to demolish the family house of Mohammad ‘Abdul-Baset al-Hroub, who is detained and accused of perpetrating an attack that led to the killing of two Israeli settlers and injuring at least nine others on November 19 in the Gush Etzion area. . . .
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=30307
IOF to demolish two houses south of al-Aqsa
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 31 Dec –The Israeli Municipality in occupied Jerusalem has notified Thursday six houses in Jabal Mukbar town south of al-Aqsa Mosque with demolition. Local sources told Quds Press that Israeli forces stormed in large numbers Jabal Mukbar town and deployed throughout its neighborhoods. During the raid, six local homes were notified with demolition under the pretext of being built without permit. Earlier in October, Israeli forces demolished two homes in the neighborhood after their owners carried out alleged attacks against Israelis. During the demolition process, six neighboring houses were damaged which made their owners demand a compensation from Israeli municipality. However, Israeli authorities decided to demolish the damaged houses instead of repairing them.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=75891
Gaza
Egypt returns body of Gazan killed while swimming through border
GAZA (Ma‘an) 31 Dec — Egyptian authorities on Thursday returned the body of a Palestinian who was shot dead last week, after he was spotted swimming through the sea across Gaza’s southern border into Egyptian territorial waters, the Gaza-based Ministry of Interior told Ma‘’an. The Ministry said they received the body of 28-year-old Ishaq Khalil Hassan through the Rafah border crossing.
On Friday, Al Jazeera released footage of the moment Hassan was killed after swimming past Gaza’s southern border into Egyptian waters. Egyptian border guards opened fire on him while Palestinian forces on the other side of the border called on them to stop. Hassan’s brother, Ahmad Hassan, told Al Jazeera that he did not believe his brother was “fully aware or expecting” the Egyptian army to shoot him, citing psychological problems brought on by life in Gaza.” Hassan was unemployed, desperate, and deeply frustrated because of his inability to leave Gaza for treatment. But the Egyptians never allowed him to leave or cross the border,” he reportedly said. “The Egyptians are equal, if not even worse, than the Israelis when it comes to their treatment of Palestinians.” On Saturday, Iyad al-Buzm, the spokesperson for the Hamas-run Ministry of the Interior in Gaza, said in a statement: “We strongly denounce this act, which is contrary to all humanitarian laws and traditions.” He called on the Egyptian authorities to promptly investigate the incident and bring the Egyptian border guards responsible for killing Hassan to justice.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769596
Gazan killed in tunnel collapse was Shalit prison guard
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 Dec — The Hamas movement on Wednesday announced that one of the men who died when a tunnel in the Gaza Strip collapsed on Monday was a prison guard for former Israeli prisoner of Hamas, Gilad Shalit. The movement released a photo of Abdelrahman al-Mubashir pointing at Shalit during the Israeli soldier’s internment with Hamas between 2006 and 2011. Hamas also released the names of four other deceased members of the Hamas military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, who took part in guarding Shalit for more than five years. [The Jerusalem Post added that sources in the Gaza Strip said the four were killed by the IDF over the past few years – though Hamas did not say so.] The general-leader of the al-Qassam Brigades, Muhammad Daif, identified the other four men as Sami al-Hamaydeh, Abdullah Ali Lubbad, Khalid Abu Bakra and Muhammad Rashid Daoud. The al-Qassam Brigades captured Shalit in a joint operation with Jaysh al-Islam and the al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades in June 2006 and held him for more than five years until he was released in 2011 during an exchange deal which saw the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners of Israel, dozens of which have been re-detained since.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769587
Soldiers moderately injure two Palestinians in northern Gaza
IMEMC/Agencies 2 Jan — Israeli soldiers shot and moderately injured, on Friday evening, two young Palestinian men, east of Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Medical sources said the two Palestinians were shot in their legs, and were moved to the Kamal Adwan Hospital, in northern Gaza. Dozens of Palestinians protested near the border fence, in northern Gaza, before the army fired live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs. The youngsters hurled stones and empty bottles at the soldiers stationed behind the border fence.
http://www.imemc.org/article/74423
Rights center demands immediate investigation into brutal detention of Gaza boy
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 30 Dec – A human rights center has demanded an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the brutal detention of a Palestinian boy who crossed Israel’s border fence with Gaza in late September in search of work. The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah) has sent a letter to the Israeli government’s legal advisor and military attorney-general demanding the opening of an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the detention of Yousef al-Tarabin. On Thursday September 24, Israeli forces detained al-Tarabin, 16, a resident of Sha‘sha‘a neighborhood, east of Jabalia refugee camp, as he and his friend, Hani al-Sharatha, 17, crossed the border fence between Israel and Gaza, looking for employment opportunities. In his letter, Nadim Shehadeh, an attorney representing Adalah, wrote that based on information collected by Gaza-based Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, Yousef was beaten and mistreated during detention. Yousef informed Al-Mezan Center that he and Hani “went to the border fence area because they wanted to smuggle into Israel to find work. After they crossed the border fence, an Israeli force in military vehicles appeared and surrounded them.”
“A soldier ordered them to remove all of their clothes. A soldier stepped out of a vehicle with a dog that had a muzzle on. When the soldier and the dog came closer to the two children, they raised their hands in the air. The soldier removed the muzzle and let the dog attack them. The dog attacked Yousef and bit him in his right arm. He screamed and asked for help, but the soldiers laughed loudly. When he tried to release himself from the dog, the dog bit his left hand. After a couple of minutes of wrestling with the dog, a soldier approached them and pulled the dog away,” added Al-Mizan Center in a press release about the case. (Continued)
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=30306
Israeli forces continue slaughtering Gazan protesters
GAZA STRIP, Occupied Palestine 30 Dec by ISM, Gaza Team — Last Friday, 25th of December another youth, 22-year-old Hani Wahdan, was killed in Shija‘ia in Gaza. One week before, 20-year-old Mohamed El Agha was killed in El Faraheen in Gaza. Since the beginning of October Israeli snipers have killed unarmed demonstrators along Gaza’s fence almost every week, and injured hundreds with live fire.
Mohamed Abu Taima, 22 years old, is one of those injured by the Israeli snipers. He was shot in the leg minutes before the killing of Mohamed El Agha took place in the same area. In the European Hospital of Khan Younees, 19-year-old Abdel Kareem Kalwaji lies in a bed beside Mohamed’s. He was shot a week before Mohamed; unfortunately the explosive dum-dum bullets used by the occupation completely destroyed both bones in one of his legs and one bone in the other leg. He has already undergone two surgeries and doctors say that he’ll need a lot of rehabilitation in order to move around by himself again. When questioned regarding their reasons to demonstrate despite the high risk of getting shot, both answered that they do it for the liberation of Al Quds and Al Aqsa Mosque and in support of their brothers and sisters in the West Bank
http://palsolidarity.org/2015/12/israeli-forces-continue-slaughtering-gazan-protesters/
UN stops cement supplies for 70 factories in Gaza
MEMO 30 Dec — Director of the Union of the Construction Factories in Gaza Farid Zaqout said on Tuesday that the United Nations Office for the Project Services (UNOPS) had stopped cement supplies to 70 factories across the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reported. “Without a pre-caution, the UNOPS has stopped cement supplies this week for 70 factories for construction materials out of 149, which are subject to the international monitoring mechanism,” Zaqout said. He noted that there is communication with UNOPS regarding the reason behind the move, adding that he hopes the organisation will cancel its “disastrous” decision. Zaqout said that this decision would negatively affect thousands of workers, as well as stop the cycle of the reconstruction of Gaza, stressing that none of the factories have violated the mechanism terms accepted by the Israeli authorities. The mechanism is a monitoring system which permits building materials to enter the blockaded enclave. Israeli restrictions under the blockade usually prevent so-called “dual use” materials from entering Gaza. These include building supplies that they believe can be used by militants to build tunnels and weapons.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/americas/23096-un-stops-cement-supplies-for-70-factories-in-gaza
Israel imposes new rules for taking goods into Gaza
MEMO 31 Dec — Israel has imposed new rules on trucks taking goods into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom Crossing, the only commercial border post with the territory, Palsawa has reported. The new rules were applied from Wednesday morning. According to a local economic media source, the Israeli police set up a new checkpoint at the entrance to the crossing and insisted that the payload of every truck must not exceed 36 tons. The previous limit was 40 tons. The change, noted the source, will mean that the price of all goods will increase, creating even more hardship for the beleaguered Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The goods most affected will be construction materials, which are essential for the reconstruction of the enclave after the destruction caused by Israel’s 2014 military offensive. An increase of around $4.50 per ton of cement is expected, with the volume of cement allowed through being reduced by 10 per cent. It is also anticipated that the movement of goods at Kerem Shalom will be worse during 2016 than it was this year, especially if the Israelis insist on enforcing the new limits.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/23129-israel-imposes-new-rules-for-taking-goods-into-gaza
Palestinian fishermen brought to Israeli court
BEERSHEBA (Ma‘an) 30 Dec — Two Palestinian fishermen from the Gaza Strip were brought to an Israeli court Wednesday on a list of charges, local sources said. Locals told Ma‘an that Zayid Zaki Tarrush, 23, and Mahmoud Muhammad Munir Bakr, 33, were brought to a Beersheba court and presented with two lists of indictments for incidents which reportedly took place around 5 a.m. on Dec. 7. Indictments including fishing three nautical miles past the designated fishing zone, “deliberately bumping” into an Israeli military boat and throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers, local sources said. On the day of the incident, local officials reported that Israeli naval forces opened fire on fishing boats, with no injuries reported.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769586
Five rockets fired from Gaza toward southern Israel
Haaretz 1 Jan by Almog Benn Zikri — Five rockets were fired Friday night from the Gaza Strip at Israel. Israeli detection systems detected the launches and identified two projectiles that crossed the border; the other three exploded on the Gaza side of the border. IDF forces are searching for the sites where the two rockets that made it across the border exploded. Rocket sirens sounded in Israeli communities near the Gaza border. The Israeli army said it is searching the area.
The IDF responded with airstrikes on Hamas targets.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.694996
WATCH: Egyptian warplanes bomb targets near Gaza border
JPost 31 Dec by Ariel Ben Solomon — Video obtained by Reuters showed what the cameraman said to be an Egyptian warplane flying over Gaza — Egyptian security forces killed 15 suspected Islamic State terrorists in an eight-hour raid in North Sinai on Thursday, Egyptian media reported. The raids targeted Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, a group that pledged allegiance to Islamic State, a security source told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm. Palestinian witnesses in the Gazan side of Rafah said that Egyptian warplanes hit targets on the Egyptian side of Rafah. Video obtained by Reuters showed what the cameraman said was an Egyptian warplane flying over Gaza, followed by the sound of an air strike and a cloud of black smoke rising from Rafah.. Meanwhile, terrorists in Sinai shelled a home near a security checkpoint in Rafah, killing an entire family of five and wounding a neighbor, AP quoted Egyptian officials as saying. . . .
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/WATCH-Egyptian-warplanes-bomb-targets-near-Gaza-border-438946
Israeli group helps blockaded Gazans negotiate path to outside world
TEL AVIV (Christian Science Monitor) 30 Dec by Joshua Mitnick — Officially, the Gaza Strip’s 1.8 million residents cannot exit the territory through Israel. Shadi Bathish, an Israeli Arab paralegal, works with residents to obtain rare exit permits — The phone calls from Gaza start in the morning. There are students trying to get to universities abroad; a daughter trying to see a terminally ill parent in the West Bank; a bride trying to get to her own wedding in Jordan. On the other end of the line – at a cluttered desk in a cramped Tel Aviv office – sits Shadi Bathish, a 39-year-old paralegal who helps Palestinians navigate the Israeli military’s sometimes Kafkaesque bureaucracy and obtain the rare permits to exit the blockaded coastal territory. The job makes Mr. Bathish one of the few Israelis with a direct line to the hardships of Gaza residents, many of whose homes and neighborhoods were destroyed by the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel . . . “We hear a lot of [Palestinian] frustration first hand.… We listen to a lot of painful situations,” says Bathish, an Israeli Arab who works for the legal non-profit Gisha – Hebrew for “access.” The group seeks to roll back restrictions on Palestinians’ movements, particularly the Gaza blockade. “Once I fielded a call from a person who didn’t meet their parents for a decade. What do I tell him? Wait for the political situation to improve?” (Continued)
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2015/1230/Israeli-group-helps-blockaded-Gazans-negotiate-path-to-outside-world
Gaza bans public New Year’s Eve celebrations
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 Dec — Gazan authorities on Wednesday issued notices to restaurants and hotels in the Strip banning establishments from throwing New Year’s Eve celebrations, a Gaza police spokesperson said. Ayman al-Butneiji told Ma‘an the notices were issued because New Year’s Eve celebrations, in the eyes of the Hamas-run Gazan government, “contradict” Islam, and “are mainly an imitation of the west.” He also highlighted the “pains and sacrifices” that come with living in Gaza due to Israel’s “imposed siege” on the Strip. Palestinian culture encourages communities to refrain from having celebrations during times of death or upheaval. In Bethlehem, Christmas celebrations were toned down significantly out of respect for the more than 120 Palestinian families who have lost loved ones since the start of this year’s upheaval in October. Since the start of October, municipalities across the occupied West Bank have also asked bars and restaurants to refrain from having large parties or celebrations out of respect for the seriousness of the current political situation.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769582
Israel seizes armor plating being smuggled into Gaza
Times of Israel 30 Dec by Judah Ari Gross — Border staff find bulletproof sheets of metal hidden in a shipment of car parts at Kerem Shalom crossing — Border officials this week thwarted an attempt to smuggle armor plating into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. An Israeli truck hauling spare car parts aroused the suspicion of workers in the Defense Ministry’s Border Crossing Authority, according to a statement. When they examined the truck, authorities found several bulletproof plates [photo – Arutz Sheva calls them ‘bulletproof boards’], which could have been used to fortify terrorist strongholds in Gaza. This was the first time the border crossing authority has discovered an attempt to smuggle armor into the Strip, the ministry said. The Defense Ministry does not yet know who is responsible for the smuggling attempt.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-seizes-armor-plating-being-smuggled-into-gaza/
Land, property theft & demolition / Ethnic cleansing
Israel confiscates land, builds military watchtower in Hebron village
[photos] HEBRON (Ma‘an) 31 Dec — Israeli forces razed Palestinian lands in the Wadi Sair area of eastern Hebron on Thursday, with the intention of building a military watchtower, the mayor of the village told Ma‘an. Kayid Jaradat said Israeli forces had started razing lands early Thursday without notifying the Palestinian municipality or the owner of the land, Ismail Abed Rabbu al-Shalaldeh, prior to the land confiscation. Jaradat added that the military tower is expected to be a precursor to a permanent military checkpoint in the area, which would restrict Palestinians’ movement, particularly on the main northern route out of Hebron toward the rest of the occupied West Bank. Activist Ahmad Halayqa said that the tower would inhibit movement in the area and would be located near the Asfar Israeli settlement, which was also built on Sa‘ir village land. Meanwhile, the Hebron municipality constructed a fence in Hebron City’s Wadi al-Nasara neighborhood in order to provide protection to residents against Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba, who often assault Palestinians and their homes in area.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769598
Further land grabbing in Jordan Valley
JORDAN VALLEY, Occupied Palestine 31 Dec by ISM Nablus Team — During the past 6 months, the Jordan Valley Solidarity Campaign has registered further land grabbing in Fasayal village in the Jordan Valley. The land, which originally belonged to a Palestinian owner, was invaded 6 months ago by Israeli authorities accompanied by settlers from nearby illegal Israeli settlements and bulldozers. Locals say that they were seen working on the land in order to level the surface of the soil to prepare it for planting trees. Locals reported that on the 19th of December Israeli authorities with Israeli settlers were digging holes for trees; so far, 400-500 date trees have already been illegally planted on the ground. The land is located between two illegal Israeli settlements, Yafit and Masu’a, and furthermore borders on route 90, which has resulted in the denial of access for many Palestinian landowners to their land because of “security reasons.”
As 87% of the Jordan Valley is declared area C and an additional 7%, which is formally part of area B, is declared a nature reserve, most of the Jordan Valley is off limits for the Palestinian people. Furthermore, 50% of the area is controlled by the illegal Israeli settlements, and 45% is declared military bases, “closed military zones,” “nature reserves,” and “firing zones,” denying access for Palestinians and facilitating the demolitions of Bedouin tents, houses, wells etc. In area C obtaining permits to build schools, hospitals, water networks, roads or other basic service infrastructure is practically impossible, which violates the basic needs and human rights of the residing Palestinian population. Israeli forces destroy infrastructure and buildings built without a permit.
By oppressing the people in the Jordan Valley in this manner, Israeli occupation forces have succeeded in decreasing the Palestinian population from 320,000 in 1967 to approximately 55,000 people. In the same four decades, 37 illegal Israeli settlements have been established and are now housing 10,00 settlers, who enjoy a 75% discount on their water bills and cheap stolen land. In contrast, Palestinians suffer from extreme lack of access to water by having their water tanks confiscated and their wells demolished . . . .
http://palsolidarity.org/2015/12/further-land-grabbing-in-jordan-valley/
Other news
The Year in Photos: Palestine and Israel in 2015
Activestills selects the most powerful, important and moving images of 2015 — in chronological order. Photos by: Oren Ziv, Ahmad al-Bazz, Yotam Ronen, Faiz Abu-Rmeleh, Keren Manor, Hosam Salem, Ezz Zanoun, Anne Paq, Shiraz Grinbaum Editing: Anka Mirkin, Merieke Lauken / Activestills.org
http://972mag.com/the-year-in-photos-palestine-and-israel-in-2015/115436/
Palestinian Foreign Ministry: Netanyahu’s remarks about Hebron invoke religious extremism
MEMO 31 Dec — The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has condemned statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the city of Hebron, in which he claimed that Jews existed in the Sanctuary of Abraham for 4000 years and they will not move from that place. The Sanctuary of Abraham, also known as Al-Ibrahimi mosque or the Cave of Patriarchs is a contentious holy site located in the West Bank. It has been divided into Jewish and Muslim sides. The ministry stressed in a statement issued on Wednesday that Netanyahu’s speech would push the conflict towards a comprehensive religious confrontation and stated that the Israeli Prime Minister would bear responsibility for any consequences. The ministry also warned the international community of the danger of these statements, urging immediate deterrent steps against extremist political and religious discourse. In 1994, Baruch Goldstein, an American Jew, and settler in the Palestinian territories, entered the mosque and opened fire on praying Muslims, killing 29 and injuring over 150.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/23130-palestinian-foreign-ministry-netanyahus-remarks-about-hebron-invoke-religious-extremism
Palestinian population to exceed Jewish population by 2020
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 1 Jan — Figures released by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics on Thursday suggested that Palestinians will outnumber Israeli Jews in historic Palestine by 2020. The results of the Palestinian census were released as 2015 came to a close in the center’s annual analysis of demographics in the area. The census estimated that by the end of 2015, the total number of Palestinians in “historical Palestine” — meaning the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and Israel — was around 6.22 million, compared to 6.32 million Jews. The number of Palestinians and Jews in historical Palestine is expected to be equal before the end of 2017, and the number of Palestinians will total 7.13 million compared to 6.96 million Jews by the end of 2020, according to the PCBS census.
The census bureau surveyed not only historic Palestine, but also included the Palestinian diaspora in its report. The center reported that of the 12.37 million-strong Palestinian population worldwide, around half live outside of historical Palestine. The majority of Palestinians living outside are the descendants of the around 750,000 Palestinians expelled when the state of Israel was established in 1948, many of whom are still living in refugee camps in neighboring Arab countries.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=769606
Number of Palestinians worldwide exceeds 12.37 million, says statistics bureau
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 30 Dec – The projected number of Palestinians in the world is 12.37 million, Wednesday said a press release by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). There are 4.75 million Palestinians in the State of Palestine, 1.47 million in Israel, 5.46 million in Arab countries and around 685 thousand in foreign countries, said PCBS. It said the projected number of Palestinians living in Palestine by the end of 2015 is 4.75 million: around 2.90 million reside in the West Bank and 1.85 million in Gaza Strip. Palestinian refugees make up 42.8% of the Palestinian population in Palestine: 27.1% of them in the West Bank and 67.3% in Gaza Strip. The total fertility rate declined during 2011-2013 to 4.1 births compared with 6.0 births in 1997. In Gaza Strip the rate was 4.5 births compared to 3.7 births in the West Bank during 2011-2013, PCBS added. The average household size in Palestine was 5.2 persons in 2014 compared to 6.1 in 2000: 4.9 persons in the West Bank and 5.7 persons in Gaza Strip . . . The number of Palestinians living in Israel reached 1.47 million by the end of 2015, of whom about 34.8% are aged below 15 years compared to 4.2% aged 65 years and over for year 2014. (Continued)
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=30300
Novel about Jewish-Palestinian love affair is barred from Israeli curriculum
The Guardian 31 Dec — A novel about a love affair between a Jewish woman and a Palestinian man has been barred from Israel’s high school curriculum, reportedly over concerns that it could encourage intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews. The rejection of Dorit Rabinyan’s novel Borderlife, which was published in 2014, created an uproar in Israel, with critics accusing the government of censorship. The incident was first reported by the Haaretz daily and confirmed in a statement by the education ministry on Thursday. The rejection also touched on the climate of mistrust between Arabs and Jews, which has deepened during the current wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence. The ministry said a panel had debated adding Borderlife to the high school reading curriculum but decided against it. Israeli media said teachers had requested its inclusion on the student reading lists. Earlier, Haaretz cited a letter by ministry official Dalia Fenig, who wrote that the book, which this year received Israel’s prestigious Bernstein literary prize, was excluded because its content was deemed unfit for high school students. “Adolescent youth tend to romanticise and don’t have, in many cases, the systematic point of view that includes considerations about preserving the identity of the nation and the significance of assimilation,” Fenig was quoted as writing in the letter. (Continued)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/01/novel-about-jewish-palestinian-love-affair-is-barred-from-israeli-curriculum
Palestinians fear Turkey will drop condition that Israel lift Gaza siege
GAZA CITY (Al-Monitor) 31 Dec by Ahmad Abu Amer — According to Israeli leaks published by several media outlets Dec. 17, Turkey has dropped its condition that Israel lift its nine-year Gaza siege in return for normalizing relations between Israel and Turkey. Those relations were greatly affected after Israel attacked the Mavi Marmara May 21, 2010, part of a flotilla attempting to break the siege. The leaks have raised the ire of Palestinians, and some are worried that they might be true. Israeli media outlets such as Channel 10 claimed that several meetings have been held between Israel and Turkey in Sweden. According to the leaks, the two sides agreed that if Israel apologizes for its attack on the Turkish ship — leading to the deaths of nine Turks and the wounding of several others — and compensates the families of the Turkish victims with about $20 million, Turkey would normalize relations with Israel and drop its condition that Israel lift its siege on the Gaza Strip. Turkey has denied this claim. Several Turkish officials, including Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, have stressed that Turkey will not drop its condition that Israel lift the siege in exchange for normalizing relations, noting that the talks are still ongoing between the two countries.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/12/turkey-drops-condition-to-lift-gaza-siege-israel.html
Lawsuit targets US government over donations to West Bank settlements
Haaretz 31 Dec — The suit accuses American donors and charities of violating U.S. law, money laundering and defrauding the U.S. tax authorities — A group of American taxpayers has filed a lawsuit in a United States court in an attempt to prevent U.S.-based non-profit organizations from supporting Israeli settlements with tax-exempt donations, Al Jazeera reported. First reported by Haaretz in early December, such donations are believed to have subsidized settlements to the tune of some 850 million shekels (more than $220 million) over five years, according to the Haaretz investigation. In their suit against the U.S. Treasury Department and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, the plaintiffs ask the court to order the department and several of its divisions, including the Internal Revenue Service, to “investigate the criminal activities that these tax-exempt entities have been funding or engaging in for the last 20 years.” Under U.S. law, charitable groups known as 501(c) (3) organizations – after the section of the Internal Revenue Code that regulates them – are exempt from paying taxes and can transfer funds for religious, educational and similar purposes, both within and outside the country . . . The Treasury Department, which has 60 days to respond to the lawsuit, declined to comment on the suit directly, on the grounds that it “doesn’t comment on pending litigation.” The lawsuit claims the donations were “pass-throughs” and “funnels” to support the Israeli army and settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. (Continued)
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.694764
Palestinians learn the power of a picture
Al-Monitor 30 Dec by Daoud Kuttab — Images and videos of the situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip shot by locals are empowering the Palestinians in their resistance to the Israeli occupation — Photos, posters, videos and a variety of imagery have been part of the Palestinian struggle since 1948. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East possesses possibly the largest and most impressive photo and video archives of Palestinian refugees. These photos have been taken by professional photographers from different backgrounds. Images were also created by artists such as Ismail Shammout, whose painting “Where to?” — of a grandfather being asked this question by his grandchildren — captured the sense of Palestinian loss as a result of the 1948 Nakba (Catastrophe) of the expulsion from Palestine. After the 1967 occupation and the rise of the Palestinian guerrilla movement, it was the Karameh (Pride) battle in which Palestinians (and the Jordanian army) stood up to the invading Israelis in March 1968, which was the focus of that era’s image. The resistance to the Israelis inspired a poster by Fatah, which became a major source of pride, fundraising and recruitment. The popular Palestinian intifada in 1987, followed by Al-Aqsa intifada in 2000 and the current habbeh have produced iconic video images and marked a progress of Palestinians taking the lead role in the creation of their own image. In 1988, Moshe Alpert, an Israeli cameraman who worked for CBS News, captured four Israeli soldiers following the directives of their Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin to break the bones of Palestinian stone throwers. (Continued)
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/12/palestinian-images-struggle-israel-forces.html
Middle East still rocking from First World War pacts made 100 years ago
The Guardian 30 Dec by Ian Black, ME editor — In an idle moment between cocktail parties in the Arab capital where they served, a British and French diplomat were chatting recently about their respective countries’ legacies in the Middle East: why not commemorate them with a new rock band? And they could call it Sykes-Picot and the Balfour Declaration. It was just a joke. These first world war agreements cooked up in London and Paris in the dying days of the Ottoman empire paved the way for new Arab nation states, the creation of Israel and the continuing plight of the Palestinians. And if their memory has faded in the west as their centenaries approach, they are still widely blamed for the problems of the region at an unusually violent and troubled time. “This is history that the Arab peoples will never forget because they see it as directly relevant to problems they face today,” argues Oxford University’s Eugene Rogan, author of several influential works on modern Middle Eastern history. In 2014, when Islamic State fighters broke through the desert border between Iraq and Syria – flying black flags on their captured US-made Humvees – and announced the creation of a transnational caliphate, they triumphantly pronounced the death of Sykes-Picot. That gave a half-forgotten and much-misrepresented colonial-era deal a starring role in their propaganda war – and a new lease of life on Twitter. (Continued)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/on-the-middle-east/2015/dec/30/middle-east-still-rocking-from-first-world-war-pacts-made-100-years-ago
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