Category: Press Releases

Two Palestinians injured as settler opens fire on funeral procession in Beit Ommar

21 March 2011 | Center for Freedom and Justice in Beit Ommar

Around 12pm on Monday, March 21st, 2011, two Palestinian residents from the village of Beit Ommar in the southern West Bank were shot with live ammunition by an Israeli settler. The settler stopped his car on Route 60 as a funeral procession was moving towards the village cemetery and started firing indiscriminately into the crowd of mourners.

59-year-old Mohammad Ali Abu Safiyya was hit in the chest and is in critical condition in a Hebron hospital. 32-year-old Eyad Bassem Za’qiq was shot in his right thigh. The settler who shot the two men was not arrested.

Israeli Forces arrived on the scene and used sound bombs and tear gas to disperse the gathered crowd as medical teams evacuated the wounded. Several international human rights activists, as well as members of the Palestine Solidarity Project, a Palestinian group which organizes against the occupation in Beit Ommar, were on hand to witness these events.

The attack came hours after Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali Awad was stabbed in the chest by settlers from Ma’on, south of the city of Hebron. His wounds were considered moderate.

For more information, please contact:

Ahmed Oudeh, Center for Freedom and Justice in Beit Ommar +972 598 519 887 or +972 548 838 369

In a New Crime, IOF Kills Two Children in Central Gaza

21 March 2011 | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

On Saturday evening, 19 March 2011, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) used excessive and lethal force which resulted in the death of two Palestinian children who were nearly 300 meters from the border east of Juhr Addik village in the central Gaza Strip. It should be noted that on Thursday morning, 17 March 2011, IOF warplanes dropped leaflets on border areas in the different parts of the Gaza Strip warning Palestinians to avoid coming within 300 meters of the border fence with Israel.

According to an investigation conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and statements made by eyewitnesses, at approximately 21:30 on 19 March 2011, IOF stationed along the border line east of Juhr Addik village in central the Gaza Strip fired several artillery shells at two Palestinian children who were nearly 300 meters from the border. As a result the two children were immediately killed. IOF continued firing until late in the evening. Today morning, 20 March 2011, IOF moved approximately 400 meters into the area and conducted surveillance in the area. After coordination was made with IOF through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), at approximately 11:30 this morning, an ambulance from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society managed to access the two bodies which were approximately 300 meters from the border. The two bodies were then transferred to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. The two children were identified as:

1. Imad Mohammed Issa Faraj Allah, 16, from Nuseirat refugee camp; and

2. Qasem Salah Abu Uteiwi, 16, from Nuseirat refugee camp.

PCHR condemns this crime and is gravely concerned. PCHR also:

1. Asserts that these crimes are part of a series of war crimes committed by IOF in the oPt, which reflect total disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians.

2. Warns of the escalation of war crimes against Palestinian civilians in view of the statements and threats expressed by Israeli political and military officials who have vowed more casualties in the Gaza Strip.

3. Calls upon the international community to take immediate action in order to put an end to such crimes. PCHR further renews its demand for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligation under Article 1 which stipulates “the High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances,” as well as their obligations under Article 146 which requires that the Contracting Parties 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 under Protocol I Additional to Geneva Conventions.

Provocations and attacks by Israeli settlers obstruct Palestinian nonviolent action in the South Hebron Hills: two Palestinians are arrested

19 March 2011 | Operation Dove

At-Tuwani – Saturday morning, around 9:00 am, during a nonviolent action, the inhabitants of At-Tuwani, accompanied by several international, planted some olive trees in Palestinian-owned Humra valley. In addition, during the action some shepherds of the village decided to graze their flocks in the area.

Immediately, several Israeli army jeep reached the area to monitor the situation. Soon after, settlers from the Havat Ma’on outpost, some of them masked, began to approach and provoke the Palestinians. They walked among their flocks and close to the women who were gathering herbs in the fields. At about 10:30, three young settlers chased a Palestinian man who was returning home with his donkey through Meshaha hill. Luckily, the Palestinian man was just scared by the settlers. The action could still be carried out successfully despite the provocations and the tension due to the presence of about twenty settlers.

The soldiers tried to keep the settlers away, repeatedly asking them to return in the outpost. At around 10:50 an officer of the Border Police brought an evacuation order declaring the zone “closed military area“. The Palestinians, after some protests, went back to At-Tuwani. The settlers returned in the outpost, they splitted in two groups: some of them attacked the Palestinians and their flocks on their way back to the village, while others headed toward At-Tuwani masked and accompanied by dogs, threatening the house closest to the outpost.

The situation deteriorated and some Palestinians replied to the settlers’ attacks defending themselves. The soldiers tried to force the Palestinians back to the village and during the riots they launched two sound bombs. Two young Palestinians were arrested and a third, after being pinned to the ground by several soldiers, felt faint and went by ambulance to the hospital in Yatta. The other inhabitants of At-Tuwani and all the internationals were forced by soldiers to return to the village.

[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]

Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams have maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.

Three Scandinavian ISM activists trapped by curfew in Awarta village following settlers’ murder

15 March 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

UPDATE:

At 5:30 pm last night a large mob of settlers came down the hill and attacked villagers with stones, breaking one 15-year-old boy’s arm. At 5pm the soldiers had announced that their curfew was finished, but it became clear today that the curfew is still in effect as soldiers shout at people to go back inside if they step outside their homes. Though ISM activists could have left last night, they stayed in the village anticipating disturbances from settlers, and are now trapped again by the continuing curfew. Villagers have told the activists that their presence is influencing the behavior of the settlers: the soldiers are less abusive when internationals are present. Regarding the investigation into the murder of the settler family, evidence has yet to be presented incriminating a Palestinian. Most Palestinians, such as Hani Awad from Awarta, strongly doubt that a Palestinian would have committed the crime and think it would have been impossible for anyone to break into the settlement.

14 March 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

UPDATE:

As of 12:30pm the ISM activists are locked in a room with the children of the family that they’ve been staying with while soldiers search the house. It’s difficult for the ISMers to confirm information they receive as they’re not allowed to leave the house, but they’ve heard that 100 village men were taken into detention at the school for interrogation a few hours ago.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today the village of Awarta, near Nablus, is facing the second day of a severe curfew imposed by the Israeli military, following Friday morning’s murder of a settler family in the settlement Itamar . Three ISM activists–Cinda, 23, Chad, 25, from Sweden, and Cissy, 53, from Norway–are currently trapped in the village. Anyone caught stepping outside of their house is arrested. Soldiers have said that they’ll maintain the curfew until they’ve apprehended the settler family’s murderer. The army hasn’t presented any evidence that the murderer was from Awarta, and villagers have said to the ISM that they strongly doubt the murderer was even Palestinian as the settlement is so heavily guarded it would be impossible to break in. Soldiers are beating people and continuing their house raids: destroying houses from the inside, cutting off electricity, and polluting the drinking water by throwing mud in the water-tanks. 30 homes were occupied by soldiers last night. Computers and phones have been destroyed and money and property were stolen by the soldiers. In the last two days soldiers have been throwing sound grenades inside and outside the houses, and shooting in the air. The ISM activists may be arrested soon, but they intend to stay as long as possible because they feel their presence improves the behavior of the soldiers, and villagers have asked them to stay.

For more information:
Cinda, ISM activist inside the village: +972 59 741 4023
ISM Media Office, Ramallah: +972 59 760 6276

Jailed Bil’in Protest Organizer, Abdallah Abu Rahmah, to be Released on Sunday

14 March 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

UPDATE:
Abdallah Abu Rahmah of the Bil’in Popular Committee who was supposed to be released yesterday after 16 months in jail was kept for another night for “administrative reasons” but will be released today.

What: Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s release from prison
Where: The Bitunya checkpoint, near Ofer Military Prison
When: Monday, March 14th, 04:00 PM

11 March 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Abu Rahmah is expected to be released after having served the 16 months sentence imposed on him by the Israeli Military Court of Appeals for organizing demonstrations. Abu Rahmah will be received by his family, friends and supporters, and will hold a press conference at the prison’s gate on his release.

What: Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s release from prison
Where: The Bitunya checkpoint, near Ofer Military Prison
When: Sunday, March 13th, 04:00 PM
Media Contact: Jonathan Pollak +972-54-632-7736

Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was arrested last year by soldiers who raided his home at the middle of the night and was subsequently indicted before an Israeli military court on unsubstantiated charges that included stone-throwing and arms possession. Abu Rahmah was cleared of both the stone-throwing and arms possession charges, but convicted of organizing illegal demonstrations and incitement.

An exemplary case of mal-use of the Israeli military legal system in the West Bank for the purpose of silencing legitimate political dissent, Abu Rahmah’s conviction was subject to harsh international criticism. The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, expressed her deep concern “that the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest[…]”, after EU diplomats attended all hearings in Abu Rahmah’s case. Ashton’s statement was followed by one from the Spanish Parliament.

Renowned South African human right activist, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called on Israel to overturn Abu Rahmah’s conviction on behalf of the Elders, a group of international public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates, brought together by Nelson Mandela. Members of the Elders, including Tutu, have met with Abu Rahmah on their visit to Bil’in prior to his arrest.

International human rights organization Amnesty International condemned Abu Rahmah’s conviction as an assault on the right to freedom of expression. Human Rights Watch denounced the conviction, pronouncing the whole process “an unfair trial”.

Israeli organizations also distributed statements against the conviction – including a statement by B’Tselem which raises the issue of questionable testimonies by minors used to convict Abu Rahme, and The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) which highlights the impossibility of organizing legal demonstrations for Palestinians in the West Bank.

Legal Background
Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was acquitted of two out of the four charges brought against him in the indictment – stone-throwing and a ridiculous and vindictive arms possession charge. According to the indictment, Abu Rahmah collected used tear-gas projectiles and bullet casings shot at demonstrators, with the intention of exhibiting them to show the violence used against demonstrators. This absurd charge is a clear example of how eager the military prosecution is to use legal procedures as a tool to silence and smear unarmed dissent.

The court did, however, find Abu Rahmah guilty of two of the most draconian anti-free speech articles in military legislation: incitement, and organizing and participating in illegal demonstrations. It did so based only on testimonies of minors who were arrested in the middle of the night and denied their right to legal counsel, and despite acknowledging significant ills in their questioning.

The court was also undeterred by the fact that the prosecution failed to provide any concrete evidence implicating Abu Rahmah in any way, despite the fact that all demonstrations in Bil’in are systematically filmed by the army.

Under military law, incitement is defined as “The attempt, verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order” (section 7(a) of the Order Concerning Prohibition of Activities of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda (no.101), 1967), and carries a 10 years maximal sentence.