16-year-old Palestinian boy shot and killed for throwing stones

Violence / Detentions — West Bank, Jerusalem

16-year-old Palestinian shot dead during clashes in Hebron’s al-Arrub camp
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 10 Feb — Israeli forces shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian during clashes in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron’s al-‘Arrub refugee camp on Tuesday, medical sources told Ma‘an. Doctors at al-Mizan hospital in Hebron said the boy, identified as Omar Yousef Madi al-Jawabreh, was shot in the chest during clashes in the camp and was evacuated to the hospital where he succumbed to his wounds. An Israeli army spokesperson said that during “a routine security activity” Israeli soldiers “spotted a number of boys throwing stones at Israeli vehicles at route 60 near al-‘Arrub refugee camp,” adding that “the soldiers responded with riot dispersal means and shot one of the demonstrators with live fire.” Locals said Israeli forces shot tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live fire during clashes in the camp, while youths responded with rocks and Molotov cocktails.  Al-‘Arrub refugee camp lies along Route 60, a major West Bank road that Israeli settlers regularly use to reach a cluster of illegal Israeli settlements in Hebron, and the camp has been site to frequent clashes with Israeli military over the past several months. On Friday, Israeli soldiers killed a 14-year-old Palestinian [Haitham Ismail Saada/al-Baw] and detained another young boy along the route, after the two allegedly tried to throw Molotov cocktails at passing vehicles.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770218

Autopsy: 16-year-old Palestinian died from bullet to chest
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 10 Feb — A report from an autopsy performed on a 16-year-old Palestinian killed when clashes broke out during an Israeli military raid Tuesday revealed the teen died from a bullet to the chest. Hebron’s District Attorney Alaa al-Tamimi told Ma‘an Wednesday that Omar Yousef Madi al-Jawabreh died after being hit by a single bullet that entered his body from the right side of his chest. Al-Tamimi said the bullet penetrated the teen’s liver, kidneys, and spleen before exiting his body from the lower left side of his rib cage. The al-Jawabreh family is expected to hold a funeral on Thursday, Al-Tamimi added . . . The autopsy report comes as Israel has faced mounting criticism for implementing a “shoot-to-kill” policy on Palestinians, leading to unnecessary deaths of individuals who did not pose sufficient threat for the use of lethal force at the time of their death.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770224

Israeli forces shoot, injure 3 youths during West Bank clashes
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 11 Feb — Israeli forces on Thursday shot and injured three Palestinian youths in the central West Bank village of Beit Duqqu, northwest of Jerusalem, locals told Ma‘an. The three youths were shot and injured in their lower extremities and evacuated to a nearby hospital in moderate condition, locals said. In addition to the three injured, three others were detained, two of whom were identified as Naji Bassam Daoud and Muhammad Ismail Rayyan, both 17 years old . . . Locals said Israeli forces raided the village and ransacked several homes. During the raid, clashes broke out and Israeli forces opened fire with live bullets and heavy tear gas.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770229

Clashes erupt during weekly Friday demos, child seriously injured
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 10 Feb — Clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli forces throughout the occupied Palestinian territory during this week’s Friday demonstrations, leaving several wounded, including a child who was seriously injured . . . in the occupied West Bank, locals from the Ramallah-area Ni‘lin village told Ma‘an that four activists were injured and dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation as Israeli forces dispersed a demonstration in support of hunger-striker Muhammad al-Qiq with rubber-coated steel bullets and gas. Medical sources told Ma‘an that a Palestinian child was seriously injured after being shot with a  rubber-coated steel bullet during the Ni‘lin clashes. The child was taken in serious condition to Palestine Medical complex and was undergoing an operation, sources added. In nearby Bil‘in, Israeli forces reportedly chased down protesters near the separation wall, firing rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas. Two Palestinian journalists were detained for several hours during the weekly protest in the Qalqiliya-area village of Kafr Qaddum. Spokesman for the popular resistance committee in the village, Murad Shtewei, identified the two as Ayman Noubani and Muhammad Turabi. Shtewei told Ma‘an that Israeli forces, accompanied by bulldozers and water cannon-equipped vehicles, raided the village, firing tear gas and stun grenades. Journalists reported being targeted with tear gas by Israeli military forces when clashes broke out between soldiers and Palestinian youth during a demonstration at the Ofer detention center, also in the Ramallah area.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770251

Four Palestinians injured near Ramallah
IMEMC/Agencies 13 Feb — Israeli soldiers shot and injured, Friday, four Palestinians during clashes near the Ofer Israeli detention center and military base built on Palestinian lands in Betunia and Rafat towns, in the central West Bank district of Ramallah. The soldiers assaulted dozens of Palestinians who marched on Friday afternoon towards the detention center, and fired dozens of live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs, while local youths hurled stones and empty bottles at them. Medical sources said a young man was shot with a live round in the abdomen, suffering a serious injury, and three others were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets, while dozens suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation. The soldiers also fired many gas bombs directly hitting a number of homes, causing many families to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation. In addition, several journalists suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation after the soldiers fired gas bombs at them directly after the army vehicles left the Ofer prison.
http://www.imemc.org/article/74929

Israeli forces raid schools in southern Bethlehem village
[photos] BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 10 Feb — Israeli forces stormed several schools in the southern Bethlehem village of Tuqu‘ on Wednesday morning, firing tear gas and assaulting students as clashes broke out, locals told Ma‘an. Israeli soldiers were reportedly positioned on the the main road of Tuqu‘, which has seen regular clashes since a wave of unrest swept the occupied Palestinian territory in October last year. Sameera al-Shaer, principal of one of the village’s three schools, said that Israeli forces had recently set up a barbed wire fence on Tuqu‘’s main road, making the students’ access to the schools extremely difficult. She said that students had to use dirt roads to reach the schools. She called on the international community to intervene on behalf of Palestinian schoolchildren.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770217

Palestinian family to sue IOF for brutally attacking their son
RAMALLAH (PIC) 11 Feb — A Palestinian family declared intention to sue an Israeli undercover unit for brutally attacking and severely beating their son during his arrest two weeks ago. The detainee’s mother said that her son Mahmoud Salem, 18, was arrested at the hands of an Israeli undercover unit during the clashes that erupted in Bethlehem two weeks ago. Speaking to Quds Press, the mother pointed out that her son was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital as he suffered fractures in his leg and nose. The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) had earlier revealed that the teenager Mahmoud Salem was subjected to a brutal attack nearly 18 days ago. The center quoted the detainee as saying that he was left bleeding without any medical assistance while being handcuffed in the Israeli military vehicle for almost four hours. He was transferred to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital for only two hours before being moved to Ofer jail east of Ramallah.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=76723

Israeli settler arrested after throwing ax at Palestinian vehicle
QALQILYA (Ma‘an) 10 Feb — An Israeli settler was arrested on Wednesday after throwing an ax through the windshield of a Palestinian vehicle east of the occupied West Bank city of Qalqiliya, Israeli police said. Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said that the ax struck the windshield of a Palestinian vehicle driving between the village of ‘Azzun and the illegal Israeli settlement of Karnie Shomron. A resident of the illegal settlement believed to be responsible was later detained by Israeli police, the spokesperson added. No injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770227

Including four children, Israeli soldiers kidnap seven Palestinians in Jerusalem
IMEMC 11 Feb — Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday at night and Thursday at dawn, several neighborhoods in occupied Jerusalem, and kidnapped seven Palestinians, including four children. The soldiers invaded Jerusalem’s Old City, searched homes and kidnapped two children, identified as Yousef Mohammad Masharqa, 14, and Mohammad Nabil Taweel, 13. Masharqa’s mother said her son, and his friends, were playing near their homes when the soldiers assaulted and kidnapped them, before moving the two children to the al-Qashla Police Station, where they were interrogated without the presence of a lawyer or a family member. In addition, the head of the Jerusalem Detainees’ Committee, Amjad Abu Assab, said the soldiers also kidnapped Mohammad Omar Abu Khdeir, 13, and Mohammad Abdul-Kareem Ed’eis, 13, from Shu‘fat, north of Jerusalem. The soldiers also kidnapped Ra‘fat Mousa ‘Allan, 17, from the Qalandia refugee camp, in addition to Naji Bassam Daoud, 18, and Mohammad Ismael Rayyan, from Beit Duqqu town. In related news, the soldiers kidnapped six Palestinians near Jenin and one near Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank., and also kidnapped three Palestinians in Hebron.
http://www.imemc.org/article/74906

State opposes plan for Arab school near east Jerusalem Border Police base
JPost 10 Feb — The state opposes the building of a school for Arab students in east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood because it is slated to be built next to a Border Police base, and thus will increase chances of terrorist attacks, Army Radio reported on Wednesday. The school was already approved by Jerusalem’s Local Committee for Planning and Building, but documents obtained by Army Radio reveal that the state fears schoolchildren could attempt to carry out attacks against Border Police officers serving in the Sheikh Jarrah base. “The plan is located next to a government security asset, which increases the likelihood of a terrorist attack against the base,” the document reportedly reads. “The building is liable to constitute a threat on the Border Police facility and the policemen who serve there.” . . .  Army Radio quoted sources in the committee as saying that the plan is unlikely to be carried out, because of the state’s opposition, despite the school having received initial approval.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/State-opposes-plan-for-Arab-school-near-east-Jerusalem-Border-Police-base-444445

‘We’re not a nation of terrorists. We’re only trying to defend our country’ / Gideon Levy & Alex Levac
Haaretz 12 Feb — Friends and family describe Haitham Saada as a smart and gentle boy – and now a martyr, too. What led up to the Palestinian 14-year-old’s death by IDF gunfire one Friday afternoon? His loved ones may never find out — . . . M. was in the same ninth-grade class as Haitham Saada [also referred to as al-Baw], who is now dead. “They took what was most precious to us, they took Haitham,” the boy whispered to us. “He was like a brother to us. We loved him more than our souls. He was the smartest boy and the best boy at school.” . . . The event occurred along Highway 60, the major thoroughfare of the West Bank, a few hundred meters north of the main entrance to Halhul, about two kilometers from the mosque in which Haitham recited his last prayers. The two cousins, Haitham and Wajdi, had apparently walked along the side of the road, behind a safety railing. The soldiers were probably lying in ambush in the undergrowth. Was Haitham really about to throw a Molotov cocktail at the road, as the Israel Defense Forces said in the immediate aftermath of the incident? Did he actually manage to throw it? Is it enough for a boy to intend to throw a firebomb to shoot at him with an intent to kill? . . . The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit told Haaretz this week that the army has opened an investigation into the incident . . .  M., the other friend, continues his whispered comments to us: “Islam is not terror. We are the true Islam and we are not looking to kill people. We are not a nation of terrorists. We are not ISIS. We are only trying to defend our country. We have lived in it for hundreds of years and we will not abandon it. We will stay here – we, our children and our grandchildren. “Haitham died for his country,” he continues. “He was a boy and they killed him because they wanted to kill. There was no other reason to kill him . . . “Palestine will be liberated. It was free in the past and it will be free in the future. Haitham’s life did not end for nothing. It ended because of his love for his country. I know him very well; he is not someone who would throw a firebomb. Once I hurt him by accident and he cried. I apologized and that was the end of it. He was one of the most gentle children I ever met in my life. He was the best of them all. And I am sure they shot him for no reason.”
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.702771

Prisoners / Court actions

Lawyer: Abu Khdeir’s killer ‘stalling’ as court heard insanity plea
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — The lawyer representing the family of murdered Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir on Thursday accused one of his killers of “stalling” justice, as an Israeli court began to hear his insanity plea. Two Israeli minors were sentenced over the killing of 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir earlier this month, but 30-year-old Yosef Ben-David, believed to be the group’s ringleader, escaped conviction after seeking a last minute psychiatric evaluation. All three killers have confessed to beating Abu Khdeir unconscious in July 2014 before pouring flammable liquid on him and setting him alight. Following Thursday’s hearing, Abu Khdeir’s family lawyer, Muhannad Jbara, said Ben-David’s defense team was “stalling” justice by attempting to “postpone and prevent” the killer’s conviction and sentencing. The hearing lasted nearly seven hours, during which the jury listened to a medical expert assigned by Ben-David’s lawyer who said the killer suffered mental and psychological issues. A second medical expert, assigned by the prosecution, argued that Ben-David was qualified for trial and did not suffer any mental illnesses.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770243

Group requests transfer of hunger striker to Palestinian hospital
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said Friday that it has filed an appeal with the Israeli Supreme Court requesting the transfer of Palestinian hunger striker Muhammad al-Qiq to a Palestinian hospital. The journalist, nearing 80 days on hunger strike to protest his detention without trial, last week refused medical treatment unless he was transferred from Israel’s HaEmek Hospital where he is currently being held. The prisoners’ society said they had filed the appeal as al-Qiq’s health continued to deteriorate. Doctors have warned repeatedly that al-Qiq is near death, and could face irreversible damage even if he receives treatment soon.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770250

Short Video: Arab Israelis rally for Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike
AFP 12 Feb (53 seconds) — (Led by Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement) Dozens of Arab Israelis took part in Friday prayers in front of the Afula hospital, in northern Israel, answering a call by the Islamic Movement to show support for Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qiq who has been on a hunger strike for more than 80 days and is still being detained by Israeli authorities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_HBPmjeK_I

14-year-old Palestinian girls indicted in Israeli court for stab attack
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 11 Feb — Two 14-year-old Palestinian girls were indicted on Thursday after reportedly carrying out a stab attack on an Israeli security guard in Ramla’s central bus station last week, Israeli police said. Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said that following an investigation into the incident, two Palestinian students were accused by the Israeli court’s public prosecution http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770250of trying to stab the security guard. The 14-year-old girls also faced indictments for illegally carrying knives and planning the attack beforehand, the spokesperson added. The two were detained on Feb. 4 after Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said a security guard was lightly injured in an attack. Rosenfeld shared a photo on social media following the incident of two kitchen knives scattered amongst school papers at the scene of the incident. The knives appeared to be clean, with no signs of blood.
Thursday’s indictment came one day after two Palestinian minors were accused in a Jerusalem court of attempted murder and possession of a deadly weapon, according to Israeli media. The minors, aged 14 and 16, were detained by Israeli police after a 17-year-old Israeli was stabbed and injured near the Old City’s Damascus Gate in occupied East Jerusalem on Jan. 30. Israeli daily Haaretz reported that their indictment alleged they had carried out the attack “after having watched video of Israeli soldiers degrading Palestinian women.” . . . As trials begin for some that were detained instead of killed, they enter an Israeli court system that has long received pushback from critics who argue it unfairly prosecutes Palestinians while giving Jewish Israelis immunity. Last month, five Palestinian teens from the occupied West Bank village of Hares who were accused of manslaughter after reportedly throwing stones were sentenced to 15 years in prison.The case was disputed by relatives and rights groups, who said that insufficient evidence was provided to prove that the five had any involvement in the death of an Israeli toddler who passed away two years after the teens were accused of throwing stones at her mother’s vehicle, causing it to crash.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770238

Israeli soldier gets 7 months after filming his abuse of Palestinian detainee
Haaretz 11 Feb by Gili Cohen — Soldier hit and kicked prisoner, and filmed on cell phone as colleague gave detainee an electric shock in ‘brutal’ attack —An Israeli soldier who filmed himself attacking a Palestinian detainee on an army base last October was sentenced to seven months in jail Thursday . . . The soldier, from the religious Netzah Yehuda Battalion, was originally indicted on four counts of abuse, but admitted two of them as part of a plea bargain agreement. One of the cases involved a detainee from the West Bank village of Safarin, who was arrested and taken to the base, near Jenin, where soldiers from the battalion served. The soldier hit the prisoner on the head, kicked him and stepped on his feet, while another soldier, who was also indicted, gave the prisoner an electric shock with a medical device. The soldier filmed the acts on his cell phone, and laughter could be heard. The military court in Jaffa said Thursday that the laughter demonstrated the attitude of the defendant and his friend to the crime, since if they thought it was funny, it was a clear expression of their disrespect for the victim and social values . . . After that initial incident, the soldier was involved in a further attack the following week: he kicked a Palestinian prisoner, while another soldier also hit and kicked the detainee. The guilty soldier expressed remorse in court, saying he knew it was immoral to treat a person in such a way.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.702843

Palestinian indicted for threats against far-right Israeli politician
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — Israeli police on Tuesday indicted a young Palestinian man over threats he allegedly made on social media against right-wing Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman. Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said police launched investigations around a month ago after receiving a complaint of threats to harm the Knesset member, who also heads the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party. The Palestinian, identified by police as Fadi Abu Soud from Nablus in the northern West Bank, is said to have posted threats on his Facebook page that al-Samri said “suggested his desires of carrying out attacks against Israeli targets.” He also reportedly posted photos of Nashat Milhem, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who carried out a deadly shooting in Tel Aviv last month, with captions below the photo reading: “We are all Nashat Milhem.” Al-Samri said that other posts included pictures of the Hamas movement, al-Qassam Brigades, and “activists holding weapons and captions indicating his support of attacks.”
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770254

40 Palestinian children diagnosed with illnesses in Ofer lock-up
RAMALLAH (PIC) 12 Feb — 40 Palestinian children locked up in the Israeli Ofer jail have been suffering from various diseases, a rights group reported Thursday. The Civil Liberties Defense Center said following a visit paid by lawyer Ibtissam Anati to the Ofer lock-up that 40 Palestinian children have been diagnosed with diseases, including critical health disorders. 276 children are held in the Ofer prison, 17 among them aged between 14 and 15 years old. 17-year-old Mus’ab Ghneimat, held in the Ofer jail, was injured with three bullets in his right leg. Other detained minors have been diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes, along with stomach and pancreas disorders. The center raised alarm bells over the critical health condition of prisoner Azam Shalalda, who was kidnapped by an Israeli undercover unit from al-Khalil’s public hospital. Shalada was hit with 10 bullets in his leg, stomach, and neck. He underwent a surgery of artificial artery transplantation and got part of his stomach removed.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=76745

Closures

Video: West Bank village defiant after Israeli crackdown
AFP 12 Feb — With a four-day lockdown and economic sanctions, Israel came down hard on the West Bank village of Qabatiya after three of its sons killed an Israeli policewoman in a Jerusalem attack. In the family home in Qabatiya, in the occupied West Bank, Umm Ahmed is still in mourning. On February third, three Palestinians killed an Israeli police officer outside Jerusalem’s Old City. Among them, her 19-year-old son Ahmad Zakarneh, shot dead on the spot.  The day after the attack, Israeli soldiers showed up on her doorstep to measure her house for demolition. But Umm Ahmed remains unfazed. “Our houses are not worth more than our children. Our children are our life. So they can go ahead and demolish.  They’ll demolish, and we’ll rebuild.” Another Qabatiya resident, Muhammad Nazzal, had been crossing into Israel every morning for three years. This construction worker has seven people living off his salary. But since February 4th he’s no longer been able to go to work. “For four days the city was closed off. They lifted the siege yesterday. Today we went to work as usual. We had our papers and our official permits. Everything was in order.  And we went to the al-Jalameh checkpoint. But they checked our papers and told us to turn back. Because we were from Qabatiya.” Israel authorities announced on February 8 that Palestinians from Qabatiya would no longer be authorized to work in the Jewish state. . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnyWl-4Joi8#t=23

Israeli military continues closures of Bethlehem-area village
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 11 Feb — Israeli forces continued to blockade the Bethlehem-area village of Nahhalin on Thursday that was sealed after an Israeli settler was stabbed in the area days before. Nahhalin resident Yousef Ghaydah told Ma‘an that Israeli military forces were still deployed in the area, preventing movement in or out of the village. Schools were closed after teachers were prevented by the forces from entering Nahhalin, and around 200 students residing in the village were unable to travel to nearby universities, locals said, one resident adding that the military did not allow her to exit for a medical emergency. The occupied West Bank village was initially closed Tuesday night after an Israeli settler was stabbed and moderately wounded while jogging outside the illegal settlement of Neve Daniel. He reportedly said that the attacker had fled in the direction of Nahhalin .Locals told Ma‘an Wednesday that roads had been sealed with mounds of earth, and buildings under construction were being used to barrack soldiers. Food suppliers who distribute to the town’s stores every day have been denied entry, and hundreds of workers have been unable to reach their workplaces. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma‘an following the closure that “security measures” had been enforced around Nahhalin “as part of the search for the suspect.” All the village’s “entrances and exits” had been closed, she said, adding that humanitarian cases were being allowed through. The closure of Nahhalin affects the village’s around 7,000 residents, and marks one of the most recent Palestinian villages to be shut down by Israeli forces. The Israeli military began sealing Palestinian villages, towns, and districts following small-scale attacks carried out on Israeli military and civilians that escalated in October . . . .
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770241

Israeli forces seal Ramallah-area village, demolish structures
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 11 Feb — Israeli forces on Thursday demolished a number of Palestinian structures in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah’s Beit ‘Ur al-Tahta village and announced a closure of the village, locals said. Locals said Israel forces raided the village in the early morning and prevented students from attending school. Residents were barred entry or exit in the village, as Israeli forces reportedly announced the area a closed military zone. Israeli forces also confiscated construction equipment and demolished a car-garage belonging to a man identified as Sultan Ziad Suleiman. Four cars were inside the garage and were destroyed during the demolition. In addition, an agricultural shed belonging to a man identified as Sheikh Thafer and a water-well belonging to a man identified as Samih Atallah Hamdan Suleiman were also destroyed. Clashes erupted during the raid, as Israeli forces shot rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at protesters who responded with rocks. Israeli forces detained Shaher Abdullah Moussa, Dirgham Youssef al-Barqash, Khalid Abed al-Barqash and Othman Mahmoud Othman after raiding their homes in the village, locals said. Israeli forces also delivered summonses to several youths from the village to come in for questioning. The closure prevents movement for the around 6,000 Palestinian residents of the village.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770233

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing

Over 40 Palestinian homes, structures demolished in Jordan Valley
TUBAS (Ma‘an) 11 Feb — Israeli forces on Thursday destroyed over 40 Palestinian homes and structures in the Tubas district of the occupied West Bank as ongoing Israeli policies in the Jordan Valley continue to drive Palestinians out of their homes. A Palestinian official from the governor’s office in Tubas, Mutaz Bsharat, told Ma‘an that Israeli forces and bulldozers stormed the Palestinian communities of al-Farisiya and Khallet al-Khader and demolished seven homes, displacing seven families. Forces also demolished 35 structures in the Bardala and Ein al-Baida communities, Bsharat added. Tubas Mayor Rabih Khandaqji told Ma‘an that local and international organizations were carrying out efforts to aid Palestinians displaced during the demolitions and to rebuild destroyed structures . . . Israel has carried out near-daily demolitions in the occupied Palestinian territory since the start of this month and destroyed 42 Palestinian-owned structures in the last week of January alone, displacing 168 people, including 94 children. . . .
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770240

Photos: Demolitions leave dozens of Palestinians without homes or water
Activestills 11 Feb Photos and text by Keren Manor & Oren Ziv — Recent wave of home demolitions has left dozens of Palestinians in the Jordan Valley without a roof over their heads just days before a rainy weekend — Israeli authorities accompanied by bulldozers demolished dozens of structures in several Palestinian villages in the Jordan Valley on Thursday. The demolitions, which affected the al-Farisiya and Betardel communities, respectively, came a day after Israeli authorities demolished seven homes and six structures in two other villages in the area, leaving 71 Palestinians homeless. According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, this is the largest wave of demolitions in the Jordan Valley in recent memory. Over the past few weeks, Israel has stepped up its demolitions in Area C of the West Bank, under full Israeli military and civil control.
http://972mag.com/demolitions-leave-dozens-of-palestinians-without-homes-or-water/116955/

20 Palestinian homes in ‘Issawiya receive Israeli demolition orders
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 9 Feb — The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Monday distributed administrative demolition orders against Palestinian homes in al-‘Issawiya district, northeast of Occupied Jerusalem. Member of al-Issawiya follow-up committee Mohamed Abul-Hems said that Israeli municipal employees escorted by special police forces entered the northeastern area of the district and took photographs of its homes and structures. Abul-Hems added that the municipal crew put up demolition notices on the doors of 20 homes, without stating the names of the property owners. He noted that the most of the homes are licensed and had been built five to 20 years ago. He affirmed that the IOA distributed these notices randomly in Issawiya in order to create a state of confusion and fear among the residents.
In a separate incident, the IOA on the same day threatened to demolish Palestinian homes and structures in Yatta town near al-Khalil city at the pretext of unlicensed construction. Coordinator of the Yatta anti-settlement committee Rateb al-Jabour said that the IOA handed [notices to] owners of six homes and rooms from the families of al-Amour and Abu Arram in al-Majaz area, east of Yatta town. Jabour added that Israeli soldiers stormed Masafer Yatta school in al-Fakheet area and took photographs of it as a prelude to issuing a demolition order against it. He affirmed that the IOA had launched a widespread annexation and demolition campaign in Masafer Yatta town, where it demolished recently about 30 homes in Janba area. In Nablus, the IOA notified citizens of its intention to raze their commercial stores in Beita town, south of the city. Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that employees from the Israeli army’s civil administration distributed demolition notices against 15 stores and structures in the town at the pretext they are located in an Israeli-controlled area.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=76679

Home demolition in Beit Hanina forces family to move into Shuafat Refugee Camp, East Jerusalem
EAST JERUSALEM, Occupied Palestine 10 Feb by ISM, Ramallah Team — Yesterday evening, we went to visit 55-year-old widow, Kifaya Rishek, after her home in Beit Hanina, occupied East Jerusalem, was demolished on the 27th of January. After losing her house in Beit Hanina, where she lived together with her five children and 16 grandchildren, Kifaya has now moved with her family into a smaller 5th floor apartment in the Shu‘afat Refugee Camp, East Jerusalem. Her son Ashraf, who used to live with her in Beit Hanina, now rents another apartment for 1.500 shekels a month in the same camp, where he lives with his 4 children and wife. His brother, Murad, also had to find a new place to live and moved with his wife and four children into the Old City. Kifaya’s son Sherif pays the rent for the new home where the rest of them live together, costing him 1.700 shekels a month. Kifaya feels very sad as this place is not really her own. In their old house, the children had a patio where they could play outside. Kifaya recalls how much she misses her garden, with all the trees and plants she took care of for years, and today are all destroyed along the house. The children remember that the night before the house demolition they had asked Kifaya to clean their patio because they were expecting snow to fall and they wanted to play with clean snow in the morning. Since people never know when a house demolition will actually happen, that morning they woke up instead with the Israeli police breaking into their home with dogs, kicking everyone out. To this day, the children say they are scared that the police might come again and raid and destroy their home . . . Her new home is tighter and general life in the Shuafat Camp is very difficult. The Israeli Municipality, which is responsible for its services, does not provide sufficient water and electricity, and does not pick the garbage from the streets. Just as in Kifaya’s case, Jerusalemite Palestinians who come to live here do so in order not to lose their Jerusalem ID’s, which basically allows them to continue living in Jerusalem.
http://palsolidarity.org/2016/02/45474/

Jerusalem family gets temporary reprieve from eviction
EI 11 Feb by Charlotte Silver — Israel’s high court has granted the Sub Laban family the right to appeal their eviction from their home of more than six decades in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem. The decision overturns the lower courts which ruled the family had no grounds to appeal. The ruling halts the eviction until the completion of proceedings in the Israeli courts. While the Sub Laban family have been threatened with eviction since the late 1970s, pressure intensified in 2010 when the Israeli government gave the building to the Kollel Galicia Trust. The Sub Labans are currently fighting their tenth eviction demand by the settler organization. The Kollel Galicia trust evolved from Atara L’yoshna, a consortium of private settler groups that emerged in the 1980s with the aim to colonize the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. Settler group Ateret Cohanim, founded in 1978, was a leading member of Atara L’yoshna. Over the last year, settlers have made several attempts to evict the Sub Labans, at times with the assistance of the Israeli police. Last month, settlers who had recently taken over a neighboring house drilled six large holes into the walls of the Sub Laban children’s bedroom. – Last family standing – The family’s fight to stay in their house has been taken up by European diplomats and the US consulate in Jerusalem . . . The Sub Labans are the last Palestinian family remaining in a building in Maalot Khalidiya Street in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. For the last year, private settler organizations like the Kollel Galicia Trust and Ateret Cohanim have been the prevailing force in evicting Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/jerusalem-family-gets-temporary-reprieve-eviction

Gaza

Israeli forces open fire on Palestinian farmers in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian farmers east of al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Friday afternoon, locals said. The farmers were forced to leave the area, with no injuries reported. Meanwhile, locals said that four Palestinians were reportedly detained after crossing the border fence between the besieged enclave and Israel.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770253

Clashes erupt during weekly Friday demos [Gaza section]
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 10 Feb– Clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli forces throughout the occupied Palestinian territory during this week’s Friday demonstrations, leaving several wounded . . . At least three Palestinians were injured after clashes broke out between Israeli forces and dozens of youths east of al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said. Al-Qidra said two were injured by live fire in al-Bureij, and a third was in serious condition after being hit in the face by a tear gas canister. Clashes also took place near the Beit Hanoun crossing in the north, and east of al-Shujaiyya neighborhood of Gaza City, where at least one person was injured by live ammunition.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770251

Hundreds rush to southern Gaza Strip after Egypt opens Rafah crossing
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 13 Feb — Hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip gathered in the southern city of Khan Younis after the Egyptian authorities in a rare move on Saturday decided to open the Rafah crossing to Egypt. It will be the first time the crossing has been opened this year. Located on the besieged strip’s southern border, Egypt announced Rafah will be open in both directions for two days. Gaza’s Ministry of Interior told Ma‘an that 765 Palestinians had been approved to travel on Saturday. According to authorities in Gaza, over 25,000 people with urgent needs — including around 3,500 medical cases — are registered and waiting to cross. Only a fraction of those registered and waiting are likely to gain passage through the crossing. Following the announcement, hundreds of Palestinians filtered south to the Abu Yousif An-Najjar sports center, where the ministry typically checks and selects Gaza residents for travel to Egypt. Due to the high volumes of Palestinians attempting to leave and enter the strip, the ministry was forced to allow travel only for those whose need to travel is the most urgent, including those classified as “humanitarian cases.” Gazans approved to cross were taken in buses from the An-Najjar center to the border, where locals reported that the passenger hall on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing was also crowded with people.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770264

4 Gazans arrested for trying to cross Israeli border fence
GAZA (PIC) 12 Feb — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested Thursday evening four Palestinian civilians, allegedly for trying to infiltrate into the security fence in southeast of Gaza Strip. According to local sources, four unarmed Palestinians were detained while trying to creep into the south of 1948 occupied Palestine. Israeli forces opened fire towards the four unidentified detainees before their arrest.  No casualties were reported.  Infiltration from Gaza into 1948 occupied Palestine has decreased since the outbreak of the Jerusalem Intifada, after being on the rise over the past year due to the high unemployment and poverty rates rocking the blockaded coastal enclave.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=76743

Egypt destroys tunnel on Gaza border
CAIRO (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — Egyptian military forces on Thursday destroyed an underground concrete tunnel passing from the northern Sinai Peninsula into the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that soldiers discovered and destroyed the 1.2-meter-wide tunnel spanning 35 meters and lying nine meters below ground. The tunnel was equipped with two power cables, two lighting cables, and two telephone lines, according to the statement. The ministry claimed the tunnel had been used to smuggle people, weapons, and ammunition into Gaza.  Palestinians in Gaza have relied on underground smuggling tunnels across the Egyptian border since 2007 when Israel imposed a military blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control there. The tunnels have since provided a vital lifeline for the besieged territory’s more than 1.8 million residents. However, Egypt has destroyed and flooded hundreds of the tunnels as part of an ongoing security campaign in the northern Sinai Peninsula against anti-regime militants launching attacks on Egyptian police and military personnel. Egypt accuses Hamas of supporting the insurgents, allegations Hamas strongly denies.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770245

Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria seek home in Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip 11 Feb by ISM, Gaza Team — Palestinian refugee Heesham Ahmed El Khoranin and his family have already survived 2 Israeli assaults against the Gaza Strip since he returned after fleeing from Syria in 2011. Heesham’s grandparents were born in Masmiya, 42km north of Gaza, one of the many villages wiped out by the Zionist militias during the Nakba. In 1948 they were forced to flee and settled in Khan Younis, where Heesham was born. He lived there until the Israeli army occupied Gaza in 1967 and forced his parents to flee from Palestine. They then moved to the Syrian city of Daraa, where he married a Syrian woman and had 6 children. They lived in peace until 2011, when the war started in Syria, Heesham explained. “Snipers were shooting anything that moved in our city, people, animals . . . they killed children as young as 10 years old in front of my eyes.” Several of their neighbours were kidnapped and tortured by the Syrian army, including children. Heesham spoke of how “one of the fathers refused to handle his 13 years old son to the army, so they took both of them and the father could listen how they tortured his son.” Four months after the beginning of the war Heesham and his family managed to escape to Egypt and entered Gaza through the tunnels. Once in Gaza he received the news that “our home and my small factory had been bombed . . . we had lost all we had.” A few months later, in another bombing, one of his sons who had stayed in Syria was killed. In Gaza they lived 3 years in a rented flat, until they ran out of money and were kicked out by the owner. A few months before the 2014 Israeli attack they moved to a caravan provided by an NGO and settled on land that the government ceded to them. “Now I just want to find a job and live in peace with my family… I hope we’ll be able to build a home and stay in Gaza” Heesham said. “[W]e don’t have a place where to return in Syria and at least here we are in Palestine, our homeland.”
http://palsolidarity.org/2016/02/palestinian-refugees-fleeing-syria-seek-home-in-gaza/

PA fails to cover Gaza student tuition fees pledged last year
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 Feb — The Palestinian Authority has failed to cover student tuition fees at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza this semester, despite pledging in December to take care of the costs, the Gaza-based Ministry of Education said Tuesday. A spokesperson for the ministry, Ziad Thabit, told Ma‘an that the Gazan students had instead paid for their tuition costs themselves. Thabit said the PA’s failure to pay the costs as promised was “illogical” and that if students had been unprepared to pay for their own tuition fees, al-Aqsa University would have closed due to lack of funding. A spokesperson for the PA’s Ministry of Education declined to comment. Last year, Qatar pledged more than $1 million dollars to a university in Gaza through Qatar Charity, after finding that around 40 percent of university students in Gaza could not afford tuition, the Qatar Tribune reported in December. The donation paid for one semester of study for 800 students.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770203

Official: Hamas prevents senior UN staffer from leaving Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) 11 Feb by Fares Akram — A United Nations official says the Islamic militant Hamas has prevented a senior employee of the international organization from leaving the Gaza Strip. The official said Mahmoud Daher, the Palestinian head of the World Health Organization’s Gaza office, was barred from leaving Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the incident. The official said Hamas announced two weeks ago that international organizations would need a Hamas-issued exit permit when leaving the territory into Israel. The organization had previously been exempt from acquiring the permit. The U.N. asked for a month to study the request. The move appears to be an attempt by Hamas to exert its influence on the U.N., which provides assistance to hundreds of thousands of impoverished Gazans.[End]
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_GAZA_HAMAS_UN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Bringing color to Gaza’s caravans
EI 1o Feb by Mousa Tawfiq — For the past eight months, Muhammad al-Kafarna has been living in a caravan [=small house trailer to Americans]. “Our nights are dark with no way of heating the caravan,” he said. “We don’t have warm water to cook or to wash. Winter is a nightmare for us.” Al-Kafarna has lacked proper shelter since Israel’s attack on Gaza in the summer of 2014. Despite promises of international reconstruction aid, he and his family have to survive in a caravan provided by the local authority of Beit Hanoun, a town in northern Gaza . . . The Tamer Institute for Community Education is trying to reach out to Beit Hanoun’s caravan dwellers. Committed to free expression and the right to education, the group asked teenage girls living in the caravans about how some happiness could be brought into their lives. As a result, it decided to paint the caravans. People here are hopeless and their life is colorless,” said Shadi al-Sheikh, who coordinates many of Tamer’s activities in the area. “They are surrounded by white caravans, white UNRWA schools, no trees. So we had to paint their lives again.” Today, the caravans are decorated with bright shades of green, pink, blue, yellow and orange. The paint has been applied by the caravan residents — both children and adults — themselves. An elderly woman living in one of them summed up the general feeling when she said that before Tamer’s project was undertaken, “we had no idea that colors could give us hope.”
https://electronicintifada.net/content/bringing-color-gazas-caravans/15591

Other news

PCHR Weekly Report: Two Palestinian children killed, 9 adults and 8 children wounded by Israeli troop [4-10 Feb]
PCHR-Gaza 11 Feb — Israeli attacks in the West Bank: In the West Bank, Israeli forces killed 2 Palestinian children, north of Hebron, and wounded 15 others, including 7 children. Nine of them were hit with live bullets and their shrapnel, 5 others were hit with rubber-coated metal bullets and one was run over by a military jeep. During the past week, Israeli forces conducted 94 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. 78 Palestinian civilians, including 13 children, were abducted. Twenty-one of them, including 7 children, were abducted in occupied Jerusalem. [Full report here]
http://www.imemc.org/article/74916

Palestinian Museum coming to Ramallah
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A 430,000 square-foot museum dedicated to Palestinian history and culture will be opening at the start of the summer, the project’s founder, Taawon, announced. The museum, located in Ramallah, will be the first of its kind in the occupied West Bank. The museum’s founders hope the site will be an “institution with an international status, capable of presenting Palestinian history and culture in a manner worthy of the heroism, creativity, sacrifices and steadfastness of the Palestinian people.” Surrounding the space will be 40,000 square meters of gardens that will narrate the agricultural history of Palestine. In January, the museum was featured by CNN as one of the top nine “best attractions opening in 2016.” According to CNN, the museum cost around $30 million, and is the flagship project of Taawon, formerly known as the Welfare Association until a re-branding this month .In a symbolic move, museum is expected to open around Nakba day, which is commemorated by Palestinians around the world as “the catastrophe,” referring the day Israel declared its independence.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770239

Gaza: Rights groups submit 2nd communication to ICC
IMEMV/Agencies 11 Feb — Four Palestinian human rights organizations submitted, on Wednesday, a second communication to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated in August of 2014. According to an Al Mezan Center for Human Rights press release, the four organizations whose mandate it is to pursue justice and accountability delivered the communication pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, Al-Haq, Aldameer, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights provided evidence of the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Rafah between 1 and 4 August 2014 following the invocation of the controversial Hannibal Directive by the Israeli military forces . . . The organizations stated that through their second communication, they would seek to assist the prosecutor in establishing that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that high-ranking Israeli military and civilian officials committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during “Operation Protective Edge” in Rafah between 1 and 4 August 2014.
http://www.imemc.org/article/74912

UN and Palestinian authorities appeal for aid, amid Palestinian attacks
NEW YORK (Reuters) 10 Feb by Sebastien Malo — Palestinian authorities and the United Nations made a joint call for funding on Wednesday amid tension between Palestinians and Israelis that has led to violence and some 200 deaths, mainly of Palestinians, in recent months. This year the yearly funding appeal sought $571 million to alleviate the sufferings of Palestinians in the poverty-stricken Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The bulk of the money will go on food aid for 1.6 million people, roughly one in three residents of the Palestinian territories, the United Nations and the Ministry of Planning of the Palestinian National Authority said. The population of the occupied Palestinian territories at the end of 2015 stood at 4.75 million, according to Palestinian Bureau of Statistics figures cited by a U.N. spokeswoman. The appeal comes amid a wave of near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israelis since October last year, which have included stabbings, shootings and car rammings. The attacks have killed 27 Israelis and one U.S. citizen. Israeli forces have killed at least 156 Palestinians in that period, 101 of them assailants, the authorities say. Other Palestinians have died during violent anti-Israeli protests. The bloodshed has been fueled partly by Palestinian frustration over long-stalled peace talks and anger at perceived Jewish encroachment on a contested Jerusalem shrine. The upsurge of violence is unlikely to sour the funding appeal, said retired U.S. Ambassador Phil Wilcox, a former consul general for the U.S. Department of State in Jerusalem and an adjunct scholar at the Washington, DC-based Middle East Institute. Donor fatigue, on the other hand, could affect the appeal in light of the global refugee crisis,
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-humanitarian-appeal-idUSKCN0VK01G

How one Palestinian minister is empowering women
GAZA CITY (Al-Monitor) 11 Feb by Rasha Abou Jalal — Palestinian Minister of Women’s Affairs Haifa al-Agha speaks to Al-Monitor about her accomplishments in advocating for Palestinian women in society and her future endeavors to further empower women on social and political levels — Since the Palestinian Nakba, Palestinian women have faced countless challenges and abuses, starting with being forced to seek asylum in other countries following Israel’s occupation of Palestine in 1948, all the way to the current daily violations such as killings and arrests, perpetrated against them by Israel. Haifa al-Agha, Palestinian minister of women’s affairs, talks to Al-Monitor from her office at the ministry in Gaza City about the challenges women face in Palestinian society. She said the accumulation of violence against Palestinian women has made them tough as nails and an example for endurance and the ability to adapt in the face of adversity. Agha, 65, was born in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip and completed her secondary education at Haifa High School in her hometown in 1968. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the Higher Commercial Institute in the Egyptian capital of Cairo in 1972, a master’s degree in guidance and educational counseling from Oklahoma State University in the United States in 1978, and a doctoral degree from that same university in 1991.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/02/palestinian-women-affairs-minister-empower.html

Israel says freeze on EU peace role is over
JERUSALEM (AFP) 12 Feb — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the EU foreign policy chief held talks Friday, in effect ending a freeze on talks with the bloc on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the foreign ministry said. Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon told journalists that the EU’s Federica Mogherini said the European Union’s November decision to label goods imported from Jewish settlements “does not prejudge the outcome” of the conflict. “The conversation resolved the tensions and we are, Israel and the EU, back to good and close relations,” Nahshon wrote in an English-language comment on social media. On November 11, Netanyahu, who is also foreign minister, ordered the freeze in response to an EU directive to member governments to label settlement produce imported to Europe as such rather than “Made in Israel.” Nahshon wrote that Netanyahu and Mogherini “agreed that relations between the two sides should be conducted in an atmosphere of confidence and mutual respect…that will assist in advancing the Middle East peace process.” Netanyahu flies to Berlin on Tuesday at the head of a ministerial delegation for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and members of her cabinet
http://news.yahoo.com/israel-says-freeze-eu-peace-role-over-202841470.html

Obama to sign trade agreement that equates settlements with Israel
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — US President Barack Obama intends to sign a sweeping trade agreement including provisions that fail to differentiate between Israel and illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as discourage the boycott of Israeli goods. The agreement — H.R. 644: Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 — was passed 75-20 on Thursday, and includes a provision that no US court can enforce judgment from a foreign court on a US citizen who “conducts business operations in Israel, or any territory controlled by Israel.” The provision in effect allows US citizens immunity from conducting trade with illegal Israeli settlements, while its terminology fails to distinguish Israeli settlements from the state of Israel, violating the US’ official line against the construction of settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The White House in a statement released Thursday regarding the agreement said: “As with any bipartisan compromise legislation, there are provisions in this bill that we do not support.” Of those provisions that the Obama administration did not support was a provision that “contravenes longstanding US policy towards Israel and the occupied territories, including with regard to Israeli settlement activity,” the statement said. Despite the contravention, Obama plans to sign the agreement into law “to help strengthen enforcement of the rules and level the playing field for American workers and businesses.” The agreement also includes a provision that in creating commercial partnerships with foreign countries, the US should “discourage politically motivated boycotts of, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel.”
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770259

Ya’alon demands return of soldiers’ bodies from Gaza as part of any Israel-Turkey reconciliation deal
Haaretz 10 Feb by Barak Ravid — Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon is demanding that any reconciliation agreement with Turkey include the return of the bodies of fallen Israeli soldiers currently held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to a senior Israeli official. The bodies held in Gaza are those of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, both of whom were killed in 2014’s Operation Protective Edge. Another round of talks between Israel and Turkey was held on Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland . . . The defense minister is practically the only minister who has expressed doubts about an agreement with Turkey, according to the senior official, who is knowledgeable about the details of the discussions. He has set a string of conditions over the past year, none of which were part of the initial negotiations. Those conditions have been presented to Turkey by Israel. According to the official, who asked to remain anonymous, Ya’alon’s hardline stance has contributed significantly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hesitation about signing the reconciliation agreement . . . During the internal discussions in Jerusalem, Ya’alon has opposed any Israeli willingness to accede to the Turkish demand that Israel ease its sea blockade of Gaza and enable direct Turkish access to the Strip via the sea. His position has been that Israel needs to demand Turkish pressure on Hamas for the return of the bodies in return for any easing of the blockade on Gaza.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.702606

Netanyahu’s ‘wild beast’ quote was apartheid-speak, says chief Palestinian negotiator
Haaretz 10 Feb by Jack Khoury & Barak Ravid — Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “adopting the laws of the jungle” on Wednesday, after the premier said that Israel needed to surround the country with fences and barriers “to defend ourselves against the wild beasts” in neighboring countries. Netanyahu’s statement was “the same as those of the heads of apartheid in South Africa,” said Erekat, who is also the general secretary of the PLO. Netanyahu made his statement on Tuesday, while on a tour of the construction site of a barrier on Israel’s eastern border. “At the end, in the State of Israel, as I see it, there will be a fence that spans it all,” said Netanyahu. “I’ll be told, ‘this is what you want, to protect the villa?’ The answer is yes. Will we surround all of the State of Israel with fences and barriers? The answer is yes. In the area that we live in, we must defend ourselves against the wild beasts.” Netanyahu added that the government was preparing a multi-year plan to surround all of Israel with security barriers, as well as a plan to close the breaches in the separation barrier between Israel and the West Bank.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.702562

Netanyahu says Palestinians have ‘culture of death’
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 11 Feb — Members of the Knesset on Wednesday argued the possibility of a two-state solution at a special plenum debate, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Palestinian “terror” came from a “culture of death,” according to a Knesset press release. During the debate, the Israeli PM and Israel’s Labor party opposition leader Isaac Herzog exchanged criticisms over the “most realistic” way to obtain a two-state solution . . . Netanyahu said Herzog and the Labor party could not be “trusted” with solutions due to being “years late in understanding” facts on the ground.”Terror is not a result of occupation,” Netanyahu said. “The terror stems from a culture of death. Its goal is not to free a state, it is to destroy a state.” . . . The Israeli PM’s allegations that “terror” stems from a “culture of death” rather than occupation comes despite remarks from UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon last month that it was “human nature” for Palestinians to react violently to Israel’s nearly 50-year military occupation.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770232

Former Israeli diplomat ‘vilified’ after support for Breaking the Silence
BETHELEHEM (Ma‘an) 10 Feb — Attendees of an Israeli Knesset Education Committee meeting on Tuesday called for the dismissal of former Foreign Ministry director Alon Liel after the official criticized the Israeli right and supported efforts to end Israel’s ongoing military occupation. Liel, also a former Israeli ambassador to South Africa, initially came under fire in January after video footage reportedly revealed him in a meeting with members of Breaking the Silence, an Israeli NGO that documents testimonies of Israeli soldiers on their time in service. The recording aired Leil’s support of the group’s efforts to increase international pressure on Israel, citing such pressure as necessary because Israel’s “political system is lost.” The ex-diplomat also praised members of Breaking the Silence as ”the most moral, wisest people who… were not brainwashed by right-wing messianic propaganda.”  Leil was later branded by many on the right as a “traitor” to Israel and several MK’s called for his dismissal as chairman of the board of a Hebrew high school in Tel Aviv . . . Liel is one of many Israelis to come under fire from the right for the support of Palestinian human rights, support that many Israeli politicians and right-wing groups say works against Israel. The recording that Tuesday’s committee discussed was reportedly captured by a member of Ad Kan, a far-right Israeli group that “exposes” leftists and human rights activists in a self-described effort to protect “legitimization” of Israel.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770222

WATCH: Jaffa parents demand desegregated, bilingual education
Israeli Social TV 12 Feb — The Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality does not offer any bi-lingual education options for Jewish and Palestinian families who live in the same Jaffa neighborhoods, on the same streets, and in the same apartment buildings. Parents of children enrolled in the city’s only Arabic-Hebrew bi-lingual kindergarten are now demanding that the city provide their children an option to continue studying together in first and second grades. Will the city provide an alternative to segregation?
http://972mag.com/watch-jaffa-parents-demand-desegregated-bilingual-education/116970/

Police look to appoint first Muslim deputy commissioner
JPost 12 Feb by Ben Hartman — In an unprecedented move, the Israel Police is expected to appoint a Muslim deputy commissioner. He is to head a special police branch focusing on problems facing the crime-plagued Arab sector. The branch is expected to be headed by Dep.-Ch. Jamal Hakrush, today the deputy head of the Coastal District and a Muslim from Kafr Kana, an Arab town north of Nazareth. He previously served as the deputy head of the Traffic Police. Deputy commissioner is the second-highest rank in the Israel Police, and is typically held by a district commander or head of a police branch. There has been no official police announcement of the promotion, which was first reported Thursday, though police sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that the move is expected as early as next week. The new police branch is meant to focus on issues facing the Arab sector, with emphasis on providing police services where they are lacking. The plan includes the construction of what police hope will be more than 10 new police stations in Arab communities, as well as the recruitment of more than 1,300 police from the sector over the next five years.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Police-look-to-appoint-first-Muslim-deputy-commissioner-444692

Palestinians urge Oscar nominees to reject Israel junket
EI 10 Feb by Ali Abunimah — Palestinians are calling on Oscar nominees to reject a travel voucher supplied by the Israeli government as part of the gift bag they will be given during the Academy Awards. The Israeli tourism ministry said it was behind the vouchers which are good for a “10-day VIP trip to Israel for two.” Tourism minister Yariv Levin made clear that the goal of the stunt is to improve Israel’s image by capitalizing on the fame of Hollywood stars. Israel hopes that stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Kate Winslet will be “touring in Tel Aviv or walking through the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem” – a part of the occupied West Bank. “If they do indeed accept the invitation, their visit will have enormous resonance among millions of fans and followers,” Levin said. – Hunger Games – Palestinian rights campaigners have reacted sharply. “There are no Hunger Games in Gaza but there is real hunger, and it is induced by years of Israeli occupation and siege,” said Omar Barghouti, of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), referring to the film series starring Jennifer Lawrence, one of the actors named in the Israeli government’s publicity effort. “We hope Oscar nominees will take the moral path of rejecting this free propaganda gift from Capitol while its brutal troops and settlers burn and colonize our District 12,” Barghouti added, making an analogy between Israel’s violence against Palestinians and the Hunger Games plot.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/palestinians-urge-oscar-nominees-reject-israel-junket

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