Tag: YNet

YNet News: ‘Palestinians: IDF sanctions land theft’

Aviad Glickman | YNet News

30 June 2009

Two residents of the West Bank Palestinian village of Qadum filed a High Court petition against the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday asking that it overturn a military appellate board decision and order a Kedumim settler who they claim invaded their land to return it to them.

The petition was filed with the assistance of the Yesh Din human rights organization. According to the brief, the two realized the settler invaded their property in May 2007, fencing off some of their agricultural land as his own, planting hundreds of plants and setting up irrigation devices.

In letter to defense administration heads Yesh Din reports of alarming increase in number of attempts to uproot or damage Palestinian farmers’ trees as part of settlers’ efforts to ‘achieve political goals through terrorists acts’

In August 2007, the Civil Administration issued an eviction order against the man, who, in turn, asked the military appellate board to override the decision, claiming he had been working the land for 10 years. His motion was granted in March 2009.

The plaintiffs claim that the land in question was private Palestinian property, which is outside of Kedumim’s municipal jurisdiction, and that the board’s decision did not take into account the fact that the settler could not substantiate his claim of proprietary.

“The board’s decision backs systematic and aggressive land theft,” said Yesh Din Attorney Michael Sfard. “Letting the decision stand is equal to giving out the death sentence for the rule of law in the West Bank.

“The Court has an opportunity through this case to enforce the rule of law against settlers who bar Palestinians access to their lands through cultivation.”

Palestinian says settlers repeatedly damaged his home

Ali Waked | YNet News

24 June 2009

Ibrahim Ayid, of the village of Borin near Nablus, says he cannot complete construction on his home because it has been attacked three times during the past week by settlers.

The IDF stated that a number of incidents have occurred on the scene and that forces had to prevent physical violence from breaking out between Palestinians and settlers.

Ayid said that on Wednesday three settlers, one of them armed, had arrived at the construction site to threaten him.

“The settlers came down to the house, took apart the wood intended for construction, broke the water containers, and vandalized the property. They also threatened and chased away a tractor driver and electricians working there,” he recounted.

He said the previous incidents had occurred on Tuesday and Saturday of the past week. “They get backing from the settlement’s security guards. The goal of the army alerted to the scene is to peacefully chase away the settlers, by firing tear gas at us. This time the soldiers came as well, but they did nothing against the settlers in the village,” Ayid added.

He said he had filed a complaint with the Palestinian administration, which the soldiers regarded derogatorily. “They answered, ‘Come on, no administration’,” Ayid said. “The soldiers cursed and humiliated us, instead of bringing to justice those who in the course of a week vandalized and caused damage to my property three times.”

The IDF stated in response, “A group of Palestinians gathered in one place and a group of Israelis gathered in another place. When they approached one another an IDF force was there to prevent the sides from clashing. The sides left the area without further incident.”

Meanwhile, Palestinians are claiming that settlers from Gilad Farm set fire to a field in the village of Jat. They claim the settlers also cut down olive and fig trees and afterwards destroyed a field of tomatoes.

Gaza fishermen petition High Court

Aviad Glickman | YNet News

16 June 2009

Four Palestinians from Gaza petitioned the High Court of Justice Tuesday in an effort to get back their confiscated fishing boat, seized by the IDF last month.

The fishermen claim that their livelihood had been gravely undermined by Israel’s Defense Ministry and demand compensation in addition to the ship’s return.

The Navy operates near Gaza’s shores regularly in a bid to prevent maritime terror attacks and often encounters innocent fishermen, who are promptly warned to sail back to permitted zones. However, the petitioners claim that they were sailing in an approved area during the incident in question.

According to the petition, two IDF vessels approached the ship, fired at it, and ordered the crew to leave. Later, a Navy boat approached the fishing vessel and ordered the fishermen to disembark, the petitioners said. The soldiers are said to have covered the fishermen’s eyes and handcuffed them.

Two Palestinians were eventually questioned by Shin Bet officials following the seizure, before being returned to the Gaza Strip via the Erez crossing. The four ship owners say Israeli officials promised to return the ship and its contents within a week, but have not done so to date.

The petitioners say they approached the Defense Ministry several times but have not received a relevant response. They said that none of them were ever involved in terror activity against Israel.

Settler documented firing in Hebron won’t be tried

Aviad Glickman | YNet News

8 June 2009

The Jerusalem District Prosecutor’s Office plans in the coming days to renege on an indictment filed against Ze’ev Braude, who was accused of firing at an Arab family during the evacuation of a disputed building in the West Bank city of Hebron in December 2008.

Ynet learned on Monday afternoon that the decision was made following the State’s refusal to disclose evidence defined as classified information during the trial.

Braude, who has been under house arrest in the past few months, was indicted for shooting and injuring two Palestinians during a clash with an Arab family living in Hebron. Part of the incident was documented in a video published later by several media outlets.

About three months ago Braude’s lawyer, Attorney Ariel Atari, appealed the Supreme Court, asking to receive classified information from the State Prosecutor’s Office. About a month and a half later, the State Prosecutor’s Office informed the court that it was unable to disclose the information or reveal any further details on its content, as this could endanger the State’s security.

The classified material was revealed in a Supreme Court discussion presided by Justice Elyakim Rubinstein. The judge ruled that “a proper procedure cannot be held where there is material which the defense cannot be given the opportunity to use for its own needs. Revealing the material for the sake of doing justice is preferable than the interest in not revealing it.”

According to Rubinstein, the secret information does not appear to damage the State’s stance, but may change the ruling on the matter under certain circumstances.

However, the State Prosecutor’s Office did not give up, threatening to renege on the charges filed against Braude should Rubinstein order it to reveal the material.

B’Tselem: Violent settler evading punishment

Following the threat, the judge announced that the State had decided that the price of revealing the material overpowered the public interest in holding the trial, and that therefore there was no longer a need to reveal the classified information.

The Justice Ministry said in response, “The court made its decision, and we are studying and examining it.”

Attorney Atari said that “canceling the indictment against Braude does real justice with the defendant. Braude acted out of self-defense, and the material in the State’s possession could have established his acquittal. Therefore we welcome the decision.”

Following the decision, the B’Tselem human rights organization demanded that the State Prosecutor’s Office go back on its decision.

“It’s intolerable that a violent settler would evade punishment and be allowed to continue risking lives, although his crime has been caught on tape. If the State refuses to reveal the investigation material, it must find alternative ways to judge Braude according to the letter of the law, but canceling the indictment is not a legitimate alternative.”

Leftists protest siege on Gaza

Daniel Edelson | YNet News

7 June 2009

Dozens of left-wing activists arrived at the Erez crossing Sunday morning with sweets, toys, food items and medicines they asked to transfer to Gaza in defiance of the Israeli siege on the Hamas-ruled territory.

In protest of the IDF’s ban on the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Strip, the activists, all members of the Coalition of Women for Peace and the American group Code Pink, erected a playground on the Israeli side of the crossing.

“We came here despite knowing that the chances of transferring these ‘goods that threaten Israel’s security’ were slim. We want to send a message that Gaza is the biggest prison in the world,” activist Lena Haskiya (24) told Ynet.

“The Israeli army won’t allow children to play on a swing set because it’s a security risk? It’s just a playground,” she said. “We want the entire world to see what the IDF is preventing us from transferring to Gaza.”

Code Pink cofounder Medea Benjamin said, “The US allots $3 billion worth of the taxpayers’ money to the Israeli army each year, and as citizens it is our responsibility to see what is being done with this money and document it.

“Those of us who have already been to Gaza were left heartbroken by what they saw,” she added.

“We have no doubt that war crimes had been committed. The use of the American taxpayers’ money for these purposes is against the law.”