PCHR weekly report 18/2-23/2/10: 21 Palestinians abducted, including 3 children

extracts from PCHR weekly report 18/2-23/2/10

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been deprived for family visitation for more than two years. 

In recognition of ICRC as the guardian of the Fourth Geneva Convention, PCHR calls upon the ICRC to increase its staff and activities in the OPT, including the facilitation of family visitations to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

IOF arrested 21 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, in the West Bank. 

Thursday, 18 February 2010 

· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Dura village, southwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

1. Jihad 'Eissa Shabana, 45; and

2. Shaher 'Abdul Majid Ebrayoush, 35.

· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into al-Am'ari refugee camp near al-Bireh. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Mohammed Suleiman Habboub, 18, and arrested him.

· At approximately 03:30, IOF moved into Nablus. They raided and searched two flats in al-'Aqqad building in the center of the city, and arrested two Palestinian minors:

1. Sami Hashem Abu Shalbak, 17; and

2. 'Alaa' Mohammed al-Tiryaqi, 17.

· Also at approximately 03:30, IOF moved into 'Aanin village, west of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

1. Mo'taz Fayez 'Eissa, 22; and

2. Yousef Sha'ban Yassin, 24. 

Friday, 19 February 2010

· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Beit Leqia village, west of Ramallah. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 3 Palestinian civilians, who had been released from Israeli jails 3 weeks prior:

1. Yousef Nidal Mafarja, 20;

2. 'Abbas Hisham 'Aassi, 20; and

3. Mustafa Rebhi 'Aassi, 22.

· At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin. They raided and searched a house belonging to Fadel Sa'id Zakarna, and arrested his two sons: Mohammed, 24; and Mahmoud, 36. 

Monday, 22 February 2010

At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Sa'ir village, northeast of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Amjad Mohammed al-Shalalda, 19. 

At approximately 20:00, IOF moved into Bourin village, south of Nablus. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 4 Palestinian civilians:

1. Ayman Lu'ai al-Najjar, 24;

2. Amjad Lu'ai al-Najjar, 23;

3. Majdi Lu'ai al-Najjar, 21; and

4. Eyad Mustafa al-Zawahri, 24.

Tuesday, 23 February 2010  

Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into the Abu Snaina neighborhood of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of 'Abdul Mo'in Fawzi Abu Hadeed, 20, and arrested him.

· Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Masayef neighborhood of Ramallah. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Saqer Ameen 'Aateeq, 17, and arrested him.

· Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Far'a refugee camp, south of Tubas. They raided and searched a number of houses, shops and workshops and arrested Hussein Kamel Abu al-Samen, 26, and his brother Mohammed, 24.

  



   

A letter From My Holding Cell

Abdallah Abu Rahmah during a demonstration in Bil'in. Picture credit: Oren Ziv/ActiveStills

Feb 17, 2010

This letter from Bil'in's Abdallah Abu Rahmah was conveyed from his prison cell by his lawyers. For information on his case and actions to take for his release see here

Dear Friends and Supporters,
It has been two months now since I was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken from my home. Today news has reached Ofer Military Prison that the apartheid wall on Bil'in's land will finally be moved and construction has begun on the new route. This will return half of the land that was stolen from our village. For those of us in Ofer , imprisoned for our protest against the wall, this victory makes the suffering of being here easier to bear. After actively resisting the theft of our land by the Israeli apartheid wall and settlements every week for five years now, we long to be standing along side our brothers and sisters to mark this victory and the fifth anniversary of our struggle.
Ofer is an Israeli military base inside the occupied territories that serves as a prison and military court. The prison is a collection of tents enclosed by razor wire and an electrical fence, each unit containing four tents, 22 prisoners per tent. Now, in winter, wind and rain comes in through cracks in the tent and we don't have sufficient blankets, clothes, and other basic necessities.
Food is a critical issue here in Ofer, there's not enough. We survive by buying ingredients from the prison canteen that we prepare in our tent. We have one small hot plate, and this is also our only source of warmth. Those whose families can put money in an account for us to buy food, do so, but many cannot afford to. The positive aspect to this is that I have learned how to cook! Tonight I madefalafel and sweets to celebrate the news about our victory. I cannot wait to get home and cook for my wife and children!
I was arrested in my slippers, and to this day my family has been unable to get permission to supply me with a pair of shoes. I was finally given my watch after repeated requests. For me this is an essential way to keep oriented; it was unbearable not being able to see the rate at which time passes. Receiving it, I felt so overjoyed, like a child getting his first watch. I can barely imagine what it will be like to have a pair of proper shoes again.
Because of our imprisonment, the military considers our families to be a security threat. It is very hard for our wives, children and extended family to visit. My friendAdeeb Abu Rahmah , also a political prisoner from Bil'in, cannot receive visits from his wife and one of his daughters. Even his mother, a woman in her eighties who is currently in bad health, is considered a security threat! He is afraid that he will not see her before she dies.
I am a teacher and before my arrest I taught at a private school in Birzeit and also owned a chicken farm. My family had to sell the farm at a loss after I was arrested. I don’t know if I will have my position at the school when I am released.Adeeb 's family of nine is left without their sole provider, as are many other families. Not being able to care for our loved ones who need us is the hardest part of being here.
It is the support that I receive from my family and friends that helps me go on. I am grateful to the Palestinian leaders who have contacted my family, the diplomats from the European Union and to the Israeli activists who have expressed their support by attending my hearings. The relationship we have built together with the activists has gone beyond the definition of colleague or friend, we are brothers and sisters in this struggle. You are an unrelenting source of inspiration and solidarity. You have stood with us during demonstrations and court hearings, and during our happiest and most painful occasions. Being in prison has shown me how many true friends I have, I am so grateful to all of you.
From the confines of my imprisonment it becomes so clear that our struggle is far bigger than justice for only Bil’in or even Palestine. We are engaged in an international fight against oppression. I know this to be true when I remember all of you from around the world who have joined the movement to stop the wall and settlements. Ordinary people enraged by the occupation have made our struggle their own, and joined us in solidarity. We will surely join together to struggle for justice in other places when Palestine is finally free.
Missing the five-year anniversary of our struggle in Bil'in will be like missing the birthday of one of my children. Lately I think a lot about my friend Bassem whose life was taken during a nonviolent demonstration last year and how much I miss him. Despite the pain of this loss, and the yearning I feel to be with my family and friends at home, I think that if this is the price we must pay for our freedom, then it is worth it, and we would be willing to pay much more.
Yours,
Abdallah Abu Rahmah
From the Ofer Military Detention Camp

PCHR weekly report 11/2-17/2/2010: 54 Palestinians abducted, including 21 children. 8 of the abducted later released

extracts from PCHR weekly report 11/2-17/2/2010

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been deprived for family visitation for more than two years. 

In recognition of ICRC as the guardian of the Fourth Geneva Convention, PCHR calls upon the ICRC to increase its staff and activities in the OPT, including the facilitation of family visitations to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

IOF arrested 44 Palestinian civilians, including 21 children, in the West Bank. 

IOF arrested 10 civilians in the Gaza Strip, 8 of whom were released. 

Thursday, 11 February 2010  

· At approximately 00:30, IOF moved into al-Jalazon refugee camp, north of Ramallah. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 20 Palestinian civilians, including 18 children:

1. Malek Rabah Ma’moun Nakhlah, 16;

2. Muhanna Mahmoud Fawzi Nakhlah, 16;

3. Saddam Husein Theeb Sharayka,15;

4. Khaled Marwan Dalaysheh, 16;

5. Mahmoud Ramadan Sharaya’, 16;

6. Muhanad Ramada ‘Eleyan, 16;

7. Mohammed Khaled Wasfi Sa’adat, 15;

8. Ahmed Mahmoud Khalil Nakhlah, 15;

9. Mohammed Mahmoud Abdul Aziz Zeid, 16;

10. Mo’ayad Mahmoud Fawzi Nakhlah, 16;

11. Husein Khaled al-‘Arish, 18;

12. Ahmed Mohammed Sha’ban Ghazawi, 17;

13. ‘Amr Zuheir ‘Awwad, 16;

14. Zeid Mahmoud Zeid, 15;

15. ‘Uthman ‘Umar ‘Urabi, 18;

16. Yasin Ahmed Nakhleh, 16;

17. ‘Udai Zeidan al-Hattab, 17;

18. Mohammed Rebhi Masarwah, 15;

19. Naser Jamal Sharayka, 16; and

20. Malek Sa’id Khalil Dar ‘Umar, 15.  

· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Bethlehem city. They stationed in al-Fawaghra neighborhood in the middle of Bethlehem city. The raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 2 Palestinian civilians, including a child:

1. Mahmoud Jamal Masalmeh, 24; and

2. Nashat ‘Umar Shalash, 16.

· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Sourif village, northwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children:

1. Abdul Latif Isma’il Mohammed Ghuneimat, 17;

2. Jarrah Hassan Salem Abu Fara, 21;

3. Issa ‘Amr Barathe’iyeh, 21, a student in Hebron University; and

4. Jarrah Mohammed Amin Ghneimat,17. 

Also at approximately 06:00, a special unit of IOF moved nearly 250 meters into the al-Ghoul family’s land, north west of the evacuated "Dogit" settlement to the northwest of Beit Lahia, northern the Gaza Strip. The unit arrested 6 Palestinian civilians who were collecting and breaking rubble from destroyed houses to sell it to brick factories. It should be noted that Israel has imposed a ban on the delivery of construction materials into the Gaza Strip since its imposition of total closure on the Strip in June 2007. Brick factories in Gaza use the rubble of destroyed houses to make bricks.  Rubble collection has created job opportunities for many Palestinian workers, and is one of the most dangerous jobs as the rubble is collected from areas near the border of the Gaza Strip.  Ghassan Rajab Mohammed Ma’rouf, 34, is one of the workers who were arrested and released later.  He stated to PCHR that an IOF force fired at them and surrounded them.  The force arrested 6 workers, including 2 of Ghassan’s brothers who are Khamis, 29, and Jebril, 18; his nephew Rajab Mohammed Rajab Ma’arouf, 20; Hemmat ‘Aziz ‘Ayesh Tawfiq al-Sous, 34, and Na’el Mansour Tanbourah, 34. The force led the arrested workers to Israel where they were questioned about the reason of their presence in the area. They were released at approximately 16:00 on the same day through Beit Hanoun “Erez” crossing.  

Sunday, 14 February 2010

· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Sourif village, northwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 2 Palestinian civilians:

1. ‘Aziz Ibrahim al-Hor, 22; and

2. ‘Imad Talab al-Haddoush, 24.

· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Mohammed Yasin Abdul Rahman Kmeil, 29.

· At approximately 06:45, Israeli gunboats fired at 2 fishing boats that were sailing opposite to al-Waha Resort, northwest of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. Four Palestinians were on board of the fishing boats. Two gunboats surrounded the Palestinian fishing boats and forced them to sail towards Israel. IOF confiscated the boats and arrested the fishermen who are: Sharif Mohammed al-Abed al-Sultan, 37, Samih Rajab al-Abed al-Sultan, 23, ‘Awad Ghaleb al-Sultan, 21, and Fadal Jamal al-Sultan, who are all from Beit Lahia town. At approximately 19:00 on the same day, IOF released Sharif al-Sultan and Samih al-Sultan through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the north of the Gaza Strip, while the other fishermen are still detained. 

Monday, 15 February 2010

· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Bethlehem. They stationed in Wadi Shahin neighborhood in the center of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Samer Mousa al-Douri, 19.  They delivered a summon to al-Douri to appear before the Israeli intelligence service in “Etsion” settlement in the south of Bethlehem.

· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-‘Ebaiat village, east of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Ali Mohammed Sweis, 19. They delivered a summon to Sweis to appear before the Israeli intelligence service in “Etsion” settlement in the south of Bethlehem.

· Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Ethna village, west of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Sa’di Zeyad Husein al-Jayawi, 23, and arrested him.

· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Nablus. They stationed in Tel street in the south of Nablus and in al-Makhfeya neighborhood in the southwest of Nablus. They raided and searched 3 houses and arrested 5 civilians in Tel street and a house in al-Makhfeya neighborhood and arrested two brothers. The Palestinians whose houses were raided stated to a PCHR fieldworker that IOF destroyed doors locks using huge iron hammers and sharp tools if the dwellers were late to open the doors. They also used trained dogs to search houses. The arrested Palestinians are:

1. Mahdi Rasem Mahmoud Abdul Aziz Slim, 24;

2. Raji Rasem Mahmoud Abdul Aziz Slim, 21;

3. Mjahed Mohammed Darwish Sa’id al-Qutb, 23;

4. Thaer Farid Abdul Latif Najem, 18;

5. Mjahed Farid Abdul Latif Najem, 18;

6. Imad Walid Abdul Latif Najem, 20; and

7. Mohammed Zeyad Tayseer Muna, 20.

Tuesday, 16 February 2010

· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into al-Shyoukh, northeast of Hebron. They raided and searched a he house belonging to the family of Mohammed Nasim al-Warasna, 23, and arrested him.

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Tammoun village, southeast of Toubas. They raided and searched a number of houses. They arrested two civilians:

1. ‘Ali Mahmoud Rezeq Bani ‘Odeh, 60; and

2. Sa’ad ‘Ali Bani ‘Odeh, 26.

· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Sa’eer village, northeast of Hebron. They surrounded 3 houses in “Ras al-‘Aroud” area, south of Sa’eer village, amidst firing of sound bombs and throwing stones at the surrounded houses. They raided and searched the houses. They maltreated the residents of the houses and beat a child. They arrested three civilians, including two brothers:

1. Majdi Ya’aqoub Jaradat, 26;

2. Fou’ad Ya’aqoub Jaradat, 22; and

3. Sa’ad Shleish Shahin Jaradat, 26.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR and to the testimony of Mohammed Shleish Jaradat, 40, who is one of the owners of the raided houses, and who is the brother of Sa’ad who was arrested, an IOF force surrounded two houses belonging to Shleish Shahin Jaradat, 70, who is the father of Mohammed, and Yaqoub Hamed Jaradat. They were pointing their guns and firing sound bombs in the vicinity and inside of the houses. They further threw stones, some of them weighed one kg, at the doors and windows. The windows of the houses were crushed and the residents and the neighbors were terrified. Mohammed Jaradat affirmed that the soldiers fired a single bullet at a window of the second floor of his father’s house. They then raided the house accompanied by trained dogs. They searched the house and asked where his brothers were because they wanted to question them. He said that the soldiers beat his brother Mu’taz, 19. They held maltreated and questioned the rest of the family members. They then headed to a house belonging to Mohammed Jaradat and his brother ‘Arafat, 27, and raided it the same way. ‘Arafat was injured in the abdomen as he was hit by a stone. IOF arrested Sa’ad, Mohammed’s brother, who was working in a nearby petrol station.

· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into “Haret al-Sheikh” neighborhood in the center of Hebron. They raided and searched the house of Ya’aqoub Mohammed al-Joulani, 29, and they arrested him.
 
    

IPA threatens liberated prisoners with liquidation

[ 17/02/2010 - 04:21 PM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli prisons authority (IPA) threatened the liquidation of released Palestinian prisoners if they engage in anti-occupation activity after their release from prison. The prisoners' center for studies said in a report on Wednesday that the IPA spoils the prisoners' joy over their release in several methods. It quoted prisoners as saying that the released prisoner is barred from bidding his colleagues farewell and is held in solitary confinement for 48 hours before his release date. The director of the center, Ra'fat Hamdona, appealed to human rights groups and concerned centers and institutions to expose the Israeli violation of the prisoners' rights and called on the media to shed light on this "important and sensitive" issue.

Wife of Gazan detainee accuses Israeli Prison Service of neglect

Gaza – Ma'an – The wife of a Gazan detainee suffering from bone marrow cancer accused the Israeli Prison Service of medical negligence on Monday.

Raed Muhammad Drabyeh, 36, from the Jabaliya Refugee Camp was sentenced to life and has undergone several surgeries to treat his cancer, Drabyeh's wife said.

"We are so worried about his life, particularly after his last surgery in March 2009 following which he lost sensation in his legs and was no longer able to walk," she said.

Head of the Prisoner Studies Society, Ra'fat Hamdounah, condemned alleged medical negligence at the hands of the IPS, citing a number of cases of prisoners with chronic illnesses who have not been allowed access to medical treatment.

Hamdounah called on human rights organizations to intervene and end the neglect of detainees in Israeli jails.

Locals say Gaza man held without charge in Egypt since 2008

Gaza – Ma'an – Friends and colleagues of a Gaza man said this week that he has been held without charge or trial in an Egyptian jail since early 2008 when he and hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians breached the border wall into Egypt.

Ayman Noufal’s supporters say he was arrested on 27 January 2008, when militants in Gaza dynamited the border wall separating Gaza from Egypt, allowing thousands to cross into Egypt to buy goods made scarce by the Israeli-led blockade.

A "solidarity committee" set up to support Noufal said he has been subjected to "psychological and physical torture" while in prison.

The report could not be independently verified by Ma'an.

The solidarity committee appealed specifically to the Hamas government in Gaza to pressure Egypt to release Noufal and return him to his family and six children.

“Ayman Noufal [has entered his] third year in the Egyptian prisons without any legal justification. Egyptian security forces intentionally placed him under solitary confinement,” the committee added.

Gaza detainee released after 6 years in detention

Gaza – Ma'an – Israeli authorities released Wael Abu Elwan of Rafah after six years of detention on Tuesday evening.

Wael was detained by Israeli forces in a raid against the Tal As-Soltan neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip city in 2004, when he was detained along with a number of Palestinian men.

Israel had accused Abu Elwan of involvement with armed groups, including Palestinian Authority security forces.

Violent night raid and arrest of 19 children in Jalazon camp

February 11, 2010

[RAMALLAH, 11 February 2010] - DCI-Palestine is gravely concerned by the Israeli army’s arrest of 19 children from Al-Jalazon refugee camp last night. According to initial information collected today by DCI-Palestine, Israeli troops entered Jalazon at around midnight on Wednesday, 10 February, then went from house to house and started rounding up, beating and harassing residents of the camp. The night raid ended at approximately 5:00am when the army withdrew. It appears that a total of 19 children were arrested in addition to adult residents of the camp. According to DCI-Palestine’s initial information, which will shortly be verified, among the 19 children arrested were: five children aged 14, seven children aged 15, four children aged 16, and three children aged 17. Residents interviewed by DCI-Palestine today said that, during the raid, Israeli soldiers broke or blasted open doors of houses and thus terrified the children. It was also reported that some Israeli soldiers beat up children in their bed to wake them up. Residents of the camp reported being terrified; they had not been subjected to such a violent night raid in years. DCI-Palestine condemns the violence of such Israeli military operations and is gravely concerned by the night time arrest of so many children. We are trying to locate the children, inform the families of their situation, and provide them with legal representation and advice.

Nofal subjected to intensified torture in Egypt

[ 14/02/2010 - 06:57 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The solidarity committee with Palestinian captive Ayman Nofal who is detained in  Egyptian dungeons has strongly condemned the Egyptian police for intensifying moral and physical torture against the Palestinian captive. In a statement it issued Sunday, the committee stressed that Nofal was detained by the Egyptian security without any justified reason, daring the Egyptian authorities to prove any charges against him. It also revealed that Nofal was recently transferred to solitary confinement in the Marj jail in the capital Cairo where Egyptian interrogators increased the rounds of torture against him in a bid to compel him to confess to a crime he insisted he never committed. Nofal, a cadre of Hamas Movement in Gaza, was detained by the Egyptian security on his way back to his home in Gaza Strip from Egypt in January 2008 after tens of thousands of besieged Palestinian citizens entered Egypt to purchase foodstuff and medicine in order to survive the siege imposed on them after the Israeli occupation and Egypt sealed off all the crossing points around the Strip. In this regard, the committee appealed to Hamas Movement to intensify contacts with the Egyptian authorities in order to ensure the swift release of Nofal and to bring him back home to rejoin his wife and his six children.

Israel forces detain family of alleged knifeman, 24 others

Bethlehem – Ma'an – The brothers of alleged knife attacker Muhammad Al-Khatib were detained during a raid on their home in Ya'bad village in the Jenin governorate Wednesday afternoon, as Israeli soldiers nabbed 19 teens and three adults from other locations across the West Bank overnight.

The detention of Ated Aqab Khalaf Khatib, 29, and Muhammad Aqab Khalaf Khatib, 30, followed the detention of their brother, accused of stabbing an Israeli soldier near the Za'tara checkpoint on Wednesday afternoon. The soldier died in hospital of injuries sustained after the attack when he rolled the vehicle while escaping.

Israeli forces raided Muhammad's home Wednesday afternoon, part of an investigation into the killing, an Israeli military spokesman said. The spokesman confirmed that the family members were detained as suspects, but could not confirm whether they were suspects in the alleged knife attack.

Three other raids occurred in the West Bank between midnight and sunrise, targeting Palestinians from the Ramallah and Bethlehem governorates.

Twenty-one of those detained were taken from the Jalazon Refugee Camp near Ramallah in a mass raid of the small area. Those taken were identified as:

Muhammad Rebhi Masaroh, 18
Zeidi Mahmud Abdul Rahim Zed, 17
Malek Rabah Mamoun Nakhleh, 20
Muhammad Khaled Mahmud Nakhleh, 16
Yassen Ahmad Nakhleh, 16
Hussein Theeb Sharaikeh, 15
Naser Kamal Ahmad Sharaikeh, 15
Khaled Marwan Dalabsheh, 17
Mahmud Ramadan Sharai’a, 16
Muhannad Ramada Alayan, 18
Ahmad Hussein Theeb Sharaikeh, 15
Khaled Marwan Misbah Dalabshehm, 16
Ahmad Khaled Wasfi Sa’adat, 16
Muhammad Mahmud Khalil Nakhleh, 16
Ahmad Mahmud Khalil Nakhleh, 15
Muhammad Mahmud Abdul Aziz Zeid, 16
Mu’aied Mahmud Fouzi Nakhleh, 16
Hussein Khaled Al-Areesh, 18
Ahmad Muhammad Sha’ban Ghazawi, 17
Amr Zuher Dar Awwad, 16
Mahmud Ramadan Sanad, 16

In Bethlehem, forces detained Mahmud Jamal Mustafa Masalmeh, 25, and Omar Jalal Khalil Shalsh, 16.

114 prisoners had been held for more than 20 years

14-02-2010,09:33

Al Qassam website - According to the former prisoner, Abed al-Nasser Farawana, a researcher on the prisoners' affairs, the number of prisoners who have been held for more than twenty years, called "Deans of prisoners", has risen up to (114 prisoners), after they were joined by Palestinian prisoners "Zaher Ayyad".

He noted that these "Deans of prisoners" are part of the list of "the old prisoners", which includes (315) prisoners imprisoned since before the Oslo Accords and the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority on the fourth of May 1994, and among them there is also (13) prisoners who have been held for a quarter of a century, and these are called "Generals of patience."

Farawana said that the prisoner "Zaher Salman Salem Ayyad" (50 years) from the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, is married, and had been captured on February 15, 1990, on charges of resisting the occupation and its agents, and sentenced to 30 years.

Abbas Instructs Erekat To Ensure The Release of An Ailing Detainee Imprisoned By Israel

Friday February 12, 2010 03:25 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) reported that President Mahmoud Abbas instructed head of the Negotiations Department at the Palestinian Liberation Organization to act on the release of a sick detainee imprisoned by Israel since more than 30 years.

The PPS stated that detainee Akram Mansour is in a critical condition, and needs to be moved to a specialized hospital.

Mansour, from the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, near Jenin, has been imprisoned since more than 30 years.

He was sentenced to 35 years imprisoned and is currently imprisoned at the Negev detention camp. His conditioned has sharply deteriorated and requires urgent medical care.

President Abbas received a letter regarding the detainees and instructed Erekat to act in order to ensure Israel releases the detainees so he can receive the urgently needed medical care.

Palestinian From Hebron Sentenced To Three Years For Faxing Death Threat To Netanyahu

Thursday February 11, 2010 02:53 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli Ynet News reported, Wednesday, that a Palestinian man from the southern West bank city of Hebron was sentenced to three years for sending a fax to Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, threatening to kill him.

Benjamin Netanyahu

The Palestinian was identified as Amin Amro, 32. The court decided on Wednesday to send him to jail for 33 months.

The Ynet said that Amro was also convicted of attempted assault as he reportedly arrived at the Gush Etzion junction while carrying a knife. The prosecution claims he intended to stab Israelis.

The death threat conviction against Amro states that he sent a fax in 2009 to the office of Netanyahu. The fax was sent from a public library and states that Netanyahu will be killed within few days.

The Palestinian man did not try to conceal his identity and signed the fax using his real name and also included his identity card number.

After sending the fax, the man went to the Gush Etzion junction carrying a 10-centimeter knife, and turned himself in to the soldiers.

His lawyer said that Amro wanted to be arrested by the army, and that’s why he provided his details in the fax. The lawyer said that Amro is facing problems with his family.

Amro faced 23 criminal charges, the Ynet added, and that the charges include hurling a Molotov cocktail and stones at the Israeli army. One of the charges was entering Israel illegally.

Female Activist Kidnapped By The Army

Tuesday February 09, 2010 04:54 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Ahrar Center for Detainee Studies stated that the Israeli army detained, on Monday, Montaha Taweel, 45, an activist who works to defend the rights of the Palestinian detainees, and the wife of the mayor of al-Biereh.

File photo

Al-Biereh is near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

Fuad al-Khoffash, director of the Ahrar center, warned of the increasing arrests carried out by the Israeli army against Palestinian women, especially social and political activists.

In a press release, al-Khoffash stated that Taweel organizes and participates in activities in support of the Palestinian detainees and their rights.

He slammed the ongoing and escalating arrests carried out by the Israeli army against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.

IOA kidnaps 150 Palestinians in two days

[ 12/02/2010 - 11:45 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The PA ministry of prisoners and ex-prisoners affairs in Gaza said on Thursday that the Israeli occupation authorities kidnapped 150 Palestinian citizens over the past two days, most of them from Jerusalem city. According to Reyadh Al-Ashkar, the information officer in the ministry, the IOA rounded up nearly 100 Palestinian youths and minors in the refugee camp of Shafat, north of the occupied city of Jerusalem during a military incursion described as the most violent in recent years. Another 15 Palestinian civilians of one family, including children, were also kidnapped by the IOF troops after they swept into the northern borders of the Gaza Strip near the town of Beit Lahia. The whereabouts of the kidnapped Gazans is still unknown. In the West Bank, the IOF troops kidnapped 38 Palestinian citizens, including at least 15 minors, over the past couple of days. Meanwhile, the Israeli Salem military court extended the administrative detention of Palestinian female captive Sanabil Nabegh Brek, 19, for the 40th times successively. The Palestinian lady was kidnapped since September, 2008. The court also extended the detention of Muntaha Al-Taweel, 45, wife of Al-Beireh mayor Jamal Al-Taweel, who was kidnapped from her house three days ago. Al-Taweel is a mother of five children, at least two of them need special care. In this regard, the ministry appealed to international human rights and legal institutions to immediately intervene to protect the unarmed Palestinian civilians, and to pressure the IOA to halt the heinous practices against them. The IOA is holding nearly 12,000 Palestinian citizens captives in its jails, many of them spent more than 20 years in jail so far. The issue of prisoners is considered one of the most crucial issued for the Palestinian people.

Israeli activist arrested near Ramallah

Bethlehem – Ma'an/Agencies – The Israeli army arrested an Israeli peace activist near Ramallah on Friday, news reports said.

The Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli citizen and anti-wall movement organizer, was detained in the Ramallah-area village of Dir Nezam during a protest there.

He was reportedly being held on the pretext that he violated an army order and entered Area A, a West Bank designation off-limits to Israeli citizens. Residents of Dir Nezam are joined by international peace activists each week.

Earlier, Ma'an's correspondent said protesters threw stones and Israeli forces fired stun grenades, tear-gas canisters, rubber-coated bullets. No injuries were reported in the brief confrontations.

Palestinians detained near Gaza-Israel border

Gaza – Ma'an – Israeli forces detained at least six Palestinians in northern Gaza on Thursday, witnesses said and the army confirmed.

Onlookers said 10 Palestinian men scavenging for iron girders northeast of Beit Lahiya were seized and dragged into Israel by soldiers patrolling the border. They were rummaging through the rubble of buildings, and were loaded into military vehicles and taken to an undisclosed location, the witnesses said.

Approached by Ma'an, an Israeli military spokesman said six Palestinians were detained when they came close an area considered off-limits to Palestinians. He said they were released shortly thereafter.

Residents of the area said Israeli soldiers opened fire on workers Wednesday, with no injuries reported.

As Israel and Egypt continue to ban all but 36 types of goods for import into Gaza, most of which are foodstuffs, the only construction material currently permitted into the area are limited numbers of glass panes, to replace those blown out during Israel's Operation Cast Lead last year. Freezing temperatures overnight and makeshift window patch jobs have created dire conditions for many Gazans.

Others whose homes were destroyed have reconstructed some parts with mud brick, an initiative pioneered by the de facto government in the rebuilding of its government and police headquarters in Gaza City. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), charged with care of Palestinian refugees until a just solution to the refugee issue is reached, began building mud-brick homes in the summer.

A few dozen Palestinian and international protesters approached the same area on Sunday, drawing fire from Israeli forces operating an "exclusion zone" inside the coastal enclave's borders.

Israeli armed forces fired four gunshots when the group approached an area near the Erez crossing, said Saber Az-Za'anin, coordinator of Local Initiative, a Beit Hanoun-based organization seeking to reclaim some 300 meters of privately owned farmland.

An Israeli military spokesman told Ma'an that "IDF soldiers identified a suspicious gathering in a restricted area in the northern Gaza. Soldiers responded according to procedures by firing warning shots in the air."

A few weeks ago, Israeli aircraft dropped warning flyers over the Gaza Strip reiterating that Palestinians were banned from approaching the zones, which are inside Gaza but along the periphery.

The area of Beit Hanoun, located in northeastern Gaza, suffered significant destruction during the Israeli military assault that began in late December 2008. Many houses were completely destroyed and no buildings were left standing anywhere near the border.

 

   Al Mezan Condemns IOF Attacks on Gaza; Calls Calls for International Intervention to Ensure Protection of Civilians

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has escalated its attacks against the Gaza Strip. The IOF have shelled the Gaza International Airport, Palestinian fishermen, and Palestinian workers who were removing rubble from the industrial area in North Gaza District during the last few days. Today, Thursday 11 February 2010, the IOF  escalated its aggression and killed four Palestinians and injured four, including a child. The IOF also arrested ten Palestinian workers; Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights was able to identify seven of their names.



According to Al Mezan's field investigations, at approximately 10:15am on Thursday 11 February 2010, an Israeli reconnaissance drone launched a missile at a group of Palestinian people who were near 'Ubied Gas Station in Ash-Shija'ia neighborhood eastern Gaza City. As a result, Faris Akram Ahmed Jabir,27, who lives in Al Jalaa Street in the north of Gaza city, was killed and another person from As-Saftawi neighborhood was injured. According to medical sources at Shifa Hospital, he sustained severe injuries.



In a separate incident, at app. 7:20am on Thursday 11 February 2010, the IOFs, positioned at the separation fence,  fired artillery shells at the northwest area of the Gaza Valley east of Deir Al Balah District. One of the Israeli missiles hit the house of Ismail Salamn Silmi At-Trabien,45. As a result, three of his children were injured as they were preparing themselves to school. Al Mezan Identified their names as follows:

·         Mona Ismail At-Trabien,5, (she sustained shrapnel in the head and the neck);

·         Ahlam Ismail At-Trabien, 11, (sustained burns in the head); and

·         Afaf Ismail At-Trabien, 12, (sustained shrapnel in the head and the face.

They were admitted to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al Balah. The IOF also penetrated about 300m to the west in the vicinity of the skip in the northeast of the Gaza Valley. The IOF are still  the area, by the time of publishing  this press release. People in the area can still hear the sounds of shelling..



At approximately 7am on Thursday 11 February 2010, Israeli infantry troops penetrated about 200m inside the As-Saiafa area northwest Beith Lahyia in the North Gaza District.  The IOF chased a group of Palestinian workers who were removing rubble from the area and arrested 10 of them, and took them to Israel. Al Mezan Identified some of their names as follows:

Jebril Ma'arouf ,17;

Joma'a Ma'arouf,18;

Khamis Ma'arouf, 27;

Saqir Ma'arouf, 20;

Ghassan Ma'arouf, 33; Khalid Refa'at As-Sous, 25; and

Aziz As-Sous,33.





According to Al Mezan's field investigations, the IOF has escalated its attacks against the Palestinian workers who were removing the rubble of destroyed buildings. These workers collect rubble to sell it to brick factories which recycle it into bricks. This is the only source of bricks for construction that is available in the Gaza Strip, which suffers from an acute shortage of construction materials due the Israeli siege.



Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the IOF's violations of the rules of international law in Gaza.



Al Mezan also expresses its outrage for the continued lack of any meaningful international protection of Gaza's population. This has, as a point of fact, encouraged the IOF to continue its serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Gaza, and the occupied Palestinian territory for too long. Al Mezan therefore calls on the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to uphold their moral and legal obligations and take action to bring to a swift end the violations of international law and the illegal collective punishment.

Military extends woman's administrative detention for 40th time

Nablus – Ma'an – An Israeli military court operating in the West Bank detention center of Salem in Jenin delayed the hearing of a young woman, and extended her detention for the 40th consecutive time.

Sanabel Nabegh Breik, 19,from Nablus, was detained a year ago on charges of involvement with the Fatah movement.

Following the court hearing, Breik's mother said "The Israeli [military] judges have decided to review the case until March 16."

Breik's mother added that, following each trial in front of a military tribunal, her daughter would be transferred to the hearing in a vehicle used to transport prisoners and underwent harsh treatment at the hands of Israeli authorities.

Popular outcry at Egyptian arrest of Palestinian students

[ 09/02/2010 - 04:24 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The solidarity committee with, Palestinian captive in an Egyptian jail, Ayman Nofal has strongly condemned Tuesday the arrest of more than 150 Palestinian students at the hands of the Egyptian authorities, describing the campaign as "frenzied". Among the arrestees, according to the committee, was Palestinian police major Jaser Al-Shoyokhy, 37, who is pursuing his master degree. It added that he was kidnapped from his flat in Cairo. The committee warned that such an Egyptian policy against the Gazan students comes while 25 Palestinian citizens from Gaza Strip, including Nofal, had been detained in the Egyptian jails for nearly three years without charges or legal basis. It added that the Egyptian policy goes in harmony with the unjust siege imposed on the inhabitants of the Strip, which was recently completed with the Egyptian steel wall along the Gaza borders. The committee called on Egypt to live up to its obligations in this regard, and to take a role that is compatible with the country and its position in the Arab and Muslim world. "The Palestinian people are waiting from Egypt to help them free their 11,000 captives in Israeli jails not to add to their numbers", the committee pointed out. Meanwhile, the bureau of borders and crossing points in Gaza called on the Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah crossing before emergency and humanitarian cases, including sick people and Palestinian students pursuing their studies abroad among other cases. In Gaza city, the ministry of prisoners and ex-prisoners' affairs held a workshop and recommended the formation of a supreme national committee that would support the Palestinian captives in Israeli jails. The participants agreed that the issue of the captives was one of the crucial issues for the Palestinian people with nearly 11,000 Palestinian captives languishing in Israeli jails, many of them for more than two decades. PA officials in Gaza Strip, including minister Mohammed Faraj Al-Ghoul and MP Mohammed Shehab, who is in charge of the prisoners' file in the PLC, stressed that the primary and the secondary objectives of the committee should be carefully specified.

Israel revokes amnesty of pardoned Fatah affiliate

Nablus – Ma'an – The Israeli government revoked the full amnesty granted to a previously "wanted" Palestinian for a partial agreement, sources said Wednesday.

Mahdi Maraqa, 33, from Nablus, and once affiliated to Fatah's paramilitary organization the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, will from Wednesday on be detained by Palestinian authorities at 8pm daily and spend the night in a detention center.

Additionally, the Palestinian Authority was been ordered to prohibit Maraqa from leaving area A, the only part of the West Bank under full Palestinian control following the Oslo Accords in 1993.

In accordance with Israel's amnesty offer to "wanted" Palestinian combatants, Maraqa was transferred to the PA Juneid Prison in Nablus in November 2008, and asked to hand in all arms and denounce Palestinian militancy. In return, those pardoned will not be subject to Israeli assassinations.

Following his term he was pardoned and given full amnesty in 2009.

Disabled man among 10 seized overnight

Hebron – Ma'an – One of 10 Palestinians detained in West Bank raids overnight is disabled, local sources told Ma'an late Monday.

Yousif Ibrahim Abdul Fattah Al-Mawa'jeh, 43, was paralyzed in an accident, neighbors said, and had received treatment in Iran.

A native of Yatta, near Hebron, Al-Mawa'jeh was rounded up along with nine other Palestinians in Qalqiliya, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron at daybreak.

The army said a homemade rifle was confiscated during the search of a home in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron.