AP: “Reporters hurt as Israeli security forces break up Palestinian demonstrations”

Associated Press

Crowd-control devices like stun grenades and tear gas have injured a number of journalists in recent weeks, including two television crewmen covering a women’s protest Thursday — and reporters are charging they’ve been targeted by Israeli security forces.

Over the last three months, at least five journalists were injured — including an AP photographer whose leg was broken by a stun grenade — while covering protests or Israeli military operations. In one incident, an AP photographer said a stun grenade was thrown at reporters as they talked to soldiers.

The army denied any targeting of journalists, and said it would investigate the incidents.

The military “does not intentionally harm journalists, and any such claims on this matter are baseless,” a military statement said, adding that there are “inherent risks to journalists” covering combat operations.

The casualties were caused by non-lethal means the Israelis use to break up demonstrations and riots. However, stun grenades, which make a loud noise can cause serious injuries when their canisters fly through the air, and tear gas can also cause injury in high concentrations.

On Thursday, paramilitary border police fired stun grenades from a distance of about 10 meters to break up a demonstration of women at the Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Associated Press Television cameraman Eyad Moghrabi was hit on the leg by a flying piece of metal. TV footage showed a stun grenade exploding among the reporters, who were several meters away from the demonstrators. The pictures show the reporters scattering, with one clutching her leg.

“This was not the first time they fire where the journalists are located,” Moghrabi said.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the officers warned everyone, including journalists, that their presence was illegal, before firing the stun grenades, denying that reporters were targeted.

In its statement, the military said it “strives to ensure that the press is not hindered,” but said that when soldiers declare an area closed, reporters are expected to leave.

While agreeing that the military did not have a deliberate policy, Daniel Blumenthal, vice chairman of the Foreign Press Association, said there are numerous complaints. “We assume some soldiers act on their own initiative because of their idea about where a journalist should be (during) an event.”

Thursday’s casualties were only the most recent.

On Wednesday, Al-Jazeera technician Maamoun Othman was wounded when Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades during the arrest of a radical Islamic leader.

“A stun grenade was fired at me directly. It landed on my stomach,” Othman said.

On Feb. 27, journalists say they were hit as they talked to soldiers about covering an army operation in Nablus.

AP photographer Emilio Morenatti said soldiers approached them in jeeps, asking them to leave.

As they were talking with the soldiers “one hand appeared from the (army) car, and threw a stun grenade at us,” he said. No one was hurt.

The FPA protested the Nablus incident, calling it “obstruction and ill treatment of journalists.” Morenatti suffered a broken leg from a fragment of a stun grenade, thrown from a distance of about two meters while he was covering a protest in the West Bank village of Bilin in January.

On Feb. 16, AP photographer Nasser Shiyoukhi was hurt when soldiers fired a tear gas grenade that exploded next to a group of reporters near Hebron.

Nablus women celebrate Women’s Day at Huwwara checkpoint

by IWPS, March 8th

Approximately 300 women, men and children gathered at Huwwara checkpoint outside Nablus today at 11:00 a.m. to protest the military invasion in Nablus last week and to commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8th. The demonstration was organized by a wide coalition of groups including the Popular Committee Against the Closure of Nablus and the General Woman’s Union.

Demonstrators began to chant and march toward the checkpoint, carrying Palestinian flags, signs, and photographs of loved ones who have been killed and arrested by Israeli Occupation Forces. Once at the checkpoint, several women leaders made speeches condemning the Israeli invasion of Nablus. Protestors chanted and tried to pass through the checkpoint but were confronted by around 40 soldiers and border police.

After about 20 minutes, armed soldiers created a barricade to prevent demonstrators from getting through the checkpoint. Several Palestinian women advanced forward, only to be forcefully pushed back, which led to a line of soldiers pushing the entire crowd. The demonstrators resisted soldiers’ pushes but the crowd was moved several meters back. The rally ended with a powerful speech by a female Palestinian leader and a promise to return.

The Israeli forces closed Huwwara checkpoint during the demonstration, leaving approximately 200 people waiting for one and a half hours to pass through. Three hours after the demonstration, Palestinians passing through the checkpoint reported wait times of one hour.

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click here for Ma’an coverage

Demo Against Nablus Closure at Huwwara Checkpoint

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Wednesday 7th March the Popular Committee against the Closure of Nablus is holding a demonstration at Huwwara checkpoint against the curfew imposed on the much of the city last week. The General Woman’s Union and a wide coalition of groups will be taking part in the demonstration to mark International Women’s Day, which is on March 8th. Speeches will be given condemning the Israeli invasion, during which two were killed, many injured, thousands detained and millions of dollars worth of damage to property caused. In addition the economic life of the city, which was already under siege was severely disrupted.

The groups will be meeting at 10am at the Ghurfat Al Tijara on Ard Al Razaliya to travel to Huwwara checkpoint.

Contact:
Mohammed Ayesh – 0522223374
Myasser – 0599324672

YNet: “Filmed raid raises questions on military practices”

by AP, March 4th

Scene caught by AP raises suspicions army still using Palestinian civilians during military operations, despite Supreme Court order barring practice. Human rights groups call tactic a violation of local, international law that places innocent civilians in line of fire; army pledged it will ‘pursue a thorough inquiry’ into case

The young Palestinian man was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt on a cold winter morning as he walked in front of heavily armed Israeli soldiers on a door-to-door sweep of three apartments in a crowded West Bank neighborhood.

The scene – caught by an Associated Press Television News camera – has raised questions about whether the Israeli army is still using Palestinian civilians during military operations, despite a Supreme Court order barring the practice.

Human rights groups call the tactic a violation of local and international law that places innocent civilians in the line of fire.

In its initial reaction to the footage, the Israel Defense Forces said there appeared to be no wrongdoing by its soldiers. In a statement, however, the army pledged it would “pursue a thorough inquiry” into the case.

The incident occurred Sunday in Nablus, where the army has been conducting broad arrest raids throughout the week. The army says most suicide bombings over the past year, including an attempted attack last week, have originated in the Nablus area.

In the AP video, the young Palestinian man is seen leading soldiers to the door of a home. He stands outside as troops move in, then leads the soldiers up some stairs to the apartment’s main entrance.

The man enters the home ahead of the soldiers. Gunshots are heard as several soldiers stand guard outside. The man then leaves the home, walks down the stairs and escorts the soldiers around the side of the building, where he said he led soldiers into two more apartments out of view of the cameras.

Later, he is seen on the footage being led down stairs with several suspects. He and the other men are all placed into a military vehicle.

In interviews with the AP, the Palestinian man, Sameh Amira, 24, said he was awakened at about 5 a.m. by soldiers and ordered to go with his family to a neighboring home. About an hour later, he said he was forced to lead troops into three apartments, including his own. He said he was not allowed to put on warmer clothes.

“They asked me to walk in front of them against my will,” he said, adding that he was occasionally prodded along at gunpoint.

Inside his home, he said soldiers opened fire at bedroom closets. “All the time, I was scared, terrified. Anything could happen,” he told the AP, pointing to bullet holes in the floor, closet doors and clothing in the closets.

Amira, who said he was released from army custody after several hours, said he is not a member of any Palestinian armed group, though he said he has a cousin who belongs to the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, which has carried out numerous attacks on Israelis. He also said he was jailed by Israel for more than three months, but never charged with a crime. His cousin, the apparent target of the raid, is in hiding, he said.

Fourth complaint filed by rights group

International law, including the Geneva Conventions and Hague regulations, prohibit placing civilians in harm’s way during military operations.

In its 2005 ruling, the Israeli Supreme Court barred the use of civilians in arrest operations, even if they volunteer to help. The court specifically banned using neighbors to knock on doors of houses with suspected militants.

The ruling rejected the army’s assertion that the tactic of having civilians knock on their neighbors’ doors and warn them of an impending raid actually protected civilians by encouraging them to leave their homes. The army also contended the practice spurred militants to surrender peacefully.

Israeli military practices became an issue in the spring of 2002, when the army carried out a major offensive in the West Bank in response to suicide bombings by Palestinian militants. During arrest raids, soldiers would sometimes force Palestinian civilians to approach the homes and hideouts of wanted people.

In August 2002, a 19-year-old Palestinian student, Nidal Daraghmeh, was killed in such an incident in the West Bank town of Tubas. At the time, troops called Daraghmeh out of his house and forced him to knock at the door of a neighboring building where a senior Hamas fugitive was hiding. Gunfire erupted and Daraghmeh was killed.

The Hamas fugitive later died in a shootout with soldiers.

After the AP footage of the Nablus incident was broadcast on Israeli TV earlier this week, B’Tselem, a leading human rights group, sent a letter to the army requesting an investigation.

“As you know, no doubt, the Supreme Court has prohibited any use of human shields in any possible form,” the letter said, adding that it was the fourth time the rights group has complained to the army about the practice.

‘Most moral and logical thing in the world’

Jessica Montell, B’Tselem’s executive director, said “the video raises serious concerns that the army is violating the high court judgment and forcing a Palestinian to … illegally take part in the military’s operations.”

She added, however, that known violations have been rare since the 2005 court order.

While the army declined to comment on the video beyond its statement, a military official said the army has carefully obeyed the Supreme Court ruling and would launch a criminal investigation into suspected violations. The official, who was not allowed to be identified under military rules, said he had not seen the video.

Yaacov Amidror, a retired general who is a security specialist at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, said the use of civilians in arrest raids remains the best way to protect soldiers and innocent people.

“The procedure is the most moral and logical thing in the world,” he said. The court’s ban, he said, “seems liberal, but is in fact a bad decision for the residents of the house and for other civilians nearby.”

Addressing the issue of Amira being taken to his own home by the soldiers, Sarit Michaeli, spokeswoman for B’Tselem, said the issue is “danger to the civilian,” not which apartment he is sent to by soldiers, even his own.

Second Casualty and Other Victims of Operation Hot Winter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Father of five, Ghareb Abdel Ghani Selhab, 47, a resident of Nablus old city who had a heart attack after a tear gas canister was fired into his home, died this morning. He had been in Watani hospital since the attack on Tuesday 26th February on a life support machine. According to the Red Crescent Society who sent an ambulance to evacuate Mr. Selhab they were prevented by the Israeli military from accessing his home for over an hour.

Anan Al-Tibi,49-year old father of four, was shot dead on February 26th,when he went up to the roof of his home to check on the water source. His 20-year old son Ashraf, a medical volunteer, was shot in his right hand, shattering his elbow, while attempting to warn his father that the military were in the area. Ashraf was then detained by the Israeli military and released hours later. He is still in Nablus Specialist Hospital (Nablus Al Tachasusi).
For an interview with Ashraf visit:
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Eleven year old Jihan Dahadush was used as a human shield and led around the old city for an hour and a half in front of ten Israeli soldiers.
For an interview with Jihan visit:
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Several men who were rounded up and detained by the Israeli military testified that after being detained, blindfolded, handcuffed, and denied access to food, water, for between six and twenty hours, they were released in front of Huwarra military base after being asked only basic questions such as what is your name and where do you live.

For more information call the ISM media office: 02-2971824


Jihan Dahadush


a Nablus family in front of their wall destroyed by IOF