Two are shot in Nabi Saleh during weekly protest

Violence / Raids / Attacks / Suppression of protests / Arrests

Five injured as soldiers attack Nabi Saleh weekly protest
IMEMC 3 Apr by Saed Bannoura — Israeli soldiers attacked, on Friday, the weekly protest against the illegal Annexation Wall and settlements, in Nabi Saleh village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, wounding five Palestinians, including two by live ammunition. The Media Office of the Popular Resistance Committee in Nabi Saleh said Manal Tamimi suffered a fractured leg after the soldiers shot her with a live round. It added that another Palestinian, identified as Mohammad, was also shot with a live round to his leg, and that the bullet hit a nerve; the resident was instantly admitted to surgery in the Palestine Medical Center, in Ramallah. In addition, three children were shot with rubber-coated metal bullets, and received the needed medical treatment.
http://www.imemc.org/article/71128

Two Palestinians shot as Israeli forces raid Nablus refugee camp
NABLUS (WAFA) 2 Apr – Two Palestinians were shot and injured early Thursday as Israeli forces raided al-Far‘a refugee camp to the northeast of Nablus, said witnesses. Reports indicated that Israeli soldiers stormed the camp early morning, sparking clashes with local residents. As clashes erupted, soldiers fired heavy gunfire, injuring Mohammad Shawish, 16, and Mohammad Sbeih, 20, with live ammunition. Shawish and Sbeih sustained injuries in the thigh and knee respectively and were admitted into a local hospital for medical treatment.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=28217

Israeli forces seize solar panels, injure child in village raid
JERICHO (Ma‘an) 1 Apr — Israeli forces on Wednesday injured a child during a raid on a West Bank Bedouin village in which they also confiscated solar energy panels donated to locals by a local sustainability organization, a local official said. A Fatah party official in Jahalin, an area in the central West Bank near Abu Dis where large numbers of Bedouins live in small villages, said that Israeli soldiers raided the encampment near al-Khan al-Ahmar where 22 families live. He said that the soldiers seized 12 portable solar power panels which had been donated to them for their electricity needs by the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem, a Palestinian organization that focuses on sustainability and self-sufficiency for Palestinians. During the raid, the Fatah official said, a child was assaulted and left with bruises. He was subsequently taken to a Jericho hospital unconscious.  The encampment raided by Israeli soldiers is one of 21 where Bedouins live in the Jahalin area.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760233

Settlers attack Palestinian shepherds, IOF arrests two of them
NABLUS (PIC) 2 Apr — Israeli settlers Thursday evening attacked Palestinian shepherds rearing their sheep near the town of ‘Aqraba to the south of Nablus, and forced them at gunpoint to go back to their homes. Member of the Popular Committee against Settlement in southern Nablus, Hamza Deirieh, told the PIC reporter that masked settlers, from Itamar nearby settlement, attacked the shepherds while they were tending to their sheep in the eastern area of the town, triggering clashes. Deirieh said clashes broke out between the town’s inhabitants and settlers after they had approached the Palestinians’ houses. The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) appeared at the scene during the clashes and arrested two Palestinian shepherds. The IOF soldiers barred dozens of the inhabitants of the town of Aqraba to access the location to help the people there defend themselves. The soldiers further blocked the town’s northern entrance.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70984

Dozens injured as Israeli forces suppress weekly marches
QALQILIYA (Ma‘an) 3 Apr  — Israeli forces injured dozens of Palestinian and foreign activists on Friday, including one with live fire, as they suppressed weekly marches across the West Bank. In Kafr Qaddum near Qalqiliya, a Palestinian was hit with live fire and dozens more with rubber-coated steel bullets when Israeli soldiers dispersed the village’s weekly march. Majd Abu Khalid, 23, who was shot with live fire in his lower extremities, was taken to Rafidia hospital in Nablus in a moderate condition, while the others were treated on the scene … Another Palestinian was injured and dozens more suffered excessive tear gas inhalation during clashes with Israeli forces at the weekly march in Bil‘in near Ramallah. Popular resistance committee member, Kifah Mansour, 33, was shot twice in the leg with rubber-coated bullets after Israeli forces fired tear-gas canisters, stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets at protesters. Mansour was taken to the Palestine Medical Complex for treatment … Separately, the weekly protest in al-Ma‘sara near Bethlehem was dispersed by Israeli forces, who declared the area a closed military zone. Dozens of locals and international activists were marching to protest the arrest of lawmaker Khalida Jarrar, as well as to mark Palestine’s 39th Land Day.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760271

Israeli soldier lightly wounded in stabbing at Green Line crossing
Haaretz 2 Apr by Gilil Cohen — Palestinian man attacks soldier during arrest of illegal Palestinian workers — An Israeli soldier was stabbed Thursday by a Palestinian man during an arrest operation at a crossing on the Green Line near the West Bank settlement of Oranit. The soldier suffered light wounds to his head and shoulder. He was treated on the scene by Magen David Adom paramedics and was later taken to Beilinson Hospital, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva. The attack occurred while Israeli forces were detaining a number of illegal Palestinian workers in the Rosh Ha’ayin region in central Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.650214

Israeli soldiers arrest feminist Palestinian lawmaker
+972 mag 2 Apr by Haggai Matar — Six months after she was ordered to move from her home near Ramallah to Jericho, the army arrests Palestinian parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar. She will join 16 other Palestinian lawmakers currently serving time in Israeli prisons — Israeli soldiers arrested Khalida Jarrar, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, in her home in Al-Bireh (near Ramallah) during the early hours of Thursday morning. Jarrar, a feminist activist who is also active on issues regarding human rights of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, is a member of the PLC (the Palestinian parliament) on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). She was arrested just two days after the 20th Knesset was sworn in. The IDF Spokesperson has yet to respond to +972′s request for comment regarding the cause of Jarrar’s arrest or regarding the authority of the Israeli army to operate in areas under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority (which contravenes the Oslo Accords). The Israeli news site Walla! reported that Jarrar was arrested on “suspicion of terrorist activity.” In August, soldiers arrived at Jarrar’s home to present her with an internal expulsion order demanding she move to Jericho within 24 hours for a period of a 1.5 years. Jarrar refused and remained in her home. Now, half-a-year later, she was arrested for unspecified reasons. Jarrar is known for her harsh criticism of the Palestinian Authority, and specifically its security coordination with Israel.
http://972mag.com/israeli-soldiers-arrest-feminist-palestinian-lawmaker/105161/

Israeli fakes own kidnapping, Palestinians pay the price
+972 blog 3 Apr by Yael Marom — Israelis were enraged by the ‘prank’ yet somehow managed to ignore the army’s violent response of house-to-house searches, closures and arrests —  About the same time that news of a nuclear deal with Iran made its way into the headlines Thursday night, reports came out about the suspected kidnapping of an Israeli in the West Bank. Irregular details about the case immediately raised the suspicions of the security establishment, and when Israelis woke up Friday morning it turned out that 22-year-old Niv Asraf had not been kidnapped as feared. The whole thing was a prank of sorts, meant to impress a special someone. Since it became clear that Asraf caused an entire country to mentally prepare for another war for no reason, everyone seems to be angry. Those who initially prayed for his safe return are now wishing him death. Their reasoning: a huge waste of resources and taxpayer money. There are also those who are upset he put IDF soldiers in harm’s way. Israelis were enraged by Asraf’s “prank” yet somehow managed to ignore the army’s regular, violent response. Media outlets failed to report on the fact that thousands of people were put under collective punishment Thursday night, and how, once again, they were the victims of searches, checkpoints and arrests — because they are Palestinians.
http://972mag.com/israeli-fakes-own-kidnapping-palestinians-pay-the-price/105262/

Al Aqsa

Temple Mount Faithful sacrifices lamb in pre-Passover ritual
[with photos] Ynet 1 Apr by Akiva Novick — Yehuda Glick participates in annual ritual, also attended by Jerusalem chief rabbi and municipal official who arranged funding from city coffers. — It looked like a scene from year 200 BCE, or the end of days – yet it all played out just two days ago, on Monday, not far from the Temple Mount. Kohanim in authentic attire blessed the excited crowd, Levites sang hymns, and a young lamb was offered up as a Passover sacrifice in keeping with all the dictates of the ancient ritual. This “dress rehearsal,” staged every year by members of the Temple Mount Faithful movement, is designed to present the public with an accurate rendition of the ritual that was in practice during the time of the Temple, which they hope to erect anew. Back then, Seder night was not merely a sumptuous meal with uncles and aunts and four cups of wine, but a production that started almost a week earlier with the selection and slaughter of one of the family’s lambs, and culminated in a festive meal in memory of the night when our ancestors were rescued from slavery in Egypt. And Monday saw the Temple Mount Faithful at it again, with the ritual enacted to the letter – from the slaughtering of the lamb, its skinning, the spilling of its blood on the specially constructed altar, the burning of some of its organs on the altar, the roasting of the meat, and through to the serving of the best bits to the Kohanim, on the backdrop of trumpeting and songs of praise. Despite the Temple Mount Faithful’s fringe-group status, attending the ritual this year were several rabbis from the mainstream of religious Zionism, including Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Arye Stern, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu and Rabbi Yaaqov Medan from the Har Etzion Yeshiva, along with Jerusalem councilman Aryeh King, who arranged funding for the event from the municipality …  Around 100 animal rights activists demonstrated in Jerusalem on Tuesday against the ritual.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4643453,00.html

Israeli groups call for Passover marches in Aqsa
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 2 Apr — Right-wing Israeli groups called on Israeli forces to evacuate the Al-Aqsa mosque compound by 5 p.m. Thursday, in order to enable Jewish groups to enter the area for the Jewish Pesach (Passover) holiday. The groups marched across the Old City on Wednesday demanding the Israeli police allow them to present sacrifices inside the Al-Aqsa mosque, believed to be the site of former Jewish temples. Director of the Al-Aqsa mosque, Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani, and Sheikh Akrama Sabri, head of the Supreme Islamic Council, told Ma‘an that such calls are made by settlers whose primary aim is to provoke the feelings of Muslims and raise tensions in the area. Sheikh Kiswani called upon all Muslims to be in the Al-Aqsa mosque every day, especially during the coming few days, to prevent its evacuation, while Sheikh Sabri said that the Israeli police and government should be held responsible for the acts of right wing groups. The sheikh added that Al-Aqsa will not be closed during the Pesach holiday, and that the Israeli police will not impose any restrictions on Muslims entering the mosque. The Israeli police said in a statement on Thursday that two Israeli settlers from the Old City of Jerusalem were arrested overnight after being caught with leaflets calling for closing the compound. The settlers were transferred for interrogation … Demands by a proportionally small group to allow the entrance of Jews into the mosque to perform sacrifice during Pesach arise each year.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760244

Israel suspends Aqsa visits for Gazans over Jewish holiday
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 3 Apr — Israeli authorities suspended visits to Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Gazans on Friday due to the Jewish holiday of Passover. Sources at the Palestinian liaison office told Ma‘an that the pre-planned visits for dozens of Gazans over 60 to pray in the mosque were postponed until next Friday. The announcement came just one day after right-wing Israeli groups called on Israeli forces to evacuate the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by 5 p.m. on Thursday in order to enable Jewish groups to enter the area for the Jewish Pesach (Passover) holiday. The groups had also marched across the Old City on Wednesday demanding the Israeli police allow them to present sacrifices inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, believed to be the site of former Jewish temples.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760257

Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Restrictions on movement

The lie Israel sold the world: settlement ‘outposts’
+972 blog 3 Apr by Yossi Gurvitz for Yesh Din — …Israel has not officially created new settlements since 1996. This is an international guarantee made by the government. Creating a new settlement requires a government decision, and with three exceptions (the legalization of the outposts Bruchin and Rechalim, together with Nofei Nechemia, and Sansana in 2013), no such decision has been taken. Effectively, however, there are about 100 unofficial settlements in the West Bank. Officially, they are illegal. Officially, there are demolition orders against all the structures within these unofficial settlements. Practically, they get unceasing support from the government, without which they could not exist.  These settlements are euphemistically (and innocently) given the title of “outposts.” Their history begins two years after that government decision, when former Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon called upon the settlers to storm the hills and take them over. What you seize, we’ll keep, he told them. And thus the outpost movement was born.
http://972mag.com/the-lie-israel-sold-the-world-settlement-outposts/105185/

Israeli court rules against separation wall in Beit Jala
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an/AFP) 2 Apr — Israel’s High Court on Thursday ruled in favor of a petition by local Palestinians in Beit Jala against building the separation wall in the Cremisan Valley area, ending a nine year legal battle against the annexation of local land. Fifty-eight landowners, together with a Salesian convent and monastery, have battled for nine years against a 2006 Israeli military order to build the separation wall around Beit Jala and the illegal Gilo settlement. The planned route would have confiscated around 3,000 dunams of private land as well as Vatican church land owned by the Salesian monasteries. The wall would have also separated the two monasteries from each other and the local community, and a school in the area would be situated in a military zone surrounded by the separation wall. The court also ruled that an alternative route whereby the monasteries would be connected by a gate in the wall was problematic. Israel’s military will now have to consider alternatives which cause less harm to local Palestinians and will have to issue a new military order for future construction, which locals can also appeal. The Cremisan Valley lies between the sprawling settlement of Gilo in annexed East Jerusalem, and the smaller West Bank settlement of Har Gilo, a few kilometers to the southwest. Palestinians have long argued the the separation wall in Cremisan had no security benefit for Israel and was being constructed to annex land and connect illegal settlements in the area. During a visit last year to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Pope Francis prayed at a section of the barrier not far from Cremisan, his brow pressed against the graffiti-covered wall.
In January, the High Court announced that the defence ministry had dropped a plan to run the barrier through the Palestinian village of Battir, known for its ancient Roman irrigation system and agricultural terraces that are still cultivated today. It was granted UNESCO endangered World Heritage status last June. UN figures show that Israel has already built around two-thirds of the barrier. The network of towering concrete walls, barbed-wire fences, trenches and closed military roads will extend 712 kilometers when completed, separating the West Bank from Israel.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760247

Israeli police to evacuate only home to Jerusalem family under ownership allegations
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 1 Apr – A large Israeli police force Wednesday raided Abu Nab family’s home in the East Jerusalem town of Silwan and started to empty the house of the owner’s furniture under the pretext that the house belonged to a Jewish family before the 1967 [war]. WAFA correspondent in Jerusalem reported on one of the locals witnessing the Israeli police forced eviction of Abu Nab family in the cold weather. He said police broke into the house and began to take out furniture, vandalizing many pieces due to their careless conduct. Family member Nasir Abu Nab told WAFA the Israeli authorities ordered his family to pay rent which amounts to 280,000 NIS for the past 14 years they have lived in the house, claiming that the house used to belong to a Jewish Yemeni family prior to the 1967 conflict.  He said the family assigned a lawyer to follow up on the case, and the eviction came as a surprise. According to Abu Nab’s testimony Israeli police threatened to come back and empty the rest of the furniture, even if the case was not settled soon. To be noted, the house is located between the illegal settlement outposts of Beit Asal and Beit Yonatan, where a number of Palestinian-owned homes were taken over by settlers.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=28208971

Israeli municipality orders demolition of 30 Palestinian homes in Ramla
AL-RAMLA (PIC) 2 Apr — The Israeli municipality in al-Ramla city, in the 1948 occupied territories, issued demolition orders against 30 Palestinian homes. Palestinian residents of the 1948 occupied Palestine said the demolition orders were handed to the house owners without prior notifications.  A meeting was held Tuesday in al-Rabat neighborhood, in al-Ramla, between the house owners and lawyer Wissam Ghneiyem, head of the Soumoud association, to seek possible ways to cancel the demolition orders. The owners of the targeted homes appealed, in a statement to the Palestinian leadership inside of the Green Line, the Arab follow-up committee, and the heads of the Arab municipal councils, to immediately step in and work on having such demolition orders rescinded before it is too late.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70969

Authority: Israel seizing, destroying Palestinian natural resources
RAMALLAH (PIC) 2 Apr — The Palestinian Environment Quality Authority on Wednesday warned of Israel’s confiscation and destruction of Palestinians’ natural resources in Deir ‘Ammar village, in the West Bank province of Ramallah. The Environment Authority said in a press statement that the Palestinian natural resources in Deir ‘Ammar and al-Nabi ‘Aneir areas have been permanent targets of the Israeli occupation, pointing to the ongoing confiscations, misappropriation of water springs, and uprooting of olive trees as illustrative cases in point. Dozens of dunums of Palestinian land tracts in the area have been seized by the Israeli occupation in favor of illegal settlement expansion, the Environment Authority further reported. The targeted villages are rich with water pools that have long appealed to Israeli settlers allegedly due to their religious significance.
Meanwhile, a flock of Israeli bulldozers owned by extremist settlers crept into an old archaeological site craved into the rock west of Kafr al-Dik town, in Salfit. Eyewitnesses said the bulldozers have been smashing the carved rocks and razing the land located near Deir Sam‘an hamlet, resulting in a remarkable alteration of the very idiosyncrasy of the nearby archaeological sites, reportedly transformed into settler apartments and access roads.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70971

Israeli forces uproot 120 olive trees near Salfit
SALFIT (Ma‘an) 1 Apr — Israeli authorities on Thursday destroyed around 120 olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers in the northern West Bank, bringing the total number of olive trees destroyed across the region in the last month to nearly 2,000. Farmers living in the village of Wadi Qana near Salfit told Ma‘an that Israeli military vehicles accompanied by vehicles belonging to the nature and environmental protection agency of the Israeli civil administration raided the area Thursday morning. The officers uprooted and confiscated the olive trees during the raid. According to the local farmers, the trees belonged to Hassan Mustafa Mansour, Ahmad Khalil Mansour, and Qassem Nasser Mansour. Israeli forces had delivered orders to the farmers to evacuate their lands more than three weeks ago, the farmers said. Wadi Qana is located inside an Israeli settlement bloc and is thus surrounded on all sides by Jewish-only settlements. it is located in an area in the “seam zone,” cut off from all other Palestinian villages in the region.The attack follows the uprooting of 1,200 trees in al-Shuyukh near Hebron on March 29, 300 trees in Majdal Bani Fadil near Nablus on March 18, 300 trees in Salem near Nablus on March 9, as well as a number of other smaller incidents. Israeli authorities often rezone Palestinian agricultural areas near Jewish settlements as security zones or state land, thus providing a justification for the destruction of olive trees planted in the area.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=760245

Israeli forces confiscate bulldozer near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 2 Apr — Israeli forces confiscated a Palestinian bulldozer that was being used to open an agricultural road for Palestinians in the Khirbet Tana area in eastern Nablus late Wednesday. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an that Israeli forces confiscated the bulldozer and held its owner, Shaji Zuhri Mafalha from the ‘Asira al-Shamaliya village, while he was working to open the road. The bulldozer was confiscated because it was being used in a military training area, according to Israeli military sources. Israeli authorities routinely designate areas in the West Bank as military training areas in order to prevent the use or expansion of Palestinian homes and infrastructure, according to Israeli human rights organization B’tselem.  Just weeks ago, a bulldozer driver was detained from a nearby area mid-March while attempting to open a road. The driver told Ma‘an at the time it had been the second time Israeli forces stopped them from working in two weeks, claiming that the area is a natural reserve.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760237

Israeli settler razes Palestinian lands in Nablus
NABLUS (PIC) 1 Apr– An Israeli settler Tuesday afternoon bulldozed Palestinian cultivated land lots east of Salem town, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that an Israeli settler residing in the illegal Elon Moreh settlement, razed cultivated land tracts belonging to Palestinian families, for the third time running.  The Israeli occupation authorities claimed that the targeted lands are nature reserves. The land owners informed the Palestinian Liaison Office about the ongoing bulldozing of their lands, estimated at some 170 tracts, covering an overall area of 1,000 dunums. Earlier, a horde of Israeli extremist settlers uprooted over 300 olive trees in the targeted land lots.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70953

WATCH: IDF brings segregated streets back to Hebron
+972 mag 2 Apr by Edo Konrad — DF re-segregates main road leading to Cave of the Patriarchs, two years after it ostensibly put an end to the policy — Israeli human rights group B’Tselem announced Thursday that the Israeli military has renewed segregation between Jews and Palestinians on the main street leading to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron since January. The military does not allow Palestinians to use the main part of the street and forces Palestinians to use a narrow, unpaved and rough pedestrian passageway. According to B’Tselem, this policy had been previously implemented between September 2012 to March 2013. It was was temporarily stopped after the organization published a video (above) showing Border Police officers explaining that the main part of the street was for Jews only. The military withdrew the policy only once the video circulated widely and received much media coverage. Until recently, that is. [But see next article]
http://972mag.com/watch-idf-reinstates-policy-of-segregating-hebron/105236/

IDF nixes Hebron Road separation policy
Ynet 4 Apr by Elior Levy — Israeli security forces on Wednesday canceled a policy of ethnic separation in Hebron for the second time — A Ynet exclusive two years ago revealed that the IDF divided the main road leading to the Cave of the Patriarchs: The main section of the road limited entry exclusively to Jews, while a fenced side path was the only way for Palestinians to pass through. This policy was canceled, but reinstated about two months ago. A video attained by Ynet shows a Palestinian who works for the B’Tselem human rights organization attempting to use the main road and being halted by Border Police officers, who instruct him to go to the other side, which they said was meant for Muslims. “Only Jews come through here,” an officer tells the Palestinian. When he asks why, she replies: “The captain decided. Jews here, only Jews, and only Muslims over there.” When asked again why, the officer says, “Because.” … Until the policy’s renewal, security forces allowed Palestinian pedestrians and cyclists to use the road. In order to transport cargo, Palestinians had to use a horse-drawn cart or handcarts. Israeli citizens were and are permitted to use the road in cars or by foot. B’Tselem said that “the situation at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron is an allegory for the entire occupation – the settlers use a convenient road, while Palestinians who live in the area are allowed only to look at it from behind a fence, from the narrow and defective road they were forced into.” “The closure of the route is not in line with procedures in the area,” an IDF spokesperson said.  “As soon as commanders were made aware of the incident, they handled it and opened the route. The IDF always works to enforce the law in Judea and Samaria, and to ensure normal life for all area residents.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4643811,00.html

Palestinian Christians warn over Israeli Easter restrictions
IMEMC/Agencies 3 Apr — After annual difficulty accessing religious sites, Palestinians have vowed to pursue “other means” if restrictions continue. According to PNN/Al Jazeera, Palestinian Christians said they would not tolerate a repetition of the Israeli restrictions and violence which have in past years marred Holy Week festivities – culminating on Easter Sunday – and have vowed to pursue “other means” if no marked changes are made. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, community leaders expressed concerns that Israeli restrictions will prevent them from celebrating Easter this week, beginning with the Good Friday procession in Jerusalem, where thousands flock to walk along Via Dolorosa – the path believed to have been walked by Jesus before his crucifixion. “There is one major change this year, and this is April 1, which is the day Palestine officially becomes a member of the International Criminal Court,” said Bassem Khoury, a Christian from Jerusalem, and former Palestinian minister of economy. “Denial of freedom of religion is … an issue we will pursue if we are denied [access to our holy sites].” For almost a decade, the Easter celebrations have been marked with clashes between local Christians and Israeli troops, who regularly prevent worshippers from accessing the religious sites. “Since 2005, Israel has closed the Old City of Jerusalem for us,” said Hind Khoury, former Palestinian minister of Jerusalem affairs. “We arrive to celebrate Palm Sunday and Holy Friday only to find the access doors closed and many Israeli military checkpoints along the way.” – Restrictions – This year, Easter festivities are coinciding with the Jewish holiday of Passover. Israeli authorities impose severe restrictions on Palestinians’ movement during that time, affecting both Muslims and Christians’ access to Jerusalem holy sites … Last year, the UN’s peace envoy to the Middle East at the time and other high-ranking diplomats were prevented from going through a barricade to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the “Holy Fire” procession – a traditional ceremony that takes place a day before Orthodox Easter….
http://www.imemc.org/article/71124

Gaza

Israeli forces shoot, injure 3 Palestinians in Gaza
GAZA (Ma‘an) 3 Apr — Israeli forces injured three Palestinians after opening fire on them from the Gazan border east of Khan Younis on Friday. Witnesses said the three were shot at in the al-Sanati area east of Khan Younis.  One was hit in their lower extremities while the injuries of the other two are not yet known.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=760270

IOF opens fire at Palestinian houses in Central Gaza
GAZA (PIC) 2 Apr — Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) opened machinegun fire at Palestinian farmers and houses in Central Gaza on Thursday morning. A Palestinian eyewitness said the IOF soldiers stationed in military bases and vehicles to the east of al-Bureij refugee camp in Central Gaza opened machinegun fire at Palestinian farmers and houses in that border area. No casualties were reported. The shooting coincided with unusual moves of the IOF soldiers within the borderline in addition to intensive flying of surveillance drones.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70978

VIDEO: Israel forces once again open fire at Palestinian farmers in Gaza
KHUZA‘A, Gaza, Occupied Palestine (ISM) 3 Apr by Miguel Hernández — As soon as we arrived at the land where the farmers wanted to work, about 80 meters from the zionist fence which borders and cuts of the Gaza Strip, an Israeli occupation military jeep stopped in front of us. A group of soldiers left the car and started shooting while cowardly hiding behind a sand mound. From the first moment we used our speaker to let the soldiers know that there were just farmers working, that we were all civilians. After staying there for a few minutes shooting and shouting bad words to the farmers, such as “sharmuta” (bitch [actually ‘whore’]), they jumped again on the jeep and left. Some people from the village came to ask the farmers to go home; they said it was too dangerous. The farmers didn’t listen and luckily they could finish their work without more trouble. When we were almost done another family approached us and asked if one of us could go with them to a piece of land they have near where we were, at about 50 meters from the fence. We said yes and one of us left with them. The family were terrified the entire time, repeatedly asking us if there would be no problems. We could only tell, that hopefully not. Once all the work was done and we were leaving the land, two of the youngest farmers explained to us how the father of one of them was killed in the last aggression, along with the brother of the other … During all the journey we could see, on the far side of the fence, the farmers from the nearby kibbutz working peacefully with their modern vehicles, tractors and even airplanes, while the Palestinian farmers locked in Gaza have to work only with their hands, almost lying in the ground, hiding from the zionist bullets and wondering if they will get killed today. In less than two months the harvest season will commence, and hundreds of peasants will leave their homes ready to risk their lives in their attempts to harvest the crops that are supposed to feed their families. This year they are more afraid than ever, due to the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt. It has been impossible to enter Gaza for most of the international activists that would accompany them and serve as witnesses and protective presence.
http://palsolidarity.org/2015/04/video-israel-forces-once-again-open-fire-at-palestinian-farmers-in-gaza/

IOA closes Gaza crossings
GAZA (PIC) 3 Apr — The Israeli occupation Authorities (IOA) decided Thursday to close Karem Abu Salem and Beit Hanoun border crossings for seven days as of Saturday at the pretext of Jewish holidays, director of crossings Nazmi Muhanna said. The two crossings will be closed on 4, 10, 20, 22, 23 April as well as on 23 and 24 May. He said that the Israeli decision would freeze the movement of goods at the crossings and negatively affect the deteriorating economic and living conditions in the besieged Strip.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70987

Israeli shelling in Gaza war unprecedented despite inaccuracy
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 3 Apr by Charlie Hoyle — The unprecedented number of Palestinians killed in the 2014 war in Gaza was linked to changes in the military rules of engagement regarding civilian protection measures by Israel’s army, a London-based NGO said this week. In a new report entitled ‘Under Fire,’ Action on Armed Violence found that Israel has “gradually relaxed” rules regarding the use of unguided high-explosive weapons in populated areas, greatly increasing the risk to Palestinian civilians. “Despite a stated commitment by the IDF to civilian protection, and much advertised measures such as pre-strike warnings, when it comes to the use of Israeli artillery on Palestinians there is a wide gap between public rhetoric and the reality on the ground,” the report said … Robert Perkins, a senior researcher at AOAV and author of the report, told Ma‘an that among the key findings of the study was the increased use of explosive weapons — notably 155 mm artillery shells — on populated civilians areas in the Gaza Strip. In the 2014 war, Israel launched 34,000 unguided shells into Gaza, including 19,000 high-explosive artillery shells, the highest use of such weaponry since the 2006 war in Lebanon eight years ago, the report said. The number of shells fired into Gaza last summer represents a 533 percent increase in the use of artillery explosives compared to Operation Cast Lead, averaging around 680 shells landing in the Gaza Strip each day of the conflict. Each 155 mm shell has a “kill radius” of 150 meters from the point of detonation and a secondary “injury radius” of 300 meters, with over 2,000 jagged metal fragments projected from each blast.  An Israeli army artillery expert interviewed by AOAV noted that during the conflict soldiers would routinely fire up to three of four shells for each individual target due to the inaccuracy of the weapon, with a “hit” officially recognized if a shell lands within 50 yards of the target….
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760268

Egypt to make tunnel digging along border a ‘criminal offense’
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 3 Apr — The Egyptian Cabinet has approved draft resolution to criminalize the act of digging tunnels along Egyptian borders, Egyptian media reported Thursday. The resolution will make tunnel digging punishable by life imprisonment, with the same sentence given to accomplices should their knowledge of the act be proven. The resolution comes amid an ongoing security campaign in the northern Sinai against fighters launching attacks on Egyptian police and military personnel. Egyptian military stepped up the campaign after a bombing killed more than 30 Egyptian soldiers in the region in October 2014. Egypt accused Hamas of supporting the group that carried out the attack, afterwards accelerating efforts to create a 1 km-wide buffer zone along the border.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760265

The untold story of the suffering of deaf children in Gaza
Middle East Monitor 3 Apr — EXCLUSIVE VIDEO — …Deaf children specifically were in a state of isolation during the war because they were unable to go to school or come to the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children for someone to explain what was happening around them as not all families were able to use sign language to explain the reason behind the brutality. They would only see is their families leaving their homes; mothers barely had time to pack some things and take her children and leave, sometimes even forgetting some of them. They also suffered from power outages and were unable to communicate with anyone, as they had to do so only in sign language, and although the parents were there, it was difficult to communicate in the dark, thus leaving the children isolated. The biggest fear felt by the deaf children in Gaza is the fear of losing their arms and hands, as that it their only means of communication, so that scared them the most. They had always hoped if something were to happen to them, that they would be martyred immediately rather than lose their arms, because if they did, they would have no way of communicating with the outside world. One form of psychological rehabilitation used by Atfaluna, for both all the children and the employees, was the use of drawings, which were later turned into cartoons for the deaf to express themselves. We are happy that these cartoons were very popular and received attention from all across the world.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/17871-the-untold-story-of-the-suffering-of-deaf-children-in-gaza

Deaf children in Gaza use art therapy to cope with war trauma
[with photos] GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 3 Apr — Deaf children traumatized by Israel’s 51-day assault on Gaza are receiving therapy at the Atfaluna Society to cope with psychological issues caused by living through such high-intensity conflict. Fifty days of bloody fighting in and around the war-torn Gaza Strip cost the lives of nearly 500 children, and turned hundreds more into orphans. With an already severe shortage in facilities to treat both adults and children in Gaza traumatized by war, deaf children face extra hurdles in receiving treatment to help them cope with their experiences of the conflict. The UN estimates that 373,000 children require psychological support as a result of the conflict. Muhammad al-Jathba, 13, uses sign language to say that he feels much better after receiving therapy at the Gaza City based center where he expresses what he went through in the war in drawings, often of people fleeing their homes or lying injured. He told Ma‘an he felt blessed that he still had his arms and legs, unlike so many others, as it is the only way he can connect with his surroundings.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760255

Japan provides $5m USD to Gaza families
IMEMC/Agencies 2 Apr — The Japanese government has announced a new grant to the World Food Program worth US $5 million (606.3 million yen), in support of the poorest Palestinian families who suffer from food insecurity in the Gaza Strip. The grant will provide basic food supply for about 162,000 of the poorest families who suffer from food insecurity in the Gaza Strip for three months, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency. The representative of the World Food Program in Palestine, Daniela Owen, thanked the Japanese government for providing this urgent aid to families in the Gaza Strip who are in very bad need of help….
http://www.imemc.org/article/71120

Japan grants $756,000 to reproductive health services in Gaza
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 1 Apr — The Government of Japan Wednesday contributed $756,000 in support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) humanitarian response to women, girls and children in the Gaza Strip. The grant from the Government of Japan is believed to enable UNFPA to assist an estimated number of 60,000 women and 5,000 children through 210 health care providers. UNFPA will be working closely together with the Palestinian Ministry of Health as well as national health care centres to ensure access to family planning, safe births, antenatal and post-natal care for pregnant women and women in the reproductive age. The contribution is a response to 2014 war on the Gaza Strip, which according to UNFPA and Japan’s government created an urgent need of medical supplies, equipment and dignity kits for displaced and marginalised women and girls in the Gaza Strip.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=28205

PCHR condemns excessive use of force by Gaza police to disperse demonstration in Khuza‘ah in protest against power outage
PCHR-Gaza 24 Mar — The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the excessive use of force by the Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip to disperse demonstrators who came out from Khuza‘a village, east of Khan Yunis, on Monday, 23 March 2015, in protest against the power outage in their area, and the detention of some of them.  PCHR calls upon the Attorney General in Gaza to open an investigation into the incident and calls for respect for the right to peaceful assembly as ensured by the Palestinian law and international standards …  At approximately 17:30 on Monday, 23 March 2015, dozens of civilians from Khuza’a village, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, gathered in the village streets in protest against the prolonged hours of power outage.  The number of demonstrators increased to hundreds, and young men set fire to tires.  Four police vehicles then arrived at the area, and police officers got out in an attempt to disperse the demonstrators.  The Palestinian police officers chased the demonstrators and severely beat them.  Meanwhile, some demonstrators threw stones at the police officers.  Attacks by the police resulted in injuring some of the demonstrators.  Three civilians were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis to receive medical treatment.  Of the civilians who were attacked was a pregnant woman, ‘Azzah Yousif ‘Abdel Rahman al-Najjar (23) as she was beaten with a stick and pushed to the ground until she lost consciousness.  Moreover, her husband, who has a physical disability, was also beaten.  Jihan Wasfi Hamdan al-Najjar sustained bruises as she was beaten when she was in the caravan she lives in.  The police also arrested at least six civilians, including a child.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10921

Prisoners / Court actions

500% increase in Palestinians detained without trial in 2015
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 3 Apr — Israeli authorities have issued 319 administrative detention orders for Palestinians since the beginning of 2015, a rights group said Friday, six times as many as they did the previous year. The statistics, released by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Center for Studies, suggests a massive increase in Israel’s incarceration of Palestinians without charge or trial despite repeated promises to limit the practice in line with international norms. Spokesman Riyad al-Ashqar said Friday that 45 new administrative detention orders had been issued in the first three months of 2015, in addition to the renewal of the detention of 274 others. Some of those detentions had been previously renewed up to six times, for periods between two and six months. Palestinians held in administrative detention are often held without charge or trial for months and without access to the evidence that led to their detention, even though international law stipulates this tactic only be used in exceptional circumstances.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760261

IOA releases journalist Mona after 20 months in jail
NABLUS (PIC) 3 Apr — The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) released  prisoner Mohamed Mona, a correspondent working for the Quds Press, after 20 months in administrative detention. Ex-prisoner Mona was released at the Dhahriya checkpoint, south of al-Khalil city, where he was received by relatives and some friends. Journalist Mona, working for Quds Press, had been sentenced to four administrative prison terms with no trial or indictment and had served a total of seven years in Israeli jails. The journalist was also arrested several times by the Palestinian Authority security forces on grounds of his work.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70991

After kidnapping MP Jarrar, 16 Palestinian MPs detained in Israeli jails
RAMALLAH (PIC) 2 Apr — The number of Palestinian MPs who are detained at Israeli jails have risen to 16, in addition to two former minsters, after the IOF kidnapped, on Thursday, the Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar, who is also a senior official of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The number was announced by the Director of the Department of Statistics at the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees Abdul Nasser Farawaneh.  The Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) detains Palestinian MPs to confuse the work of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), which is already disabled, and to pressure Hamas, which enjoys majority in the PLC.  Hamas has condemned the kidnapping of MP Jarrar and slammed the Palestinian Authority including its Security Forces for its failure to do anything in this regard.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70985

Palestinian woman sentenced to 70 months in jail
JENIN (Ma‘an) 1 Apr — An Israeli military court on Tuesday sentenced a Palestinian woman to 70 months in jail, with a suspended sentence of 24 months, a local foundation said. Muhjat al-Quds Foundation for Prisoners and Martyrs said Muna Qadan, 43, was arrested from her house on Nov. 13, 2012 and has attended over 22 court hearings since. She is currently being held at Hasharon prison and has been ordered to pay a fine of 30,000 shekels. Qadan, from ‘Arraba village near Jenin, is the sister of jailed Islamic Jihad leader Tariq Qadan, and the fiancée of another Islamic Jihad leader serving a life term in Israeli jails, Ibrahim Ighbariya. Qadan has previously spent over four years in Israeli jails on several terms for being associated with the political group Islamic Jihad, and was one of the prisoners freed in the 2011 Shalit prisoner swap deal. Rights groups criticized Qadan’s rearrest as clear violation of the terms of the prisoner swap. The Qadan family has been active in resistance activities within Israeli prisons. Tariq engaged in a life-threatening hunger strike in February 2013, while Muna threatened Israeli authorities with a jail-wide hunger strike in June 2013 in response to Israeli denial of medical treatment to fellow detainee Lina al-Jarbouni. The majority of Palestinian political organizations are considered illegal by Israel, and association with such parties is often used as grounds for imprisonment, according to Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association Addameer.  The use by Israel of political affiliation as punishable by imprisonment has brought international criticism.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760212

Israeli prison guards storm Rimon prison, beat prisoners
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 3 Apr — Israeli prison guards stormed sector two of Rimon prison on Friday, severely beating dozens of prisoners and placing several in solitary confinement, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said. Amjad al-Najjar, head of PPS in Hebron, said Israeli guards searched the sector thoroughly and seized all electronic equipment, before moving all prisoners into another area of the prison. He added that the situation remained “tense.” Raids are a regular occurrence at Rimon Prison, which is located in the Negev and holds large numbers of Palestinian prisoners.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760273

Palestinian refugees – Syria

ISIL seizes part of Yarmouk district in Damascus
Al Jazeera/Agencies 2 Apr — The Islamic State of the Iraq and Levant (ISIL) group has seized control over western parts of the Yarmouk district in southern Damascus, inhabited mainly by Palestinian refugees, according to a senior Palestinian official, witnesses and an activist monitoring group. Anwar Abdel Hadi, director of political affairs for the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Damascus, told the AFP news agency that “fighters from ISIL launched an assault this morning on Yarmouk and they took over the majority of the camp” on Wednesday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said ISIL was in control of a “large part” of the neighbourhood after fighting with Palestinian groups also opposed to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. An activist in Yarmouk, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Al Jazeera that ISIL fighters – from the neighbouring town of Hajr al-Aswad – stormed the western side of Yarmouk and seized areas from the Palestinian armed group Bait al Maqdis. He added that fighting has been ongoing and denied reports that most of Yarmouk had been seized by ISIL. “Parts of Yarmouk are being shelled, but it is unclear whether it is by regime forces or ISIL,” he said. Smoke was reportedly seen rising from the area. ‘Assassination’ The Yarmouk resident claimed that one of the main reasons for the clashes relates to the recent arrest of ISIL fighters in the district who were accused of assassinating a leading figure of Bait al Maqdis. Control over Yarmouk is still divided between Palestinian factions and Syrian armed groups, including Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham and other Free Syrian Army brigades.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/04/isil-seizes-yarmouk-district-damascus-150401133003826.html

Statement on the situation in Yarmouk from UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness
2 Apr — UNRWA is extremely concerned about the safety and protection of Syrian and Palestinian civilians in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in Damascus, where since early afternoon today, intensive armed conflict has been ongoing between armed groups present in the area. Credible information from public sources indicates that a variety of armed groups are engaged in fierce fighting in areas where Yarmouk’s 18,000 civilians, including some 3,500 children reside, placing them at extreme risk of death, serious injury, trauma and displacement. UNRWA is anxiously continuing to monitor the situation closely.  In the strongest possible terms, UNRWA demands from all parties respect for and compliance with their obligations to ensure the protection of civilians in Yarmouk. UNRWA further demands an end to the fighting and a return to conditions that will enable its staff to support and assist Yarmouk’s civilians.
http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/statement-situation-yarmouk-unrwa-spokesperson-chris-gunness

Other news / Opinion / Reviews

The month in photos: Gaza, Elections, and Land Day
Activestills 3 Apr — Palestinians mark Land Day across Israel and the West Bank, politics take center stage in Israel, laid off workers take to the streets, a number of social and political struggles intensify, Gaza struggles to recover from last summer’s devastating war, and Palestinians and Israelis continue popular resistance against the occupation.
http://972mag.com/the-month-in-photos-gaza-elections-and-land-day/105190/

Christians mark Good Friday in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AFP) 3 Apr — Christian pilgrims from around the world on Friday joined Palestinian co-religionists in a solemn Easter procession through the walled Old City of Jerusalem. Some carried massive wooden crosses from the Monastery of the Flagellation along the cobbled Via Dolorosa on the way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Catholic and Orthodox Christians believe Jesus was crucified, entombed and later resurrected on what is now celebrated as Easter Sunday. “It’s splendid. It’s interesting because back in Singapore at least, the Easter celebrations are not so vibrant,” pilgrim Dominic told AFP. Laura Samoa, from Ivory Coast, said it was if Christ was himself present. “The Easter celebration was wonderful,” she said. “You felt like if he is still here again. So, it was wonderful.”
http://www.france24.com/en/20150403-christians-mark-good-friday-jerusalem/

Palestinians to receive partial salaries as Israel withholds funds
RAMALLAH (Reuters) 1 Apr by Ali Sawafta — The Palestinian Authority will pay partial salaries to most of its employees for a fourth straight month in April after Israel failed to transfer revenue it collects on the Palestinians’ behalf, the Palestinian Finance Ministry said. Israel started withholding around $130 million (88 million pounds) a month in tax and customs revenues in December after the Palestinians announced that they were joining the International Criminal Court, a move finalised on Wednesday.  Under international pressure, Israel agreed last week to resume the transfers, saying it would immediately pay around $400 million – the withheld revenues less what the Palestinians owe for utilities supplied by Israel. But Palestinian finance minister, Shukri Bshara, said no money had yet been received from Israel and as a result most Palestinian Authority employees will receive 60 percent of their salaries on Thursday, the fourth consecutive month of pay cuts …  The International Monetary Fund has warned of dire consequences for the Palestinian economy if the transfers are not rapidly resumed.  Not only does it affect consumption, but it means loans taken out by Palestinian Authority employees and the Palestinian Authority itself are in danger of falling into default … Israeli officials had no immediate response on Wednesday when asked to explain why the money had not been transferred. According to Bshara, a total of 2.1 billion shekels ($500 million) is now outstanding – four months’ worth of withheld revenue less the amounts the Palestinians pay for water, electricity and other services supplied by Israel.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/04/01/uk-israel-palestinians-transfers-idUKKBN0MS4BG20150401

Bethlehem to bid for Arab Capital of Culture in 2019
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 3 Apr — A national preparatory committee pushing for Bethlehem to be named Arab Capital of Culture for 2019 was formed on Friday. The committee was formed by a presidential decree from President Mahmoud Abbas, and will be headed by Minister of Culture Ziad Abu Amr. It will oversee the preparation, administration and supervision of Palestine’s bid to have Bethlehem designated 2019’s Arab Capital of Culture. The Ministry of Culture’s head of relations and aid coordination, Jad Izzat al-Ghazzawi, said the ministry is hoping that culture ministers throughout the Arab world will choose Bethlehem for 2019. He said that choosing Bethlehem would help counter Israeli attempts to erase Palestine’s cultural and historical identity, particularly its existence in Bethlehem, and would serve towards Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation. The Arab Capital of Culture is an initiative of the Arab League as part of UNESCO’s Cultural Capitals’ program, and began in 1996. If Bethlehem is selected it will mark the second time a Palestinian city has been chosen, as Jerusalem served as Arab Capital of Culture in 2009. Many of the events that year were halted after Israel’s Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter instructed Israel Police to “suppress any attempts by the PA to hold events in Jerusalem and throughout the rest of the country.”  Dichter alleged that the events constituted a violation of the interim agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which included a clause forbidding the PA from organizing events in Israeli territory.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=760263

Shocking security agency statistics and the dissolution of the PA / Dr. Fayez Rasheed
Middle East Monitor 3 Apr — Palestinian writer Saed Abu Farha has published a report on the Palestinian security services in Ramallah. This report includes figures that simply cannot be believed due to their disastrous implications and miserable details. For example, the ratio of Palestinian citizens to security officers is 52:1; the equivalent ratio of citizens to teachers is 72:1. As soon as the Palestinian Authority was established, it established 10 security agencies: civil police, civil defence, preventive security, national security forces, naval police, air police, the Palestine Maritime League, military intelligence, presidential guard (Force 17) and general intelligence services. The late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat then established two additional agencies: internal security and Special Forces, bringing the total number of security personnel to around 70,000 individuals; together they consume 37 per cent of the PA’s general budget. Palestinian human rights organisations have received 3,409 complaints regarding torture and threats during arrest operations, with 82 in December 2014 alone. The agencies’ main role appears to be security coordination with Israel, which consists of joint patrols on the streets (which stopped after the second Intifada broke out), joint security committees and civil security cooperation….
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/17866-shocking-security-agency-statistics-and-the-dissolution-of-the-pa

EU, Netherlands contribute over $30m to March PA wages
IMEMC/Agencies 2 Apr — The European Union and the Netherlands Thursday announced a contribution of about $34.2 million (€31.6 million) to the Palestinian Authority’s payment of its civil servants’ March salaries and pensions.
http://www.imemc.org/article/71121

Japan commits $30m to PA through World Bank Trust Fund
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 2 Apr — Japan has Thursday announced committing around $30 million to budget support through the World Bank for the Palestinian Recovery and Development Plan Multi-Donor Trust Fund (PRDP-MDTF) to support the Palestinian Authority “devastated” financial situation … Japan has been supporting financially and technically the economic development efforts exerted by key ministries, to help prepare the PA for statehood in line with the PA’s national development plans. It has also provided assistance through UNRWA and other United Nations agencies including humanitarian assistance, as well as to local NGOs and local councils for their grassroots development projects.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=28216

Chile’s Palestino win Palestinian fans worldwide
SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) 3 Apr — Palestino, a Chilean football team long down on their luck, are playing for the first time in 36 years in the Copa Libertadores, the top club tournament in Latin America, cheered on by ecstatic Palestinians worldwide. The Santiago-based club’s qualification for the regional tournament after a more than three-decade drought has sparked a football frenzy among Chile’s Palestinian community, one of the largest outside the Middle East. It has also won the club a rabid following among Palestinians worldwide who are elated to see the players take the pitch in the red, green, black and white of their people’s flag. “Palestino triggers a lot of emotions. It represents a people without a voice,” said Anuar Majluf, director of the Palestinian Federation of Chile, an organization that represents the South American country’s 300,000 Palestinians. “Keeping our Palestinian identity alive through sport, raising the Palestinian flag on the continent through sport, is simply a marvelous thing,” he told AFP. Thousands of kilometers (miles) away, in Ramallah, Palestinian fans are following the Chilean club as if it were their home team … Palestino was founded as a club for the Palestinian immigrants who arrived in Chile by the thousands in the early 20th century, and made its professional debut in 1952. Initially its players were all Arab, but over time its Palestinian identity has become more figurative than literal. Today none of the players come from an Arab background.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/chiles-palestino-win-palestinian-fans-worldwide-073532129–sow.html

Palestinians to ask FIFA to suspend Israel
RAMALLAH (Reuters) 31 Mar by Ali Sawafta — The Palestinian Football Association will ask the FIFA Congress in May to suspend Israel, accusing it of continuing to hamper its soccer activities. Despite efforts by FIFA president Sepp Blatter to ease tensions, the Palestinians remain frustrated at restrictions they say Israel imposes on the movement of their athletes between the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Football Association also cited curbs Israel places on the import into Palestinian territories of sports equipment and on visits by foreign teams and individuals. In 2013, Blatter established a task force which included himself, the Israeli and Palestinian soccer chiefs and the heads of the European and Asian soccer confederations to examine the Palestinian complaints and to try to resolve them. But Palestine Football Association president Jibril Rajoub said he has lost patience, and he has called on FIFA to show Israel “the red card”.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/sports/2015/03/31/Palestinians-to-ask-FIFA-to-suspend-Israel-.html

In the occupied West Bank, even hiking is political
+972 blog 3 Apr by Angela Gruber — …Hikers are a rather extraordinary appearance in the West Bank. “Walking around in nature for fun is not something a lot of Palestinians do,” our guide, Suhail Hijazi, explains. Hikers asking local Palestinians for directions might be surprised when the response arrives as a polite suggestion to take a cab. And while hiking may seem like an apolitical activity, in the West Bank politics always find a way in. The small hilly territory is, after all, an intricate patchwork of visible and invisible boundaries interspersed with Israeli army checkpoints, fenced off settlements and closed military zones. There are few marked paths and the political geography makes things even more complicated. Expanding the net of hiking trails in the West Bank is a contested endeavor: when Palestinians recently marked a trail that briefly overlapped with an existing Israeli trail, it didn’t last very long. The Palestinian white-green-white tags were smashed out of the stone one night; the Israeli signs were left untouched by the — unknown — vandals. One of Hijazi’s favorite hiking tours leads through Wadi Qelt, a dried-up canyon east of Jerusalem. The 15-kilometer hike snakes alongside an old Roman aqueduct [photo] … The situation in the wadi is calm. It’s a popular area with the few hikers that do come here. The water it holds is fed by three springs. It was in order to transport the water to Jericho below that the Romans built the aqueduct. “The Romans have created something magnificent,” Hijazi says. “The structure of the aqueduct with its bridges and tunnels through the rock is unbelievable and unique.” Even ancient irrigation becomes political in the West Bank, however. In order to clear its channels and fix its cracks Palestinians must get permission from the Israeli army, he explains.
http://972mag.com/in-the-occupied-west-bank-even-hiking-is-political/105159/

In Israel, asylum seekers’ kids don’t exist
Haaretz 3 Apr by Ido Efrati — The infants of African asylum seekers grow up without basic health care, without any status and often without anything to do except lie in bed all day long — Asylum seekers’ children don’t exist. At least not formally. Although they are born in Israel, they are not entitled to birth certificates or ID numbers, and their names are not entered into the system. The only official record that they were born is a meaningless “live birth” certificate, issued by the hospital to the child’s status-less mother. This absence of any legal status, combined with difficult living conditions, do not bode well for the health of these children, most of whom are the offspring of asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea.  They spend much of their early years in unsupervised, makeshift day-care “centers,” referred to as “babysitters” by the local communities. They are usually located in crowded, dank converted apartments or bomb shelters. According to estimates, there are between 70 and 80 of these “babysitters” functioning in Tel Aviv, each caring daily for between 40 and 80 children from newborns to seven-year-olds. In total, between 4,000 and 6,000 children are cared for at these day-care centers in Tel Aviv, with 2,500 of them under the age of 3. In the last two months, five infants have died in these centers.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.650049

New poll: Just 54% of Americans see Israel as an ally
Middle East Monitor 3 Apr — The number of Americans who view Israel as an ally of the United States has sharply decreased, according to a new poll published Thursday. Only 54% of Americans polled said that Israel is their country’s ally, a decline from 68% in 2014 and 74% in 2012. Rasmussen Reports, who conducted the poll, said Israel had “tumbled down the list.” By contrast, 86% and 84% see Canada and Britain respectively as the US’s allies. When broken down along party political lines, 76% of Republicans view Israel an ally of the US compared to only 45% of Democrats and 47% of Independents. Strikingly, Democrats by a 10-point margin now see Mexico as a better ally than Israel. The poll was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on March 29-30, and surveyed 800 American adults.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/17862-new-poll-just-54-of-americans-see-israel-as-an-ally

Book Review: New books document 10 years of protest in Bil‘in
+972mag 3 Apr by Haggai Matar — When the bulldozers arrived in Bil‘in for the first time, in February 2005, and the villagers went out to protect their lands from the separation barrier, Haitham Khatib decided that somebody has to start documenting the popular resistance. It couldn’t be that people are non-violently protesting against an army coming to steal their land (roughly 1,500 dunams — or 370 acres — of agricultural land) and nobody in the world sees it, he thought. While his friends and family, residents of the small little-known Ramallah-area village, chained themselves to trees and clashed with soldiers, Khatib rushed to get a digital camera and simply started photographing. Within a few days he started uploading the photos to the Internet. He didn’t have any idea at the time that his photos would become the center of his life. In the 10 years that have since passed, during which the village became a symbol of Palestinian popular resistance, Khatib stopped working as an electrician, and became a professional video and stills photographer. Today, he makes his living from photojournalism and is publishing his first two books of his photography. ‘Occupied Palestine Through My Lens’ is a visual chronicle of the West Bank village’s struggle against the Israeli separation barrier. ‘Children of Bil‘in’ is a book of portraits of youngsters from the village, the proceeds of which will benefit Palestinian children with cancer.
http://972mag.com/new-books-document-10-years-of-protest-in-bilin/105228/