16 july 2017

On Sunday morning, the Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) installed electronic gates at the entrances of al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem after the Israeli occupation municipality put its hands on the courtyards of the Mosque by force, trying to hide the destruction and damage caused by the Israeli soldiers.
Meanwhile, senior Israeli military and intelligence officers roamed the plazas of the holy Islamic site.
Media sources said the IOA began installing electronic gates at the entrances of al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday morning, in order to tighten search and inspection procedures of all Palestinians wishing to enter the Mosque.
The sources reported that the municipality sent seven street cleaning vehicles and a big number of Jewish workers to clean the courtyards, which is happening for the first time.
The sources added that the Jewish cleaners are working to remove ruins and damage resulting from Israeli soldiers’ inspections, as well as to remove garbage, and the remains of food of soldiers in front of the Qibli Mosque in the holy compound. In the same context, sources said the IOA took over the keys of the Asbat Gate to facilitate entry of its cars into the courtyards of al-Aqsa.
The sources highlighted that the keys of the internal and external gates of al-Aqsa were seized by the IOA, which refuses to return them to the Jordanian Awqaf (endowments).
The sources also reported that senior Israeli officers are still roaming al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards, as dozens of officers of the so-called border police are still deployed in those courtyards.
On Sunday morning, the Israeli occupation forces prevented al-Aqsa employees from entering the Mosque and carrying out their work amidst a tight military siege imposed on al-Aqsa and the Old City for the third day in a row.
The PIC reporter said that the Israeli intelligence contacted a number of the Mosque’s guards last night, asking them not to reach or enter it.
The Israeli occupation forces arrested last night Gadu Ghoul, an employee at the fire department at al-Aqsa, at the Mazmouria military checkpoint in occupied Jerusalem.
The PIC reporter said dozens of Jerusalemites performed the dawn prayer at the nearest point to al-Aqsa Mosque and they hope they would be allowed to enter al-Aqsa Mosque to offer the noon prayer, after they were prevented from entering the Mosque since Friday morning as part of a punitive action following the shooting attack near al-Aqsa.
The IOA announced last night its intention to open the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims, and allow Israeli settlers to storm the compound gradually starting from Sunday noon. The IOA decision includes the installation of electronic gates in addition to installing surveillance cameras at the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque.
The families and tribes of Occupied Jerusalem organized on Saturday night a protest from their neighborhoods, villages and towns towards al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the evening prayer at the blessed Mosque, and to call for lifting the siege on it.
The occupation forces intercepted them at the streets and roads leading to the Mosque, while dozens of them managed to access the Asbat Gate area, where violent clashes and confrontations erupted, as protesters chanted for Al-Aqsa.
At the same time, violent clashes erupted at the neighborhood of Bab Hitta, which is adjacent to al-Aqsa Mosque, at the Maghrib prayer, when the occupation forces blocked the prayer of Palestinian citizens in front of the Hitta Gate.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces closed the southern bus station this morning at Al-Masarara neighborhood in the holy city, which is opposite to the Jerusalem wall from Al-Amud Gate side.
The PIC reporter pointed out that tension is still running high in central Occupied Jerusalem, especially in the Old City and the surrounding areas, amid widespread deployment of occupation forces and vehicles.
Meanwhile, senior Israeli military and intelligence officers roamed the plazas of the holy Islamic site.
Media sources said the IOA began installing electronic gates at the entrances of al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday morning, in order to tighten search and inspection procedures of all Palestinians wishing to enter the Mosque.
The sources reported that the municipality sent seven street cleaning vehicles and a big number of Jewish workers to clean the courtyards, which is happening for the first time.
The sources added that the Jewish cleaners are working to remove ruins and damage resulting from Israeli soldiers’ inspections, as well as to remove garbage, and the remains of food of soldiers in front of the Qibli Mosque in the holy compound. In the same context, sources said the IOA took over the keys of the Asbat Gate to facilitate entry of its cars into the courtyards of al-Aqsa.
The sources highlighted that the keys of the internal and external gates of al-Aqsa were seized by the IOA, which refuses to return them to the Jordanian Awqaf (endowments).
The sources also reported that senior Israeli officers are still roaming al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards, as dozens of officers of the so-called border police are still deployed in those courtyards.
On Sunday morning, the Israeli occupation forces prevented al-Aqsa employees from entering the Mosque and carrying out their work amidst a tight military siege imposed on al-Aqsa and the Old City for the third day in a row.
The PIC reporter said that the Israeli intelligence contacted a number of the Mosque’s guards last night, asking them not to reach or enter it.
The Israeli occupation forces arrested last night Gadu Ghoul, an employee at the fire department at al-Aqsa, at the Mazmouria military checkpoint in occupied Jerusalem.
The PIC reporter said dozens of Jerusalemites performed the dawn prayer at the nearest point to al-Aqsa Mosque and they hope they would be allowed to enter al-Aqsa Mosque to offer the noon prayer, after they were prevented from entering the Mosque since Friday morning as part of a punitive action following the shooting attack near al-Aqsa.
The IOA announced last night its intention to open the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims, and allow Israeli settlers to storm the compound gradually starting from Sunday noon. The IOA decision includes the installation of electronic gates in addition to installing surveillance cameras at the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque.
The families and tribes of Occupied Jerusalem organized on Saturday night a protest from their neighborhoods, villages and towns towards al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the evening prayer at the blessed Mosque, and to call for lifting the siege on it.
The occupation forces intercepted them at the streets and roads leading to the Mosque, while dozens of them managed to access the Asbat Gate area, where violent clashes and confrontations erupted, as protesters chanted for Al-Aqsa.
At the same time, violent clashes erupted at the neighborhood of Bab Hitta, which is adjacent to al-Aqsa Mosque, at the Maghrib prayer, when the occupation forces blocked the prayer of Palestinian citizens in front of the Hitta Gate.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces closed the southern bus station this morning at Al-Masarara neighborhood in the holy city, which is opposite to the Jerusalem wall from Al-Amud Gate side.
The PIC reporter pointed out that tension is still running high in central Occupied Jerusalem, especially in the Old City and the surrounding areas, amid widespread deployment of occupation forces and vehicles.
15 july 2017

Hamas's spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, called in a press statement on Saturday for escalating the Jerusalem Intifada in response to closing al-Aqsa Mosque and banning prayer there by the Israeli authorities.
Barhoum said that this crime falls in line with a religious war waged against the Palestinian holy sites, holding the Israeli government fully responsible for the consequences of this move.
Barhoum called on the people of the Arab and Muslim nations to demonstrate in front of the Israeli embassies everywhere to support al-Aqsa Mosque and pressure Israel to stop its violations.
The Islamic-Christian Commission for Patronizing Jerusalem and Holy Sites announced Saturday that it had completely lost control of al-Aqsa Mosque because of the Israeli tightened measures in Jerusalem that led to closing the Mosque for the second day in a row.
Barhoum said that this crime falls in line with a religious war waged against the Palestinian holy sites, holding the Israeli government fully responsible for the consequences of this move.
Barhoum called on the people of the Arab and Muslim nations to demonstrate in front of the Israeli embassies everywhere to support al-Aqsa Mosque and pressure Israel to stop its violations.
The Islamic-Christian Commission for Patronizing Jerusalem and Holy Sites announced Saturday that it had completely lost control of al-Aqsa Mosque because of the Israeli tightened measures in Jerusalem that led to closing the Mosque for the second day in a row.

The Israeli police threatened on Saturday to fine the merchants who open their shops in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Merchant Tareq al-Amouri told Quds Press that Jerusalem has not witnessed such a bad situation for years.
Amouri said that despite the short distance between his house and his shop in the Old City, it took him an hour and a half to reach the city because of the so many checkpoints he had to pass through.
He pointed out that when he approached Bab al-Amud checkpoint, the Israeli police did not allow him to pass.
The merchants who opened their shops on Saturday were beaten by the Israeli police and threatened to be fined with 5,000 shekels (1,400 dollars) if they did not close their shops immediately, he affirmed.
Amouri reported that no one is currently allowed to enter the Old City except its residents after being subjected to "humiliating" physical searches.
Three Palestinian youths were killed on Friday in an armed clash with the Israeli police near al-Aqsa Mosque. Two Israeli officers were also pronounced dead.
Following the clash, al-Aqsa Mosque's gates were closed before Palestinian worshipers for the first time since 1969 and many checkpoints were deployed in the Old City.
According to Israeli police statements, the Mosque will remain closed until the completion of all investigations into the incident.
Merchant Tareq al-Amouri told Quds Press that Jerusalem has not witnessed such a bad situation for years.
Amouri said that despite the short distance between his house and his shop in the Old City, it took him an hour and a half to reach the city because of the so many checkpoints he had to pass through.
He pointed out that when he approached Bab al-Amud checkpoint, the Israeli police did not allow him to pass.
The merchants who opened their shops on Saturday were beaten by the Israeli police and threatened to be fined with 5,000 shekels (1,400 dollars) if they did not close their shops immediately, he affirmed.
Amouri reported that no one is currently allowed to enter the Old City except its residents after being subjected to "humiliating" physical searches.
Three Palestinian youths were killed on Friday in an armed clash with the Israeli police near al-Aqsa Mosque. Two Israeli officers were also pronounced dead.
Following the clash, al-Aqsa Mosque's gates were closed before Palestinian worshipers for the first time since 1969 and many checkpoints were deployed in the Old City.
According to Israeli police statements, the Mosque will remain closed until the completion of all investigations into the incident.
14 july 2017

Sheikh Mohammad Hussein
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced on Friday, after an evaluation session held by the Israeli security apparatuses, that the closure of al-Aqsa Mosque will continue until Sunday.
In a first response to a Palestinian shooting attack that led to killing two Israeli police officers near al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday morning, the Israeli authorities closed al-Aqsa Mosque and banned prayer there for the first time since 1969.
The Israeli police extended on Friday evening the detention of three guards of al-Aqsa Mosque to next Sunday.
A local source reported that the Israeli police released most of the staff of the Islamic Awqaf (endowment) Department who were detained in the morning but extended the detention of the three guards.
Earlier, the Islamic Awqaf Department affirmed that the Israeli police arrested 58 of its employees working at al-Aqsa Mosque and took them to al-Maskubiya detention center after confiscating their mobile phones and beating them.
The Public Relations Department in al-Aqsa Mosque said that a special Israeli force broke into the Mosque's toilets and wreaked havoc in them.
Because of the ban, thousands of Palestinian worshipers were forced to pray outside al-Aqsa Mosque, while the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, was arrested immediately after delivering his Friday sermon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced on Friday, after an evaluation session held by the Israeli security apparatuses, that the closure of al-Aqsa Mosque will continue until Sunday.
In a first response to a Palestinian shooting attack that led to killing two Israeli police officers near al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday morning, the Israeli authorities closed al-Aqsa Mosque and banned prayer there for the first time since 1969.
The Israeli police extended on Friday evening the detention of three guards of al-Aqsa Mosque to next Sunday.
A local source reported that the Israeli police released most of the staff of the Islamic Awqaf (endowment) Department who were detained in the morning but extended the detention of the three guards.
Earlier, the Islamic Awqaf Department affirmed that the Israeli police arrested 58 of its employees working at al-Aqsa Mosque and took them to al-Maskubiya detention center after confiscating their mobile phones and beating them.
The Public Relations Department in al-Aqsa Mosque said that a special Israeli force broke into the Mosque's toilets and wreaked havoc in them.
Because of the ban, thousands of Palestinian worshipers were forced to pray outside al-Aqsa Mosque, while the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, was arrested immediately after delivering his Friday sermon.

The Israeli occupation authorities declared that Friday's Muslim prayer will not be held at the third holiest site in Islam—al-Aqsa Mosque—after two Israeli soldiers were fatally gunned down in an anti-occupation shooting attack.
According to local sources, the Israeli police forces shut the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque and prevented worshipers from entering the site.
The Israeli policemen also sealed off the main entrances to the Old City.
The ban is the first issued since 1969, in a flagrant violation of Muslims’ freedom of worship.
At the same time, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued instructions to ban Friday prayer at al-Aqsa and to completely close the site before worshipers.
Reporting from the scene, a PIC news correspondent said the Israeli policemen have come down heavily on al-Aqsa’s supervision staff and subjected them to aggressive beating.
The Israeli policemen prevented Jerusalem’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, and the head of the Islamic Awqaf (Endowment) Council, along with the director of Jerusalem’s Awqaf Department, from entering the site.
The Grand Mufti called for intensifying presence around al-Aqsa and at nearby Israeli checkpoints so as to hold the Friday prayer at the holy site in defiance of the Israeli ban.
Israeli fanatic groups also incited for escalated aggression on al-Aqsa Mosque and crackdowns against the Muslim congregation.
Three Palestinian young men were killed on Friday morning in a shootout with Israeli police officers at the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem. Two Israeli police officers were pronounced dead.
According to local sources, the Israeli police forces shut the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque and prevented worshipers from entering the site.
The Israeli policemen also sealed off the main entrances to the Old City.
The ban is the first issued since 1969, in a flagrant violation of Muslims’ freedom of worship.
At the same time, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued instructions to ban Friday prayer at al-Aqsa and to completely close the site before worshipers.
Reporting from the scene, a PIC news correspondent said the Israeli policemen have come down heavily on al-Aqsa’s supervision staff and subjected them to aggressive beating.
The Israeli policemen prevented Jerusalem’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, and the head of the Islamic Awqaf (Endowment) Council, along with the director of Jerusalem’s Awqaf Department, from entering the site.
The Grand Mufti called for intensifying presence around al-Aqsa and at nearby Israeli checkpoints so as to hold the Friday prayer at the holy site in defiance of the Israeli ban.
Israeli fanatic groups also incited for escalated aggression on al-Aqsa Mosque and crackdowns against the Muslim congregation.
Three Palestinian young men were killed on Friday morning in a shootout with Israeli police officers at the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem. Two Israeli police officers were pronounced dead.

Mohammed Hamid Jabarin 19
Mohammed Ahmed Jabarin 29 (R)
Three Palestinian young men were killed on Friday morning in a shootout with Israeli police officers at the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem.
Eyewitnesses reported that the three young men traded fire with police officers at one of the Mosque’s gate before they rushed to the plateau of the Dome of the Rock, where they were shot dead.
Mohammed Ahmed Jabarin 29 (R)
Three Palestinian young men were killed on Friday morning in a shootout with Israeli police officers at the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem.
Eyewitnesses reported that the three young men traded fire with police officers at one of the Mosque’s gate before they rushed to the plateau of the Dome of the Rock, where they were shot dead.

Mohammad Ahmad Mifdil Jabarin 19
The Mosque’s management, however, said the bodies of two Palestinians were in a courtyard of the Islamic holy site.
According to a Palestinian Information Center (PIC) reporter in the city, the shooting happened in the morning at al-Sahira Gate of the Mosque.
A spokeswomen for the police claimed that three officers were wounded in the gunfight, two of them seriously. However, unconfirmed news said that two officers succumbed to their injuries and died.
The three young men were identified as residents of Umm al-Fahm city in Haifa from the family of Jabbarin.
Consequently, the Israeli police ordered the closure of the Aqsa Mosque compound, saying there would be no prayers at the site on Friday.
Three Palestinians Killed, Three Israeli Officers Injured, In Armed Clashes In Al-Aqsa Mosque Courtyards
Israeli police officers and soldiers shot and killed, on Friday morning, three young Palestinian men, who opened fire on officers near the “Tribes Gate,” leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem, and fled towards the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, where they exchanged fire with soldiers, wounding three, before they were killed.
Update: The three Palestinians were later identified as Mohammad Ahmad Mohammad Jabarin, 29, Mohammad Hamed Abdul-Latif Jabarin, 19, and Mohammad Ahmad Mifdil Jabarin, 19.
Following the fatal incidents, the soldiers completely sealed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and canceled Friday prayers, before preventing all Muslim worshipers from entering or leaving the mosque courtyards.
Eyewitnesses said the three Palestinians were riding a motorcycle, before exchanging fire with the officers near the Lions Gate, and then continued towards the Dome of the Rock in Al-Aqsa compound where they exchanged fire with the officers, for the second time, before they were killed.
Israeli daily Haaretz said three officers were hurt in the shooting; two of them suffered serious wounds and one suffered a mild-to-moderate injury.
Haaretz quoted the Israeli police stating that the three Palestinians arrived at one of Al-Aqsa gates, and noticed police and military presence, before they opened fire on them and escaped.
It stated that the police pursued the three, and killed them, and added that the officers found two rifles and a pistol on the bodies of the three Palestinians.
After the shooting, the police closed the entire compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and initiated extensive searches in the area “to ensure no weapons are in it.”
Although no faction has claimed responsibility for the shooting, Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, Sami Abu Zohri, said the incident is a natural reaction and outcome of “Israel’s ongoing terror, and desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The identities of the three Palestinians remain unknown, but initial reports indicate they carried ID cards, identifying them as are Israeli citizens from Umm al-Fahm Palestinian town.
Is worth mentioning that the soldiers prevented the Mufti of Jerusalem, the Khatib of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and several other religious leaders, including the head of the Jerusalem Waqf and Endowment Department, from entering the mosque or its compound.
The Mosque’s management, however, said the bodies of two Palestinians were in a courtyard of the Islamic holy site.
According to a Palestinian Information Center (PIC) reporter in the city, the shooting happened in the morning at al-Sahira Gate of the Mosque.
A spokeswomen for the police claimed that three officers were wounded in the gunfight, two of them seriously. However, unconfirmed news said that two officers succumbed to their injuries and died.
The three young men were identified as residents of Umm al-Fahm city in Haifa from the family of Jabbarin.
Consequently, the Israeli police ordered the closure of the Aqsa Mosque compound, saying there would be no prayers at the site on Friday.
Three Palestinians Killed, Three Israeli Officers Injured, In Armed Clashes In Al-Aqsa Mosque Courtyards
Israeli police officers and soldiers shot and killed, on Friday morning, three young Palestinian men, who opened fire on officers near the “Tribes Gate,” leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem, and fled towards the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, where they exchanged fire with soldiers, wounding three, before they were killed.
Update: The three Palestinians were later identified as Mohammad Ahmad Mohammad Jabarin, 29, Mohammad Hamed Abdul-Latif Jabarin, 19, and Mohammad Ahmad Mifdil Jabarin, 19.
Following the fatal incidents, the soldiers completely sealed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and canceled Friday prayers, before preventing all Muslim worshipers from entering or leaving the mosque courtyards.
Eyewitnesses said the three Palestinians were riding a motorcycle, before exchanging fire with the officers near the Lions Gate, and then continued towards the Dome of the Rock in Al-Aqsa compound where they exchanged fire with the officers, for the second time, before they were killed.
Israeli daily Haaretz said three officers were hurt in the shooting; two of them suffered serious wounds and one suffered a mild-to-moderate injury.
Haaretz quoted the Israeli police stating that the three Palestinians arrived at one of Al-Aqsa gates, and noticed police and military presence, before they opened fire on them and escaped.
It stated that the police pursued the three, and killed them, and added that the officers found two rifles and a pistol on the bodies of the three Palestinians.
After the shooting, the police closed the entire compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and initiated extensive searches in the area “to ensure no weapons are in it.”
Although no faction has claimed responsibility for the shooting, Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, Sami Abu Zohri, said the incident is a natural reaction and outcome of “Israel’s ongoing terror, and desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The identities of the three Palestinians remain unknown, but initial reports indicate they carried ID cards, identifying them as are Israeli citizens from Umm al-Fahm Palestinian town.
Is worth mentioning that the soldiers prevented the Mufti of Jerusalem, the Khatib of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and several other religious leaders, including the head of the Jerusalem Waqf and Endowment Department, from entering the mosque or its compound.
13 july 2017

by Jonathan Cook
When Israel passed a new counter-terrorism law last year, Ayman Odeh, a leader of the country’s large minority of Palestinian citizens, described its draconian measures as colonialism’s “last gasp”. He said: “I see … the panic of the French at the end of the occupation of Algeria.”
The panic and cruelty plumbed new depths last week, when Israeli officials launched a $2.3 million lawsuit against the family of Fadi Qanbar, who crashed a truck into soldiers in Jerusalem in January, killing four. He was shot dead at the scene.
The suit demands that his widow, Tahani, reimburse the state for the compensation it awarded the soldiers’ families. If she cannot raise the astronomic sum, the debt will pass to her four children, the oldest of whom is currently only seven.
Israel is reported to be preparing many similar cases.
Like other families of Palestinians who commit attacks, the Qanbars are homeless, after Israel sealed their East Jerusalem home with cement. Twelve relatives were also stripped of their residency papers as a prelude to expelling them to the West Bank.
None has done anything wrong – their crime is simply to be related to someone Israel defines as a “terrorist”.
This trend is intensifying. Israel has demanded that the Palestinian Authority stop paying a small monthly stipend to families like the Qanbars, whose breadwinner was killed or jailed. Conviction rates among Palestinians in Israel’s military legal system stand at more than 99 per cent, and hundreds of prisoners are incarcerated without charge.
Israeli legislation is set to seize $280 million – a sum equivalent to the total stipends – from taxes Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, potentially bankrupting it.
On Wednesday Israel loyalists will introduce in the US Senate a bill to similarly deny the PA aid unless it stops “funding terror”. Issa Karaka, a Palestinian official, said it would be impossible for the PA to comply: “Almost every other household … is the family of a prisoner or martyr.”
Israel has taken collective punishment – a serious violation of international law – to new extremes, stretching the notion to realms once imaginable only in a dystopian fable like George Orwell’s 1984.
Israel argues that a potential attacker can only be dissuaded by knowing his loved ones will suffer harsh retribution. Or put another way, Israel is prepared to use any means to crush the motivation of Palestinians to resist its brutal, five-decade occupation.
All evidence, however, indicates that when people reach breaking-point, and are willing to die in the fight against their oppressors, they give little thought to the consequences for their families. That was the conclusion of an investigation by the Israeli army more than a decade ago.
In truth, Israel knows its policy is futile. It is not deterring attacks, but instead engaging in complex displacement activity. Ever-more sadistic forms of revenge shore up a collective and historic sense of Jewish victimhood while deflecting Israelis’ attention from the reality that their country is a brutal colonial settler state.
If that verdict seems harsh, consider a newly published study into the effects on operators of using drones to carry out extrajudicial executions, in which civilians are often killed as “collateral damage”.
A US survey found pilots who remotely fly drones soon develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress from inflicting so much death and destruction. The Israeli army replicated the study after its pilots operated drones over Gaza during Israel’s 2014 attack – the ultimate act of collective punishment. Some 500 Palestinian children were killed as the tiny enclave was bombarded for nearly two months.
Doctors were surprised, however, that the pilots showed no signs of depression or anxiety. The researchers speculate that Israeli pilots may feel more justified in their actions, because they are closer to Gaza than US pilots are to Afghanistan, Iraq or Yemen. They are more confident that they are the ones under threat, even as they rain down death unseen on Palestinians.
The determination to maintain this exclusive self-image as the victim leads to outrageous double standards.
Last week the Israeli supreme court backed the refusal by officials to seal up the homes of three Jews who kidnapped Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old from Jerusalem, in 2014 and burnt him alive.
In May the Israeli government revealed that it had denied compensation to six-year-old Ahmed Dawabsheh, the badly scarred, sole survivor of an arson attack by Jewish extremists that killed his entire family two years ago.
Human rights group B’Tselem recently warned that Israel has given itself immunity from paying compensation to all Palestinians under occupation killed or disabled by the Israeli army – even in cases of criminal wrongdoing.
This endless heaping of insult upon injury for Palestinians is possible only because the west has indulged Israel’s wallowing in victimhood so long. It is time to prick this bubble of self-delusion and remind Israel that it, not the Palestinians, is the oppressor.
(A version of this article first appeared in the National, Abu Dhabi.)
– Jonathan Cook won the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His article was published in the Palestine Chronicle website.
When Israel passed a new counter-terrorism law last year, Ayman Odeh, a leader of the country’s large minority of Palestinian citizens, described its draconian measures as colonialism’s “last gasp”. He said: “I see … the panic of the French at the end of the occupation of Algeria.”
The panic and cruelty plumbed new depths last week, when Israeli officials launched a $2.3 million lawsuit against the family of Fadi Qanbar, who crashed a truck into soldiers in Jerusalem in January, killing four. He was shot dead at the scene.
The suit demands that his widow, Tahani, reimburse the state for the compensation it awarded the soldiers’ families. If she cannot raise the astronomic sum, the debt will pass to her four children, the oldest of whom is currently only seven.
Israel is reported to be preparing many similar cases.
Like other families of Palestinians who commit attacks, the Qanbars are homeless, after Israel sealed their East Jerusalem home with cement. Twelve relatives were also stripped of their residency papers as a prelude to expelling them to the West Bank.
None has done anything wrong – their crime is simply to be related to someone Israel defines as a “terrorist”.
This trend is intensifying. Israel has demanded that the Palestinian Authority stop paying a small monthly stipend to families like the Qanbars, whose breadwinner was killed or jailed. Conviction rates among Palestinians in Israel’s military legal system stand at more than 99 per cent, and hundreds of prisoners are incarcerated without charge.
Israeli legislation is set to seize $280 million – a sum equivalent to the total stipends – from taxes Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, potentially bankrupting it.
On Wednesday Israel loyalists will introduce in the US Senate a bill to similarly deny the PA aid unless it stops “funding terror”. Issa Karaka, a Palestinian official, said it would be impossible for the PA to comply: “Almost every other household … is the family of a prisoner or martyr.”
Israel has taken collective punishment – a serious violation of international law – to new extremes, stretching the notion to realms once imaginable only in a dystopian fable like George Orwell’s 1984.
Israel argues that a potential attacker can only be dissuaded by knowing his loved ones will suffer harsh retribution. Or put another way, Israel is prepared to use any means to crush the motivation of Palestinians to resist its brutal, five-decade occupation.
All evidence, however, indicates that when people reach breaking-point, and are willing to die in the fight against their oppressors, they give little thought to the consequences for their families. That was the conclusion of an investigation by the Israeli army more than a decade ago.
In truth, Israel knows its policy is futile. It is not deterring attacks, but instead engaging in complex displacement activity. Ever-more sadistic forms of revenge shore up a collective and historic sense of Jewish victimhood while deflecting Israelis’ attention from the reality that their country is a brutal colonial settler state.
If that verdict seems harsh, consider a newly published study into the effects on operators of using drones to carry out extrajudicial executions, in which civilians are often killed as “collateral damage”.
A US survey found pilots who remotely fly drones soon develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress from inflicting so much death and destruction. The Israeli army replicated the study after its pilots operated drones over Gaza during Israel’s 2014 attack – the ultimate act of collective punishment. Some 500 Palestinian children were killed as the tiny enclave was bombarded for nearly two months.
Doctors were surprised, however, that the pilots showed no signs of depression or anxiety. The researchers speculate that Israeli pilots may feel more justified in their actions, because they are closer to Gaza than US pilots are to Afghanistan, Iraq or Yemen. They are more confident that they are the ones under threat, even as they rain down death unseen on Palestinians.
The determination to maintain this exclusive self-image as the victim leads to outrageous double standards.
Last week the Israeli supreme court backed the refusal by officials to seal up the homes of three Jews who kidnapped Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old from Jerusalem, in 2014 and burnt him alive.
In May the Israeli government revealed that it had denied compensation to six-year-old Ahmed Dawabsheh, the badly scarred, sole survivor of an arson attack by Jewish extremists that killed his entire family two years ago.
Human rights group B’Tselem recently warned that Israel has given itself immunity from paying compensation to all Palestinians under occupation killed or disabled by the Israeli army – even in cases of criminal wrongdoing.
This endless heaping of insult upon injury for Palestinians is possible only because the west has indulged Israel’s wallowing in victimhood so long. It is time to prick this bubble of self-delusion and remind Israel that it, not the Palestinians, is the oppressor.
(A version of this article first appeared in the National, Abu Dhabi.)
– Jonathan Cook won the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His article was published in the Palestine Chronicle website.