Category: In the Media

Ynet: “New in Gaza: Priest, nun human shields”

by Ali Waked, November 22nd

Priest, nun from Michigan join dozens of Palestinians gathered at Gaza houses in effort to prevent bombing, say ‘If Israel claims family member involved in violence, arrest them, don’t’ destroy home populated by entire family’

For the past two months, the IDF has been called activists and their family members in Gaza to warn them of their intent on bombing their homes.

Palestinians have found away to prevent the bombings; dozens, even hundreds, gather at the homes of those wanted, thereby thwarting the destruction. In recent days, Father Peter and Sister Mary Ellen of Michigan have joined them.

At the end of last week, the IDF informed the Brudi family in Jabalya of their intent to bomb and demolish their home in protest of their son’s activities with the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).

Since then, hundreds of neighbors and activists of all organizations congregated at the house in an effort to prevent the demolition. The same idea was adopted at the home of a prominent Hamas activist in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh even held a press conference there.

These homes have become pilgrimage sites in recent days not only for locals. Foreign peace activists have started to show interests in the phenomenon, and two Americans, a priest and a nun from Michigan, arrived at Jabalya from Michigan to take part in the human shield mission at the Brudi family home.

Sister Mary Ellen told Ynet, “We are here to find out the truth and to be with the family and these people, who are trying to prevent the demolition of a home where an entire family lives.”

The Sister continued, “We are against any type of violence, whether from the Palestinian side or the Israeli side, by we are here to be with a family that may have their house bombed and demolished because of the claim that one or two members are involved in violence.”

She explained, “We are against any type of collective punishment and feel this punishment is wrong, a complete mistake. If the Israelis claim a family member is involved in violence, then they can arrest them, but not destroy a home populated by an entire family.”

She also explained that she was well aware of the Qassam rockets fired from the northern Gaza Strip towards Sderot, and said, “I adamantly oppose and condemn the firings like I condemn all violence.”

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For more media coverage visit:
http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20061122-094837-1788r
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1162378458007&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Free AIC youth worker Ahmad Abu Hannya!

By the Alternative Information Centre

An Israeli military court extended the administration detention of Alternative Information Center (AIC) member Ahmad Abu Hannya until November 30 to allow the Israeli authorities opportunity to interrogate him. Ahmad’s attorney, Sahar Francis of the Palestinian human rights organization Addameer, fears that on November 30 Israel will issue an administrative detention order against Ahmad for an additional six months.

Ahmad, coordinator of the AIC youth group in Bethlehem, was detained at a checkpoint on his way to work on May 18 2005 and placed in administrative detention, which is imprisonment without trial or charges. As all of the approximately 600 Palestinian administrative detainees currently being held by Israel, Ahmad and his attorney are not even permitted to know the evidence against him.

Ahmad’s administrative detention order was subsequently extended twice, and this month the Israeli authorities requested to extend it for an additional six months. During military court review of this request on 20 November, the military prosecution admitted that no new evidence has been gathered against Ahmad during the past 18 months and that the army has not interrogated him.

Ahmad has been adopted as an appeal case by Amnesty International, and is supported by the American National Lawyers Guild.

The continuing detention of Ahmad and so many other Palestinians blatantly violates international law, which permits administrative detention as an exceptional and highly regulated measure. Administrative detention violates the fundamental right to liberty and due process, and is used by Israel as a tool to oppress political activists in Palestine who struggle non-violently against the Israeli occupation and for a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

We do not know the secret evidence that Israel claims to have against Ahmad. We do know, however, that Ahmad has worked with progressive Israelis and Palestinians since 1998 on behalf of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all peoples in the area. Ahmad has a demonstrated commitment to a just peace and joint life for Palestinians and Israelis in the region.

We urge you to contact the Israeli authorities and join us in demanding Ahmad’s unconditional release from administrative detention on or before 30 November 2006. The Israeli authorities must release Ahmad or charge him with a recognizable criminal offence and in accordance with internationally accepted standards for a fair trial.

ADDRESSES

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
POB 187
Kiryat Ben Gurion
Jerusalem 91919 Israel
Fax: +972 2 670 5475 or +972 2 566 4838
Email: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il

Menahem Mazuz
Attorney General
Ministry of Justice
29 Salah Adin Street
Jerusalem 91010
Fax: +972 2 628 5438 or +972 2 627 4481

Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit
Judge Advocate General
6 David Elazar Street
Tel Aviv
Fax: 972 3 569 4370
Email: arbel@mail.idf.il

As Ahmad begins his nineteenth month in prison, we further urge you to write him letters of solidarity:

Ahmad Abu Hannya
ID 917755720
Prisoner number 3186/05
Ktziot Detention Camp 01771
Military Post
Israel

Letters may also be sent by email to: connie@alt-info.org. Please write “For Ahmad Abu Hannya” in the subject line.

Additional information about Ahmad may be found on the website of the Alternative Information Center: www.alternativenews.org.

Maariv: “The settlers’ welcome: a bottle in the head”

Translation from original Hebrew by Rann Bar-on.

Tove Liljeholm, a 19-year old woman from Sweden, was attacked by settlers in Hebron, who threw a bottle at her while she was assisting Palestinian children. “Afterwards, they laughed”

by Itamar Inbari, November 20th.

“I felt a powerful blow to my head, fell to the ground and noticed that my head was covered in blood” – said Tove Liljeholm, a 19-year old Swedish activist in the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), who was injured two days ago by a bottle thrown at her by settlers in Tel Rumeida in Hebron. According to her, the settlers shouted to her and her friends “we killed Jesus, we’ll kill you too” and clapped after she was injured.

Liljeholm and four of her friends, all international solidarity activists, arrived two days ago at the checkpoint at the entrance to the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hebron, in order to accompany Palestinian children to their homes. When they passed from the Palestinian side to the Israeli side, they encountered a group of settlers who ‘welcomed’ them with shouts, curses and spitting. Among other things, the settlers shouted “we killed Jesus, we’ll kill you too.”

Liljeholm says that at a certain stage the settlers moved from verbal to physical violence. “One of them kicked at us and suddenly I felt a powerful blow to my head,” she said. “I fell down and noticed that my head was covered with blood. Only later was I told that it was a bottle that hit my head.”

According to her, after she was hit in the head, the settlers started to laugh, clap and whooped with joy. One of the settlers, a doctor by profession, even refused to help her. In the end, she was evacuated to the Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem, where a doctor diagnosed a broken cheekbone and an additional fracture near her eye.

“Hoping to Return to Hebron Soon”

The international activists said after the incident that while it was going on, policemen and soldiers did nothing to stop the settlers, and that only after Liljeholm fell to the ground did they stop the attackers. According to [the activists], they did not detain any of the settlers for questioning and moreover, they threatened the international activists with arrest if they did not leave the area immediately.

Despite the difficult experience, Liljeholm promises to continue to work with ISM or in other capacities to help the Palestinian people. “Of course I’m afraid and angry at the settlers, but I think that those living in terrible conditions need to be helped, especially after seeing how violent the settlers can be,” she said. “I hope to return to Hebron, but I don’t think it’ll happen soon.”

The Judea and Samaria police responded that they reject the charges left-wing groups have put forward regarding the treatment of Liljeholm’s assault. The police stated that during this past sabbath, a large contingent of police were present in Hebron, who patrolled the areas of friction and prevented conflict between Palestinians and settlers. The police requested that left-wing activists do not stay in the area, in order to prevent conflicts.

After receiving the complaint regarding the assault, the police said that their investigators gathered testimonies in the area, and that a police force searched for suspects in the assault. Likewise, they detained a number of suspects, but that during investigation they were not identified by the witnesses and were not connected to the event. At the same time, testimony was taken from a tourist. The police say that after her recovery, Liljeholm is welcome to contact the Hebron police, who will present her with pictures of suspects, so that they can be identified and tried.

“End the Barbaric Behavior”

Following the assault on Liljeholm, the chairman of Balad [one of the Arab parties in the Knesset], Azmi Bishara, wrote a letter to the Minister of Defence, Amir Peretz, requesting him to put an end to the settlers’ behavior. “I want to emphasize that this is not the first time such a thing has happened,” wrote Bishara to Peretz.

“The aggressive behavior of the settlers against the residents and foreign volunteers occurs repeatedly with intolerable frequency, all this without any law enforcement or any form of punishment. The fact is that the behavior of the settlers resembles that of outlaws in the Wild West,” added Bishara. The chairman of Balad also called on the minister to intervene immediately and put an end to “the barbaric and unacceptable behavior of the settlers, to enforce the law and to ensure the security of local Palestinian residents, to investigate this incident and to bring those responsible to justice.”

Haaretz: “25-year-old Palestinian shot for protesting IDF’s treatment of women”

by Amira Hass, November 19th

A critically wounded Palestinian youth is hospitalized at Beilinson, allegedly after Israeli soldiers shot at him for protesting their treatment of women. Heitham Yassin, 25 years old, has been under heavy sedation and on a respirator since the November 4 incident.

Yassin’s doctors have told a lawyer for the family that he has undergone two abdominal surgeries, and that he also has pelvic injuries and peritonitis.

The Israel Defense Forces Spokesman’s Office stated, “The incident in question is being investigated by the division.”

Attorney Moied Kabhah says he is still waiting for the full particulars from the doctors, including the number and type of bullets that hit Yassin.

Yassin lives with his parents in Algeria, but came a few months ago to visit the village of his birth Asira al-Shimaliya, north of Nablus. On the Saturday in question, he took a taxi from Nablus back to the village in the early afternoon. Access to five villages in the area is limited by a military checkpoint open only to residents of those villages and special permit holders.

Passengers sharing the cab with Yassin told human rights watchdog B’Tselem that their taxi, with four men and five women passengers, arrived at the checkpoint after an hour’s wait. The driver collected the identity cards of all nine passengers and gave them to the soldiers.

At that time, following procedure, the women got out of the cab. According to the witness accounts, one of the soldiers instructed the women to pat their chests and stomachs in a sort of physical security check. Some or all of the women refused. Some witnesses say the soldier ceded the demand and only examined bags, while others say the soldier cursed the women and yelled at them.

After the women, the men got out of the cab and Yassin was the first to step up to the check, about two meters from the soldiers. The soldier instructed Yassin to pull up his shirt, which he did, while walking closer to the soldiers. At that time, the men heard him ask the soldier in English why he told the women to touch themselves. Another witness believes he told the soldier he could not instruct women to touch themselves.

According to witnesses, the soldier did not answer, and just yelled at him and pushed him. Yassin kept talking. One witness heard Yassin say, “Don’t hit me.” The soldier pushed him again and then apparently Yassin pushed back. The soldier yelled and cursed and hit Yassin on the arm and pointed his gun at him. At this point, two soldiers who had been searching the taxi joined the first soldier and also pointed cocked guns at Yassin.

One witness said Yassin then pushed the soldiers away as they tried to catch him and then they hit him. One soldier fired shots into the air and then at the ground. Another witness reported one soldier fired into the air while the other shot down at the ground, whereas the third soldier pointed his rifle at the other standing men.

According to the witnesses, one soldier shouted in Hebrew, “Stop, arms in the air.” However, Yassin – who doesn’t speak Hebrew – continued to walk forward and then the soldiers shot at him. Then Yassin fell to the ground. According to the eyewitnesses, the soldiers held him, hurling him face down on a cement block and handcuffed him.

All three witnesses say the soldiers beat Yassin for five minutes in the back and head with their fists and their rifle butts and kicked him, also in the head.

After about ten minutes, a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance, summoned by another passenger, arrived on the scene, but the soldiers refused to allow the medical team access to Yassin. An Israeli ambulance arrived shortly thereafter and transferred Yassin to a hospital in Israel.

A number of military officers arrived at the checkpoint and questioned the witnesses for about fifteen minutes.

Click here for an ISM report of the incident.

Ynet: “Evacuate? Settlers continue to expand outposts”

by Efrat Weiss, November 16


Givat Assaf. Building under the nose of the civil administration

Rumors of upcoming evacuation haven’t deterred outposts in Binyamin region in the West Bank from expanding. A Ynet tour of area reveals new permanent structures being built, and introduction of new trailers as civil administration, meant to be upholding policy of Israeli government in West Bank, looks on in silence. Peace Now: Government continues to allow settlers to do whatever they wish.

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Settlers continue to expand outposts and to build permanent structures in blatant disregard for impending evacuation. This emerged from a Ynet tour of the Binyamin region of the West Bank. It turns out that a number of outposts north of Jerusalem are being built up under the noses of the civil administration.

For instance, the outpost of Givat Assaf, that was established in 2001. In January 2004, a demarcation order was issued to establish the boundaries of the settlement. The order was renewed in 2006.

Despite this, there are some 20 structures on the site, and a permanent structure was recently built. It should by noted that those sitting in the civil administration can’t avoid seeing the new structure in the outpost since it is highly visible for the road on the way to and from work.

In the outpost Nofei Prat, N.G. 468, the trailers were erected in 2003, and were occupied in 2004. It should be noted that this outpost, like other outposts, appears in the outpost report of Attorney Talia Sasson. Nofei Prat is also expanding at an accelerated pace. Recently, three trailers were added to the outpost (which now totals eight trailers), and a solitary permanent building was completed.

In the Neve Erez outpost, named in memory of Brigadier-General Erez Gerstein, a permanent structure was recently erected. The outpost was established in May 1999, was dismantled under the framework of an agreement made in Prime Minister Barak’s period, and was transferred to a different site. However, in February 2001, the residents returned to the original site.

In Neve Erez, south of Maaleh Mikhmash, there are 15 structures including trailers, convenience stores, tin shacks, and the permanent structure recently put up. Eight families live in the outpost.

New trailers and recently finished permanent structures can also be found in Plagei Mayim, an extension of the Ali settlement in Gush Telmonim. In the outpost Zayit Raanan, which is also in Gush Telmonim, two permanent structures are being finished, and three new trailers have been introduced.

It should be noted that all of the outposts we visited during daylight hours, were completely empty of people. However, even from this small sampling of five outposts near Ramallah, it is clearly seen that the momentum of building hasn’t stopped despite threats of evacuation coming from the government. On the contrary. Permanent structures are very quickly taking their places in the outposts.

Responses

In response to Ynet’s findings, Peace Now representative Dror Atkas said: “The findings of the tour prove that the Israeli government continues to shirk all its political and legal commitments. It continues to allow settlers to do whatever they wish in terms of building in the outposts in broad daylight.”

Even Mayor of the Benjamin Regional Council, Pinhas Wallerstein, who has jurisdiction over the outposts,” clarified: “Within the discussion with the Defense Ministry and our willingness to show good will, we will be prepared to freeze all development in the said outposts, which are the subject of the discussion with the Defense Ministry during negotiations.”

The civil administration said in response to the permanent structure built in Givat Assaf: “This is an old structure that has existed in the outpost for a long time and is handled by the oversight authorities in accordance. The building was recently expanded, hence its new appearance.”