Palestinian Boy Released From Israeli Jail On Bail

Tuesday September 28, 2010 18:55 by George Rishmawi - IMEMC & Agencies

An Israeli court released 12-year-old Karam Khaled Da'ana from Hebron, on bail after spending eight days in jail. Yet, the boy will not be allowed to go home until the case is concluded.

Karam Khaled Da'ana - Hebron (Photo: WAFA)

Da'ana was abducted by Israeli troops after being violently assaulted by Israeli settlers near his school on September 21. The kid's family paid 2000 Israeli shekels to get their son released,.

Head of the Palestinian Prisoners' Society in Hebron, Amjad Najjar condemned the abduction of the lad, and said it is against the law to abduct a 12-year-old child.

The Palestine News Agency, WAFA, the kid will not be allowed to stay in his house in Hebron, until all court procedures are concluded.

Israeli court rules boy should be removed from his home

[ 29/09/2010 - 10:58 AM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Palestinian human rights activists called the decision by the Israeli Ofer court to fine and impose a forced removal of a Palestinian child from his home “a dangerous precedent.” The Palestinian Prisoners Society said an Israeli judge decided to release Karam Khaled Da’na, 13, on a NIS 2000 bond, but military personnel strongly objected to the decision. The court then ruled one of the strangest military decisions in its history that Da’na should be removed from his family’s home until legal proceedings against him were finished, as he was released on bail until the next hearing. Da’na was arrested a few days back in front of the school he attends in Al-Khalil for allegedly throwing stones at settlers and Israeli soldiers. “Prosecuting the minor Da’na does not represent any legitimate law and is not based on any ethical standards, and disregards all international conventions and agreements that prohibit detaining and prosecuting minors,” the PPS said. The rights group said the Israeli court is the only one in the world that has legalized detaining and prosecuting 12-year-old children, based on the Military Order No. 132 and Military Order 53. Israel releases child charged with stone throwing HEBRON (Ma'an) -- An Israeli military court Tuesday released a 13-year-old child following six days of detention on charges of stone throwing, fining the boy 2,000 shekels ($545). Karam Da'na was detained from his school in the Old City of Hebron on 22 September by Israeli forces and taken to the Ofer detention center in Ramallah. A Palestinian Prisoner Society lawyer said the military court ruled that Da'na was not allowed to return to his family home until his next trial is heard. During Da'na's hearing, he said, the military prosecutor objected to the child's release, prolonging the session for over an hour. An Israeli military source told Ma'an on Monday that Da'na had been charged with "throwing rocks" at Israeli forces, and that following an internal investigation, the case was referred to Israel's National Police. A spokesman for the police did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on the case. Qadoora Fares, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, said putting the child on trial "does not fall in line with the law, nor is it based on international standards." On Sunday, Da'na's family told Ma'an of their son's detention from the Al-Mutannabi School in the Old City of Hebron. At the time, an Israeli military spokeswoman said the army was not familiar with the detention. The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Information denounced the trial and arrest in a statement issued Monday, and called on Israel to release the 350 Palestinian children currently in Israeli custody. The ministry also accused Israeli forces of carrying out arrest campaigns targeting children in particular. In March 2010, an Israeli military tribunal released 12-year-old Al-Hassan Al-Muhtaseb after his father refused to pay a similar bailout fee, instead pledging to bring him in for trial if called. At the time, the child's lawyer said no indictment had been filed nor were they any witnesses that Al-Muhtaseb, who was detained near his home in Hebron, had thrown stones on Israeli forces.

Four PFLP Members Convicted Of Planning To Assassinate Israeli Judge

Thursday September 23, 2010 09:59 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Salem Israeli Military Court in the northern part of the occupied West Bank sentenced four Palestinians, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), to 4-8 years imprisonment after convicting them of planning to assassinate an Israeli military judge.

PFLP

The judge in question was the one who sentenced PFLP secretary-general, Ahmad Saadat, on December 12 2006, to 30-year imprisonment for allegedly planning the assassinating of Israeli Tourism Minister, Rehavam Ze'evi, who was assassinated on October 17, 2001.

Saadat is still in solitary confinement at the Be’er Shiva Israeli prison.
The four PLFP members are students at the al-Najah University in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Fawzi Qaoura, 24, from Bal’a village near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, was sentenced to five years, Ali Eshtayya, 22, from Salem village near Nablus, was sentenced to five years, Hindawi Qawareeq, 22, from Awarta village near Nablus, was sentenced to four years, and Eyas Joury, 23, from Nablus, was sentenced to eight years.

Representing the detainees, attorney, Shaker al-Ayyoushi, said that he will file an appeal against the ruling.

The Israeli Radio reported that one of the four convicted PFLP members contacted a member of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah party asking him to finance the purchase of a weapon that would be used to assassinate the judge.

PFLP salutes Palestinian prisoners on united hunger strike

PFLP website

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine salutes all Palestinian prisoners, carrying out a mass hunger strike on Saturday, September 25, 2010 in the jails of the Israeli occupation. The prisoners are demanding an end to increasingly repressive and restrictive conditions in the prisons.




Palestinian political prisoners, numbering approximately 7,000, from all factions and political tendencies, have come together in a united hunger strike. Families and children of prisoners have issued statements, calling upon the Palestinian people - and all progressive international organizations and movements to support the prisoners' struggle.



The PFLP salutes these prisoners and their courageous struggle as part of the long and proud history of the Palestinian prisoners' movement, a legacy of resistane and unity. We demand the immediate freedom of all Palestinian prisoners, at the forefront national leader Comrade Ahmad Sa'adat, the General Secretary of the PFLP, and other Palestinian national leaders.



October will mark a hearing on Comrade Sa'adat's isolation, and international efforts, as well as efforts across Palestine, are being prepared to support his campaign and the rights of all Palestinian prisoners.

Prisoner specialist: Situation in Israeli jails could blow up any moment

27/09/2010 - 12:54 PM ]


GAZA, (PIC)-- Specialist in prisoners' affairs Abdelnasser Farwana warned that the situation in Israeli prisons could explode any moment as a result of the escalating Israeli violations against Palestinian prisoners.
In a statement on Sunday, Farwana said that the repeated provocative measures against prisoners and the continuing poor incarceration conditions in Israeli jails is no longer bearable, stressing that the prisoners resorted to hunger strike as a message to all concerned parties to take a serious move to end their suffering.
He underlined that the Israeli war on prisoners has been raging for a long time but escalated following the resumption of the direct talks between the Palestinian authority and the Israeli government.
For its part, Al-Ahrar Movement held the Israeli occupation state fully responsible for the lives and safety of Palestinian prisoners in its jails and appealed to the international community to urgently move to protect them.
It said in its statement that the direct talks caused considerable damage to the issue of prisoners and augmented their suffering because the Israeli occupation used these talks as a cover for escalating its crimes against them.
In a related context, the international Tadamon (solidarity) foundation reported Sunday that the Israeli courts still uses the administrative detention policy to justify the imprisonment of 198 Palestinians in its jails at the pretext there are secret files against them.
According to the foundation's statistics, prisoner Hasan Safadi, 33, from the old city of Nablus is the oldest administrative detainee in Israeli jails and was kidnapped in June 2008.
Prisoner Safadi also was administratively detained three times before the last time, where he spent one year in prison in 1995, nine months in 2002 and in early 2004 he was detained for 33 months.

Palestinian Detainees To Go On Hunger Strike

Friday September 24, 2010 07:36 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Approximately 7,500 Palestinian political prisons held by Israel will start, on Saturday September 25, a hunger strike demanding that Israel halt its violations and attacks against them, and to improve their living conditions.

File - Wissam Nassar/MaanImages

Riyadh al-Ashqar, head of the Media Department at the Ministry of Detainee in Gaza, called on the Palestinian people to act in solidarity with the detainees and to form a lobbying power that boosts the detainees in achieving their legitimate rights.

Al-Ashqar said that the detainees face unimaginable suffering in Israeli prisons, detention camps and interrogation centers, and added that Israel is readying to use ultimate force against the detainees should they hold a strike.

He held Israel and the Israeli Prison Administration (IPA) fully responsible for the lives of the detainees and added that dozens of detainees were recently wounded after being attacked by the soldiers who broke into their rooms and searched them.

Al-Ashqar demanded international human rights groups, mainly the International Red Cross, to intervene and to send probe committees that would observe the illegal Israeli measures and attacks against the detainees.

Furthermore, al-Ashqar called on the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, to withdrew from the talks with Israel as, according to him, such talks provide Israel with legitimacy to continue its crimes against the Palestinian detainees.

Ismail al-Thawabta, head of the Palestinian Center for Defending the Detainees, said that, through their strike, the detainees want to send a message to the world to inform the International Community that they are deprived of their basic rights guaranteed by international law.

Hamas prisoners: Violations in Israeli jails rise with every round of peace talk

[ 21/09/2010 - 03:25 PM ]

WEST BANK, (PIC)-- The Hamas senior leadership committee of prisoners in Israeli jails said Tuesday that recent cell raids in Israeli jails recur with every new round of negotiations between PA chief Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What recent press reports and ex-prisoner testimonies revealed on Israeli violations against prisoners is only part of their daily suffering, the committee said in a press statement. The committee, which is the highest regulatory body for of Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails, said violations have become a reality in all prisons lately, explaining that Hamas leaders are placed in solitary confinement and transferred from prison to prison, many of them are strip searched, and there has been a sharp increase in crackdowns in many prisons. The report said that the escalated campaign of abuse against prisoners is the tested Israeli way in light of direct negotiations between the PA in Ramallah. Prisoners say crackdown campaigns on prisoners have risen with every round of negotiations for the past 18 years. The prisoners committee went on to say in the statement there is a need to stand firmly together, take a stand against the conspiracies made by the Israeli prisons department, and deprive Israel the chance to use the peace talks as a cover-up for its crimes.

Egyptian writer: Arresting Debabesh meant to pressure Hamas to sign document

[ 21/09/2010 - 03:20 PM ]

CAIRO, (PIC)-- An Egyptian writer has opined that the Egyptian authorities' detention of Hamas leader Mohammed Debabesh on his way back home from performing Umra was meant as a pressure card on Hamas to sign the Egyptian document for Palestinian reconciliation as is. Salim Azuz said in a press statement on Tuesday that arresting Debabesh was part of a campaign to force Hamas to sign the document and to prove that Cairo was still a main player in the region. He noted that the arrest campaign against Hamas cadres was taking place at a time Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was secretly meeting with Hamas supreme leader Khaled Mishaal. The writer said that Cairo was playing all its pressure cards against Hamas, noting that a big number of Hamas supporters were held in Egyptian prisons for the same purpose.

Soldiers Break Into Ramon Prison, Attack Detainees

Monday September 20, 2010 09:18 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Ahrar Center for Detainees’ Studies and Human Rights reported that Israeli soldiers broke into, Sunday night, the Ramon prison and attacked dozens of detainees; clashes were reported following the attack.

The soldiers, members of Nahshon and Mitzada Brigades, broke into the rooms of the detainees and sabotaged their property under the pretext of searching their rooms.

Fuad al-Khoffash, head of the Ahrar Center, reported that the attack is not the first of its kind in the past few days as the soldiers also broke into the rooms of the detainees in the nearby Hadarim prison, searched the room and placed a number of detainees into solitary confinement.

Al-Khoffash voiced appeals to different human rights groups to intervene, and stop the ongoing Israeli violations and attacks against the detainees.

He added that the detainees intend to start a hunger strike on September 25th to protest the ongoing violations against them and the bad living conditions they face on a daily basis.

Israeli court imprisons wounded detainee

[ 20/09/2010 - 09:24 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The high national committee for prisoners said that an Israeli court issued an imprisonment sentence for two and a half years against a wounded prisoner called Ahmed Asfour from Khan Younis town in the Gaza Strip. The national committee pointed out in a statement on Sunday that prisoner Asfour suffers from difficult health conditions resulting from serious injuries he sustained during the Israeli war on Gaza and was kidnapped at Beit Hanoun crossing as he was heading to receive medical treatment in occupied Jerusalem. It added that the prisoner obtained all necessary permits from the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) before he decided to travel to Jerusalem. The committee affirmed that the prisoner's lawyer gave the IOA all medical reports that prove his client's deteriorating health condition, but the IOA did not care at all about his suffering and insisted on detaining him. In the context of the Israeli violations of human rights, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) re-kidnapped an ex-detainee in their jails called Zinedine Azzedine during a raid on his home on Sunday evening in Al-Khalil city. The Palestinian information center (PIC) was told that three detainees, namely, professor Mustafa Shawar, Sufyan Jamjoom and Ahmed Al-Titi were administratively detained by the IOA without any charges filed against them. Sources told the PIC that the detainees were kidnapped three days ago from their homes and none of them were interrogated or indicted, adding that all of them spent some time in Israeli jails before. Dozens of Palestinian families rallied in Nablus city at noon Sunday in protest at Israel's violations against their sons in its jails. The families chanted slogans calling on the Palestinian negotiators to stop ignoring the issue of prisoners in their talks with Israelis. The families also handed a letter to the Red Cross to urge it to urgently intervene to stop Israel's aggressive acts against the prisoners.

Palestinian female prisoners complain against Nashon

[ 19/09/2010 - 04:00 PM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Forty Palestinian female prisoners sued the Israeli Nahshon unit that is specialized in quelling prisoners for maltreatment. The prisoners said that the Nahshon forces, which guard them to and back from court hearings, hospitals and prisons, humiliates those prisoners and mistreat them. They said that the soldiers refuse to allow them to go to bathrooms or drink water during the long periods of transport. They also said that the soldiers cram them in vans and take them to prison from 0300 am and take them back to prison by 1100 pm despite the fact that the distance between jails and courts only take one hour. Human rights reports had said that Palestinian women prisoners are routinely insulted and threatened by the Israeli guards.

Hawara prisoners suffer food poisoning after served bad food

[ 19/09/2010 - 03:57 PM ]

NABLUS, (PIC)-- The international Tadhamon (solidarity) foundation for human rights  said prisoners in the Hawara detention center near Nablus are suffering from malnutrition, while noting some cases of food poisoning. The foundation’s attorney Ahmed Toubasi said the Hawara prison administration serves an insufficient amount of food to prisoners with no regard for variety. Besides serving poor quality foods, sweets have been banned. Prisoners are normally served chilled milk and eggs not suitable for eating, and in most cases refuse to eat meals. One prisoner said he suffered from an upset stomach and food poisoning after eating breakfast one morning. After he experienced a severe case of diarrhea he was not permitted to leave to the bathrooms or provided treatment. Referring to a number of prisoners he visited in Hawara, Toubasi said: “The prisoners suffer - in addition to poor food - from medical neglect and poor treatment from the guards, who deliberately provoke prisoners and humiliate them during count, which is taken three times a day.” As of Thursday Sept. 16, 15 Palestinians are being detained in the Hawara prison. In the same context, a man arrested at late night told Toubasi he was severely beaten by Israeli soldiers who detained him. Tadhamon foundation researcher Ahmed al-Beitawi said the arrestee was taken three days back from his house in the Old City of Nablus. He previously spent four and a half years in Israeli jails in two arrests ahead of his last arrest. Beitawi said Israeli forces have ramped up arrest operations throughout the West Bank, especially against political prisoners who were previously released.

Israel releases 2 detainees

HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Israeli authorities released two Palestinian prisoners from Hebron on Sunday evening after completing their sentence, a source said.

Muhammad Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Adam, 24, was released after spending eight years in custody while Muhammad Mahmud Salem Etbeesh, 24, was released after spending six years in prison on charges of resisting Israel.

DCI-Palestine detention bulletin

September 13, 2010 Detention Bulletin - Issue 8 - August 2010
	DCI-Palestine's monthly bulletin on detention issues. Detention Bulletin - Issue 8 - August 2010

Military Prosecution Demands More Than Two Years Imprisonment for Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah

16 September 2010 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Abdallah Abu Rhamah at court yesterday. Picture credit: Oren Ziv/Active Stills*

The sentencing phase in the trial of Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, began yesterday at the Ofer Military Court. Abu Rahmah was convicted of organizing illegal marches and of incitement last month, but cleared of the violence charges he was indicted for – stone-throwing and a vindictive arms-possession charge for collecting used tear-gas projectiles and displaying them.
The prosecution demanded Abu Rahmah will be sent to prison for a period exceeding two years, saying that as an organizer, a harsh sentence is required to serve as a deterrence not only for Abu Rahmah himself, but to others who may follow in his footsteps as well. This statement by the prosecution affirms the political motivation behind the indictment, and the concern raised by EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, that “the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest against the existence of the separation barriers in a non violent manner.”
Another argument made by the prosecution in their demand of a harsh sentence, were the repercussions and expenses caused to the army by anti-Wall demonstrations. These which were presented in detail in a report by what the prosecution called an “expert witness”, who, in fact, is the Army’s Binyamin Brigade’s operations officer, Major Igor Mussayev.
The document includes many factual errors, such as mentioning seven Palestinian fatalities in Bil’in and Ni’ilin demonstrations, while in fact there were only six. In a ridiculous attempt to show that the military has no superiority over demonstrators, the “expert opinion” also claims that the effective range of rubber-coated bullets or 0.22″-caliber live ammunition is significantly lower than that of a slingshot. The report, in fact, claims that the effective range of a rubber-coated bullet is 50 meters – the minimal range of use according to army open fire regulations.
During the hearing, Major Mussayev claimed that all the weapons mentioned in the document are non-lethal crowd control measures. When asked specifically about the 0.22″ caliber bullets, which were explicitly classified as live ammunition by the military’s Judge Advocate General and banned for crowd control use, he replied that they too are crowd control measures. Such a reply from the officer in charge of operations in the brigade that deals with most West Bank demonstrations points to the army’s policy of negligent use of arms in the attempt to quash the Palestinian popular struggle.
The highly biased document presented to the court also detailed the expenses on ammunition shot at demonstrators (almost 6.5 million NIS between August 2008 to December 2009). It also mentioned the costs of erecting a concrete wall in Ni’ilin in order to prevent damage to the barrier (8.5 million NIS), but failed to mention the costs of rerouting the Wall in Bil’in due to the original path’s illegality, or the fact that even now, three years after the Supreme Court decision to reroute the Wall, it is still standing on its original path.
The hearing, which lasted more than three hours, saw a court-room packed with diplomats, representatives of international and Israeli human rights organizations, as well as friends and family members.
For the hearing’s protocol (in Hebrew) see here.

 
Updated on September 18, 2010

JCSER: “Bound Palestinian Shot To Death By Israeli Policemen”

Saturday September 18, 2010 12:42 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Documentation and Research Unit at the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights (JCSER) reported Saturday that the Palestinian resident from Jerusalem who was shot by an Israeli soldiers in Tel Aviv on September 14 was bound before he was killed.

Illustration Photo - arabbab.com

The center said that Hazim Adel Abu Al Dab’at, 22, from Al Thoury neighborhood in East Jerusalem was shot to death after being forced to the ground while cuffed.

The report contradicts the statement of the Israeli police in which the policemen claimed that they stopped a group of young Palestinians from Jerusalem, and that while a policeman was cleaning his gun a bullet was accidentally fired hitting Abu Al Dab’at in the chest causing instant death.

But the JCSER reported that according to testimonies collected from his family and friends, Abu Al Dab’at was on a trip with his friends and that they were stopped by the police near Tel Aviv.

His friends said that one of the policemen examined the papers of the car that belongs to the father of Amjad Shahin, one of the friends of Al Dab’at; a policeman then started insulting Abu Al Dab’at and his fiends an issue that pushed them to argue with him.

The policeman then cuffed Abu Al Dab’at, forced him to the ground, face down, and shot him; his fiends testified.

Following the shooting Abu Al Dab’at to death, the police asked the family to head to Abu Kabeer forensic center. After receiving the body, the family saw concussions and bruises and his head and face. 

Report reveals Israeli policeman killed Palestinian in Tel Aviv intentionally

[ 19/09/2010 - 10:13 AM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- A research unit under the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights released a report Saturday revealing new details in the death of Hazem Adel Abu al-Dhai’at, 22, from Old City, Jerusalem. The Israeli policeman who shot the victim deliberately fired at him while he was on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back, the report reads, a breakthrough which undermines the policeman’s claim that he fired by mistake. The victim’s family said he was traveling to Tel Aviv with two friends when he was stopped by police upon arrival to check his ID papers. After an exchange of words, the policeman immediately cuffed the victim and placed him on the ground before firing directly at the victim and killing him on the spot. Bruises were found on the victim's forehead after his body was handed over to his family.

Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike to protest IPA abuse

[ 18/09/2010 - 05:08 PM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Palestinian prisoners in all Israeli jails have announced they will go on hunger strike next Saturday Sept. 25 in protest of the heightened abuse they have recently suffered from the Israeli prisons authority (IPA). “The IPA has launched an unprecedented campaign against prisoners since the direct negotiations started, which reflected the Israeli government’s lack of integrity in developing the so-called ‘just peace’ with the Palestinian people,” the prisoners said in a statement. The brutal assault against the Ofer prisoners, usage of excessive force, and fierce means of repression, including dogs, batons, and tear gas without reasonable cause indicate that there is a plan targeting prisoners’ rights, the prisoners added. They underscored in the statement that the IPA uses special forces to carry out provocative search campaigns, which include strip searches and other forms of humiliation, and transfers prisoners from one prison to another while holding other prisoners in solitary confinement. The IPA has denied prisoners the right to visits, imposed fines on them, banned books and newspapers, and prohibited prisoners from purchasing needed foods during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday. Prisoners believe the IPA has kicked off an “open war” against their lives and rights without anyone to fight in their corner. Gaza’s prisoner committee asked the international community to issue international resolutions to protect Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The IPA has a long time back set off an open war against prisoners using racist measures that are tantamount to war crimes that should be prosecuted in international courts, the committee’s media official Nashaat al-Wahidi said Saturday. The transfer of sick prisoners from hospitals to prisons was an indication that Israel had begun an open war against prisoners as what happened recently in the Nafha, Ofer, and Hadarim prisons, Wahidi stated. He said the prisoners’ committee in Gaza would back the hunger strike set to take place Sept. 25 for one day.

IOF troops detain 5 demonstrators including journalist

[ 19/09/2010 - 09:31 AM ]

AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) quelled on Saturday the Beit Ummar, Al-Khalil district, weekly march protesting the confiscation of the village land to build the "separation wall". The IOF command blocked Palestinian farmers from heading to their land, threatened with confiscation, and declared the area a closed military zone. Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers beat up the spokesman of the solidarity committee in the village while taking photos of the march while a Swedish activist was hit with a sonic bomb and dozens others were treated for breathing problems. They said that the soldiers detained the coordinator of the national committee against the wall and four others including a cameraman and two American and British activists. The march declared solidarity with the Palestinian child Yousef Abu Hashem, 17, who was detained by the IOF four months ago. The child contracted an unknown disease while in detention and the IOF won't reveal its nature and refuses to treat him.

Gaza man arrested in transit at Cairo airport over links to Hamas

[ 18/09/2010 - 03:32 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Egyptian authorities arrested a Palestinian man six days back in the Cairo International Airport on his return trip from Makkah after performing Umrah in the holy land, sources in Gaza said, adding that police gave no justification for the arrest. Debabeche had traveled to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah (the smaller pilgrimage) rites this Ramadan after he was given permission to enter Egypt from Gaza en route to Saudi Arabia. Hamas denounced the arrest, asserting that Egypt should not outlaw Hamas affiliates from entry into Egypt. 30 Palestinian activists from Gaza Strip are currently detained in Egyptian prisons on charges of belonging to Palestinian organizations. Some have spent more than six years there. “Debabeche is a Palestinian citizen who left to perform the Umrah rites with the knowledge and consent of the Egyptian authorities, so why did they betray him on his return through their land and arrest him?” one Hamas official said in a press statement. “Supposing Debabeche was a Hamas leader, is there any Egyptian law prohibiting Hamas leaders from entering their land or using it for transit?” he added. “If the answer is, ‘yes’, Egypt should clearly announce that, and should not arrest people who perform Umrah during their return from Umrah rites,” he went on to say. Egypt should release Debabeche immediately, the source said, calling on the Saudi government to pressure Egypt to show respect for Muslim pilgrims and worshippers who visit Saudi Arabian holy sites and secure their safe return home. Egyptian authorities earlier prevented PLC First Deputy Speaker Ahmad Bahar and dozens of other Hamas supporters from traveling outside of the Gaza Strip through Egypt for religious and other reasons. Hamas intelligence chief detained at Cairo airport   Published today (updated) 19/09/2010 11:16 CAIRO, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egypt detained a top Hamas security official at the Cairo International Airport, an Egyptian security source said Sunday. The official was identified as the Hamas government's General Security Service Commander Muhammad Dabaeesh, also known as Abu Radwan. The source said the detention was made in connection to a thwarted attempt to smuggle millions of dollars worth of wireless devices into Gaza through the border-tunnel complex. Hamas officials warned that the detention would spark "degradation and tension" in Egypt-Hamas relations, already strained for several months. In May, the Islamist movement denied reports that Egypt has frozen all contact with Hamas but said relations between Gaza and Cairo were tense following an escalation in security measures by Egyptian forces along the Gaza border.

PCHR weekly report 8/9 - 15/9/2010: 20 Palestinians including 9 children arrested during incursions, 4 arrested at checkpoints

extracts from PCHR weekly report 8/9 - 15/9/2010:


IOF conducted 36 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and two limited ones into the Gaza Strip.  

- IOF arrested 20 Palestinian civilians, including 9 children, in the West Bank.

Israeli troops stationed at military checkpoints and border crossings in the West Bank arrested at least 4 Palestinian civilians.

Monday, 13 September 2010

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

1. Ramzi Ahmed al-Khlaifat, 30; and

2. Mohammed Ahmed 'Ebayat, 50.

· At approximately 02:10, IOF moved into 'Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children:

1. Kazem Mofeed Isma'il, 17;

2. Naji Mofeed Isma'il, 17;

3. Rashed 'Ali Radwan, 19; and

4. 'Abdullah 'Omran Hussein, 17.

· At approximately 04:00, IOF moved into Qiffin village, north of Tulkarm. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Mohammed Mahmoud Sabbah, and arrested him.

· At approximately 04:10, IOF moved into Tulkarm. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Mohammed Jihad al-Hamshari, 28, and arrested him. 

At approximately 22:00, IOF moved into Nour Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm. They raided and searched a number of internet cafés, and arrested Yousef Mahmoud Fayyad. 

Tuesday, 14 August 2010

  

Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Jenin town and refugee camp. They raided and searched a house belonging to Shareef Taher Tahaina, 41, and arrested him

At approximately 02:40, IOF moved into Tulkarm. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

1. 'Eissa 'Omar 'Ouda, 18; and

2. Ayman 'Imad Abu Safaqa, 23. 

At approximately 19:45, IOF moved into 'Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya. They raided and searched a number of houses, and arrested 5 Palestinian children:

1. Maher Sameer Abu Haniya, 16;

2. Adam Bassem Saleem, 17;

3. Lu'ai Anwar Hussein, 17;

4. Ahmed Nidal Saleem, 15; and

5. Ma'awia 'Abdul Latif Radwan, 16, who was released a few hours later. 

At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians, including a child:

1. 'Amru 'Eissa al-Zikawi, 19; and

2. Nabeel Mahmoud al-'Allami, 16.

· At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Jayous village, northeast of Qalqilya. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Murad Waleed Qaddoumi, and arrested him. They also confiscated his personal computer. 

Arrests at Military Checkpoints

· On Wednesday morning, 08 September 2010, IOF arrested 'Abbas 'Afif Shadid, a lawyer from Tulkarm, when he was in Jerusalem to pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque.

· At approximately 12:00 on the same day, Israeli troops stationed at a checkpoint established at Jeet intersection, east of Qalqilya, arrested Muntasser Nafe' Mansour, 20, from Bourin village south of Nablus. 

· At approximately 19:00 on Sunday, 12 September 2010, Israeli stoops stationed at a checkpoint established on bypass road #55 between Nablus and Qalqilya arrested Mohammed 'Abdul Rahman Bashir, from Jainsafout village east of Qalqilya. 

· At approximately 08:00 on Monday, 13 September 2010, Israeli troops stationed at a checkpoint established at Hijja intersection, east of Qalqilya, arrested Samer Radwan Ahmed, 25.

  

Activists: Israel wants 2-year term for wall protester

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The sentencing phase in the trial of Abdallah Abu Rahme, the coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, began Wednesday at Israel's Ofer Military Court.

Abu Rahme was convicted of organizing illegal marches and of incitement in August, but he was cleared on initial charges of stone-throwing and "arms-possession," apparently collecting used tear-gas canisters and displaying them.

The prosecution demanded Abu Rahme be sent to prison for a period exceeding two years, saying that as an organizer, a harsh sentence is required to serve as a deterrence for himself and to others, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee reported.

Another argument made by the prosecution in their demand of a harsh sentence were the repercussions and expenses caused to the army by the demonstrations against the barrier which cuts half of Bil'in from its farmland.

Wednesday's hearing, which lasted over three hours, saw a courtroom packed with diplomats, representatives of international and Israeli human rights organizations, as well as friends and family members, the committee said.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says "the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest against the existence of the separation barriers in a non violent manner."

Rights groups say the conviction followed a show trial and was based on allegations that did not specify any particular incidents of wrongdoing and on statements by children who retracted them in court, alleging they were coerced, and who did not understand Hebrew, the language in which Israeli military interrogators prepared the statements they signed.

"Israel's conviction of Abu Rahme for protesting the unlawful confiscation of his village's land is the unjust result of an unfair trial," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The Israeli authorities are effectively banning peaceful expression of political speech by convicting supporters of nonviolent resistance."

Israeli authorities describe the weekly protests as anything but peaceful, usually characterizing them as violent and illegal riots during which demonstrators throw rocks at Israeli forces stationed near the barrier.

Source: Israel shuts down prison, transfers detainees

NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israel's Prison Service will shut down the Shitah prison in northern Israel and transfer 60 Palestinian detainees to the Megido-Salem prison in the same region, a source said Tuesday.

The source told Ma'an that the prison agency did not provide a reason for the jail's closure but the Detainees' Society will follow up with those detainees who have been transferred.

According to a prison service report in 2008, 40 percent of Israel's detainees are "security prisoners," a term used to denote Palestinian political detainees. At the time, Israel said it was holding up to 10,000 "security prisoners."

A report issued by the PLO's negotiations affairs department said detainees currently in Israeli custody have been charged with an array of "security offenses," adding that 47 Palestinian parliamentarians are also being held. Approximately 1,150 are being held without charge.

Under the Geneva Convention, to which it is a signatory, Israel is prohibited from transferring Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip to prisons inside Israel, where many relatives have been barred from visiting inmates.

Center: Detainees beaten over cell phones

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Detainees Center said Wednesday that a special unit raided the Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank, beating detainees, a statement read.

The center said the unit opened fire at prisoners and deployed tear-gas, with several younger detainees suffering respiratory problems as a result. According to the center's lawyer, the detainees were beaten after cell phones were found in their possession.

The prison, located in the West Bank district of Ramallah, is on alert and visits have been banned, the statement said.

Head of the center Qaddura Fares denounced the raid, saying that prison staff in Ofer "tend to make detainees' lives hell."

Detainees held at the prison announced a hunger strike a day earlier, which will last for a week.

Nativity deportees appeal to Abbas ahead of talks

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Nativity Church deportees, exiled by Israel to Gaza and Europe following the siege of the Bethlehem church in 2001, appealed to President Mahmoud Abbas and his Egyptian counterpart on Monday to bring their case up during direct talks.

Deportee spokesman and fellow exile Fahmi Kan'an said they had felt no hope their issue would be solved until it was announced that direct talks were resumed, with its next round to be held in the Egyptian resort town of Sharam Ash-Sheikh on Tuesday.

Kan'an said deportees sent a letter to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, detailing the past nine years in exile and calling on him to actively bring the issue up during talks.

They also called on Abbas to resolve their case and that of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, saying the president was "keen" to resolve these matters.

IOF soldiers sexually abuse detained Palestinian children

[ 13/09/2010 - 09:15 AM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation soldiers sexually abused Palestinian children while in custody in violation of international laws and norms and in a cruel violation of human rights, according to media reports. Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot said on Sunday that charges were leveled against Israeli soldiers of child molestation, noting that foreign media outlets had published such news on their websites. The paper said that one of those detained minors said that an Israeli soldier tried to sexually abuse him in front of ten officers, who watched and laughed at the act, including their commander.

Palestinian prisoners denied visits

Convicts in Israeli jails not allowed to receive relatives during Eid holiday. Last Modified: 11 Sep 2010 15:00 GMT

Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid, a holiday that usually brings families together. However, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails find it difficult to receive visits from their relatives. Human rights organisations say that while Israeli convicts are allowed family and home visits, Palestinians are denied even a phone call . Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh reports from the West Bank.

CHECK OUT VIDEO: http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/09/201091112551648827.html

PFLP Political Bureau calls for October mobilization for Comrade Sa'adat

PFLP website

Click here for French translation
Click here for Italian translation

The Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine issued a statement on July 18, 2010, calling for the broadest expression of solidarity and support for Comrade Ahmad Sa'adat, the General Secretary of the PFLP, in mid-October 2010, when his continued isolation in the jails of the occupation will again come before the court.

The Front's statement said that Comrade Sa'adat has spent over a year and a half in isolation, while the Prisons Service and Zionist security services have declared him an ongoing 'security threat', justifying his continuing isolation away from his fellow prisoners, the continued restriction of his family visits and deprivation of access to news and media, books, and information. The PFLP said that all seventeen Palestinian prisoners suffering from isolation are at risk due to the brutality and cruelty of the Prisons Service, and urged widespread support against the use of isolation targeting Palestinian prisoners.

The PFLP called for a day of action to be a day of struggle and solidarity against isolation and in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners, with Comrade Sa'adat at the forefront. It called upon all progressive forces, all Palestinian and Arab parties and liberation movements, and all friends of the Front and the Palestinian people in the world to organize events, media activities and political solidarity actions in support of Comrade Sa'adat, calling for the freedom of Palestinian prisoners, and exposing the horror of isolation. It further called upon all branches of the Front and its supporters in Palestine and outside to regard the day of Comrade Sa'adat's hearing as a day for mobilization and popular solidarity with the prisoners' movement.

Furthermore, the Political Bureau statement demanded that international human rights authorities and in particular, the United Nations and its bodies, including its Secretary-General, to assume their responsibilities to protect Palestinian prisoners and cease their willful blindness to the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the prisoners.

Muhammed Natshe freed from Zionist custody, PA tries to disrupt hero-reception

[ 12/09/2010 - 07:42 PM ] - PIC

From Khalid Amayreh in al-Khalil Muhammed Jamal Natshe, a prominent Islamic leader from al-Khalil, was freed from Zionist custody on Sunday, after spending more than eight years in Israeli dungeons and detention camps. At the Teena crossing point south west of Dahiriya on the southern edge of the West Bank , Natshe was released around 3:00 o'clock Sunday as hundreds of supporters and admirers shouted "Allaho Akbar" or God is the most Great. The PA security agencies deployed dozens of their agents to the site, carrying cameras and mobile phones to photograph Islamic activists who arrived at the crossing point to congratulate the Islamist leader on his "appointment with freedom." Scuffles and commotions occurred when people sought to prevent security agents from filming activists and other Hamas supporters who came to receive Natshe. Several members of the Palestinian Legislative Council were present among a large multitude of people awaiting Natshe's release from Israeli jails. Natshe is considered a leading Islamic figure and intellectual in the southern Bank. Consequently, he was targeted by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The latter arrested and reportedly tortured him prior to 2002. A teacher by profession, Natshe proved himself one of the most resilient and steadfast Islamic figure in occupied Palestine. According to relatives and close friends, all the harassment, torture, and imprisonment meted to him by both Israel and the PA utterly failed to shake his personality. "He is one of the strongest and most resilient men Palestine has given birth to.  He has been a remarkable embodiment of moral strength, steadfastness, wisdom and thoughtfulness. He is totally convinced in the justice of the Palestinian cause," said one of his relatives. "He is so sure about the eventuality of victory as if he were seeing victory with his eyes." Natshe was elected a member of the Legislative Council while in prison in 2006. However, the Israeli occupation authorities extended his imprisonment period several times, mainly as a reprisal for his unflinching Islamic ideology and adamant refusal to succumb to Israeli dictates and demands, namely recognizing the legitimacy of Israeli occupation and colonialism. Natshe has always argued that the expulsion of the bulk of the Palestinian people from their ancestral homeland is a cardinal crime that would never be made lesser with the passage of time. He also argued that a state based on the ethnic cleansing of another people can never acquire moral legitimacy, even if many countries think otherwise. The Natshe family is considered one of the largest families in Palestine. The clan is generally considered highly supportive of the Islamic liberation movement, Hamas.

Prisoners’ dean calls on Saudi king to defend Jerusalem

[ 12/09/2010 - 11:18 AM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The dean of Jerusalem prisoners Fouad al-Razim  called on Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz in a statement published by the center for prisoners’ studies to protect Jerusalem from Judaization and settlement activity. The longtime prisoner said that may be accomplished by backing construction and restoration projects in Jerusalem, exploiting ties with the U.S., EU, and other influential states to pressure Israel to stop ongoing violations against the Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem, and its citizens, and putting Arab pressure on Israel to stop demolition of Arab homes and Islamic sites. Razim showed gratitude to King Abdullah for continued efforts in backing the Palestinian cause. The Saudi king invited the families of martyrs to a feast of honor a year back and sponsored 2,000 family members of Palestinian prisoners in making hajj this year. Razim said he hopes all Arab leaders will move in the same direction and hold conferences covering the issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian prisoners in Israel, internationalize prisoners’ issues, honor their families, and expose Israeli violations against them. Originally from Silwan, Jerusalem, Razim has been in prison since Jan. 30, 1981.

Captives' mothers hold a sit-in at the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza

[ 10/09/2010 - 04:45 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Dozens of mothers of Palestinian captives in Israeli occupation jails held a sit-in at the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza City on Friday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr. The mothers' central message was that their sons should be released from Israeli occupation jails and expressed their anguish at the absence of their loved ones, especially on occasion such as Eid. The mothers further said that their sons have the right to a dignified life and that it was their legal right to visit their imprisoned sons; a right that they have been denied by the Israeli occupation for a number of years.

Hamas captives' leadership congratulates Palestinian people on the advent of Eid

[ 10/09/2010 - 04:43 PM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Leadership of the Hamas captives in Israeli occupation jails sent a message of Eid greetings to the Arab and Islamic nation and the Palestinian people and in particular to captives in occupation jails on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr (end of Ramadan festivity). The captives said in their message that the Ummah receives this Eid while the Aqsa Mosqu is still in captivity and Palestine is still under occupation, but we are confident of a near victory and we pray to almighty God that the next Eid will come at a time when Palestine and all Muslim lands have been liberated from occupation. The captives aid that despite the bitterness of spending Eid behind bars away from home, family and loved ones, but the captives are patient and consider their sacrifice a worthwhile one in defence of their religion and to liberate the land to which the Prophet (PBUH) made his Night Journey. The captives called on the Muslim and Arab Ummah and the Palestinian people to unite in the face of the enemies of Palestine and the Ummah.

TAKE ACTION AGAINST ISOLATION - FREE AHMAD SA'ADAT! INTERNATIONAL DAYS OF ACTION - OCTOBER 5-15, 2010

TAKE ACTION AGAINST ISOLATION - FREE AHMAD SA'ADAT!
INTERNATIONAL DAYS OF ACTION - OCTOBER 5-15, 2010

The Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat

September 6, 2010 Imprisoned Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa'adat will be returning to court in mid-October 2010 challenging his isolation and the isolation of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons. Write letters today and take action from October 5-15, 2010 in support of Palestinian prisoners' struggle for freedom - demand an end to isolation! Ahmad Sa'adat, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has been held in isolation in a series of prisons since March 16, 2009, with his isolation renewed again and again by occupation courts. He has been transferred from prison to prison, and is currently held in the isolation section of Ramon prison in the Naqab desert. Within these isolation units, Sa'adat has been placed further inside a separate isolation unit where he is confined without access even to the other prisoners in isolation, and deprived of basic human rights. His personal books have been confiscated and he is allowed access to newspapers only once or twice weekly. He is denied access to English and Arabic language newspapers and allowed only Hebrew-language media. He has been repeatedly denied family visits - his wife, Abla, has been allowed only two visits during his entire period in isolation - as well as legal visits, and barred from purchases at the prison canteen, including cigarette purchases. In the prison yard, Sa'adat has been held handcuffed and in ankle shackles and allowed only one-hour of exercise/recreation. The Prison Administration is attempting to criminalize the human and social relationship between fellow Palestinian prisoners, and between the prisoners and their families outside. Sa'adat has led in the struggle against isolation, engaging in a nine-day hunger strike in 2009 in protest of isolation. Isolation is damaging and destructive to the mental and physical health of Palestinian prisoners, and is being used as a political weapon in order to punish and isolate Palestinian prisoner leaders. Some prisoners have been subject to isolation for years at a time, with severe effects. Take action now to fight isolation and demand the freedom of Ahmad Sa'adat and all Palestinian prisoners! TAKE ACTION TODAY! 1. The Campaign in Solidarity with Ahmad Sa'adat ( http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/october.html ) in Palestine is calling upon all supporters to write letters to the Israeli Prison Service and demand they end the practice of isolation, end human rights violations, and free Palestinian prisoners. Send an email to the Bureau of the Minister of Public Security at sar@mops.gov.il and to the Public Complaints Department at mevaker@mops.gov.il, and copy the following: Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, 3, Kaplan Street, PO Box 187, Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem, Israel, Fax: +972- 2-651 2631, Email: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il Mr. Menachem Mazuz, Attorney General, Fax: + 972 2 627 4481; + 972 2 628 5438; +972 2 530 3367 Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit, Military Judge Advocate General, 6 David Elazar Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel, Fax: +972 3 608 0366, +972 3 569 4526, Email: arbel@mail.idf.il, avimn@idf.gov.il Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations Office and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, Avenue de la Paix 1-3, 1202 Geneva, Fax: +41 22 716 05 55, Email: mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il You may use our online form at: http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/action3.html. 2. Write a letter to Ahmad Sa'adat. Letters of support are important and demonstrate solidarity with Ahmad Sa'adat and Palestinian prisoners - let him know that the world is demanding his freedom. Email the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat at info@freeahmadsaadat.org with your letters, or use our contact form at: http://freeahmadsaadat.org/contact.html. We will send all letters received to Palestine. We also encourage you to write to him directly using this address: Ahmad Sa'adat, Ramon Prison, Ramon area, PO Box 699, Postal Code 80600, Israel. JOIN THE WEEK OF ACTION, OCTOBER 5-15, 2010! 1. October 5-15, 2010 will be international days of action in support of Ahmad Sa'adat and Palestinian prisoners and against isolation. Join us! Hold an event, protest or action in your city. Email the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat at info@freeahmadsaadat.org to be added to the global list of actions. 2. Distribute the Free Ahmad Sa'adat flyer: http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/saadat-flyer.pdf in your town, city, event or location! Bring the flyers to events and activities, or hold a flyer distribution at a public place. 3. Protest outside the Israeli embassy or consulate in your location( http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Diplomatic+missions/Web+Sites+of+Israeli+Missions+Abroad.htm) and demand the immediate freedom of Ahmad Sa'adat and all Palestinian political prisoners. Ahmad Sa'adat has been imprisoned since 2002 in the prisons of the Palestinian Authority, held under U.S. and British guard, until his abduction by the Israeli occupation forces on March 14, 2006 by an occupation military raid on Jericho prison. On December 25, 2008, he was sentenced to thirty years inside the occupation prisons. He is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and one of the foremost Palestinian national leaders held inside the occupier's jails. Ahmad Sa'adat and nearly 10,000 Palestinian prisoners are daily on the front lines, confronting Israeli oppression and crimes. Today, it is urgent that we stand with Ahmad Sa'adat and all Palestinian prisoners against these abuses, and for freedom for all Palestinian prisoners and for all of Palestine!

:: Article nr. 69549 sent on 07-sep-2010 19:57 ECT www.uruknet.info?p=69549