13 oct 2015
By Ramzy Baroud
When my book ‘Searching Jenin’ was published soon after the Israeli massacre in the Jenin refugee camp in 2002, I was quizzed repeatedly by the media and many readers for conferring the word ‘massacre’ on what Israel has depicted as a legitimate battle against camp-based ‘terrorists’.
The interrogative questions were aimed at relocating the narrative from a discussion regarding possible war crimes into a technical dispute over the application of language. For them, the evidence of Israel’s violations of human rights mattered little.
This kind of reductionism has often served as the prelude to any discussion concerning the so-called Arab-Israeli conflict: events are depicted and defined using polarizing terminology that pay little heed to facts and contexts, and focus primarily on perceptions and interpretations.
Hence, it should also matter little to those same individuals whether or not Palestinian youth such as Isra’ Abed, 28, shot repeatedly on October 9 in Affula – and Fadi Samir, 19, killed by Israeli police a few days earlier, were, in fact, knife-wielding Palestinians who were in a state of self-defense and shot by the police. Even when video evidence emerges countering the official Israeli narrative and revealing, as in most other cases, that the murdered youth posed no threat, the official Israeli narrative will always be accepted as facts, by some. Isra’, Fadi, and all the rest are ‘terrorists’ who endangered the safety of Israeli citizens and, alas, had to be eliminated as a result.
The same logic has been used throughout the last century, when the current so-called Israeli Defense Forces were still operating as armed militias and organized gangs in Palestine, before it was ethnically-cleansed to become Israel.
Since then, this logic has applied in every possible context in which Israel has found itself, allegedly: compelled to use force against Palestinian and Arab ‘terrorists’, potential ‘terrorists’ along with their ‘terror infrastructure.’
It is not at all about the type of weapons that Palestinians use, if any at all. Israeli violence largely pertains to Israel’s own perception of its self-tailored reality: that of Israel being a beleaguered country, whose very existence is under constant threat by Palestinians, whether they are resisting by use of arms, or children playing at the beach in Gaza.
There has never been a deviation from the norm in the historiography of the official Israeli discourse which explains, justifies or celebrates the death of tens of thousands of Palestinians throughout the years: the Israelis are never at fault, and no context for Palestinian ‘violence’ is ever required.
Much of our current discussion regarding the protests in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and as of late at the Gaza border is centred on Israeli priorities, not Palestinian rights, which is clearly prejudiced. Once more, Israel is speaking of ‘unrest’ and ‘attacks’ originating from the ‘territories’, as if the priority is guaranteeing the safety of the armed occupiers – soldiers and extremist settlers, alike.
Rationally, it follows that the opposite state of ‘unrest’, that of ‘quiet’ and ‘lull’, are when millions of Palestinians agree to being subdued, humiliated, occupied, besieged and habitually killed or, in some cases, lynched by Israeli Jewish mobs or burned alive, while embracing their miserable fate and carrying on with life as usual.
The return to ‘normalcy’ is thus achieved; obviously, at the high price of blood and violence, which Israel has a monopoly on, while its actions are rarely questioned, Palestinians can then assume the role of the perpetual victim, and their Israeli masters can continue manning military checkpoints, robbing land and building yet more illegal settlements in violation of international law.
The question, now, ought not to be basic queries about whether some of the murdered Palestinians wielded knives or not, or truly posed a threat to the safety of the soldiers and armed settlers. Rather, it should be centred principally on the very violent act of military occupation and illegal settlements in Palestinian land in the first place.
From this perspective then, wielding a knife is, in fact, an act of self-defence; arguing about the disproportionate, or otherwise, Israeli response to the Palestinian ‘violence’ is, altogether moot.
Cornering oneself with technical definitions is dehumanizing to the collective Palestinian experience.
“How many Palestinians would have to be killed to make a case for using the term ‘massacre’?” was my answer to those who questioned my use of the term. Similarly, how many would have to be killed, how many protests would have to be mobilised and for how long before the current ‘unrest’, ‘upheaval’ or ‘clashes’ between Palestinian protesters and the Israeli army become an ‘Intifada’?
And why should it even be called a ‘Third Intifada’?
Mazin Qumsiyeh describes what is happening in Palestine as the ‘14th Intifada’. He should know best, for he authored the outstanding book, Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment. However, I would go even further and suggest that there have been many more intifadas, if one is to use definitions that are relevant to the popular discourse of the Palestinians themselves. Intifadas – shaking off – become such when Palestinian communities mobilise across Palestine, unifying beyond factional and political agendas and carry out a sustained campaign of protests, civil disobedience and other forms of grassroots resistance.
They do so when they have reached a breaking point, the process of which is not declared through press releases or televised conferences, but is unspoken, yet everlasting.
Some, although well-intentioned, argue that Palestinians are not yet ready for a third intifada, as if Palestinian uprisings are a calculated process, carried out after much deliberation and strategic haggling. Nothing can be further from the truth.
An example is the 1936 Intifada against British and Zionist colonialism in Palestine. It was initially organized by Palestinian Arab parties, which were mostly sanctioned by the British Mandate government itself. But when the fellahin, the poor and largely uneducated peasants, began sensing that their leadership was being co-opted – as is the case today – they operated outside the confines of politics, launching and sustaining a rebellion that lasted for three years.
The fellahin then, as has always been the case, carried the brunt of the British and Zionist violence, as they fell in droves. Those unlucky enough to be caught, were tortured and executed: Farhan al-Sadi, Izz al-Din al-Qassam, Mohammed Jamjoom, Fuad Hijazi are among the many leaders of that generation.
These scenarios have been in constant replay since, and with each intifada, the price paid in blood seems to be constantly increasing. Yet more intifadas are inevitable, whether they last a week, three or seven years, since the collective injustices experienced by Palestinians remain the common denominator among the successive generations of fellahin and their descendants of refugees.
What is happening today is an Intifada, but it is unnecessary to assign a number to it, since popular mobilization does not always follow a neat rationale required by some of us. Most of those leading the current Intifada were either children, or not even born when the Intifada al-Aqsa started in 2000; they were certainly not living when the Stone Intifada exploded in 1987. In fact, many might be oblivious of the details of the original Intifada of 1936.
This generation grew up oppressed, confined and subjugated, at complete odds with the misleading ‘peace process’ lexicon that has prolonged a strange paradox between fantasy and reality. They are protesting because they experience daily humiliation and have to endure the unrelenting violence of occupation.
Moreover, they feel a total sense of betrayal by their leadership, which is corrupt and co-opted. So they rebel, and attempt to mobilize and sustain their rebellion for as long as they can, because they have no horizon of hope outside their own action.
Let us not get bogged down by details, self-imposed definitions and numbers. This is a Palestinian Intifada, even if it ends today. What truly matters is how we respond to the pleas of this oppressed generation; will we continue to assign greater importance to the safety of the armed occupier than to the rights of a burdened and oppressed nation?
– Dr. Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com.
When my book ‘Searching Jenin’ was published soon after the Israeli massacre in the Jenin refugee camp in 2002, I was quizzed repeatedly by the media and many readers for conferring the word ‘massacre’ on what Israel has depicted as a legitimate battle against camp-based ‘terrorists’.
The interrogative questions were aimed at relocating the narrative from a discussion regarding possible war crimes into a technical dispute over the application of language. For them, the evidence of Israel’s violations of human rights mattered little.
This kind of reductionism has often served as the prelude to any discussion concerning the so-called Arab-Israeli conflict: events are depicted and defined using polarizing terminology that pay little heed to facts and contexts, and focus primarily on perceptions and interpretations.
Hence, it should also matter little to those same individuals whether or not Palestinian youth such as Isra’ Abed, 28, shot repeatedly on October 9 in Affula – and Fadi Samir, 19, killed by Israeli police a few days earlier, were, in fact, knife-wielding Palestinians who were in a state of self-defense and shot by the police. Even when video evidence emerges countering the official Israeli narrative and revealing, as in most other cases, that the murdered youth posed no threat, the official Israeli narrative will always be accepted as facts, by some. Isra’, Fadi, and all the rest are ‘terrorists’ who endangered the safety of Israeli citizens and, alas, had to be eliminated as a result.
The same logic has been used throughout the last century, when the current so-called Israeli Defense Forces were still operating as armed militias and organized gangs in Palestine, before it was ethnically-cleansed to become Israel.
Since then, this logic has applied in every possible context in which Israel has found itself, allegedly: compelled to use force against Palestinian and Arab ‘terrorists’, potential ‘terrorists’ along with their ‘terror infrastructure.’
It is not at all about the type of weapons that Palestinians use, if any at all. Israeli violence largely pertains to Israel’s own perception of its self-tailored reality: that of Israel being a beleaguered country, whose very existence is under constant threat by Palestinians, whether they are resisting by use of arms, or children playing at the beach in Gaza.
There has never been a deviation from the norm in the historiography of the official Israeli discourse which explains, justifies or celebrates the death of tens of thousands of Palestinians throughout the years: the Israelis are never at fault, and no context for Palestinian ‘violence’ is ever required.
Much of our current discussion regarding the protests in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and as of late at the Gaza border is centred on Israeli priorities, not Palestinian rights, which is clearly prejudiced. Once more, Israel is speaking of ‘unrest’ and ‘attacks’ originating from the ‘territories’, as if the priority is guaranteeing the safety of the armed occupiers – soldiers and extremist settlers, alike.
Rationally, it follows that the opposite state of ‘unrest’, that of ‘quiet’ and ‘lull’, are when millions of Palestinians agree to being subdued, humiliated, occupied, besieged and habitually killed or, in some cases, lynched by Israeli Jewish mobs or burned alive, while embracing their miserable fate and carrying on with life as usual.
The return to ‘normalcy’ is thus achieved; obviously, at the high price of blood and violence, which Israel has a monopoly on, while its actions are rarely questioned, Palestinians can then assume the role of the perpetual victim, and their Israeli masters can continue manning military checkpoints, robbing land and building yet more illegal settlements in violation of international law.
The question, now, ought not to be basic queries about whether some of the murdered Palestinians wielded knives or not, or truly posed a threat to the safety of the soldiers and armed settlers. Rather, it should be centred principally on the very violent act of military occupation and illegal settlements in Palestinian land in the first place.
From this perspective then, wielding a knife is, in fact, an act of self-defence; arguing about the disproportionate, or otherwise, Israeli response to the Palestinian ‘violence’ is, altogether moot.
Cornering oneself with technical definitions is dehumanizing to the collective Palestinian experience.
“How many Palestinians would have to be killed to make a case for using the term ‘massacre’?” was my answer to those who questioned my use of the term. Similarly, how many would have to be killed, how many protests would have to be mobilised and for how long before the current ‘unrest’, ‘upheaval’ or ‘clashes’ between Palestinian protesters and the Israeli army become an ‘Intifada’?
And why should it even be called a ‘Third Intifada’?
Mazin Qumsiyeh describes what is happening in Palestine as the ‘14th Intifada’. He should know best, for he authored the outstanding book, Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment. However, I would go even further and suggest that there have been many more intifadas, if one is to use definitions that are relevant to the popular discourse of the Palestinians themselves. Intifadas – shaking off – become such when Palestinian communities mobilise across Palestine, unifying beyond factional and political agendas and carry out a sustained campaign of protests, civil disobedience and other forms of grassroots resistance.
They do so when they have reached a breaking point, the process of which is not declared through press releases or televised conferences, but is unspoken, yet everlasting.
Some, although well-intentioned, argue that Palestinians are not yet ready for a third intifada, as if Palestinian uprisings are a calculated process, carried out after much deliberation and strategic haggling. Nothing can be further from the truth.
An example is the 1936 Intifada against British and Zionist colonialism in Palestine. It was initially organized by Palestinian Arab parties, which were mostly sanctioned by the British Mandate government itself. But when the fellahin, the poor and largely uneducated peasants, began sensing that their leadership was being co-opted – as is the case today – they operated outside the confines of politics, launching and sustaining a rebellion that lasted for three years.
The fellahin then, as has always been the case, carried the brunt of the British and Zionist violence, as they fell in droves. Those unlucky enough to be caught, were tortured and executed: Farhan al-Sadi, Izz al-Din al-Qassam, Mohammed Jamjoom, Fuad Hijazi are among the many leaders of that generation.
These scenarios have been in constant replay since, and with each intifada, the price paid in blood seems to be constantly increasing. Yet more intifadas are inevitable, whether they last a week, three or seven years, since the collective injustices experienced by Palestinians remain the common denominator among the successive generations of fellahin and their descendants of refugees.
What is happening today is an Intifada, but it is unnecessary to assign a number to it, since popular mobilization does not always follow a neat rationale required by some of us. Most of those leading the current Intifada were either children, or not even born when the Intifada al-Aqsa started in 2000; they were certainly not living when the Stone Intifada exploded in 1987. In fact, many might be oblivious of the details of the original Intifada of 1936.
This generation grew up oppressed, confined and subjugated, at complete odds with the misleading ‘peace process’ lexicon that has prolonged a strange paradox between fantasy and reality. They are protesting because they experience daily humiliation and have to endure the unrelenting violence of occupation.
Moreover, they feel a total sense of betrayal by their leadership, which is corrupt and co-opted. So they rebel, and attempt to mobilize and sustain their rebellion for as long as they can, because they have no horizon of hope outside their own action.
Let us not get bogged down by details, self-imposed definitions and numbers. This is a Palestinian Intifada, even if it ends today. What truly matters is how we respond to the pleas of this oppressed generation; will we continue to assign greater importance to the safety of the armed occupier than to the rights of a burdened and oppressed nation?
– Dr. Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com.
Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) confirmed six Palestinian children died at the hands of Israeli forces in separate incidents across the West Bank, occupied Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip over the past four days.
Israeli forces used lethal forces to quash a protest near Gaza’s border with Israel, east of the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, on Saturday.
DCIP sources said that Marwan Hashem Barbakh, 10, died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. Another youth, Khalil Omar Othman, died from a bullet to the chest and another to the stomach. He had just turned 18 that day.
The deadly incident was the second in as many days. Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians and injured more than 60 on Friday near the border fence, according to media reports.
On Sunday, Israel carried out a predawn air strike south of Gaza City that collapsed a home on the Hassan family of four, according to witnesses. Rahaf, 3, and her pregnant mother, Nour, died. Her father, Yahya, and brother, Mohammad, 4, sustained injuries.
Late afternoon on Sunday, Israeli forces shot Ahmad Abdullah Sharaka, 14, during clashes near an army checkpoint in the West Bank town of Al-Bireh. The rubber-coated metal bullet struck him behind the left ear. Doctors at the Palestine Medical Complex pronounced him dead from a severe brain hemorrhage about an hour after he arrived.
“It’s now a matter of when the next Palestinian child fatality will occur and not if it will take place,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program director at DCIP. “The complete disregard for human life that Israeli soldiers exhibit suggests that the use of lethal force is their standard operating procedure whatever the circumstance.”
On Monday morning, Israeli police gunned down Mustafa Adel al-Khatib, 17, near the Old City in Jerusalem, after he allegedly attempted to stab one of their officers. DCIP is still investigating the circumstances.
The incident followed Saturday’s fatal shooting of another Palestinian teenager, Izhaq Qasem Badran, 16, who stabbed two Israeli citizens near Jerusalem’s Old City. Witnesses said that Israeli police prevented paramedics from treating him at the scene.
Israeli and Palestinian media reported that Israeli police shot dead a Palestinian boy and seriously injured another in the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev in East Jerusalem on Monday afternoon. The police alleged they tried to stab an Israeli boy. DCIP is confirming the details.
DCIP has confirmed six child fatalities so far this month. The first among them was Abdel-Rahman Obeidallah, 13, who took a single bullet to the chest at Aida refugee camp, north of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on October 5. A preliminary Israeli army investigation found that he was shot by mistake, according to Israeli news media.
At least 65 Palestinian children have been injured since the start of October, based on DCIP’s initial data.
In recent weeks, Israeli officials amended open-fire rules to allow Israeli forces to fire live ammunition during protests in Jerusalem when there is a “threat to life.” Previously, the regulations permitted live ammunition only when there is a direct, mortal threat to the life of a police officer or soldier.
The move comes as Israeli ministers approved harsher sentencing guidelines and fines for stone-throwers.
Israeli forces used lethal forces to quash a protest near Gaza’s border with Israel, east of the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, on Saturday.
DCIP sources said that Marwan Hashem Barbakh, 10, died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. Another youth, Khalil Omar Othman, died from a bullet to the chest and another to the stomach. He had just turned 18 that day.
The deadly incident was the second in as many days. Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians and injured more than 60 on Friday near the border fence, according to media reports.
On Sunday, Israel carried out a predawn air strike south of Gaza City that collapsed a home on the Hassan family of four, according to witnesses. Rahaf, 3, and her pregnant mother, Nour, died. Her father, Yahya, and brother, Mohammad, 4, sustained injuries.
Late afternoon on Sunday, Israeli forces shot Ahmad Abdullah Sharaka, 14, during clashes near an army checkpoint in the West Bank town of Al-Bireh. The rubber-coated metal bullet struck him behind the left ear. Doctors at the Palestine Medical Complex pronounced him dead from a severe brain hemorrhage about an hour after he arrived.
“It’s now a matter of when the next Palestinian child fatality will occur and not if it will take place,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program director at DCIP. “The complete disregard for human life that Israeli soldiers exhibit suggests that the use of lethal force is their standard operating procedure whatever the circumstance.”
On Monday morning, Israeli police gunned down Mustafa Adel al-Khatib, 17, near the Old City in Jerusalem, after he allegedly attempted to stab one of their officers. DCIP is still investigating the circumstances.
The incident followed Saturday’s fatal shooting of another Palestinian teenager, Izhaq Qasem Badran, 16, who stabbed two Israeli citizens near Jerusalem’s Old City. Witnesses said that Israeli police prevented paramedics from treating him at the scene.
Israeli and Palestinian media reported that Israeli police shot dead a Palestinian boy and seriously injured another in the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev in East Jerusalem on Monday afternoon. The police alleged they tried to stab an Israeli boy. DCIP is confirming the details.
DCIP has confirmed six child fatalities so far this month. The first among them was Abdel-Rahman Obeidallah, 13, who took a single bullet to the chest at Aida refugee camp, north of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on October 5. A preliminary Israeli army investigation found that he was shot by mistake, according to Israeli news media.
At least 65 Palestinian children have been injured since the start of October, based on DCIP’s initial data.
In recent weeks, Israeli officials amended open-fire rules to allow Israeli forces to fire live ammunition during protests in Jerusalem when there is a “threat to life.” Previously, the regulations permitted live ammunition only when there is a direct, mortal threat to the life of a police officer or soldier.
The move comes as Israeli ministers approved harsher sentencing guidelines and fines for stone-throwers.
The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain (AOHR UK) confirmed that the lethal force used by the Zionist occupation against the Palestinian demonstrators cannot be justified in any way and that if the occupation continues to pursue field murders without any deterrent this will lead to more casualties.
The organization said in a statement on Tuesday, "The Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu bears full responsibility for the current events in the occupied territories as a result to the policies of targeting the holy sites and the lives of citizens and that all crimes committed by Israeli soldiers constitute war crimes according to Article VIII of the Rome convention of the International Criminal Court.
The organization criticized the international community's position on the ongoing clashes in the Palestinian territories, the statement said, adding that, "The international community does not pick up the lessons from past events, in which the occupation had committed the most heinous crimes against Palestinian civilians, in spite of the calls to curb Israeli violations and stop the systematic attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque from the beginning of the events. No actions were taken so the occupation government thought that its hands are free to do what they want, but their assumptions were wrong as the Palestinians stood up to defend their holy places and their right to life, as provided for by the rules of international law. "
The organization urged the Attorney General's office at the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation authorities, and noted that the ICC did not move a muscle until the present moment and not even on previous occasions, the most important of which was the offensive on the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014.
The AOHR also called on the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Secretary General of the United Nations and the European Union to take immediate action to stop the Zionist attacks and provide protection for the Palestinian people.
It stressed that without that support “we may witness other massacres committed by the occupation”.
The organization pointed out that "the Judaization of Jerusalem and the targeting of al-Aqsa Mosque is an ongoing process since the occupation had control over the whole of the Palestinian territories in 1967.”
It recalled that the Israeli government had immediately conducted many procedures at an accelerated pace among which were: the construction of settlements, the withdrawal of the Jerusalemites’ IDs and expelling them from the city, the demolition of the Jerusalemites’ houses, taking control over Palestinian homes, the construction of synagogues that surround al-Aqsa Mosque and restricting freedom of worship by consecutive incursions into it and preventing those under a specific age from entering al- Aqsa Mosque ,in addition to the excavations underneath the mosque and the construction of tunnels which have become a threat to the mosque itself.
Besides, many Zionist organizations were established throughout the years of occupation that aimed to demolish al-Aqsa Mosque and build the alleged temple in its place, the organization underlined.
The organization said in a statement on Tuesday, "The Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu bears full responsibility for the current events in the occupied territories as a result to the policies of targeting the holy sites and the lives of citizens and that all crimes committed by Israeli soldiers constitute war crimes according to Article VIII of the Rome convention of the International Criminal Court.
The organization criticized the international community's position on the ongoing clashes in the Palestinian territories, the statement said, adding that, "The international community does not pick up the lessons from past events, in which the occupation had committed the most heinous crimes against Palestinian civilians, in spite of the calls to curb Israeli violations and stop the systematic attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque from the beginning of the events. No actions were taken so the occupation government thought that its hands are free to do what they want, but their assumptions were wrong as the Palestinians stood up to defend their holy places and their right to life, as provided for by the rules of international law. "
The organization urged the Attorney General's office at the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation authorities, and noted that the ICC did not move a muscle until the present moment and not even on previous occasions, the most important of which was the offensive on the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014.
The AOHR also called on the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Secretary General of the United Nations and the European Union to take immediate action to stop the Zionist attacks and provide protection for the Palestinian people.
It stressed that without that support “we may witness other massacres committed by the occupation”.
The organization pointed out that "the Judaization of Jerusalem and the targeting of al-Aqsa Mosque is an ongoing process since the occupation had control over the whole of the Palestinian territories in 1967.”
It recalled that the Israeli government had immediately conducted many procedures at an accelerated pace among which were: the construction of settlements, the withdrawal of the Jerusalemites’ IDs and expelling them from the city, the demolition of the Jerusalemites’ houses, taking control over Palestinian homes, the construction of synagogues that surround al-Aqsa Mosque and restricting freedom of worship by consecutive incursions into it and preventing those under a specific age from entering al- Aqsa Mosque ,in addition to the excavations underneath the mosque and the construction of tunnels which have become a threat to the mosque itself.
Besides, many Zionist organizations were established throughout the years of occupation that aimed to demolish al-Aqsa Mosque and build the alleged temple in its place, the organization underlined.
By Khalid Amayreh in Occupied Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been lying rather brazenly in an effort to justify the summary execution of Palestinians suspected of trying to attack Israeli soldiers and settlers.
During the past few days, eyewitnesses reported that Israeli security personnel actually fabricated several "stabbing incidents" in order to justify shooting and killing more Palestinians.
"We are talking about totally innocent people who were just walking the street or crossing a pedestrian line or simply standing in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Anwar Hamzeh, a human rights monitoring group in Ramallah.
“I don't deny that some people were trying to or did stab some Israeli soldiers or settlers. But it is crystal clear that probably a majority of the estimated two dozen Palestinians murdered by Israel since the beginning of October were completely innocent."
What terror?
In another burst of what he usually does best, namely lying, Netanyahu claimed Israel was fighting what he called terror.
As usual, he ignored the overwhelming terror by the Israeli state, its soldiers and settlers against unprotected and unarmed Palestinian civilians, like burning entire Palestinian families alive, shooting to kill rather indiscriminately on Palestinians innocuously hurling stones on heavily protected soldiers as happened near the security fence east of Gaza.
There is only one word for this behavior: Murder, intentionally and premeditatedly.
Netanyahu went further by proposing to cooperate with Jordan and Egypt.
He carefully overlooked the clarion fact that the enduring Israeli occupation of Palestine and denial of its citizens the most basic human rights, including the right to life, is the root cause of violence and terror, not only in the Middle East but in much of the world as well.
And in the past few years, Netanyahu introduced an additional incendiary provocation, namely recurrent efforts by fanatical Messianic Jews to take over the Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam's holiest places under the sun.
This extremely sensitive issue has always been and will continue to be a matter of life or death for the vast majority of the Palestinian people.
I asked Sheikh Ikrema Sabri, the former Mufti of Palestine, to explain the gravity surrounding recurrent Israeli efforts to seize the Aqsa Mosque in order to build a Jewish temple on the mosque's site.
The Sheikh said: "The Aqsa Mosque is the ultimate issue. No other issue would mobilize and provoke the Palestinian people like this issue does. The seizure of the Aqsa Mosque, God forbids, would symbolize the total expulsion of the Palestinian people from this land."
Insult to Egypt, Jordan
Needless to say, Netanyahu's statement before the Knesset on Monday that Israel was ready and willing to cooperate with Amman and Cairo against terror constitutes a real insult to both the Jordanian and Egyptian regimes.
In truth, Netanyahu, by offering to cooperate with regional powers against terror, actually wants Amman and Cairo to openly support Israel's doomsday designs against the Aqsa Mosque as well as Israel's ongoing crimes against Palestinian civilians.
Israel has already killed any remaining realistic prospects for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state on the territories Israel occupied in 1967.
Now, Israel under Netanyahu wants to complete the "final solution" for the Palestinian question by getting some Arab regimes to endorse the liquidation of the Palestinian cause under the rubric of fighting terror.
Is there a greater insult to Amman and Cairo than calling on the two Arab capitals to back Israel's slow-motion holocaust against the Palestinian people?
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been lying rather brazenly in an effort to justify the summary execution of Palestinians suspected of trying to attack Israeli soldiers and settlers.
During the past few days, eyewitnesses reported that Israeli security personnel actually fabricated several "stabbing incidents" in order to justify shooting and killing more Palestinians.
"We are talking about totally innocent people who were just walking the street or crossing a pedestrian line or simply standing in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Anwar Hamzeh, a human rights monitoring group in Ramallah.
“I don't deny that some people were trying to or did stab some Israeli soldiers or settlers. But it is crystal clear that probably a majority of the estimated two dozen Palestinians murdered by Israel since the beginning of October were completely innocent."
What terror?
In another burst of what he usually does best, namely lying, Netanyahu claimed Israel was fighting what he called terror.
As usual, he ignored the overwhelming terror by the Israeli state, its soldiers and settlers against unprotected and unarmed Palestinian civilians, like burning entire Palestinian families alive, shooting to kill rather indiscriminately on Palestinians innocuously hurling stones on heavily protected soldiers as happened near the security fence east of Gaza.
There is only one word for this behavior: Murder, intentionally and premeditatedly.
Netanyahu went further by proposing to cooperate with Jordan and Egypt.
He carefully overlooked the clarion fact that the enduring Israeli occupation of Palestine and denial of its citizens the most basic human rights, including the right to life, is the root cause of violence and terror, not only in the Middle East but in much of the world as well.
And in the past few years, Netanyahu introduced an additional incendiary provocation, namely recurrent efforts by fanatical Messianic Jews to take over the Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam's holiest places under the sun.
This extremely sensitive issue has always been and will continue to be a matter of life or death for the vast majority of the Palestinian people.
I asked Sheikh Ikrema Sabri, the former Mufti of Palestine, to explain the gravity surrounding recurrent Israeli efforts to seize the Aqsa Mosque in order to build a Jewish temple on the mosque's site.
The Sheikh said: "The Aqsa Mosque is the ultimate issue. No other issue would mobilize and provoke the Palestinian people like this issue does. The seizure of the Aqsa Mosque, God forbids, would symbolize the total expulsion of the Palestinian people from this land."
Insult to Egypt, Jordan
Needless to say, Netanyahu's statement before the Knesset on Monday that Israel was ready and willing to cooperate with Amman and Cairo against terror constitutes a real insult to both the Jordanian and Egyptian regimes.
In truth, Netanyahu, by offering to cooperate with regional powers against terror, actually wants Amman and Cairo to openly support Israel's doomsday designs against the Aqsa Mosque as well as Israel's ongoing crimes against Palestinian civilians.
Israel has already killed any remaining realistic prospects for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state on the territories Israel occupied in 1967.
Now, Israel under Netanyahu wants to complete the "final solution" for the Palestinian question by getting some Arab regimes to endorse the liquidation of the Palestinian cause under the rubric of fighting terror.
Is there a greater insult to Amman and Cairo than calling on the two Arab capitals to back Israel's slow-motion holocaust against the Palestinian people?
Director of Geneva Center for Democracy and Human Rights Anwar al-Gharbi demanded sending international observers for the protection of Palestinians from Israeli aggressive practices in the West Bank.
Gharbi said Israel continues its violations of international laws and challenges the world in full disregard to international resolutions related to Jerusalem.
In a statement on Monday, he slammed the international silence towards what is going on in the West Bank of Israeli crimes and offensive practices that led to dozens of martyrs and injured during the past few days.
The human rights activist Gharbi pointed to the danger of the official protection of Israeli fanatic settlers and soldiers in terms of their crimes against Palestinians.
“We have documented Israeli crimes against Palestinian civilians including assassinations, snipping operations, and other awful crimes that require investigation that hold Israel accountable as Israeli soldiers are involved", Gharbi said.
Gharbi said Israel continues its violations of international laws and challenges the world in full disregard to international resolutions related to Jerusalem.
In a statement on Monday, he slammed the international silence towards what is going on in the West Bank of Israeli crimes and offensive practices that led to dozens of martyrs and injured during the past few days.
The human rights activist Gharbi pointed to the danger of the official protection of Israeli fanatic settlers and soldiers in terms of their crimes against Palestinians.
“We have documented Israeli crimes against Palestinian civilians including assassinations, snipping operations, and other awful crimes that require investigation that hold Israel accountable as Israeli soldiers are involved", Gharbi said.
Secretary General of the National Christian Assembly in the Holy Land, Dmitry Dliani, said Israeli field assassination crimes and mutilation of Palestinian martyrs’ bodies prove the failure of Israeli government.
In a statement on Monday, Dliani said Israeli ministers and MKs practice the worst incitement to violence against Palestinians by their racist statements which are full of hatred.
He stressed that Israeli incitement legally covers for the terrorism of Jewish fanatic settlers in committing more crimes against Palestinians.
The Christian official pointed out that Netanyahu’s statements in English on his likeness of calming the situation in the West Bank runs contrary to Israeli actual practices in the field and Israeli leaders' statements in Hebrew.
In a statement on Monday, Dliani said Israeli ministers and MKs practice the worst incitement to violence against Palestinians by their racist statements which are full of hatred.
He stressed that Israeli incitement legally covers for the terrorism of Jewish fanatic settlers in committing more crimes against Palestinians.
The Christian official pointed out that Netanyahu’s statements in English on his likeness of calming the situation in the West Bank runs contrary to Israeli actual practices in the field and Israeli leaders' statements in Hebrew.
Hamas Movement affirmed that Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech that was delivered on Monday reflects his state of confusion in front of Jerusalem Intifada.
Hamas Movement Spokesman Hossam Badran said that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared hostility to all what is Palestinian after he failed to stop the Intifada.
Badran assured that “Netanyahu’s threats do not scare anyone or change any reality on the ground.”
The Palestinian People took their decision to confront Israeli brutality, he added. We are all united in defense of al-Aqsa Mosque and in face of Israeli crimes.
He called on the Arabic and Islamist nation to stand by the Palestinian people by all possible means.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted security measures have failed, saying that there was “no quick fix for a spate of Palestinian ‘lone-wolf’ attacks that the Jewish state has faced in recent days.” He asked Israelis to remain vigilant.
In a press conference yesterday, along with Minister of Defence Moshe Yaalon, Public Security Minister Gildan Erdan, and army officials, Netanyahu claimed that there is a wave of violence with knives, stones and weapons that “are all the result of wild and untruthful incitement from Hamas, from the Palestinian Authority, from several neighboring counties and, no less, from the Islamic Movement in Israel.”
He also vowed to “take aggressive measures against the Islamic Movement in Israel”, led by Sheikh Raed Salah.
Hamas Movement Spokesman Hossam Badran said that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared hostility to all what is Palestinian after he failed to stop the Intifada.
Badran assured that “Netanyahu’s threats do not scare anyone or change any reality on the ground.”
The Palestinian People took their decision to confront Israeli brutality, he added. We are all united in defense of al-Aqsa Mosque and in face of Israeli crimes.
He called on the Arabic and Islamist nation to stand by the Palestinian people by all possible means.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted security measures have failed, saying that there was “no quick fix for a spate of Palestinian ‘lone-wolf’ attacks that the Jewish state has faced in recent days.” He asked Israelis to remain vigilant.
In a press conference yesterday, along with Minister of Defence Moshe Yaalon, Public Security Minister Gildan Erdan, and army officials, Netanyahu claimed that there is a wave of violence with knives, stones and weapons that “are all the result of wild and untruthful incitement from Hamas, from the Palestinian Authority, from several neighboring counties and, no less, from the Islamic Movement in Israel.”
He also vowed to “take aggressive measures against the Islamic Movement in Israel”, led by Sheikh Raed Salah.
The high number of casualties, in particular those resulting from the use of live ammunition by Israeli forces raise serious concerns about the excessive use of force that may be contrary to international law enforcement standards, UNRWA warned in a statement issued Monday.
Under international law there are strict limits to the use of lethal force whether in the context of law enforcement operations or during conflict. These limitations are especially pertinent where a military occupying power operates in civilian areas, the UN agency said.
UNRWA expressed deep concern over “the escalating violence and widespread loss of civilian life in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel.”
Only robust political action can prevent the further escalation of a situation that is affecting Palestinian and Israeli civilians, according to the agency.
“We condemn killings and injuries of Palestine refugees such as the tragic case on 5 October, of Abd El Rahman, a 13-year-old ninth grade student at an UNRWA school who was shot dead by Israeli Forces in Bethlehem’s Aida refugee camp.”
The initial UNRWA investigation indicates that the child was with a group of friends; next to the UNRWA office after the school day was over and was not posing any threat.
”Where alleged violations of international law occur, there must be a prompt, impartial, effective and thorough investigation of the events and full accountability in accordance with international standards.”
UNRWA reiterates the call of the United Nations Secretary-General on all sides to respect and protect the rights of children, in particular their inherent right to life. We call for maximum restraint to ensure the protection of civilians, in accordance with international law.
Under international law there are strict limits to the use of lethal force whether in the context of law enforcement operations or during conflict. These limitations are especially pertinent where a military occupying power operates in civilian areas, the UN agency said.
UNRWA expressed deep concern over “the escalating violence and widespread loss of civilian life in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel.”
Only robust political action can prevent the further escalation of a situation that is affecting Palestinian and Israeli civilians, according to the agency.
“We condemn killings and injuries of Palestine refugees such as the tragic case on 5 October, of Abd El Rahman, a 13-year-old ninth grade student at an UNRWA school who was shot dead by Israeli Forces in Bethlehem’s Aida refugee camp.”
The initial UNRWA investigation indicates that the child was with a group of friends; next to the UNRWA office after the school day was over and was not posing any threat.
”Where alleged violations of international law occur, there must be a prompt, impartial, effective and thorough investigation of the events and full accountability in accordance with international standards.”
UNRWA reiterates the call of the United Nations Secretary-General on all sides to respect and protect the rights of children, in particular their inherent right to life. We call for maximum restraint to ensure the protection of civilians, in accordance with international law.
12 oct 2015
The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH) has reported on Monday that Israeli soldiers shot and killed 27 Palestinians, including three killed in Jerusalem on Monday, meanwhile more than 1400 others were injured by Israeli troops gunfire since the start of October.
The MOH said in its report that among the 27 killed Palestinians there are seven children. According to the press statement, 16 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and 11 from the Gaza Strip since October.
The Ministry of Health report also showed that since the start of October 4000 residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation fired by Israeli troops targeting Palestinian protesters.
Three Palestinians were killed on Monday after being shoot dead by Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem. On Monday evening, the Israeli military claimed that a Palestinian man stabbed an Israeli passenger on a bus in Jerusalem, and a soldier on the bus shot and killed the man.
But the Israeli military account is contradictory, claiming that the victim of the stabbing attack was a civilian passenger, but that a soldier was taken to the hospital with light wounds. No civilian victim was identified or taken to the hospital, which has led to speculation that the Israeli military spokesperson's account may not be entirely accurate.
Earlier on Monday midday, Hasan Manasra, 15 years of age, was killed while his cousin Ahmad Saleh Manasra, 13, suffered a serious injury as they were shot by Israeli troops near Pisgat Zeev Israeli settlement, in occupied Jerusalem. They are both from Beit Hanina, in Jerusalem. The police claimed that the boys stabbed two settlers, wounding them.
A 18+ video of the incident showed Hasan being abused by Israeli settlers as he was on the ground bleeding and calling for medical help. The video showed that he had no knife on him and that soldiers were stopping the ambulance from reaching him.
Also on Monday Mustafa 'Adel al-Khatib, 18 years of age, from Sur Baher town, in occupied Jerusalem, was killed near Bab al-Asbat (The Tribes Gate) in the city after being shot by Israeli soldiers.
According to the narrative of the Israeli military, "the Palestinian walked up to the officer and stabbed him." Eyewitnesses said Khatib, a high-school student, was driving his car in a narrow street between the al-Asbat Gate and Hatta Gate, in the Old City, before the soldiers ordered him to stop, and instantly opened fire on him.
Meanwhile Israeli police, on Monday afternoon, have shot and critically injured a Palestinian schoolgirl who they claimed “tried to stab an officer”. The girl is 15 years old, and was going home from school with her friends. She was shot while still wearing her school uniform.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated on Monday that 25 Palestinians have been injured during ongoing clashes between local youth and invading Israeli soldiers in West Bank communities.
Clashes were reported in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, Nablus and Tulkarem in northern West Bank, and in the southern West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Hebron.
According to the MOH report, In Nablus, 15 residents were injured including five by live rounds fired by Israeli soldiers.
Elsewhere, a 16 year old boy was injured in Hebron after he was shot in his leg and abdomen by Israeli troops. In Bethlehem another 16 year old teen was injured after he got hit with a tear gas canister in his head.
Eight more residents were injured in Al Jalazoun refugee camp in Ramallah. Four were hit by live rounds in the foot, while 3 were injured in the head by rubber-coated steel bullets. A nine-year-old child was injured when he fell as he was chased by Israeli troops.
In related news, the Palestinian Prisoners' Association said that 400 Palestinians have been kidnapped by Israeli forces in the past ten days. The Association said that nearly half of those kidnapped are between the ages of 14 and 20. The Prisoners' Association noted that the kidnappings were mostly made in East Jerusalem and in Palestinian Authority controlled areas, also know as area A.
Clashes with Israeli troops kill 27 Palestinians, leave 1,400 injured
The death toll of Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli occupation troops since the outbreak of the Jerusalem Intifada has hit 27 at the same time as at least 1,400 more Palestinians have been left wounded.
Three Palestinian citizens, including the child Hasan al-Manasra, were cold-bloodedly murdered by the Israeli occupation soldiers in three separate attacks in Occupied Jerusalem on Monday, bringing the number of Palestinians murdered since the outbreak of the Jerusalem Intifada to 27.
14-year-old al-Manasra was fatally shot by the occupation patrols, who left him bleeding on the ground with an unparalleled nonchalance.
Observers said such scenes, captured on and documented by live video shots, are barefaced proofs of Israelis’ inherently sadistic character and terrorist impulses.
18-year-old Mustafa Aadel al-Khatib breathed his last after he was hit by more than 10 bullet shots by the Israeli occupation officers in southern Occupied Jerusalem as soon as he got out of his car for inspection.
16 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank and 11 in blockaded Gaza so far.
Health Minister Jawad Awad said 1/3 of those killed since the start of October are children. Eight children were killed by the Israeli occupation army and another baby was killed in the womb of his expectant mother, herself slain in a strike that also took away the life of her two-year-old girl Rahaf Yahya Hassan.
The minister further spoke out against Israel’s preplanned terrorism against Palestinian children and the deliberate targeting of their upper body parts.
He added that hundreds of other civilians have been held in hospitals to be urgently treated for their critical wounds.
According to official data by the Health Ministry, 25 Palestinians were injured Monday by the Israeli occupation army in the West Bank provinces of al-Khalil, Ramallah, Nablus, and Tulkarem, 21 among whom shot with live ammunition.
A nine-year-old child fell down and was injured as he had been chased down by the heavily-armed occupation soldiers.
236 have, meanwhile, been left wounded in blockaded Gaza in a week’s time while the number has hit 1,400 in both the West Bank and Gaza.
The MOH said in its report that among the 27 killed Palestinians there are seven children. According to the press statement, 16 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and 11 from the Gaza Strip since October.
The Ministry of Health report also showed that since the start of October 4000 residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation fired by Israeli troops targeting Palestinian protesters.
Three Palestinians were killed on Monday after being shoot dead by Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem. On Monday evening, the Israeli military claimed that a Palestinian man stabbed an Israeli passenger on a bus in Jerusalem, and a soldier on the bus shot and killed the man.
But the Israeli military account is contradictory, claiming that the victim of the stabbing attack was a civilian passenger, but that a soldier was taken to the hospital with light wounds. No civilian victim was identified or taken to the hospital, which has led to speculation that the Israeli military spokesperson's account may not be entirely accurate.
Earlier on Monday midday, Hasan Manasra, 15 years of age, was killed while his cousin Ahmad Saleh Manasra, 13, suffered a serious injury as they were shot by Israeli troops near Pisgat Zeev Israeli settlement, in occupied Jerusalem. They are both from Beit Hanina, in Jerusalem. The police claimed that the boys stabbed two settlers, wounding them.
A 18+ video of the incident showed Hasan being abused by Israeli settlers as he was on the ground bleeding and calling for medical help. The video showed that he had no knife on him and that soldiers were stopping the ambulance from reaching him.
Also on Monday Mustafa 'Adel al-Khatib, 18 years of age, from Sur Baher town, in occupied Jerusalem, was killed near Bab al-Asbat (The Tribes Gate) in the city after being shot by Israeli soldiers.
According to the narrative of the Israeli military, "the Palestinian walked up to the officer and stabbed him." Eyewitnesses said Khatib, a high-school student, was driving his car in a narrow street between the al-Asbat Gate and Hatta Gate, in the Old City, before the soldiers ordered him to stop, and instantly opened fire on him.
Meanwhile Israeli police, on Monday afternoon, have shot and critically injured a Palestinian schoolgirl who they claimed “tried to stab an officer”. The girl is 15 years old, and was going home from school with her friends. She was shot while still wearing her school uniform.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated on Monday that 25 Palestinians have been injured during ongoing clashes between local youth and invading Israeli soldiers in West Bank communities.
Clashes were reported in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, Nablus and Tulkarem in northern West Bank, and in the southern West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Hebron.
According to the MOH report, In Nablus, 15 residents were injured including five by live rounds fired by Israeli soldiers.
Elsewhere, a 16 year old boy was injured in Hebron after he was shot in his leg and abdomen by Israeli troops. In Bethlehem another 16 year old teen was injured after he got hit with a tear gas canister in his head.
Eight more residents were injured in Al Jalazoun refugee camp in Ramallah. Four were hit by live rounds in the foot, while 3 were injured in the head by rubber-coated steel bullets. A nine-year-old child was injured when he fell as he was chased by Israeli troops.
In related news, the Palestinian Prisoners' Association said that 400 Palestinians have been kidnapped by Israeli forces in the past ten days. The Association said that nearly half of those kidnapped are between the ages of 14 and 20. The Prisoners' Association noted that the kidnappings were mostly made in East Jerusalem and in Palestinian Authority controlled areas, also know as area A.
Clashes with Israeli troops kill 27 Palestinians, leave 1,400 injured
The death toll of Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli occupation troops since the outbreak of the Jerusalem Intifada has hit 27 at the same time as at least 1,400 more Palestinians have been left wounded.
Three Palestinian citizens, including the child Hasan al-Manasra, were cold-bloodedly murdered by the Israeli occupation soldiers in three separate attacks in Occupied Jerusalem on Monday, bringing the number of Palestinians murdered since the outbreak of the Jerusalem Intifada to 27.
14-year-old al-Manasra was fatally shot by the occupation patrols, who left him bleeding on the ground with an unparalleled nonchalance.
Observers said such scenes, captured on and documented by live video shots, are barefaced proofs of Israelis’ inherently sadistic character and terrorist impulses.
18-year-old Mustafa Aadel al-Khatib breathed his last after he was hit by more than 10 bullet shots by the Israeli occupation officers in southern Occupied Jerusalem as soon as he got out of his car for inspection.
16 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank and 11 in blockaded Gaza so far.
Health Minister Jawad Awad said 1/3 of those killed since the start of October are children. Eight children were killed by the Israeli occupation army and another baby was killed in the womb of his expectant mother, herself slain in a strike that also took away the life of her two-year-old girl Rahaf Yahya Hassan.
The minister further spoke out against Israel’s preplanned terrorism against Palestinian children and the deliberate targeting of their upper body parts.
He added that hundreds of other civilians have been held in hospitals to be urgently treated for their critical wounds.
According to official data by the Health Ministry, 25 Palestinians were injured Monday by the Israeli occupation army in the West Bank provinces of al-Khalil, Ramallah, Nablus, and Tulkarem, 21 among whom shot with live ammunition.
A nine-year-old child fell down and was injured as he had been chased down by the heavily-armed occupation soldiers.
236 have, meanwhile, been left wounded in blockaded Gaza in a week’s time while the number has hit 1,400 in both the West Bank and Gaza.
Hamas Movement accused Monday UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon of turning a blind eye to Israeli crimes committed against Palestinian youths and minors.
Spokesman for the Movement Sami Abu Zahri said in a press statement issued Monday evening that Ki-Moon turns a blind eye to Israel’s crimes most recently was shooting the Palestinian child Ahmed Mounasra and leaving him bleeding for long hours in an “inhuman way”.
Ki-Moon’s continued silence constitutes a political cover for the Israeli crimes, Abu Zuhri added.
"You should either assume your responsibilities or leave office," he said addressing the UN Secretary General.
Spokesman for the Movement Sami Abu Zahri said in a press statement issued Monday evening that Ki-Moon turns a blind eye to Israel’s crimes most recently was shooting the Palestinian child Ahmed Mounasra and leaving him bleeding for long hours in an “inhuman way”.
Ki-Moon’s continued silence constitutes a political cover for the Israeli crimes, Abu Zuhri added.
"You should either assume your responsibilities or leave office," he said addressing the UN Secretary General.
Senior Islamic Jihad official Khaled al-Batesh has said that Israel's deadly air raids on Gaza last night were an attempt to restore its deterrence after it lost its security in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
In press remarks on Sunday, Batesh expressed his belief that the Israeli government tries to restore its deterrence and prestige through targeting unarmed civilians especially after the events in the West Bank and Jerusalem have given the Jewish community an impression about its failure to control the situation.
The Islamic Jihad official warned that the Palestinian resistance would not let its people in the West Bank and Gaza alone in the face of Israel's crimes and would choose the right time to respond to them.
In press remarks on Sunday, Batesh expressed his belief that the Israeli government tries to restore its deterrence and prestige through targeting unarmed civilians especially after the events in the West Bank and Jerusalem have given the Jewish community an impression about its failure to control the situation.
The Islamic Jihad official warned that the Palestinian resistance would not let its people in the West Bank and Gaza alone in the face of Israel's crimes and would choose the right time to respond to them.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest terms the crime committed by Israeli forces on Monday morning, 12 October 2015, in occupied East Jerusalem, which resulted in killing Mostafa al-Khateeb on the grounds of suspicions, as this crime amounts to extra-judicial execution.
Committing such crimes as a policy adopted by Israeli forces is a translation of the decisions taken by the Israeli government and statements made by its members inciting for killing Palestinian civilians, who carry out and/or attempt to carry out stabbings against Israeli forces, police and settlers.
Furthermore, PCHR denounces this crime that is added to the series of Israeli crimes committed in East Jerusalem in particular, and the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) in general. Therefore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate action and fulfill its legal and moral obligations to protect the Palestinian civilians in the oPt. PCHR believes that the silence of the international community towards these crimes encourages the Israeli government to continue its policy that violates international humanitarian law.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 08:20, on the abovementioned day, while Mostafa Adel al-Khateeb (18), from Sour Baher village south of occupied East Jerusalem, was inside his car near al-Asbat Gate, which is one of the Old City gates, Israeli forces ordered him to step out of the car to be searched. Once he did, Israeli forces directly opened fire at him, as he was putting his hand in his pocket, raising suspicion for Israeli forces of an attempt to stab Israeli soldiers in the area. As a result, he was killed by over 10 bullets; some bullets hit him in the head and others penetrated his body.
The Israeli police was confused when addressing the incident. In the first statement made by the Israeli police, it was reported that the young man had stabbed a settler. However, they issued another statement claiming that he stabbed an Israeli soldier, but a third statement claimed that he refused to obey the Israeli Border Guard officer's orders to be searched and that he was hiding a knife in his pocket to stab somebody over there. The final statement explained that he attempted to stab an Israeli soldier in the place, but the bulletproof vest protected the soldier.
It should be noted that this crime is the fifth of its kind committed by Israeli forces in Jerusalem within 10 days. On 03 October 2015, Israeli special officers killed Mohannad Shafiq Halabi (19) on the grounds of stabbing 2 settlers near the Hospice Hotel in al-Wad Street in the Old City. Few hours later, an Israeli police officer opened fire from a close range at Fadi Samir Mostafa Aloon (19), from al-Eisawiya village, northeast of East Jerusalem, as they claimed that he attempted to stab a 15-year-old settler. In addition, on 10 October 2015, Israeli police officers opened fire at Ishac Qasem Badran (16), from Kufor Aqeb north of the city, after he stabbed 2 settlers in al-Mesrara area, where he was left bleeding to death. Also on the same day, Israeli forces opened fire at Mohammed Sa'id Mohammed Ali (19), from Shu'fat refugee camp, after he stabbed 2 officers of the Israeli special forces in al-Amoud Gate area. As a result, Ali was immediately killed.
PCHR strongly condemns the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against the Palestinian civilians in disregard for their lives. PCHR stresses that in the above-mentioned cases, Israeli forces could have used less force against the victims or could have arrested them. PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions.
Committing such crimes as a policy adopted by Israeli forces is a translation of the decisions taken by the Israeli government and statements made by its members inciting for killing Palestinian civilians, who carry out and/or attempt to carry out stabbings against Israeli forces, police and settlers.
Furthermore, PCHR denounces this crime that is added to the series of Israeli crimes committed in East Jerusalem in particular, and the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) in general. Therefore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate action and fulfill its legal and moral obligations to protect the Palestinian civilians in the oPt. PCHR believes that the silence of the international community towards these crimes encourages the Israeli government to continue its policy that violates international humanitarian law.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 08:20, on the abovementioned day, while Mostafa Adel al-Khateeb (18), from Sour Baher village south of occupied East Jerusalem, was inside his car near al-Asbat Gate, which is one of the Old City gates, Israeli forces ordered him to step out of the car to be searched. Once he did, Israeli forces directly opened fire at him, as he was putting his hand in his pocket, raising suspicion for Israeli forces of an attempt to stab Israeli soldiers in the area. As a result, he was killed by over 10 bullets; some bullets hit him in the head and others penetrated his body.
The Israeli police was confused when addressing the incident. In the first statement made by the Israeli police, it was reported that the young man had stabbed a settler. However, they issued another statement claiming that he stabbed an Israeli soldier, but a third statement claimed that he refused to obey the Israeli Border Guard officer's orders to be searched and that he was hiding a knife in his pocket to stab somebody over there. The final statement explained that he attempted to stab an Israeli soldier in the place, but the bulletproof vest protected the soldier.
It should be noted that this crime is the fifth of its kind committed by Israeli forces in Jerusalem within 10 days. On 03 October 2015, Israeli special officers killed Mohannad Shafiq Halabi (19) on the grounds of stabbing 2 settlers near the Hospice Hotel in al-Wad Street in the Old City. Few hours later, an Israeli police officer opened fire from a close range at Fadi Samir Mostafa Aloon (19), from al-Eisawiya village, northeast of East Jerusalem, as they claimed that he attempted to stab a 15-year-old settler. In addition, on 10 October 2015, Israeli police officers opened fire at Ishac Qasem Badran (16), from Kufor Aqeb north of the city, after he stabbed 2 settlers in al-Mesrara area, where he was left bleeding to death. Also on the same day, Israeli forces opened fire at Mohammed Sa'id Mohammed Ali (19), from Shu'fat refugee camp, after he stabbed 2 officers of the Israeli special forces in al-Amoud Gate area. As a result, Ali was immediately killed.
PCHR strongly condemns the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against the Palestinian civilians in disregard for their lives. PCHR stresses that in the above-mentioned cases, Israeli forces could have used less force against the victims or could have arrested them. PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions.
The Israeli occupation government on Sunday approved a bill toughening penalties for Palestinian protesters who react to the occupation soldiers by throwing stones.
The Israeli government unanimously endorsed a four-year sentence against Palestinians charged with throwing stones or Molotov cocktails.
Among the steps that the occupation government further approved was taking away the drivers' licenses and forbidding licenses to those that throw stones.
In addition, the Israeli occupation approved a law that includes a minimum punishment of four years imprisonment for throwing stones as well as taking away the allowance rights of parents of children that throw stones.
The Israeli occupation authorities are also to impose a fine on minors and the parents of children that throw stones, including payments to the person that was injured.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed on the sidelines of the government meeting that the aim of such tough penalties is to try out their efficiency on the ground.
The Israeli government unanimously endorsed a four-year sentence against Palestinians charged with throwing stones or Molotov cocktails.
Among the steps that the occupation government further approved was taking away the drivers' licenses and forbidding licenses to those that throw stones.
In addition, the Israeli occupation approved a law that includes a minimum punishment of four years imprisonment for throwing stones as well as taking away the allowance rights of parents of children that throw stones.
The Israeli occupation authorities are also to impose a fine on minors and the parents of children that throw stones, including payments to the person that was injured.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed on the sidelines of the government meeting that the aim of such tough penalties is to try out their efficiency on the ground.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested 560 Palestinians, including minors, in the West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem since the first of October, a Palestinian rights group revealed.
Palestinian minors, whose ages are below 18, constituted half of the number, the Palestinian Prisoners Society pointed out.
Most of the reported detainees were subjected to severe torture, some of them were shot during their arrest, the group added.
120 Palestinians were rounded up in al-Khalil, 100 in Occupied Jerusalem, 85 in Ramallah and Beira, 30 from Nablus, 28 from Jericho, 27 from Bethlehem and 17 from each of Jenin and Tulkarem.
16 others were detained from Qalqilia, 4 from Salfit, and 6 from Tubas.
The arrests came in the wake of the decision made by Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who ordered Israeli army to escalate arrest campaigns against Palestinians without any consideration to their age.
Palestinian minors, whose ages are below 18, constituted half of the number, the Palestinian Prisoners Society pointed out.
Most of the reported detainees were subjected to severe torture, some of them were shot during their arrest, the group added.
120 Palestinians were rounded up in al-Khalil, 100 in Occupied Jerusalem, 85 in Ramallah and Beira, 30 from Nablus, 28 from Jericho, 27 from Bethlehem and 17 from each of Jenin and Tulkarem.
16 others were detained from Qalqilia, 4 from Salfit, and 6 from Tubas.
The arrests came in the wake of the decision made by Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who ordered Israeli army to escalate arrest campaigns against Palestinians without any consideration to their age.
The Red Crescent Society (RCS) documented on Sunday 53 attacks by the Israeli occupation army against its teams and ambulances in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem since the start of the al-Quds Intifada earlier this month.
A report by the RCS said 37 emergency medical technicians were wounded and around 20 ambulances were damaged by the Israeli occupation soldiers since early October, when the latest round of attacks by the Israeli occupation army against Palestinians reached an uptick.
There are 24 cases in which RCS’ ambulances were hindered and prevented from reaching wounded Palestinians near seam zones.
The majority of attacks took place in occupied Jerusalem.
According to the RCS these violations aim at hindering the work of its teams and preventing them from carrying out their humanitarian duty, including reaching injured persons, providing them with First Aid and ensuring their transfer to hospitals. This has increased the suffering of injured persons and their families.
The attacks also constitute a grave breach of IHL provisions which stipulate that National Societies, such as the Red Crescent, must be allowed to provide humanitarian services to those in need. Moreover, the Israeli occupation army has infringed the four Geneva Conventions by arresting Palestinians from inside PRCS’ ambulances in a crying violation of the sanctity of ambulances and of the Society’s emblem, as well as of the right of the wounded to access medical care.
The Fourth Geneva Convention in particular stipulates that the occupying power should assure access to medical services and medical personnel. These violations have forced the wounded to seek alternative means of traveling to hospitals, exacerbating their wounds and endangering their lives.
RCS called on the international community represented by political, humanitarian and relief organizations, to take practical measures to compel the occupying power to cease all attacks and violations against the wounded civilians along with RCS’ ambulances and teams.
A report by the RCS said 37 emergency medical technicians were wounded and around 20 ambulances were damaged by the Israeli occupation soldiers since early October, when the latest round of attacks by the Israeli occupation army against Palestinians reached an uptick.
There are 24 cases in which RCS’ ambulances were hindered and prevented from reaching wounded Palestinians near seam zones.
The majority of attacks took place in occupied Jerusalem.
According to the RCS these violations aim at hindering the work of its teams and preventing them from carrying out their humanitarian duty, including reaching injured persons, providing them with First Aid and ensuring their transfer to hospitals. This has increased the suffering of injured persons and their families.
The attacks also constitute a grave breach of IHL provisions which stipulate that National Societies, such as the Red Crescent, must be allowed to provide humanitarian services to those in need. Moreover, the Israeli occupation army has infringed the four Geneva Conventions by arresting Palestinians from inside PRCS’ ambulances in a crying violation of the sanctity of ambulances and of the Society’s emblem, as well as of the right of the wounded to access medical care.
The Fourth Geneva Convention in particular stipulates that the occupying power should assure access to medical services and medical personnel. These violations have forced the wounded to seek alternative means of traveling to hospitals, exacerbating their wounds and endangering their lives.
RCS called on the international community represented by political, humanitarian and relief organizations, to take practical measures to compel the occupying power to cease all attacks and violations against the wounded civilians along with RCS’ ambulances and teams.
Member of Hamas's political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk has called for unity and for pooling the efforts in the face of the Israeli occupation, stressing the need for "supporting al-Quds intifada (uprising) and not deviating from its compass."
"We have to foster a spirit of brotherhood, love, unity and cooperation among us, and to face the occupation and its policies by shooting it from one bow," Abu Marzouk stated in Facebook remarks on Sunday.
He emphasized that any inter-Palestinian discussions must focus on improving the current popular uprising and providing the means for its success.
The Hamas official also demanded Israel to end its Judaization steps in Occupied Jerusalem, prevent non-Muslims from entering the Aqsa Mosque, and lift all restrictions imposed on the Muslims' freedom of worship at the Mosque.
He called on the Israeli government to stop its settlers from tampering with the security and safety of the Palestinians in the West Bank, burning them alive, appropriating their homes and lands, and building roads and settlements.
"We have to foster a spirit of brotherhood, love, unity and cooperation among us, and to face the occupation and its policies by shooting it from one bow," Abu Marzouk stated in Facebook remarks on Sunday.
He emphasized that any inter-Palestinian discussions must focus on improving the current popular uprising and providing the means for its success.
The Hamas official also demanded Israel to end its Judaization steps in Occupied Jerusalem, prevent non-Muslims from entering the Aqsa Mosque, and lift all restrictions imposed on the Muslims' freedom of worship at the Mosque.
He called on the Israeli government to stop its settlers from tampering with the security and safety of the Palestinians in the West Bank, burning them alive, appropriating their homes and lands, and building roads and settlements.
At least 24 Palestinian civilians, including six children, have been killed in the West Bank, Occupied Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip and more than 1,300 others have been injured since the beginning of the month.
An Israeli airstrike killed on Sunday a pregnant Palestinian woman and her young daughter in blockaded Gaza while her husband and three other children sustained injuries.
Dozens of Palestinian protesters have, meanwhile, been left wounded in Israeli strikes rocking the occupied Palestinian territories.
A 13-year-old Palestinian boy, identified by the Palestinian Health Ministry as Abdullah Sharakeh, was also fatally shot during a clash with the Israeli occupation forces. Abdullah was shot in the head with a rubber bullet, which led to a fatal brain hemorrhage.
82 Palestinian protesters were shot and injured by live rounds randomly unleashed by the Israeli occupation troops in the West Bank provinces of Tulkarem, Nablus, al-Khalil, and Ramallah.
Spokesperson for the Health Ministry Ashraf al-Qudra said 50 Palestinian civilians were left injured on Sunday, 42 among whom choked on tear gas and three others were shot with rubber bullets. Live bullet injuries were also documented among five Palestinians.
The death toll of Palestinians killed in clashes with the Israeli occupation patrols since the beginning of the al-Quds Intifada (Jerusalem Uprising) on early October has hit 24, 13 among whom from the West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem and 11 from Gaza.
PIC team identified the six slain children as two-year-old Rahaf Hassan, 10-year-old Marwan Breikh, Amjad al-Jundi, 17, Abdul Rahman Ubeidullah, 11, Ishaq Badra, 16, and 13-year-old Ahmad Abdullah Sharakeh.
An Israeli airstrike killed on Sunday a pregnant Palestinian woman and her young daughter in blockaded Gaza while her husband and three other children sustained injuries.
Dozens of Palestinian protesters have, meanwhile, been left wounded in Israeli strikes rocking the occupied Palestinian territories.
A 13-year-old Palestinian boy, identified by the Palestinian Health Ministry as Abdullah Sharakeh, was also fatally shot during a clash with the Israeli occupation forces. Abdullah was shot in the head with a rubber bullet, which led to a fatal brain hemorrhage.
82 Palestinian protesters were shot and injured by live rounds randomly unleashed by the Israeli occupation troops in the West Bank provinces of Tulkarem, Nablus, al-Khalil, and Ramallah.
Spokesperson for the Health Ministry Ashraf al-Qudra said 50 Palestinian civilians were left injured on Sunday, 42 among whom choked on tear gas and three others were shot with rubber bullets. Live bullet injuries were also documented among five Palestinians.
The death toll of Palestinians killed in clashes with the Israeli occupation patrols since the beginning of the al-Quds Intifada (Jerusalem Uprising) on early October has hit 24, 13 among whom from the West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem and 11 from Gaza.
PIC team identified the six slain children as two-year-old Rahaf Hassan, 10-year-old Marwan Breikh, Amjad al-Jundi, 17, Abdul Rahman Ubeidullah, 11, Ishaq Badra, 16, and 13-year-old Ahmad Abdullah Sharakeh.
11 oct 2015
The occupation authorities escalated their violations and assaults against Jerusalemites, their properties and holy sites during the month of September.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center said in its monthly report that the occupation authorities targeted human, trees and property in which the most prominent of these violations was against Al-Aqsa Mosque. Educational and medical institutions and their staff were also assaulted by the occupation authorities’ assaults as well as media crews, sports clubs and Islamic cemeteries.
The center said in its monthly report: “The occupation forces raided Al-Aqsa Mosque five times while fully armed and closed it in front of Muslim worshippers ten times. They also assaulted all the people present inside Al-Aqsa and at its gates including women and Al-Aqsa guards and also damaged the historical windows and burned carpets and wooden doors.
The number of detainees in September was the highest since the beginning of the year after a new unit was formed to chase stone and Molotov Cocktails throwers in Jerusalem concurrently with the Jewish holidays.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa Mosque was the highlight of events during September as the occupation authorities and Israeli settlers escalated their assaults and violations at Al-Aqsa during the Jewish holidays which was taken as a chance to break-into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa, close its gates and prevent Muslims from entering in addition to turning it into a battle field; note that the Jewish New Year and Sukkot holidays fell into the month of September.
During September 2015, the armed Israeli forces (Special Forces, snipers, Intelligence and police) raided the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque five time on the 13th, 14th, 15th, 27th and 28th of September and attacked worshippers who were mostly old people with sound grenades, rubber bullets and pepper gas; they also harassed and beat them with batons. The forces surrounded Al-Qibali Mosque and closed its gates with iron chains and wooden blocks and also ascended on its roof.
The occupation authorities deliberately damaged historical parts during the raid and also damaged the protection bars on the windows using special tools.
They also deliberately fired sound grenades inside Al-Qibali Mosque causing several square meters of the carpet to burn.
During the raids, the occupation authorities closed Al-Aqsa Mosque in front of Muslims. On the 13th of September, the forces prevented young men from entering Al-Aqsa to perform the Dawn Prayer, and prevented all Muslims from entering after 6:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. On this day, the forces also assaulted the employees of Al-Awqaf Islamic Department and beat the director of Al-Aqsa Mosque and fired a sound grenade towards him. They also assaulted and beat Al-Aqsa guards and evacuated them by force from the courtyards through Al-Silsileh, Dung and Al-Majles gates.
During raids, the forces deliberately fired sound grenades towards Al-Qibali Mosque which led to the burning of several square meters of carpet.
The occupation authorities closed Al-Aqsa Mosque in front of Muslim during the raids. On the 13th of the month, the forces prevented young men from entering Al-Aqsa to perform the Dawn Prayer, and prevented all Muslims from entering after 6:30 a.m. and until 11 a.m. On this day, the forces assaulted the employees of the Islamic Awqaf department and assaulted Al-Awqaf director as well with a sound grenade; they also beat Al-Aqsa guards and evacuated them from the courtyards by force through Al-Silsileh, Dung and Al-Majles gates.
On the 14th of September and for the first time, the occupation authorities executed arrests from inside Al-Qibali Mosque after breaking into it and prevented those under the age of 45 from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The forces also raided Al-Qibali Mosque on the 15th and arrested one young man.
On the 27th of the month, fourth day Al-Adha holiday, the forces raided Al-Aqsa and limited clashes broke out in the courtyards after worshippers were trapped inside Al-Qibali Mosque, while on the 28th of the month, the forces brought iron shields inside Al-Aqsa through Dung Gate for the first time to protect themselves from stones, and also for the first time the forces did not withdraw from the courtyards after clashes were over but were stationed for nearly half an hour near the eastern side of Al-Aqsa snipers were stationed on the roofs.
Prayers at Al-Aqsa Gates
The series of assaults against Al-Aqsa Mosque continued and occupation authorities prevented Muslims from entering and praying at Al-Aqsa which forced them to pray at Al-Aqsa gates. On the 13th of September, they performed the Dawn Prayer at the gates, the Night Prayer on the 21st, all five Prayers on the 22nd, Dawn Prayer on the 23rd after men under the age of 40 were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa, Evening and Night Prayers on the 27th after men under the age of 50 were prevented from entering, and on the 28th, 29th and 30th all five Prayers were held at Al-Aqsa gates including women as females under the age of 50 were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Preventing the Friday Noon Prayer
The occupation authorities imposed restrictions on the Friday Dawn and Noon Prayers on the 18th of September as men under the age of 40 were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa. Accordingly, hundreds of young men performed the Noon Prayer in the streets of Jerusalem during which Israeli forces assaulted the worshippers in the streets with beating and pushing.
Settlers break into Al-Aqsa Mosque
During September, 1575 settlers including the Minister of Agriculture, Uri Ariel, broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque. The last day of the month witnessed the largest number of settlers breaking into Al-Aqsa (257) followed by the 29th of the month (178), and the Jewish New Year’s Eve (158); note that some settlers performed their religious rituals inside he courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
“Black List”
The occupation police prepared a list of nearly 60 female names including journalists known as the “black list” following an order from the Chief of Israeli police in the Old City of Jerusalem, Avi Baytoon, against women who create problems inside Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Every female attempting to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque has to present her ID to have her name checked before entering and if it is not in the list, she will be allowed to enter. It is noteworthy that the list was prepared at the end of last August and names were added to the list as ordered by Avi Baytoon. During the month of September, women included in the list were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque during the settlers’ break-in session (7 a.m. until 3 p.m.) and women were assaulted with sound grenades and beaten while staying at Al-Aqsa gates; several men were also arrested.
In a dangerous escalation, the so-called Minister of Defense, Moshe Yaalon, issued a decision considering the Marabouts at Al-Aqsa Mosque as an “illegal organization” that aims at disturbing public security at Al-Aqsa through obstructing the settlers’ break-ins to Al-Aqsa and creating problems” as recommended by the intelligence service “Shabak” and the Israeli police.
Isolations from Al-Aqsa Mosque
The occupation authorities isolated 47 Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque last month, and also deported some of the 1948-lands Palestinians from the city of Jerusalem; 9 women were among those isolated and deported.
Arrests
Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored nearly 300 arrests during September 2015 including 16 women and 104 minors between 13-17 years old. Also, among the detainees were 21 students aged between 8-17 years that were arrested while going to school or after leaving school; one journalist photographer was also arrested.
Among the detainees were also 22 children aged between 8-12 years. Most of them were arrested, detained in the police vehicles or detention centers and interrogated alone without the presence of their parents. In a precedent against children, the Chief of Police in Jerusalem issued a decision to extend the arrest of two children from the village of Esawyeh.
During last month, 61 citizens were arrested at Al-Aqsa Gates and from its courtyards.
The arrests mostly occurred in Silwan (79) followed by the Old City of Jerusalem (56), Esawyeh (39), Al-Tur (30), Jabal Al-Mukabber (20), Sur Baher (18) and several arrests from Sheikh Jarrah, Beit Hanina, Um Tuba, Shu’fat refugee camp and Wadi Al-Joz.
Young men were not given a break from arrests during Al-Adha holiday (24-27 September) as the Israeli forces carried out a series o arrests after raiding and searching houses in an attempt to steal the joy of the holiday and harass Jerusalemites. During the 4-day holiday, the forces arrested 44 Jerusalemites mostly from Silwan and Sur Baher.
The number of detainees remarkably increased towards the end of the month in conjunction with the Jewish holidays (New Year and Sukkot) and the formation of a new unit by the occupation police that is focused on arresting stone-and- Molotov Cocktails throwers as ordered by the Chief of Police in Jerusalem. The unit was named “unit of tracking down stone-and Molotov Cocktails-throwers” and is specialized in arresting Jerusalemites and interrogating them regarding the participation in clashes and throwing Molotov Cocktails and stones. The new unit is based at Jabal Al-Mukabber police station “O’z Center”. Since the formation of the unit, 248 Palestinians from Jerusalem were arrested.
Violating right to education
Since the beginning of the new school-year, the occupation authorities continued violating the Jerusalemite students’ right to education. The three schools that suffered the most were located inside Al-Aqsa Mosque (kindergarten, Al-Aqsa Boys School and Al-Aqsa Girls School) and have more than 500 students enrolled in all of them.
During the break-in days and clashes, the occupation forces imposed restrictions on the entrance of students and education was disrupted on the 13th and 15th of the month, and on the 28th was disrupted in the kindergarten and boys school.
On the 15th, the director of Dar Al-Aytam School was forced to stop classes during the second class and sent the students home after the occupation forces ascended the roofs near the school and were randomly firing grenades and rubber bullets in the area; Dar Al-Aytam School is located near Al-Majles Gate.
A sound grenade was fired towards Princess Basma School for special needs and the school’s guard and two teachers were assaulted.
During September, 21 students were arrested while heading to school or after leaving school in the areas of Al-Tur, Old City of Jerusalem, Damascus Gate and Esawyeh. Several students were injured with bruises and some were wounded due to being targeted after they were prevented from reaching their schools.
Occupation forces’ assaults
The occupation forces targeted the Jerusalemite villages, residents and various institutions during the month of September and ran over one young man in Silwan.
In an assault against medical institutions in Jerusalem, a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance was assaulted and under the threat of the weapon the staff was forced to head to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital and the injured young man was arrested. The forces also raided the building of Al-Maqased hospital and searched the emergency and x-ray departments as well as offices and restrooms; they also checked the patients’ records looking for injured people.
In an assault against media institutions, the occupation forces raided the office of “Pal Media” in Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and searched the offices and left a call for interrogation for the director. Also, press crews in Jerusalem were subject to beatings, arrest, harassment and various threats while covering the events in the city especially around Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The forces also raided Silwan Club in the neighborhood of Ras Al-Amoud twice during September and checked the IDs of young men and took pictures of them.
Dead Muslims were also assaulted during September as the settlers and Nature and Parks authority attempted to seize new areas of Al-Rahmeh cemetery and placed barbed wires on some parts of the cemetery; they also stepped on top of the graces and cut several trees to turn it into special paths for “national parks” around the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The village of Esawyeh was directly targeted when entrances were blocked used soil, cement blocks and iron barriers during the whole month. Municipality staff and occupations forces raided the village on an almost a daily basis, infantry units raided the streets of the village, checkpoints were established, young men were searched and rubber bullets and grenades were randomly fired in the village.
During September, four children from the village of Esawyeh aged between 11-15 years were injured with “black” rubber bullets (injuries in the head, neck, thigh and back) and suffered wounds and bruises in addition to a state of severe fear.
On the eve of Al-Adha holiday, the occupation authorities isolated the city of Jerusalem from its outskirts due to the Jewish holiday “Kippur” neglecting the need of Jerusalemites to shop and move on this day. Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored the closure of the entrances of Sur Baher, Jabal Al-Mukabber, Esawyeh and Silwan in addition to closing the main streets leading to them and closing the freeways leading to north Jerusalem.
Settlers’ assaults
At the beginning of September, settlers took over the apartment of the late Jihad Sarhan in the “Middle Neighborhood” in Batn Al-Hawa using ropes in a deal done by “Jamal Sarhan”. Settlers living in the building of Jamal Sarhan which was sold to settlers towards the end of last August were able to enter the apartment of Jihad and also dropped some furniture inside it. While the locals confronted the settlers, police arrived and assaulted and beat them and provided the settlers with full protection to seize the house.
Settlers attacked last month the young man Mustafa Jamil Hashlamon and beat him while he was heading to work in West Jerusalem.
Also, dozens of settlers protected by Special Forces attacked a group of children in the neighborhood of Batn Al-Hawa in Silwan and sprayed them with pepper gas and fired sound grenades towards them.
Demolition
The occupation municipality demolished in September an under-construction house in Silwan owned by Abbasi family. They also demolished a farm in the village of Esawyeh that was established 10 years ago; the farm also had two rooms.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center said in its monthly report that the occupation authorities targeted human, trees and property in which the most prominent of these violations was against Al-Aqsa Mosque. Educational and medical institutions and their staff were also assaulted by the occupation authorities’ assaults as well as media crews, sports clubs and Islamic cemeteries.
The center said in its monthly report: “The occupation forces raided Al-Aqsa Mosque five times while fully armed and closed it in front of Muslim worshippers ten times. They also assaulted all the people present inside Al-Aqsa and at its gates including women and Al-Aqsa guards and also damaged the historical windows and burned carpets and wooden doors.
The number of detainees in September was the highest since the beginning of the year after a new unit was formed to chase stone and Molotov Cocktails throwers in Jerusalem concurrently with the Jewish holidays.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa Mosque was the highlight of events during September as the occupation authorities and Israeli settlers escalated their assaults and violations at Al-Aqsa during the Jewish holidays which was taken as a chance to break-into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa, close its gates and prevent Muslims from entering in addition to turning it into a battle field; note that the Jewish New Year and Sukkot holidays fell into the month of September.
During September 2015, the armed Israeli forces (Special Forces, snipers, Intelligence and police) raided the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque five time on the 13th, 14th, 15th, 27th and 28th of September and attacked worshippers who were mostly old people with sound grenades, rubber bullets and pepper gas; they also harassed and beat them with batons. The forces surrounded Al-Qibali Mosque and closed its gates with iron chains and wooden blocks and also ascended on its roof.
The occupation authorities deliberately damaged historical parts during the raid and also damaged the protection bars on the windows using special tools.
They also deliberately fired sound grenades inside Al-Qibali Mosque causing several square meters of the carpet to burn.
During the raids, the occupation authorities closed Al-Aqsa Mosque in front of Muslims. On the 13th of September, the forces prevented young men from entering Al-Aqsa to perform the Dawn Prayer, and prevented all Muslims from entering after 6:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. On this day, the forces also assaulted the employees of Al-Awqaf Islamic Department and beat the director of Al-Aqsa Mosque and fired a sound grenade towards him. They also assaulted and beat Al-Aqsa guards and evacuated them by force from the courtyards through Al-Silsileh, Dung and Al-Majles gates.
During raids, the forces deliberately fired sound grenades towards Al-Qibali Mosque which led to the burning of several square meters of carpet.
The occupation authorities closed Al-Aqsa Mosque in front of Muslim during the raids. On the 13th of the month, the forces prevented young men from entering Al-Aqsa to perform the Dawn Prayer, and prevented all Muslims from entering after 6:30 a.m. and until 11 a.m. On this day, the forces assaulted the employees of the Islamic Awqaf department and assaulted Al-Awqaf director as well with a sound grenade; they also beat Al-Aqsa guards and evacuated them from the courtyards by force through Al-Silsileh, Dung and Al-Majles gates.
On the 14th of September and for the first time, the occupation authorities executed arrests from inside Al-Qibali Mosque after breaking into it and prevented those under the age of 45 from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The forces also raided Al-Qibali Mosque on the 15th and arrested one young man.
On the 27th of the month, fourth day Al-Adha holiday, the forces raided Al-Aqsa and limited clashes broke out in the courtyards after worshippers were trapped inside Al-Qibali Mosque, while on the 28th of the month, the forces brought iron shields inside Al-Aqsa through Dung Gate for the first time to protect themselves from stones, and also for the first time the forces did not withdraw from the courtyards after clashes were over but were stationed for nearly half an hour near the eastern side of Al-Aqsa snipers were stationed on the roofs.
Prayers at Al-Aqsa Gates
The series of assaults against Al-Aqsa Mosque continued and occupation authorities prevented Muslims from entering and praying at Al-Aqsa which forced them to pray at Al-Aqsa gates. On the 13th of September, they performed the Dawn Prayer at the gates, the Night Prayer on the 21st, all five Prayers on the 22nd, Dawn Prayer on the 23rd after men under the age of 40 were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa, Evening and Night Prayers on the 27th after men under the age of 50 were prevented from entering, and on the 28th, 29th and 30th all five Prayers were held at Al-Aqsa gates including women as females under the age of 50 were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Preventing the Friday Noon Prayer
The occupation authorities imposed restrictions on the Friday Dawn and Noon Prayers on the 18th of September as men under the age of 40 were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa. Accordingly, hundreds of young men performed the Noon Prayer in the streets of Jerusalem during which Israeli forces assaulted the worshippers in the streets with beating and pushing.
Settlers break into Al-Aqsa Mosque
During September, 1575 settlers including the Minister of Agriculture, Uri Ariel, broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque. The last day of the month witnessed the largest number of settlers breaking into Al-Aqsa (257) followed by the 29th of the month (178), and the Jewish New Year’s Eve (158); note that some settlers performed their religious rituals inside he courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
“Black List”
The occupation police prepared a list of nearly 60 female names including journalists known as the “black list” following an order from the Chief of Israeli police in the Old City of Jerusalem, Avi Baytoon, against women who create problems inside Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Every female attempting to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque has to present her ID to have her name checked before entering and if it is not in the list, she will be allowed to enter. It is noteworthy that the list was prepared at the end of last August and names were added to the list as ordered by Avi Baytoon. During the month of September, women included in the list were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque during the settlers’ break-in session (7 a.m. until 3 p.m.) and women were assaulted with sound grenades and beaten while staying at Al-Aqsa gates; several men were also arrested.
In a dangerous escalation, the so-called Minister of Defense, Moshe Yaalon, issued a decision considering the Marabouts at Al-Aqsa Mosque as an “illegal organization” that aims at disturbing public security at Al-Aqsa through obstructing the settlers’ break-ins to Al-Aqsa and creating problems” as recommended by the intelligence service “Shabak” and the Israeli police.
Isolations from Al-Aqsa Mosque
The occupation authorities isolated 47 Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque last month, and also deported some of the 1948-lands Palestinians from the city of Jerusalem; 9 women were among those isolated and deported.
Arrests
Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored nearly 300 arrests during September 2015 including 16 women and 104 minors between 13-17 years old. Also, among the detainees were 21 students aged between 8-17 years that were arrested while going to school or after leaving school; one journalist photographer was also arrested.
Among the detainees were also 22 children aged between 8-12 years. Most of them were arrested, detained in the police vehicles or detention centers and interrogated alone without the presence of their parents. In a precedent against children, the Chief of Police in Jerusalem issued a decision to extend the arrest of two children from the village of Esawyeh.
During last month, 61 citizens were arrested at Al-Aqsa Gates and from its courtyards.
The arrests mostly occurred in Silwan (79) followed by the Old City of Jerusalem (56), Esawyeh (39), Al-Tur (30), Jabal Al-Mukabber (20), Sur Baher (18) and several arrests from Sheikh Jarrah, Beit Hanina, Um Tuba, Shu’fat refugee camp and Wadi Al-Joz.
Young men were not given a break from arrests during Al-Adha holiday (24-27 September) as the Israeli forces carried out a series o arrests after raiding and searching houses in an attempt to steal the joy of the holiday and harass Jerusalemites. During the 4-day holiday, the forces arrested 44 Jerusalemites mostly from Silwan and Sur Baher.
The number of detainees remarkably increased towards the end of the month in conjunction with the Jewish holidays (New Year and Sukkot) and the formation of a new unit by the occupation police that is focused on arresting stone-and- Molotov Cocktails throwers as ordered by the Chief of Police in Jerusalem. The unit was named “unit of tracking down stone-and Molotov Cocktails-throwers” and is specialized in arresting Jerusalemites and interrogating them regarding the participation in clashes and throwing Molotov Cocktails and stones. The new unit is based at Jabal Al-Mukabber police station “O’z Center”. Since the formation of the unit, 248 Palestinians from Jerusalem were arrested.
Violating right to education
Since the beginning of the new school-year, the occupation authorities continued violating the Jerusalemite students’ right to education. The three schools that suffered the most were located inside Al-Aqsa Mosque (kindergarten, Al-Aqsa Boys School and Al-Aqsa Girls School) and have more than 500 students enrolled in all of them.
During the break-in days and clashes, the occupation forces imposed restrictions on the entrance of students and education was disrupted on the 13th and 15th of the month, and on the 28th was disrupted in the kindergarten and boys school.
On the 15th, the director of Dar Al-Aytam School was forced to stop classes during the second class and sent the students home after the occupation forces ascended the roofs near the school and were randomly firing grenades and rubber bullets in the area; Dar Al-Aytam School is located near Al-Majles Gate.
A sound grenade was fired towards Princess Basma School for special needs and the school’s guard and two teachers were assaulted.
During September, 21 students were arrested while heading to school or after leaving school in the areas of Al-Tur, Old City of Jerusalem, Damascus Gate and Esawyeh. Several students were injured with bruises and some were wounded due to being targeted after they were prevented from reaching their schools.
Occupation forces’ assaults
The occupation forces targeted the Jerusalemite villages, residents and various institutions during the month of September and ran over one young man in Silwan.
In an assault against medical institutions in Jerusalem, a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance was assaulted and under the threat of the weapon the staff was forced to head to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital and the injured young man was arrested. The forces also raided the building of Al-Maqased hospital and searched the emergency and x-ray departments as well as offices and restrooms; they also checked the patients’ records looking for injured people.
In an assault against media institutions, the occupation forces raided the office of “Pal Media” in Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and searched the offices and left a call for interrogation for the director. Also, press crews in Jerusalem were subject to beatings, arrest, harassment and various threats while covering the events in the city especially around Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The forces also raided Silwan Club in the neighborhood of Ras Al-Amoud twice during September and checked the IDs of young men and took pictures of them.
Dead Muslims were also assaulted during September as the settlers and Nature and Parks authority attempted to seize new areas of Al-Rahmeh cemetery and placed barbed wires on some parts of the cemetery; they also stepped on top of the graces and cut several trees to turn it into special paths for “national parks” around the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The village of Esawyeh was directly targeted when entrances were blocked used soil, cement blocks and iron barriers during the whole month. Municipality staff and occupations forces raided the village on an almost a daily basis, infantry units raided the streets of the village, checkpoints were established, young men were searched and rubber bullets and grenades were randomly fired in the village.
During September, four children from the village of Esawyeh aged between 11-15 years were injured with “black” rubber bullets (injuries in the head, neck, thigh and back) and suffered wounds and bruises in addition to a state of severe fear.
On the eve of Al-Adha holiday, the occupation authorities isolated the city of Jerusalem from its outskirts due to the Jewish holiday “Kippur” neglecting the need of Jerusalemites to shop and move on this day. Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored the closure of the entrances of Sur Baher, Jabal Al-Mukabber, Esawyeh and Silwan in addition to closing the main streets leading to them and closing the freeways leading to north Jerusalem.
Settlers’ assaults
At the beginning of September, settlers took over the apartment of the late Jihad Sarhan in the “Middle Neighborhood” in Batn Al-Hawa using ropes in a deal done by “Jamal Sarhan”. Settlers living in the building of Jamal Sarhan which was sold to settlers towards the end of last August were able to enter the apartment of Jihad and also dropped some furniture inside it. While the locals confronted the settlers, police arrived and assaulted and beat them and provided the settlers with full protection to seize the house.
Settlers attacked last month the young man Mustafa Jamil Hashlamon and beat him while he was heading to work in West Jerusalem.
Also, dozens of settlers protected by Special Forces attacked a group of children in the neighborhood of Batn Al-Hawa in Silwan and sprayed them with pepper gas and fired sound grenades towards them.
Demolition
The occupation municipality demolished in September an under-construction house in Silwan owned by Abbasi family. They also demolished a farm in the village of Esawyeh that was established 10 years ago; the farm also had two rooms.
occupation forces use of violence which has now claimed the lives of nearly 20 young Palestinians in just one week. The demonstration was met with extreme violence by the Israeli military which settlers in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood gathered to watch on Saturday afternoon.
The Shamsiyyeh family’s home has long been the target of violence from Israeli settlers who have thrown rocks and other debris as well as poisoning their water tanks on several occasions and even cutting their water pipes on the roof. Today, settlers again filed onto the family home’s roof to watch the Israeli military assault on Palestinians in Bab al-Zawwiya, some armed with machine guns.
Israeli occupation forces predictably did nothing to calm the situation or remove the settlers from the roof of the family home. One settler sprayed pepper spray from the roof, gassing the family and subsequently himself. Israeli forces allowed him to leave with the pepper spray without asking a single question.
Just a few hours later, a settler armed with a machine gun, lightly slung around him just like an accessoire, came onto the roof. Soldiers close-by refused to ask the settler to leave from the private Palestinian family home’s roof. The settler then suddenly pointed his machine gun at Palestinians, including small children, on nearby houses roofs. Soldiers at first watched the events unfold only to join the settler on the roof, taking orders from him on what to do.
In occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), it has been apparent that settlers rule the military, both through demanding arrests and ID checks of Palestinians and through getting away with any transgression of Palestinian’s human rights by being handed total impunity by the occupying forces. This is especially disturbing since a West Jerusalem mayor has publicly called for settlers to carry guns amidst a high pressure situation with exploding violence across the occupied Palestinian territories. In the Tel Rumeida section of al-Khalil, just days ago, settlers held a large march up the hill chanting “Death to Arabs” and burning Palestinian flags.
The Shamsiyyeh family’s home has long been the target of violence from Israeli settlers who have thrown rocks and other debris as well as poisoning their water tanks on several occasions and even cutting their water pipes on the roof. Today, settlers again filed onto the family home’s roof to watch the Israeli military assault on Palestinians in Bab al-Zawwiya, some armed with machine guns.
Israeli occupation forces predictably did nothing to calm the situation or remove the settlers from the roof of the family home. One settler sprayed pepper spray from the roof, gassing the family and subsequently himself. Israeli forces allowed him to leave with the pepper spray without asking a single question.
Just a few hours later, a settler armed with a machine gun, lightly slung around him just like an accessoire, came onto the roof. Soldiers close-by refused to ask the settler to leave from the private Palestinian family home’s roof. The settler then suddenly pointed his machine gun at Palestinians, including small children, on nearby houses roofs. Soldiers at first watched the events unfold only to join the settler on the roof, taking orders from him on what to do.
In occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), it has been apparent that settlers rule the military, both through demanding arrests and ID checks of Palestinians and through getting away with any transgression of Palestinian’s human rights by being handed total impunity by the occupying forces. This is especially disturbing since a West Jerusalem mayor has publicly called for settlers to carry guns amidst a high pressure situation with exploding violence across the occupied Palestinian territories. In the Tel Rumeida section of al-Khalil, just days ago, settlers held a large march up the hill chanting “Death to Arabs” and burning Palestinian flags.
Archbishop Atallah Hanna said Muslims and Christians are united in the face of Israel’s notorious apartheid policies against the Palestinian people.
Hanna said during a solidarity visit to the holy al-Aqsa Mosque: “Today we are facing a new apartheid—a kind of oppressive politics rejected by all Palestinians alike, be them Muslims or Christians.”
He spoke out against what he dubbed a “preplanned terrorism” perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces and vandals against the Palestinian people.
Hanna referred to cold-blooded murder and field executions as the most atrocious cases in point.
Hanna, along with a delegation of Christian clergy, also popped in Jerusalem hospitals to keep tabs on the health condition of the wounded Palestinians, wishing them a swift recovery.
According to the Archbishop, the tour carried out by Jerusalem’s mayor while holding a machinegun and inciting murder of Arabs is “a criminal act.”
He called for immediately ceasing racism against and attacks on the peaceful Muslim congregation at the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
“Such racist policies are no less atrocious and perilous than South Africa’s ill-famed apartheid,” Archbishop Hanna said.
He hailed all Palestinians for standing firm against Israel’s ongoing terrorism and aggression on Islamic and Christian holy sites.
Hanna said during a solidarity visit to the holy al-Aqsa Mosque: “Today we are facing a new apartheid—a kind of oppressive politics rejected by all Palestinians alike, be them Muslims or Christians.”
He spoke out against what he dubbed a “preplanned terrorism” perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces and vandals against the Palestinian people.
Hanna referred to cold-blooded murder and field executions as the most atrocious cases in point.
Hanna, along with a delegation of Christian clergy, also popped in Jerusalem hospitals to keep tabs on the health condition of the wounded Palestinians, wishing them a swift recovery.
According to the Archbishop, the tour carried out by Jerusalem’s mayor while holding a machinegun and inciting murder of Arabs is “a criminal act.”
He called for immediately ceasing racism against and attacks on the peaceful Muslim congregation at the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
“Such racist policies are no less atrocious and perilous than South Africa’s ill-famed apartheid,” Archbishop Hanna said.
He hailed all Palestinians for standing firm against Israel’s ongoing terrorism and aggression on Islamic and Christian holy sites.
Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered the reinforcement of occupation patrols across Occupied Jerusalem, adding fuel to the flames of ongoing tensions rocking the occupied Palestinian territories.
According to a statement by Netanyahu’s office, the PM has ordered the reinforcement of police units in Occupied Jerusalem; to this end, three reserve police brigades have been mobilized. The mobilization of occupation forces will continue as necessary.
The summoned brigades will reinforce deployment of the Israeli occupation police in Occupied Jerusalem
and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, the statement added.
A few days earlier, Netanyahu ordered the deployment of 4,000 more Israeli cops across Occupied Jerusalem.
Spokesperson for the occupation police, Luba Samri, said thousands of Israeli cops are currently stationed across Occupied Jerusalem, particularly in the Old City and the eastern areas.
Meanwhile, the Yisrael Hume newspaper said Netanyahu and his minister of internal security, Gilad Erdan, ruled for the deployment of 13 reserve brigades across Occupied Jerusalem, in addition to three more brigades summoned for reinforcement last week.
According to a statement by Netanyahu’s office, the PM has ordered the reinforcement of police units in Occupied Jerusalem; to this end, three reserve police brigades have been mobilized. The mobilization of occupation forces will continue as necessary.
The summoned brigades will reinforce deployment of the Israeli occupation police in Occupied Jerusalem
and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, the statement added.
A few days earlier, Netanyahu ordered the deployment of 4,000 more Israeli cops across Occupied Jerusalem.
Spokesperson for the occupation police, Luba Samri, said thousands of Israeli cops are currently stationed across Occupied Jerusalem, particularly in the Old City and the eastern areas.
Meanwhile, the Yisrael Hume newspaper said Netanyahu and his minister of internal security, Gilad Erdan, ruled for the deployment of 13 reserve brigades across Occupied Jerusalem, in addition to three more brigades summoned for reinforcement last week.
21 Palestinians, including 12 in the West Bank, have been killed since October 1st, and 1100 injured
The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH) has reported that Israeli soldiers shot and killed seven Palestinians, including two children, on Saturday, and that the number of Palestinians shot dead by Israeli gunfire in the past two days is 14, while more than 240 have been injured.
In a press release issued on Saturday evening, the MOH said that seven Palestinians were killed during the day on Saturday in occupied Jerusalem, Shu’fat refugee camp, Hebron and the Gaza Strip, and that two of those killed were children.
On Saturday, the soldiers killed Ishaq Badran, 16, in al-Misrara neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem, Mohammad Ali Said Ali, 19, in Bab al-‘Amoud in Jerusalem, Ahmad Jamal Salah, 19, in Shu’fat, and Ibrahim Ahmad Awad, 28, in Beit Ummar.
In the Gaza Strip, Jihad al-‘Obeid, 21, from Deir al-Balah, died of wounds suffered Friday, Marwan Hashem Barbach, 13, and Khalil Omar Othman, 15, were killed in Khan Younis.
The Ministry added that the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire since October 1st (ten days) currently stands at 21, including 12 in the West Bank. In the same time period, more than 1100 Palestinians have been injured with live rounds and rubber-coated steel bullets, while hundreds suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation.
In addition, the Palestinian Minister of Health Jawad Awwad strongly denounced the Israeli military invasion of the al-Makassed Islamic Hospital and the Augusta Victoria Hospital in occupied Jerusalem.
He said that invasions of hospitals are serious violations of International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and every related international human rights treaty.
Awwad called on various international human rights and legal organization to actively intervene, and stop the escalating Israeli crimes against the Palestinians in the occupied state of Palestine.
The head of Al-Makassed Hospital, Dr. Bassam Abu Libda, said the soldiers frequently invade the hospital, including its X-Ray room, urgent care and patients’ rooms, searching for wounding Palestinians.
Names of slain Palestinians since October 1:
West Bank and Jerusalem:
1. Mohannad Halabi, 19, al-Biereh – Ramallah.
2. Fadi Alloun, 19, Jerusalem.
3. Amjad Hatem al-Jundi, 17, Hebron.
4. Thaer Abu Ghazala, 19, Jerusalem.
5. Abdul-Rahma Obeidallah, 11, Bethlehem.
6. Hotheifa Suleiman, 18, Tulkarem.
7. Wisam Jamal, 20, Jerusalem.
8. Mohammad al-Ja’bari, 19, Hebron.
9. Ahmad Jamal Salah, 20, Jerusalem.
10. Ishaq Badran, 19, Jerusalem.
11. Mohammad Said Ali, 19, Jerusalem.
12. Ibrahim Ahmad Mustafa Awad, 28, Hebron.
Gaza Strip:
13. Shadi Hussam Doula, 20.
14. Ahmad Abdul-Rahman al-Harbawi, 20.
15. Abed al-Wahidi, 20.
16. Mohammad Hisham al-Roqab, 15.
17. Adnan Mousa Abu ‘Oleyyan, 22.
18. Ziad Nabil Sharaf, 20.
19. Jihad al-‘Obeid, 22.
20. Marwan Hisham Barbakh, 13.
21. Khalil Omar Othman, 15.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH) has reported that Israeli soldiers shot and killed seven Palestinians, including two children, on Saturday, and that the number of Palestinians shot dead by Israeli gunfire in the past two days is 14, while more than 240 have been injured.
In a press release issued on Saturday evening, the MOH said that seven Palestinians were killed during the day on Saturday in occupied Jerusalem, Shu’fat refugee camp, Hebron and the Gaza Strip, and that two of those killed were children.
On Saturday, the soldiers killed Ishaq Badran, 16, in al-Misrara neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem, Mohammad Ali Said Ali, 19, in Bab al-‘Amoud in Jerusalem, Ahmad Jamal Salah, 19, in Shu’fat, and Ibrahim Ahmad Awad, 28, in Beit Ummar.
In the Gaza Strip, Jihad al-‘Obeid, 21, from Deir al-Balah, died of wounds suffered Friday, Marwan Hashem Barbach, 13, and Khalil Omar Othman, 15, were killed in Khan Younis.
The Ministry added that the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire since October 1st (ten days) currently stands at 21, including 12 in the West Bank. In the same time period, more than 1100 Palestinians have been injured with live rounds and rubber-coated steel bullets, while hundreds suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation.
In addition, the Palestinian Minister of Health Jawad Awwad strongly denounced the Israeli military invasion of the al-Makassed Islamic Hospital and the Augusta Victoria Hospital in occupied Jerusalem.
He said that invasions of hospitals are serious violations of International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and every related international human rights treaty.
Awwad called on various international human rights and legal organization to actively intervene, and stop the escalating Israeli crimes against the Palestinians in the occupied state of Palestine.
The head of Al-Makassed Hospital, Dr. Bassam Abu Libda, said the soldiers frequently invade the hospital, including its X-Ray room, urgent care and patients’ rooms, searching for wounding Palestinians.
Names of slain Palestinians since October 1:
West Bank and Jerusalem:
1. Mohannad Halabi, 19, al-Biereh – Ramallah.
2. Fadi Alloun, 19, Jerusalem.
3. Amjad Hatem al-Jundi, 17, Hebron.
4. Thaer Abu Ghazala, 19, Jerusalem.
5. Abdul-Rahma Obeidallah, 11, Bethlehem.
6. Hotheifa Suleiman, 18, Tulkarem.
7. Wisam Jamal, 20, Jerusalem.
8. Mohammad al-Ja’bari, 19, Hebron.
9. Ahmad Jamal Salah, 20, Jerusalem.
10. Ishaq Badran, 19, Jerusalem.
11. Mohammad Said Ali, 19, Jerusalem.
12. Ibrahim Ahmad Mustafa Awad, 28, Hebron.
Gaza Strip:
13. Shadi Hussam Doula, 20.
14. Ahmad Abdul-Rahman al-Harbawi, 20.
15. Abed al-Wahidi, 20.
16. Mohammad Hisham al-Roqab, 15.
17. Adnan Mousa Abu ‘Oleyyan, 22.
18. Ziad Nabil Sharaf, 20.
19. Jihad al-‘Obeid, 22.
20. Marwan Hisham Barbakh, 13.
21. Khalil Omar Othman, 15.