Day: 26 May 2022

Israeli forces Thursday overnight detained 31 Palestinians, including a 60-year-old man and at least two minors, in large-scale raids across the West Bank, according to local and security sources.

They said that Israeli forces rounded up a Palestinian after breaking into and searching his family house in Silwad town, northeast of the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

The soldiers rounded up another after ransacking his family house in Ramallah city.

In Nablus district, gun-toting soldiers showed up at a house in Huwara town, south of Nablus, and re-arrested a former prisoner.

The town has recently become a scene of confrontations with Israeli settlers, who, under military protection, storm the town to hoist Israeli flags or take down Palestine flags on electrical poles in the main street.

Elsewhere in the northern West Bank, Israeli forces detained six others, including a 60-year-old man, after forcibly entering the houses of their families in Qalqiliya city.

In Jenin district, the soldiers manning the intermittently staffed Ya‘bad checkpoint, also known as Mevo Dotan, stopped and detained three others, including a former prisoners.

In the southern West Bank, the heavily-armed soldiers forcibly entered a number of houses in Sa‘ir town, east of Hebron, woke up all the residents, turned the houses topsy-turvy, and detained nine others, including three fathers along with their minor children.

They conducted a raid in Yatta town, south of Hebron, and detained two others.

The sources confirmed a similar raid in Bani Na‘im, east of the city, resulting in the detention of three others, including two brothers.

Meanwhile, police rounded up five others and ransacked the houses of their families across Jerusalem, turning them upside down.

On Wednesday evening, the soldiers rounded up another from Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank district of Hebron after settlers, under military protection, assaulted and chased herders in Ein al-Beida, one of the communities making up Masafer Yatta.

Police also detained another, who serves as Waqf guard and is a chronic patient, after beating him in the vicinity of Bab al-Amoud.

Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.

Under Israeli military law army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

According to the latest figures from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, there are currently 4,450 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers.

This number includes approximately 530 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, that allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.

Mass arrest of Palestinians is nothing new. According to a 2017 report by Addameer, over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel, this figure is now believed to be closer to 1 million. This means that about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation have been deprived of their freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has suffered the imprisonment of a loved one.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Israeli forces Thursday morning targeted Palestinian farmers to the east of the city of Khan Younis in the southern besieged Gaza Strip, according to WAFA correspondent.

He said that the Israeli soldiers stationed at the military towers along Gaza’s eastern frontier, east of the city, opened heavy gunfire, tear gas bombs and stun grenades towards farmers who were tending their crops to the east of Khuza‘a town, forcing them to flee for their safety.

Meanwhile, the heavily-armed soldiers opened heavy machine gunfire towards farmers tending their cultivated land to the east of Deir al-Balah city as well as al-Maghazi and al-Bureij refugee camps, forcing them to leave.

No injuries were reported in the cross-border attack.

Fourteen years following the Israeli “disengagement” from Gaza, Israel has not actually disengaged from Gaza; it still maintains control of its land borders, access to the sea and airspace.

Two million Palestinians live the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to a punishing and crippling Israeli blockade for 12 years and repeated onslaughts that have heavily damaged much of the enclave’s infrastructure.

Gaza’s 2-million population remains under “remote control” occupation and a strict siege, which has destroyed the local economy, strangled Palestinian livelihoods, plunged them into unprecedented rates of unemployment and poverty, and cut off from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories and the wider world.

Gaza remains occupied territory, having no control over its borders, territorial waters or airspace. Meanwhile, Israel upholds very few of its responsibilities as the occupying power, failing to provide for the basic needs of Palestinian civilians living in the territory.

Every two in three Palestinians in Gaza is a refugee from lands inside what is now Israel. That government forbids them from exercising their right to return as enshrined in international law because they are not Jews.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

PLO’s Executive Committee member Hussein al-Sheikh today called out international silence in applying international legitimacy.

Al-Sheikh, who also serves as a Fatah Central Committee member, stated that Palestinians have entered a “new phase of confrontation with the occupation” due to the ongoing Israeli violations.

He took it to Twitter to call the Israeli government “extremist,” while calling out the international silence and inability in applying international legitimacy.

“The settlers’ acquisition of the Palestinian lands, and the flags march in East Jerusalem, and the continued killing, demolition, arrest, and settlement, show us that we have entered a new phase of confrontation with the occupation under an extremist government,” al-Sheikh said in the tweet and added “coupled with the international silence and inability, as well as the double-standards in applying international legitimacy.”

“Enough is enough for this hateful occupation,” al-Sheikh concluded.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Israeli forces Thursday morning chased and shot Palestinian workers close to a cluster of villages, west and east of Jenin, according to local and security sources.

They said that the heavily-armed soldiers stormed At-Tayba, ‘Anin, Faqqu‘a and Tura villages, and fired stun grenades, tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets towards workers as the latter were heading to their workplaces inside Israel, causing a number to suffocate from tear gas inhalation.

Hundreds of Palestinians work in Israel without a permit and often police chase them and detain them before sending them back to the occupied West Bank where work is more scarce than in Israel and pay is much less.

Israeli severely restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement through a complex combination of approximately 100 fixed checkpoints, flying checkpoints, settler-only roads and various other physical obstructions.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Israeli occupation forces shut down today the main road linking the cities of Nablus and Qalqilia in the north of the occupied West Bank, blocking access of the Palestinian traffic to the road.

WAFA correspondent said an Israeli army force shut down the road without prior notice, which caused a traffic jam in the area, adding that Palestinian drivers were forced to use alternative, longer routes as a result of the closure.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Three Palestinians today sustained injuries in an Israeli settler attack in the village of Burqa, northwest of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, according to medical sources.

Director of the Palestinian Red Crescent’s (PRC) Emergency Department, Ahmad Jibril, told WAFA that PRC crews moved three Palestinians to the hospital following being brutally assaulted by Israeli settlers.

A group of settlers hurled stones towards a few houses at the entrance of the village and a number of Palestinian commuters in the area, as reported by Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank.

He added that tension in the area is on the rise as Israeli settlers are rampaging under military protection.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

Settler violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

There are over 800,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said today that Israel’s killing of revered Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11 brought Palestinians, and countless others around the world, together in grief and anger, while serving as another reminder of the devastating human cost of this conflict.

In his briefing to the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East, Wennesland said those responsible must be held accountable. He echoed the Secretary-General’s condemnation of all attacks against journalists and his call for the relevant authorities to carry out an independent and transparent investigation.

Wennesland also condemned scenes of violence during Abu Akleh’s funeral procession, where Israeli police stormed the hospital and subsequently beat pallbearers and other mourners with batons, saying the Israeli attack was distressing and offensive.

On a different subject, Wennesland said “settler-related violence continued during the reporting period. On 7 May, in five separate incidents, Israeli settlers, accompanied by the Israeli security forces, entered four Palestinian towns resulting in 100 Palestinians injured.”

He added, “Despite a notable reduction during Ramadan, Israeli authorities demolished, seized or forced owners to demolish 40 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C and 12 in occupied East Jerusalem, as well as two structures in Area A, displacing 98 Palestinians, including 50 children.”

Turning to Gaza, he said that the United Nations continues to deliver vital humanitarian and development assistance, as well as to make efforts towards further easing restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of the Strip. “Plans are in place to support revitalization of Gaza’s fishery sector, including facilitating entry of dual-use items under the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism. Success of this initiative should pave the way for a further easing of restrictions, including in the agriculture, industrial and health sectors.”

The UN official affirmed that the status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites must be upheld and respected, saying that with the current dynamics, particularly in the occupied West Bank, the situation could spiral out of control at any time. “We must push beyond the paradigm of managing the conflict and move towards resolving it,” he said, urging action that will lead back to the path of negotiations, which will end the occupation and establish two States, in line with United Nations resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, called today on the United States administration to press Israel into cancelling the so-called ‘nationalist flag march’, scheduled to take place next Sunday in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the Attorney General Akram Al-Khatib on the results of the probe into Israel’s murder of veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Abu Rudeineh said the US administration was the only party capable of pressing the Israeli government to stop its daily harassment of Palestinians, including settlement construction and killing of civilians.

“The Palestinian leadership has repeatedly warned the Israeli government against playing with fire through this march, which is rejected and condemned,” he said. “Israel underestimates the Palestinian people and the Arab nation, and its assessments are always wrong, the Palestinian people will be able to protect their holy sites.”

On the results of the probe into Abu Akleh’s murder, Abu Rudeineh pointed out that the Public Prosecution’s report “constitutes an official document that convicts the Israeli army of committing massacres, killing Palestinians and assaulting civilians, and these crimes will be documented and presented to the international community.”

“The report is now at the disposal of President [Mahmoud Abbas] and has not been handed over to any party until this moment. We are confident in our [Palestinian] people, their capabilities and experts, and in the report which is built on accurate and solid scientific foundations.”

He added, “We will continue to take all the legal procedures until the end, and [we will go] to all international forums and anywhere”, including the International Criminal Court. “We will not abandon any of the rights of the Palestinian people. International courts will be presented with all the documents, including this important report.”

Abu Rudeineh said “the previous US administration treated the Palestinian accession to the ICC as a nuclear option. Still, President Mahmoud Abbas rejected these threats, and insisted on joining the court.”

“The US administration and the international community are required to assume their responsibilities towards Israel as an occupying power, to work to stop the violations of the occupation, to force Israel to abide by international law and legitimacy and to stop providing it with protection.”

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Minister Hussein al-Sheikh, the Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said today that the Palestinian leadership has handed a copy of the Palestinian Public Prosecutor’s report on Israel’s murder of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to the US administration.

He said another two copies will be handed over to Abu Akleh’s family and Al Jazeera TV where the veteran journalist had served.

This came as the Palestinian Public Prosecution published its report on Abu Akleh’s murder which established that she was deliberately killed by a live bullet fired directly at her head by an Israeli soldier on May 11.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Palestinian Attorney General Akram Al-Khatib said today that based on the Public Prosecution’s report on the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, it was established that the veteran Al Jazeera journalist was killed by an armor-piercing projectile fired directly at her head by an Israeli sniper.

Speaking at a press conference at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, Al-Khatib said that according to the report, it was established that an Israeli sniper directly fired a bullet at Abu Akleh’s head while she was trying to escape, although she was wearing a helmet and a vest that was clearly marked with the word “PRESS”. He said other journalists who were accompanying her were also deliberately targeted by gunfire.

The bullet that killed Abu Akleh is a 5.56 mm round with a steel component used by NATO forces, he said, adding that the Palestinian Authority will not hand the bullet over to Israel. Al Khatib said the bullet was fired from 170-200 meters away by a sniper with a clear line of sight. He added that the bullet had general and specific markings that match a Mini Ruger semi-automatic sniper weapon.

He pointed out that the remains of the gunfire available at Abu Akleh’s murder scene support the fact that the journalist was killed with premeditation, especially that the Israeli soldiers fired at anyone who tried to reach Abu Akleh to help her.

Al-Khatib said the facts on the ground confirm the absence of any armed clashes at the time when the crime occurred, stressing that the investigation carried out by the Public Prosecution will be the cornerstone in the prosecution of the Israeli killers. “The only source of firing was by the occupation forces with the aim to kill,” he said.

According Al-Khatib, an autopsy and forensic examination conducted in Nablus after Abu Akleh’s death showed she was shot from the back, indicating that she was attempting to flee as Israeli forces continued to fire towards the group of journalists.

Aside from Abu Akleh, another Al Jazeera journalist, Ali al-Samoudi, was also wounded by a bullet to the back at the scene. He is now in a stable condition.

“Ali Samoudi was hit by a bullet in his back, and the Israeli occupation forces continued their attack on the journalists, who tried to escape and leave,” Al-Khatib said.

The findings of the probe came days after the Palestinian Foreign Ministry announced it had formally asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Abu Akleh’s killing.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)