26 apr 2015
IDF say two soldiers indicted on suspicion they took about $605 from Palestinian's home in Gaza, while another accused of helping them during summer war with Hamas; additional cases of wrongful death of Palestinian being probed by IDF.
Three Golani soldiers have been accused on Sunday of stealing NIS 2,420 (roughly $605) from a home they took over in Gaza City's Saja'iyya neighborhood during Operation Protective Edge last summer.
The military said it tried to find the owner of the building and that the alleged looting took place in an area that saw some of the heaviest fighting in the 50-day Operation Protective Edge.
Two of three, who were removed from their combat positions after the theft was discovered during the operation, have also been indicted by the Military Prosecutor for obstruction of justice. The indictment was filed at the Haifa Military Court last week. During the investigation, the Military Prosecutor's Office tried unsuccessfully to recruit one of the accused as a state witness, a move that later turned out to be unnecessary.
The soldiers' commanders learned of the theft shortly after it occurred, and the battalion commander was quick to report the crime to military police. The stolen money was returned.
Black Friday
The Military Prosecutor's Office is still examining cases in which innocent civilian Palestinians were killed from IDF fire during the operation, and Chief Military Advocate General Danny Efroni is expected to decide whether to open criminal investigations into the incidents.
The most controversial case on Efroni's desk is the fighting on "Rafah's Black Friday" on August 1, 2014, when the IDF bombarded Rafah after a Hamas cell violated a humanitarian ceasefire, killing three soldiers and seizing the body of one of them - Hadar Goldin.
The Palestinians first claimed 150 people were killed in IDF bombardments that day and later amended the number to some 70. An IDF investigation found only about 40, roughly half of them armed terrorists.
Army officials said it is unlikely a criminal investigation will be launched against Givati commanders leading the fighting in Rafah, noting the firepower used was proportional and appropriate to the severity of the incident.
Meanwhile, investigations have also been opened in additional cases of criminal misconduct which resulted in the death of innocent Palestinians, the most prominent one case in which an IDF shelling of a UNRWA school which killed some 20 Palestinians. Another case in which a bound Palestinian was beaten, and another in which soldiers fired on a Palestinian ambulance, are also being investigated. Operation Protective Edge was the third and bloodiest round of fighting since late 2008 between Israel and the Islamic terror group Hamas that rules Gaza. Some 2,200 people were killed on the Palestinian side and 72 on the Israeli side.
The lawyer for one of the three charged with looting said in response that the evidence does not unequivocally support the indictment: "This is a good soldier with no past disciplinary record who was sent to defend his country and risked his life. The decision to charge him is bizarre in light of the fact that he was unaware he was committing an offense at the time."
Three Golani soldiers have been accused on Sunday of stealing NIS 2,420 (roughly $605) from a home they took over in Gaza City's Saja'iyya neighborhood during Operation Protective Edge last summer.
The military said it tried to find the owner of the building and that the alleged looting took place in an area that saw some of the heaviest fighting in the 50-day Operation Protective Edge.
Two of three, who were removed from their combat positions after the theft was discovered during the operation, have also been indicted by the Military Prosecutor for obstruction of justice. The indictment was filed at the Haifa Military Court last week. During the investigation, the Military Prosecutor's Office tried unsuccessfully to recruit one of the accused as a state witness, a move that later turned out to be unnecessary.
The soldiers' commanders learned of the theft shortly after it occurred, and the battalion commander was quick to report the crime to military police. The stolen money was returned.
Black Friday
The Military Prosecutor's Office is still examining cases in which innocent civilian Palestinians were killed from IDF fire during the operation, and Chief Military Advocate General Danny Efroni is expected to decide whether to open criminal investigations into the incidents.
The most controversial case on Efroni's desk is the fighting on "Rafah's Black Friday" on August 1, 2014, when the IDF bombarded Rafah after a Hamas cell violated a humanitarian ceasefire, killing three soldiers and seizing the body of one of them - Hadar Goldin.
The Palestinians first claimed 150 people were killed in IDF bombardments that day and later amended the number to some 70. An IDF investigation found only about 40, roughly half of them armed terrorists.
Army officials said it is unlikely a criminal investigation will be launched against Givati commanders leading the fighting in Rafah, noting the firepower used was proportional and appropriate to the severity of the incident.
Meanwhile, investigations have also been opened in additional cases of criminal misconduct which resulted in the death of innocent Palestinians, the most prominent one case in which an IDF shelling of a UNRWA school which killed some 20 Palestinians. Another case in which a bound Palestinian was beaten, and another in which soldiers fired on a Palestinian ambulance, are also being investigated. Operation Protective Edge was the third and bloodiest round of fighting since late 2008 between Israel and the Islamic terror group Hamas that rules Gaza. Some 2,200 people were killed on the Palestinian side and 72 on the Israeli side.
The lawyer for one of the three charged with looting said in response that the evidence does not unequivocally support the indictment: "This is a good soldier with no past disciplinary record who was sent to defend his country and risked his life. The decision to charge him is bizarre in light of the fact that he was unaware he was committing an offense at the time."
Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen and farmers in the Gaza Strip Sunday morning, with no injuries reported.
Witnesses reported that Israeli naval forces fired on fishing boats four miles off the coast, resulting in damage to the boats that forced the fisherman to return to land. Meanwhile, Israeli border forces fired smoke bombs at farmers' land east of Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinian fisherman and farmers since the ceasefire agreement signed Aug. 26, 2014 that ended a devastating 50-day war between Israel and Hamas.In March alone, there were a total of 38 incidents of shootings, incursions into the Strip, and arrests, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).
That was up from 26 incidents through February, and left seven Palestinians injured and one dead.The attacks come despite Israeli promises at the end of the ceasefire to ease restrictions on Palestinian access to both the sea and the border region near the "security buffer zone.
"Israel promised to expand the Palestinian fishing zone to six nautical miles, falling far short of the 20 nautical miles initially agreed under the Oslo Accord.According to PCHR, the "buffer zone," which Palestinians are prohibited from entering, "is illegal under both Israeli and international law."The group said: "The precise area designated by Israel as a 'buffer zone' is not clear and this Israeli policy is typically enforced with live fire."
Witnesses reported that Israeli naval forces fired on fishing boats four miles off the coast, resulting in damage to the boats that forced the fisherman to return to land. Meanwhile, Israeli border forces fired smoke bombs at farmers' land east of Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinian fisherman and farmers since the ceasefire agreement signed Aug. 26, 2014 that ended a devastating 50-day war between Israel and Hamas.In March alone, there were a total of 38 incidents of shootings, incursions into the Strip, and arrests, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).
That was up from 26 incidents through February, and left seven Palestinians injured and one dead.The attacks come despite Israeli promises at the end of the ceasefire to ease restrictions on Palestinian access to both the sea and the border region near the "security buffer zone.
"Israel promised to expand the Palestinian fishing zone to six nautical miles, falling far short of the 20 nautical miles initially agreed under the Oslo Accord.According to PCHR, the "buffer zone," which Palestinians are prohibited from entering, "is illegal under both Israeli and international law."The group said: "The precise area designated by Israel as a 'buffer zone' is not clear and this Israeli policy is typically enforced with live fire."
Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian man east of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
A Ministry of Health spokesman, Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, said that the 37-year-old man had been shot in his right foot in the Abu Safiya area east of Beit Hanoun.Al-Qudra said the injured man had been moved to Kamal Adwan hospital for treatment, and described his condition as moderate.
The injury came as Israeli forces opened fire on fishermen and farmers across the Gaza Strip.Witnesses reported that Israeli naval forces fired on fishing boats four miles off the coast, damaging the boats and forcing the fisherman to return to land.
Meanwhile, Israeli border forces fired smoke bombs at farmers' land east of Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Gazans since the ceasefire agreement signed Aug. 26, 2014 that ended a devastating 50-day war between Israel and Hamas.In March alone, there were a total of 38 incidents of shootings, incursions into the coastal enclave, and arrests, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).
That was up from 26 incidents through February, and left seven Palestinians injured and one dead.The attacks come despite Israeli promises at the end of the ceasefire to ease restrictions on Palestinian access to both the sea and the border region near the "security buffer zone."
A Ministry of Health spokesman, Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, said that the 37-year-old man had been shot in his right foot in the Abu Safiya area east of Beit Hanoun.Al-Qudra said the injured man had been moved to Kamal Adwan hospital for treatment, and described his condition as moderate.
The injury came as Israeli forces opened fire on fishermen and farmers across the Gaza Strip.Witnesses reported that Israeli naval forces fired on fishing boats four miles off the coast, damaging the boats and forcing the fisherman to return to land.
Meanwhile, Israeli border forces fired smoke bombs at farmers' land east of Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Gazans since the ceasefire agreement signed Aug. 26, 2014 that ended a devastating 50-day war between Israel and Hamas.In March alone, there were a total of 38 incidents of shootings, incursions into the coastal enclave, and arrests, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).
That was up from 26 incidents through February, and left seven Palestinians injured and one dead.The attacks come despite Israeli promises at the end of the ceasefire to ease restrictions on Palestinian access to both the sea and the border region near the "security buffer zone."
Muhammad Hamad, the vice president of Metal and Engineering Industries Union, affirmed that Israel is preventing the entry of 85% of necessary equipment and metal materials to the Gaza Strip causing the workers in this sector to sustain heavy losses.
Hamad said in an exclusive statement to the PIC on Saturday that the siege imposed on the Strip by Israel has badly affected the metal and engineering industries sector; these effects started to surface since the beginning of the siege in 2006 but have aggravated lately.
He also mentioned that Israel prevented the entry of many kinds of iron under pretext of being used by the resistance; however, the Palestinians used to meet the demands of the local market by smuggling iron through the underground tunnels.
Hamad stressed that the crisis worsened after destroying the tunnels and the 1250 establishments of this sector stopped working. Furthermore, between 6000 and 6500 workers lost their jobs and thousands of other workers have been indirectly affected.
He pointed out that Israel only allows the entry of specific kinds of Zinc and tinplate ranging in thickness between 0.3 to 0.7 cm and are used for the international projects while the needs and requirements of the Gazans remain unmet.
The huge demand on the banned kinds led to a huge increase in their prices.
He highlighted that Israel is preventing the entry of the badly-needed materials under flimsy pretexts and its real aim is to destroy the Palestinian economy’s infrastructure.
Hamad said in an exclusive statement to the PIC on Saturday that the siege imposed on the Strip by Israel has badly affected the metal and engineering industries sector; these effects started to surface since the beginning of the siege in 2006 but have aggravated lately.
He also mentioned that Israel prevented the entry of many kinds of iron under pretext of being used by the resistance; however, the Palestinians used to meet the demands of the local market by smuggling iron through the underground tunnels.
Hamad stressed that the crisis worsened after destroying the tunnels and the 1250 establishments of this sector stopped working. Furthermore, between 6000 and 6500 workers lost their jobs and thousands of other workers have been indirectly affected.
He pointed out that Israel only allows the entry of specific kinds of Zinc and tinplate ranging in thickness between 0.3 to 0.7 cm and are used for the international projects while the needs and requirements of the Gazans remain unmet.
The huge demand on the banned kinds led to a huge increase in their prices.
He highlighted that Israel is preventing the entry of the badly-needed materials under flimsy pretexts and its real aim is to destroy the Palestinian economy’s infrastructure.
25 apr 2015
Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern over the humanitarian suffering among besieged Palestinians in Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Estefan Dogrec, Spokesman for the Secretary General, said that Ki-moon met the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokri on Friday. He talked to him about his “serious concerns over the tribulation in Gaza and the slow pace of the reconstruction process”.
The statement added that the Secretary General and the Egyptian Minister discussed common issues in Middle East and North Africa including situations in Libya, Yemen and Syria in addition to combating terrorism.
The statement stressed “the importance of the Egyptian role and its impact on both sides: the Israeli and Palestinian in order to resume a purposeful dialogue”.
Israel has been imposing land and sea blockade on Gaza Strip since Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. The siege was tightened in the wake of taking over the Gaza Strip by Hamas in June 2007. The sieged continued despite the formation of the unity government in June 02, 2014.
In a statement, Estefan Dogrec, Spokesman for the Secretary General, said that Ki-moon met the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokri on Friday. He talked to him about his “serious concerns over the tribulation in Gaza and the slow pace of the reconstruction process”.
The statement added that the Secretary General and the Egyptian Minister discussed common issues in Middle East and North Africa including situations in Libya, Yemen and Syria in addition to combating terrorism.
The statement stressed “the importance of the Egyptian role and its impact on both sides: the Israeli and Palestinian in order to resume a purposeful dialogue”.
Israel has been imposing land and sea blockade on Gaza Strip since Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. The siege was tightened in the wake of taking over the Gaza Strip by Hamas in June 2007. The sieged continued despite the formation of the unity government in June 02, 2014.
Norwegian doctor Mads Frederick Gilbert (C) treats a Palestinian child wounded in an Israeli airstrike at al-Shifa hospital on July 17, 2014
Partisans of Israel are not content merely to murder and maim Palestinian civilians. They also launch “weaponized words” against anyone who speaks out against their crimes . . . including the world’s most prestigious medical journals.
The Zionists’ latest verbal salvo has targeted The Lancet, the world’s best-known medical journal. Medical apologists for Israel’s July 2014 assault on Gaza have posted a letter claiming The Lancet’s July 22 2014 article on Israeli war crimes constitutes “stereotypical extremist hate propaganda.” It seems the Israel lobby’s medical division has declared war on The Lancet’s editor, Richard Horton, and its publisher, Reed Elsevier.
The Zionists, who have bought up the Western mainstream media and are currently targeting Muslims, Arabs, and Palestinians in the biggest wave of hate propaganda in history, are hardly qualified to issue such accusations.
The Zionist doctors’ letter accuses The Lancet of a long list of vague and portentously-worded alleged misdeeds. But it offers virtually no specifics whatsoever to back up its hyper-general accusations. The flatulently vacuous list of charges against The Lancet includes “ethical and scientific lapses” (such as?), “failure to apply the normal rigorous standards of honesty and transparency” (with no examples given), failure to “publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed” (without offering a single concrete example of anything the Lancet published that required any such correction).
The Zionist letter attacks The Lancet’s July 22 2014 article “An open letter for the people in Gaza.” The angry authors bombastically assert: “ ‘An open letter for the people in Gaza’ by Manduca et al contains false assertions, unverifiable dishonest ‘facts’, many of them libellous, and glaring omissions.”
But the Zionists cannot name a single false assertion. They are just blowing smoke, hoping that nobody is paying close attention.
The Lancet Ombudsman had already investigated “An open letter for the people in Gaza” and found no false statements. According to HandsOffTheLancet.com, the Ombudsman did cite a “'regrettable statement' that, because only 5% of Israeli academics had supported an appeal to” Israel end the “military operation in Gaza (Gur-Arieh 2014), the authors had been ‘tempted to conclude that …the rest of the Israeli academics [had been] complicit in the massacre and destruction of Gaza.’”
Partisans of Israel are not content merely to murder and maim Palestinian civilians. They also launch “weaponized words” against anyone who speaks out against their crimes . . . including the world’s most prestigious medical journals.
The Zionists’ latest verbal salvo has targeted The Lancet, the world’s best-known medical journal. Medical apologists for Israel’s July 2014 assault on Gaza have posted a letter claiming The Lancet’s July 22 2014 article on Israeli war crimes constitutes “stereotypical extremist hate propaganda.” It seems the Israel lobby’s medical division has declared war on The Lancet’s editor, Richard Horton, and its publisher, Reed Elsevier.
The Zionists, who have bought up the Western mainstream media and are currently targeting Muslims, Arabs, and Palestinians in the biggest wave of hate propaganda in history, are hardly qualified to issue such accusations.
The Zionist doctors’ letter accuses The Lancet of a long list of vague and portentously-worded alleged misdeeds. But it offers virtually no specifics whatsoever to back up its hyper-general accusations. The flatulently vacuous list of charges against The Lancet includes “ethical and scientific lapses” (such as?), “failure to apply the normal rigorous standards of honesty and transparency” (with no examples given), failure to “publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed” (without offering a single concrete example of anything the Lancet published that required any such correction).
The Zionist letter attacks The Lancet’s July 22 2014 article “An open letter for the people in Gaza.” The angry authors bombastically assert: “ ‘An open letter for the people in Gaza’ by Manduca et al contains false assertions, unverifiable dishonest ‘facts’, many of them libellous, and glaring omissions.”
But the Zionists cannot name a single false assertion. They are just blowing smoke, hoping that nobody is paying close attention.
The Lancet Ombudsman had already investigated “An open letter for the people in Gaza” and found no false statements. According to HandsOffTheLancet.com, the Ombudsman did cite a “'regrettable statement' that, because only 5% of Israeli academics had supported an appeal to” Israel end the “military operation in Gaza (Gur-Arieh 2014), the authors had been ‘tempted to conclude that …the rest of the Israeli academics [had been] complicit in the massacre and destruction of Gaza.’”
But what is regrettable about such a statement? Can there be any doubt that the vast majority of Israeli academics, indeed a virtual unanimity of Zionists in Occupied Palestine, were actively or passively complicit in the massacre, and the larger genocide? While it may be regrettable that the Zionists in Occupied Palestine are complicit in Tel Aviv’s war crimes, and its larger ongoing program of genocide, it is not the slightest bit regrettable that The Lancet writers have pointed out such a disturbing but indisputable fact. (Polls show that virtually all Zionists in Occupied Palestine support the Gaza massacres, including the so-called Cast Lead in 2008-2009 and Protective Edge last summer.)
The roughly 500 Zionist doctors who are fulminating against The Lancet ought to have their licenses to practice medicine revoked. Then they ought to be put on trial for complicity in genocide propaganda. They are a disgrace to the medical profession, like the Nazi doctors who were indirectly responsible for brutalizing helpless people in World War II Germany because they averted their gazes from the crimes of their countrymen.
Unlike the Nazi Doctors (and their mirror images, the Zionist Doctors), the authors of “An open letter for the people in Gaza” could not avert their gaze:
“The massacre in Gaza spares no one, and includes the disabled and sick in hospitals, children playing on the beach or on the roof top, with a large majority of non-combatants. Hospitals, clinics, ambulances, mosques, schools, and press buildings have all been attacked, with thousands of private homes bombed, clearly directing fire to target whole families killing them within their homes...”
The Zionist Doctors have not demonstrated a single factual error in the above words, nor in any other passage from “An open letter for the people in Gaza.”
The current assault on The Lancet is not the first Zionist war on a leading medical journal. In 2004, British Medical Journal (BMJ) published “Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes.” According to the article:
“Two thirds of the 621 children (two thirds under 15 years) killed at checkpoints, in the street, on the way to school, in their homes, died from small arms fire, directed in over half of cases to the head, neck and chest – the sniper’s wound…Clearly, soldiers are routinely authorized to shoot to kill children in situations of minimal or no threat.”
The BMJ article was unprecedented. For first time in history, one of the world’s leading medical journals had documented the murder by sniper fire of more than 600 helpless Palestinian children – many of them “hunted for sport” as described by one horrified eyewitness, the journalist Chris Hedges, in his famous article “Gaza Diary.”
The Zionist reaction was swift. BMJ was castigated with the usual blustering Zionist rhetoric. But not a single factual mistake was found. As usual, the Zionists used vicious ad hominem attacks to obscure the hollowness of their arguments.
On December 9th, 1946, an American military tribunal charged twenty-three leading German physicians with crimes against humanity. Sixteen were convicted, and seven were executed.
Will the Zionist Doctors, whose complicity in genocide propaganda has been demonstrated by their attack on The Lancet, one day meet a similar fate?
The roughly 500 Zionist doctors who are fulminating against The Lancet ought to have their licenses to practice medicine revoked. Then they ought to be put on trial for complicity in genocide propaganda. They are a disgrace to the medical profession, like the Nazi doctors who were indirectly responsible for brutalizing helpless people in World War II Germany because they averted their gazes from the crimes of their countrymen.
Unlike the Nazi Doctors (and their mirror images, the Zionist Doctors), the authors of “An open letter for the people in Gaza” could not avert their gaze:
“The massacre in Gaza spares no one, and includes the disabled and sick in hospitals, children playing on the beach or on the roof top, with a large majority of non-combatants. Hospitals, clinics, ambulances, mosques, schools, and press buildings have all been attacked, with thousands of private homes bombed, clearly directing fire to target whole families killing them within their homes...”
The Zionist Doctors have not demonstrated a single factual error in the above words, nor in any other passage from “An open letter for the people in Gaza.”
The current assault on The Lancet is not the first Zionist war on a leading medical journal. In 2004, British Medical Journal (BMJ) published “Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes.” According to the article:
“Two thirds of the 621 children (two thirds under 15 years) killed at checkpoints, in the street, on the way to school, in their homes, died from small arms fire, directed in over half of cases to the head, neck and chest – the sniper’s wound…Clearly, soldiers are routinely authorized to shoot to kill children in situations of minimal or no threat.”
The BMJ article was unprecedented. For first time in history, one of the world’s leading medical journals had documented the murder by sniper fire of more than 600 helpless Palestinian children – many of them “hunted for sport” as described by one horrified eyewitness, the journalist Chris Hedges, in his famous article “Gaza Diary.”
The Zionist reaction was swift. BMJ was castigated with the usual blustering Zionist rhetoric. But not a single factual mistake was found. As usual, the Zionists used vicious ad hominem attacks to obscure the hollowness of their arguments.
On December 9th, 1946, an American military tribunal charged twenty-three leading German physicians with crimes against humanity. Sixteen were convicted, and seven were executed.
Will the Zionist Doctors, whose complicity in genocide propaganda has been demonstrated by their attack on The Lancet, one day meet a similar fate?
A Palestinian was shot and injured when Israeli forces opened fire east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces deployed along the border opened fire on Palestinian farmland, hitting one Palestinian man.
He has been taken to a hospital for treatment, while an Israeli army spokeswoman said she was looking into the incident.
Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinian civilians near the border since the ceasefire agreement signed Aug. 26, 2014 that ended a devastating 50-day war between Israel and Hamas. In March alone, there were a total of 38 incidents of shootings, incursions into the Strip, and arrests, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).
That was up from 26 incidents through February, and left seven Palestinians injured and one dead. The attacks come despite Israeli promises at the end of the ceasefire to ease restrictions on Palestinian access to the border region near the "security buffer zone".
According to PCHR, the "buffer zone", which Palestinians are prohibited from entering, "is illegal under both Israeli and international law."
The group said, according to Ma'an News Agency: "The precise area designated by Israel as a 'buffer zone' is not clear and this Israeli policy is typically enforced with live fire."
Israeli soldiers fired, on Friday at dawn, three artillery shells into an area in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, while navy ships fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition into the Gaza shore.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces deployed along the border opened fire on Palestinian farmland, hitting one Palestinian man.
He has been taken to a hospital for treatment, while an Israeli army spokeswoman said she was looking into the incident.
Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinian civilians near the border since the ceasefire agreement signed Aug. 26, 2014 that ended a devastating 50-day war between Israel and Hamas. In March alone, there were a total of 38 incidents of shootings, incursions into the Strip, and arrests, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).
That was up from 26 incidents through February, and left seven Palestinians injured and one dead. The attacks come despite Israeli promises at the end of the ceasefire to ease restrictions on Palestinian access to the border region near the "security buffer zone".
According to PCHR, the "buffer zone", which Palestinians are prohibited from entering, "is illegal under both Israeli and international law."
The group said, according to Ma'an News Agency: "The precise area designated by Israel as a 'buffer zone' is not clear and this Israeli policy is typically enforced with live fire."
Israeli soldiers fired, on Friday at dawn, three artillery shells into an area in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, while navy ships fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition into the Gaza shore.
24 apr 2015
Director of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza Robert Turner warned Thursday of food crisis in Gaza Strip, calling on donor countries to meet their financial pledges made for the reconstruction of the Strip.
During a conference organized by the International Press Center in Brussels to discuss Gaza’s humanitarian situation, Turner expressed his disappointment over the donor countries’ disclaimed promises made during Cairo conference for Gaza reconstruction last October.
"I’m here not only to talk about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza but also to shed light on the difficulties faced by humanitarian institutions over the past few months," he said.
Turner pointed out that large numbers of families are still homeless while hundreds of children lost their schools during Israel’s summer aggression on Gaza.
What distinguishes the situation in Gaza is the famine and state of frustration, he stated.
Israeli aggression on Gaza did not only destroy thousands of homes and schools, but also targeted hundreds of medical centers and infrastructure, seriously affecting the already deteriorated economic condition in the Strip, the UN official added.
Turner pointed out that the donor countries’ financial pledges will not only be used for the reconstruction of what have been earlier destroyed but also to establish new projects.
He said that both the latest Israeli aggression and siege on Gaza are responsible for the current tragic situation in the Strip.
During a conference organized by the International Press Center in Brussels to discuss Gaza’s humanitarian situation, Turner expressed his disappointment over the donor countries’ disclaimed promises made during Cairo conference for Gaza reconstruction last October.
"I’m here not only to talk about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza but also to shed light on the difficulties faced by humanitarian institutions over the past few months," he said.
Turner pointed out that large numbers of families are still homeless while hundreds of children lost their schools during Israel’s summer aggression on Gaza.
What distinguishes the situation in Gaza is the famine and state of frustration, he stated.
Israeli aggression on Gaza did not only destroy thousands of homes and schools, but also targeted hundreds of medical centers and infrastructure, seriously affecting the already deteriorated economic condition in the Strip, the UN official added.
Turner pointed out that the donor countries’ financial pledges will not only be used for the reconstruction of what have been earlier destroyed but also to establish new projects.
He said that both the latest Israeli aggression and siege on Gaza are responsible for the current tragic situation in the Strip.
The Israeli Authorities canceled entry permits of the 200 Palestinian, from the besieged Gaza Strip, who were previously allowed to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
General Yoav Mordechai, coordinator of the Israeli Government Activities in the occupied territories, said Israel decided to deny access to the 200 worshipers who obtained special permits to head to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Mordechai added that the Israeli measure comes in retaliation to the shell that was fired, late on Thursday at night, from Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, into an Israeli area across the border.
He stated that the Erez Terminal would also be closed due to what he called “escalation, and dangerous situation close to the border with Gaza.
Israeli military sources said one missile was fired from Gaza into the Merhavim Regional Council in the Negev, causing no casualties.
Following the attack, the Israeli army boarded targets run by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas in Gaza, and fired rounds of live ammunition into the Gaza shore.
The Israeli army said, although Hamas was not responsible for firing the shell, it is to be held responsible for any escalation in the coastal region.
A senior Israeli security source said a Salafist group, not under the control of Hamas, is behind the attack, and that “should Hamas fail to maintain calm; it will end up paying the price.”
General Yoav Mordechai, coordinator of the Israeli Government Activities in the occupied territories, said Israel decided to deny access to the 200 worshipers who obtained special permits to head to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Mordechai added that the Israeli measure comes in retaliation to the shell that was fired, late on Thursday at night, from Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, into an Israeli area across the border.
He stated that the Erez Terminal would also be closed due to what he called “escalation, and dangerous situation close to the border with Gaza.
Israeli military sources said one missile was fired from Gaza into the Merhavim Regional Council in the Negev, causing no casualties.
Following the attack, the Israeli army boarded targets run by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas in Gaza, and fired rounds of live ammunition into the Gaza shore.
The Israeli army said, although Hamas was not responsible for firing the shell, it is to be held responsible for any escalation in the coastal region.
A senior Israeli security source said a Salafist group, not under the control of Hamas, is behind the attack, and that “should Hamas fail to maintain calm; it will end up paying the price.”
Israeli soldiers fired, on Friday at
dawn, three artillery shells into an area in the northern part of the
Gaza Strip, while navy ships fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition
into the Gaza shore.
Media sources in Gaza said the army fired three shells at “monitoring sites” used by fighters of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
They added that several Israeli navy ships fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition into the Gaza shore in the northern part of the coastal region, while military helicopters repeatedly violated Gaza air space.
In a brief press statement, Israeli Army spokesperson Avichai Adraee claimed the army bombarded a site in northern Gaza “in retaliation to a shell that was fired into the Western Negev.”
He added that Israel has decided to prevent Gaza Strip residents from leaving the coastal region heading to Jerusalem for Friday prayers, and also decided to close the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing.
Spokesperson of the Palestinian Minister Of Health, Dr. Ashraf al-Qedra, said the Israeli attack did not cause any casualties, and called on the Palestinians to remain alert.
IDF strikes targets in northern Gaza
In retaliation for first rocket attack of 2015, Israeli military attacks Hamas position in Beit Hanoun.
After four months of quiet, a rocket was fired on Thursday evening from Gaza towards communities in southern Israel. The rocket exploded in an open field in the Sha'ar Ha Negev Regional Council. There were no injuries or damages reported.
Close to midnight on Thursday, the IDF tanks attacked a Hamas position in the northern Gaza Strip in retaliation for the rocket that landed in southern Israel a few hours earlier.
The IDF said in a statement that it "will not condone any effort to harm the security of the people of Israel."
Palestinian sources reported that the artillery shelling hit an open area near Beit Hanoun, the site of the rocket which was launched on Israel.
According to an initial IDF investigation, Hamas was not involved in the rocket fire, which was likely initiated by rebellious elements in the Strip. Due to the rocket fire, Israel will not allow passage for Gazan worshippers to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The IDF sources believed that like in previous incidents since the end of Operation Protective Edge in August, the rocket fire was a one-time incident which does not signal an escalation. Hamas has shown restraint in recent months and actively worked to prevent elements within the Strip from approaching the barrier with Israel.
In recent days Hamas has executed a wave of arrests of Salafists in the Strip, following a series of explosions across Gaza. Hamas' security forces have searched relentlessly for those responsible but the identity of the mastermind behind the attacks remains unclear.
According to Salafi sources, 13 of their members were arrested, and it is possible the rocket fire on Israel tonight was intended to embarrass Hamas over the arrests.
Alon Shuster, the head of the regional council, told Ynet: "This is an aberration and its consequences are unclear. There is no panic among the residents, even among those who heard the explosion. This is the reality you deal with when you live in a hotspot which is not handled and occasionally explodes."
Media sources in Gaza said the army fired three shells at “monitoring sites” used by fighters of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
They added that several Israeli navy ships fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition into the Gaza shore in the northern part of the coastal region, while military helicopters repeatedly violated Gaza air space.
In a brief press statement, Israeli Army spokesperson Avichai Adraee claimed the army bombarded a site in northern Gaza “in retaliation to a shell that was fired into the Western Negev.”
He added that Israel has decided to prevent Gaza Strip residents from leaving the coastal region heading to Jerusalem for Friday prayers, and also decided to close the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing.
Spokesperson of the Palestinian Minister Of Health, Dr. Ashraf al-Qedra, said the Israeli attack did not cause any casualties, and called on the Palestinians to remain alert.
IDF strikes targets in northern Gaza
In retaliation for first rocket attack of 2015, Israeli military attacks Hamas position in Beit Hanoun.
After four months of quiet, a rocket was fired on Thursday evening from Gaza towards communities in southern Israel. The rocket exploded in an open field in the Sha'ar Ha Negev Regional Council. There were no injuries or damages reported.
Close to midnight on Thursday, the IDF tanks attacked a Hamas position in the northern Gaza Strip in retaliation for the rocket that landed in southern Israel a few hours earlier.
The IDF said in a statement that it "will not condone any effort to harm the security of the people of Israel."
Palestinian sources reported that the artillery shelling hit an open area near Beit Hanoun, the site of the rocket which was launched on Israel.
According to an initial IDF investigation, Hamas was not involved in the rocket fire, which was likely initiated by rebellious elements in the Strip. Due to the rocket fire, Israel will not allow passage for Gazan worshippers to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The IDF sources believed that like in previous incidents since the end of Operation Protective Edge in August, the rocket fire was a one-time incident which does not signal an escalation. Hamas has shown restraint in recent months and actively worked to prevent elements within the Strip from approaching the barrier with Israel.
In recent days Hamas has executed a wave of arrests of Salafists in the Strip, following a series of explosions across Gaza. Hamas' security forces have searched relentlessly for those responsible but the identity of the mastermind behind the attacks remains unclear.
According to Salafi sources, 13 of their members were arrested, and it is possible the rocket fire on Israel tonight was intended to embarrass Hamas over the arrests.
Alon Shuster, the head of the regional council, told Ynet: "This is an aberration and its consequences are unclear. There is no panic among the residents, even among those who heard the explosion. This is the reality you deal with when you live in a hotspot which is not handled and occasionally explodes."
23 apr 2015
For the first time
in 2015, red alert siren sounds in Sderot and other Gaza border
communities; rocket hits open field in Sh'ar HaNegev Regional Council;
no injuries or damages reported.
The last time the air raid siren blared in southern communities was on December 26, 2014.
A code red siren was sounded in Sderot and other Gaza border communities in southern Israel on Thursday evening as the country celebrated Israel's 67th Independence Day.
The last time the air raid siren blared in southern communities was at the end of December. The rocket hit an open field in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, near Sderot. No injuries or damages were reported.
A resident of the regional council said they heard the air raid siren and rushed to their shelters. "We closed the door and there was a strong explosion. It must have been a Qassam, I have no doubt because I recognize the sound."
"It took us by surprise and we only had a few seconds to realize what was happening because we are in a period of calm; we were unprepared. We received no special directives since then," he added.
Alon Shuster, the head of the regional council, told Ynet: "This is an aberration and its consequences are unclear. There is no panic among the residents, even among those who heard the explosion. This is the reality you deal with when you live in a hotspot which is not handled and occasionally explodes."
In recent days Hamas has executed a wave of arrests of Salafists in the Strip, following a series of explosions across Gaza. Hamas' security forces have searched relentlessly for those responsible but the identity of the mastermind behind the attacks remains unclear.
According to Salafi sources, 13 of their members were arrested, and it is possible the rocket fire on Israel tonight was intended to embarrass Hamas over the arrests.
On the night of December 20 Israeli Air Force jets attacked a Hamas training base in the southern Gaza Strip in retaliation of a rocket which fell in the Eshkol Regional Council a day earlier.
It marked the first IDF strike on the Strip since the end of Operation Protective Edge.
The last time the air raid siren blared in southern communities was on December 26, 2014.
A code red siren was sounded in Sderot and other Gaza border communities in southern Israel on Thursday evening as the country celebrated Israel's 67th Independence Day.
The last time the air raid siren blared in southern communities was at the end of December. The rocket hit an open field in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, near Sderot. No injuries or damages were reported.
A resident of the regional council said they heard the air raid siren and rushed to their shelters. "We closed the door and there was a strong explosion. It must have been a Qassam, I have no doubt because I recognize the sound."
"It took us by surprise and we only had a few seconds to realize what was happening because we are in a period of calm; we were unprepared. We received no special directives since then," he added.
Alon Shuster, the head of the regional council, told Ynet: "This is an aberration and its consequences are unclear. There is no panic among the residents, even among those who heard the explosion. This is the reality you deal with when you live in a hotspot which is not handled and occasionally explodes."
In recent days Hamas has executed a wave of arrests of Salafists in the Strip, following a series of explosions across Gaza. Hamas' security forces have searched relentlessly for those responsible but the identity of the mastermind behind the attacks remains unclear.
According to Salafi sources, 13 of their members were arrested, and it is possible the rocket fire on Israel tonight was intended to embarrass Hamas over the arrests.
On the night of December 20 Israeli Air Force jets attacked a Hamas training base in the southern Gaza Strip in retaliation of a rocket which fell in the Eshkol Regional Council a day earlier.
It marked the first IDF strike on the Strip since the end of Operation Protective Edge.
Isam
Abu Mohareb, a Palestinian farmer from Gaza, did not think that the
Israeli agricultural aircraft's spray on Tuesday 21/4/2015 would ruin
all his hopes of compensating his loss in the Israeli aggression of
2014.
As the farmers finished their night shift, Israeli agricultural aircraft was spraying unknown pesticides over large farming areas to the south and north of Kissufim military site.
Unaware of the gravity of the spray, Abu Mohareb left the farm and came the next morning to find that the watermelon, pepper, yard-long cucumber, squash, and mallow plants had withered and lost colors. He then knew that the aircraft spray had destroyed the crops over 500 meters to the north of Gaza-Israeli borders, with another 700-meter agricultural area destroyed by the pesticides carried by the eastern wind.
The Israeli agricultural aircraft repeatedly sprayed the Gaza agricultural border lands this week, destroying tens of agricultural fields. The Ministry of Agriculture has not estimated the losses yet.
Massive loss
Abu Mohareb said, "We have been in a 30,000-Shekel debt since the last Israeli aggression as the Israeli forces bulldozed a water well, a warehouse of agricultural tools, water networks, and a number of our houses. The Israeli agricultural aircraft destroyed our crops and dashed our hopes. We use the money we earn from our farming to sustain 60 family members."
Workers of the farm witnessed the incident as the Israeli aircraft flew at 10-meter height above the crops and sprayed foul-smelling pesticides.
Marwan Abu Mohareb, Isam's brother, appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture and the concerned officials to protect the border farmers from what he called Israeli "displacement campaigns" that target the Palestinian farmers on the Gaza borders.
Withered buds
Marwan continued, "A friend took me on his motorcycle to Abdullah Abu Mughseib's farm. The land there is low and the Israeli watchtowers and espionage balloons appear clearer."
Abu Mughseib expressed his surprise as he saw the withered almond and grape buds and the destroyed red-colored squash, beans and okra plants.
He added, "The crops are not in 300-meter buffer zone. Israel destroyed a 500-meter wide strip of our lands and the winds carried the pesticides to destroy another area over 700 meters deep. In addition to the destroyed plant buds, we now have to spend more than a month waiting for new buds to grow."
Long-lasting debts
Ahmad Abu Sawaween, a farmer of the destroyed lands, had to increase the irrigation water hoping to recover the destroyed squash and bean plants.
During the last Israeli aggression on Gaza, Israeli forces destroyed Abu Sawaween's house, murdered one of his brothers, and arrested another.
He said that the Israeli pesticides destroyed the squash, okra, and bean crops, as well as many other vegetable seedlings. He added, "We had to harvest the bean plants ahead of time, and we lost a huge amount of the crops over an area of around 20 acres. This is the second time we lose this season. We are going to remain heavily in debt. We are going to feed the crops for the livestock."
Israeli deliberate policy
The agricultural engineer, Ahmed Abd Al-Hadi, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture in Deir Al-Balah governorate, said it was the second time for the Israeli agricultural aircraft to spray chemical pesticides over the Gaza farms.
Abd Al-Hadi went on, "The first time was in January following the Israeli aggression of 2014. It is probably pesticides similar to herbicides. It destroyed crops, vegetables, and trees over 90 acres in Wadi Al-Salqa village alone, in addition to large areas in eastern Al-Qarara town."
Abd Al-Hadi confirmed the Israeli deliberate efforts to destroy the agricultural lands on its borderline with the Gaza Strip. He also asserted that several human rights and humanitarian organizations have recently documented the incident, including the Red Cross, the Danish Institute for Human Rights, and other local and international organizations.
The Palestinian residents on Israel-Gaza borders said that Israel, that used to continuously bulldoze the borders and destroy the crops under security pretexts, has started implementing a new tactic to destroy the crops and evacuate the farmers without military vehicles.
As the farmers finished their night shift, Israeli agricultural aircraft was spraying unknown pesticides over large farming areas to the south and north of Kissufim military site.
Unaware of the gravity of the spray, Abu Mohareb left the farm and came the next morning to find that the watermelon, pepper, yard-long cucumber, squash, and mallow plants had withered and lost colors. He then knew that the aircraft spray had destroyed the crops over 500 meters to the north of Gaza-Israeli borders, with another 700-meter agricultural area destroyed by the pesticides carried by the eastern wind.
The Israeli agricultural aircraft repeatedly sprayed the Gaza agricultural border lands this week, destroying tens of agricultural fields. The Ministry of Agriculture has not estimated the losses yet.
Massive loss
Abu Mohareb said, "We have been in a 30,000-Shekel debt since the last Israeli aggression as the Israeli forces bulldozed a water well, a warehouse of agricultural tools, water networks, and a number of our houses. The Israeli agricultural aircraft destroyed our crops and dashed our hopes. We use the money we earn from our farming to sustain 60 family members."
Workers of the farm witnessed the incident as the Israeli aircraft flew at 10-meter height above the crops and sprayed foul-smelling pesticides.
Marwan Abu Mohareb, Isam's brother, appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture and the concerned officials to protect the border farmers from what he called Israeli "displacement campaigns" that target the Palestinian farmers on the Gaza borders.
Withered buds
Marwan continued, "A friend took me on his motorcycle to Abdullah Abu Mughseib's farm. The land there is low and the Israeli watchtowers and espionage balloons appear clearer."
Abu Mughseib expressed his surprise as he saw the withered almond and grape buds and the destroyed red-colored squash, beans and okra plants.
He added, "The crops are not in 300-meter buffer zone. Israel destroyed a 500-meter wide strip of our lands and the winds carried the pesticides to destroy another area over 700 meters deep. In addition to the destroyed plant buds, we now have to spend more than a month waiting for new buds to grow."
Long-lasting debts
Ahmad Abu Sawaween, a farmer of the destroyed lands, had to increase the irrigation water hoping to recover the destroyed squash and bean plants.
During the last Israeli aggression on Gaza, Israeli forces destroyed Abu Sawaween's house, murdered one of his brothers, and arrested another.
He said that the Israeli pesticides destroyed the squash, okra, and bean crops, as well as many other vegetable seedlings. He added, "We had to harvest the bean plants ahead of time, and we lost a huge amount of the crops over an area of around 20 acres. This is the second time we lose this season. We are going to remain heavily in debt. We are going to feed the crops for the livestock."
Israeli deliberate policy
The agricultural engineer, Ahmed Abd Al-Hadi, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture in Deir Al-Balah governorate, said it was the second time for the Israeli agricultural aircraft to spray chemical pesticides over the Gaza farms.
Abd Al-Hadi went on, "The first time was in January following the Israeli aggression of 2014. It is probably pesticides similar to herbicides. It destroyed crops, vegetables, and trees over 90 acres in Wadi Al-Salqa village alone, in addition to large areas in eastern Al-Qarara town."
Abd Al-Hadi confirmed the Israeli deliberate efforts to destroy the agricultural lands on its borderline with the Gaza Strip. He also asserted that several human rights and humanitarian organizations have recently documented the incident, including the Red Cross, the Danish Institute for Human Rights, and other local and international organizations.
The Palestinian residents on Israel-Gaza borders said that Israel, that used to continuously bulldoze the borders and destroy the crops under security pretexts, has started implementing a new tactic to destroy the crops and evacuate the farmers without military vehicles.
22 apr 2015
Israeli Navy forces opened machinegun fire at the fishing boats of Palestinian fishermen in Gaza sea on Wednesday.
Palestinian sources said that a number of Israeli gunboats opened heavy machinegun fire at the early morning hours towards the fishing boats of Gazan fishermen who had to abandon their boats. No casualties have been reported.
The attack is another episode in the series of Israeli daily violations of the Cairo-brokered truce accord signed in the wake of last summer’s offensive on the besieged coastal enclave, which killed over 2,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
Palestinian sources said that a number of Israeli gunboats opened heavy machinegun fire at the early morning hours towards the fishing boats of Gazan fishermen who had to abandon their boats. No casualties have been reported.
The attack is another episode in the series of Israeli daily violations of the Cairo-brokered truce accord signed in the wake of last summer’s offensive on the besieged coastal enclave, which killed over 2,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
Truce violations List of names Pictures of martyrs
Days: Aug: 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
July: 31 - 30 - 29 - 28 - 27 - 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8