Hearing Begins In Case Of Palestinian Non-violent Protest Organizer

Wednesday December 08, 2010 06:59 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Abdullah Abu Rahme was brought to an Israeli court Monday, after completing a one year prison sentence for 'incitement' due to his role organizing non-violent weekly demonstrations against the Wall. Israeli authorities are attempting to extend his sentence indefinitely without charges, a policy known as 'administrative detention', which is considered a violation of international law, but is common practice by Israeli military courts.

Supporters hold up signs outside Ofer military base (photo by Marcy Newman)

The courtroom was packed with Abu Rahme's supporters, including a number of European politicians, members of the European Union and British consul general, Vincent Fean. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has spoken out on the case, publishing a letter supporting Abu Rahme and condemning his imprisonment, calling it an example of apartheid-like practices by Israel.

39-year old Abdullah Abu Rahme is a schoolteacher from the town of Bil'in, in the central West Bank, who joined with other town leaders to organize a non-violent resistance movement when Israel began construction of the Wall in 2004 on village land, confiscating half of the village's land.

Their weekly protests include singing, street theater, puppetry and art, and include Israeli and international peace activists. Israeli troops, every week, attack the marches with experimental CS gas, sewage water, blue dye, rubber-coated steel bullets, and other so-called 'non-lethal' experimental weapons. Over twenty protesters have been killed in non-violent demonstrations in Bil'in and other villages, half of them children. Dozens more have been wounded, including international supporters like Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and U.S. peace activist Tristan Anderson.

Originally, Abu Rahme had been charged with 'possession of a weapon', for an art display he had made out of spent tear gas canisters fired by Israeli troops at demonstrators, shaping them into a peace sign. Those charges were eventually dropped, but he was charged with 'incitement', and has served a year in prison for that charge.

Israeli officials say they want to keep Abu Rahme in prison for unspecified 'security concerns', despite their failure to present any evidence against him. Abu Rahme's lawyer, Gaby Lasky, told reporters that she believes the arrest and imprisonment of Abu Rahme is politically motivated. She said, "Since the state has not been able to break the nonviolent demonstrations (by force), it has decided to break them in legal terms, trying to keep the leaders behind bars.”

In addition to the non-violent demonstrations, Abu Rahme also helped organize a lawsuit challenging the route of the Wall, which confiscates half of the village's land. The lawsuit was successful, but Israel has not enforced the ruling, and the Wall has continued to be constructed through the middle of Bil'in's land.

Israel Criticized Over Renewed Detention of Palestinian Female Prisoner

Tuesday December 07, 2010 13:56 by Alessandra Bajec - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian human rights center Ahrar slammed Israel for renewing the administrative detention of Kifah Jibril just few hours before her scheduled release, the Palestinian Information Centre said.

(photo from uprootedpalestinians.blogspot.com)

The director of Ahrar center for prisoners' studies and human rights, Fuad al-Khafsh, stated on Monday night that the Israeli intelligence renewed the detention of Kifah, after four months of administrative custody without trial or charge.

Al-Khafsh also said that Kifah's detention was renewed for a similar period of time in spite of deterioration of her health condition, explaining that she was suffering from a rare disease which causes tightening of the arteries obstructing regular flow of blood to her limbs. Kifah is also believed to suffer from breathing difficulty.

The Ahrar Center held Israel fully responsible for the life of the Palestinian woman warning that she is in great danger. The center's director condemned the captivity, adding that she is one of the active social figures in Ramallah and el-Bireh.

Khafsh called upon international organizations and human rights groups to rapidly urge the immediate release of Kifah and provide her with the necessary medical treatment.

Kifah Jibril, from Ramallah, a mother of two children, has held in the Maskobeh detention center since 1 August of this year after being subjected to severe interrogation.

Report: “280 Palestinians, Including 43 Children and Three Women, Kidnapped In November”

Sunday December 05, 2010 04:35 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The Higher Committee for Supporting the Detainees stated that Israeli soldiers kidnapped in November 280 Palestinians, including 43 children and three women, in several areas in the occupied West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem.

Two of the kidnapped residents are elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. The two are Nayef Rajoub from Hebron, and Mahmoud Al Ramahi from Ramallah.

The Committee stated that soldiers kidnapped a 55-year-old woman identified as Shaheera Borqan, from Hebron. It considered the kidnapping of Borqan as an Israeli illegal policy meant to blackmail her two detained sons.

Furthermore, soldiers kidnapped Abdul-Qader Masalma, 45, from Hebron, despite the fact the he is paralyzed due to extreme torture practiced by Israeli interrogators during a previous arrest; he spent seven years in prison.

Last month, soldiers released legislator Ayman Daraghma after he spent 20 months in administrative detention without charges or trial.

In related news, soldiers broke into the Al Ramla Prison Hospital, were 25 detainees are hospitalized, and searched it under the guise of searching for communication equipment.

Also, soldiers violently attacked and hit detainee Somoud Karaja, leaving her suffering from several bruises and concussions.

Referring to the health conditions of several sick detainees, the report revealed that detainee Mohammad Al Saleeby, 62, had to be transferred from Majiddo Prison to the Al Affoula hospital due to the seriousness of his condition.

Detainee Imad Al Masry, from Aqaba town near Jenin, is in urgent need for medical
attention as he suffers a kidney disease, sharp pain in his spine, right hand and teeth. The prison Administration is denying him the right to medical treatment.
Several detainees contracted a skin disease in a number of detention centers but were not provided with any medical treatment.

Furthermore, the Prison Administration is denying Chemotherapy to detainee Suleiman Al Saady, 41, from the Jenin refugee camp.

Meanwhile, the detainees in Shatta prison refused their visitation rights as the soldiers insisted to cuff and shackle them during visitation time.

Soldiers at the Ramon Prison attacked the families of several detainees injuring the wife of detainee Ala’ Qfeisha, and the mother of detainee Lo’ay Qfeisha.

Detainees at the Nafha Prison held a one-day hunger strike to protest repeated attacks and searches to their rooms.

Detainee Shadi Abu Al Hasseen declared he is resuming his hunger strike until his release, especially since he ended his 7-year term but was never released.

Detainee Jamal Abu Al Haija, a Hamas leader in solitary confinement at the Ayalon Prison, and detainee Aahed Ghalama, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, started a hunger strike demanding better living conditions, and visitation rights.

Detainees in all solitary sections at the Al Jalama prison conducted a hunger strike demanding an end to their solitary confinement that started three months ago.

There are more than 8000 detainees, including hundreds of children and women, imprisoned by Israel. At least 27 of them were kidnapped and imprisoned more than 25 years ago.

Captives: A report by the Minsitry of Detainees affairs

Captives

A report by the Minsitry of Detainees affairs

Ahrar: Qabaha in critical condition in Ramle prison hospital

[ 12/12/2010 - 06:45 PM ]

NABLUS, (PIC)-- The Ahrar center for prisoners' studies and human rights held the Israeli occupation government fully responsible for the life of former minister Wasfi Qabaha. Fuad Al-Khafsh, the director of Ahrar, said in a statement on Sunday that Qabaha since his detention three days ago was transferred to hospital in an unstable condition, with high blood sugar level fluctuations. He expressed concern over the life of Qabaha, who was only released from Israeli detention eight months ago, charging the Israeli occupation authority with trying to liquidate the minister as evident in remanding him in custody under such a deteriorating health condition. Khafsh said that Israel was the only state to imprison sick, elderly and disabled people, noting that the prison hospital, where Qabaha is being treated, contains 28 other detained patients in very serious conditions including those who could not move and others who suffer from kidney failure, cancer, and hepatitis. The director appealed to the human rights groups, health organizations and Médecins Sans Frontières to inquire about those sick detainees and to demand their release.

Sheikh Salah: The days I spent in Israeli jails were the best in my life

[ 12/12/2010 - 06:30 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Sheikh Ra'ed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement in the 1948 occupied lands, stated immediately after his release from Ramle prison that the five months he spent in jails was the best days in his life and heavenly moments he spent in worshiping God. Sheikh Salah said he was able to write three books while in detention and called on the world to consider the freedom detainees inside Israeli jails political prisoners who must be released immediately according to international law. As for the other charges to be leveled against him, he expressed his unconcern about any trials held against him, affirming that his determination to defend the holy city and the Aqsa Mosque will never be undermined by any Israeli action taken against him. The Sheikh also noted that he will not recognize the Israeli military decision banning him from entering the Aqsa Mosque.

Health risks threatening detainees in Israeli jails for lack of winter clothes

[ 12/12/2010 - 10:53 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The prisoners' center for studies said that the Israeli prison authority prevents Palestinian prisoners from getting winter clothes in its jails for the fourth consecutive year, the thing which exposes them to health risks, especially because of the low temperatures this season. The center expressed its concern over the health conditions of prisoners, especially those who are banned from seeing their families who usually provide them with their clothing needs. The center appealed to human rights organizations to urgently intervene to pressure Israel to provide prisoners with their needs of winter garments. In a separate incident, 58 Palestinian detainees in Megiddo prison on Saturday took a number of protest steps against the restrictive measures they are exposed to by the Israeli administration.  Palestinian sources said that the detainees in this prison declared they would not meet their families as long as the jailers shackle their hands and legs during visits. They also demanded the prison administration to order its jailers to stop verbally abusing them, and backtrack on its arbitrary decisions regarding separating brothers from each other and denying detainees their right to educational attainment. Their demands also include the improvement of medical services and the extension of bath hours.

Salah freed from Israeli jail

Ma'an  AMLA, Israel (AFP) - Islamist leader Sheikh Raed Salah was freed from jail Sunday after serving five months behind bars for spitting at an Israeli policeman, a prison spokesman said. The Palestinian-Israeli leader, who heads the northern wing of the Islamic Movement, was greeted as he left prison in Ramla near Tel Aviv by a crowd of supporters waving the movement's green bunting as well as Palestinian and Turkish flags, an AFP photographer said. Speaking briefly to his supporters, he stressed he was the victim of "political persecution" for his defense of the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem. He began serving his term on July 25 after being convicted of assault for an incident in Feb. 2007 in Jerusalem, in which court documents said he insulted a border policeman and spat in his face. The assault, which Salah has always denied, took place during a protest outside the Dung Gate in the southern wall of the Old City where the Israeli authorities were carrying out restoration work near the mosque. The compound is the third holiest site for Muslims and the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. It has been the scene of several outbreaks of violence over the course of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A Jerusalem court reduced his initial sentence of nine months to five. Salah has been detained on a number of occasions, most recently after taking part in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla stormed on May 31 by Israeli naval commandos in an operation which left nine Turkish activists dead. The Islamic Movement is tolerated in Israel but is under constant surveillance for its perceived links with the Islamist Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, as well as with other groups around the world. Israel's Palestinian community numbers 1.3 million, about 20 percent of the population. It is made up of 160,000 Palestinians who remained in Israel after the 1948 establishment of the Israeli state, and their descendants. Aqsa preacher Salah will continue to defend Aqsa Mosque after his release [ 12/12/2010 - 09:54 AM ]

UMM AL-FAHM, (PIC)-- Arab leaders are fully geared to warmly welcome Aqsa Mosque preacher Ra'ed Salah upon his scheduled release Sunday morning following a five-month bid in Israeli custody, the Islamic Movement vice-president Kamal Al-Khatib told the Palestinian Information Center. “Delegations from the Islamic Movement and Arab leaders in the '48-occupied territories will gather near the Ramle prison, where Sheikh Salah is detained, and from there they will proceed toward the city of Umm al-Fahm, where there will be a reception party suitable for the freed Sheikh.” Khatib said the message Israel wanted to deliver by holding Salah was a failure. “No detention or intimidation can stop our movement and efforts to defend the Aqsa Mosque.” Salah will not step out of prison for “recovery”, the Islamic Movement VP said, but he will go straight to the work field to defend Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque with the backing of the entire Islamic Movement and Palestinian people in the '48-occupied territories. We will serve our people and our cause and what we cherish and believe in, even at the expense of our time and personal comfort, he added. Speaking on warnings by Israeli officials of possible collapsing in the Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem, Khatib said it is an “indicator of the volume of the present risks.” “The warning does not absolve Israel of its liability, but only reflects that it is informed. They are part of excavations posed against the Aqsa Mosque, along with knowing of threats or intent to harm the Aqsa Mosque by extremist groups, and therefore they are subject to liability.”

Palestinians injured, American arrested after Israeli troops quell peace march

[ 11/12/2010 - 04:38 PM ]

AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Several Palestinians were injured Saturday after Israeli troops cracked down on a weekly anti-wall march in the West Bank town of Beit Ummar near Al-Khalil. Israeli soldiers attacked dozens of Palestinians and foreign peace activists taking part in the demonstration, causing a number of the crowd to suffer breathing difficulties and lose consciousness, eyewitnesses said. The troops began firing stun and smoke grenades when demonstrators neared the Beit Ummar entrance north of Al-Khalil, arresting an American national, the witnesses added. Marchers waived flags from Brazil and Argentina as a gesture of the two countries' recognition of the Palestinians' right to establish an independent state on 1967 borders.

Ghoul: Israel violates all international laws protecting rights of prisoners

[ 11/12/2010 - 10:10 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian minister of prisoners' affairs Mohamed Al-Ghoul said that Israel flouts all international agreements and treaties which stipulate the need for providing good treatment and humane incarceration condition for prisoners. "As the international institutions is commemorating the 62nd anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights, which was approved by the UN General Assembly…, the Israeli occupation authority is still violating these conventions and agreements and using against the Palestinian and Arab prisoners, who number more than 7,000 detainees, all criminal means that are contrary to the principles of human rights," Ghoul stated in a press release on Friday. The minister pointed out that the second article of the universal declaration of human rights stipulates that every human being should enjoy all rights and freedoms set forth in the declaration whithout distinction, and be protected against slavery and servitude. He emphasized that Israel is following a systematic policy against prisoners in order to kill them mentally and physically through different torture means, especially the medical neglect method which has claimed the lives of more than 52 Palestinian prisoners so far. The minister appealed, on the occasion of the world day of human rights, to all human rights institutions to necessarily work hard on protecting the Palestinian prisoners against the Israeli violations and forcing Israel to respect human rights.

Hamas holds Israeli occupation responsible for the wellbeing MP Kabaha

[ 11/12/2010 - 12:55 AM ]

JENIN, (PIC)-- Hamas held the Israeli occupation responsible for the wellbeing of the former minister and MP Wasfi Kabaha who was detained by IOF troops on Friday and then taken to Khedira hospital after his health condition deteriorated. The movement said in a statement that the Israeli occupation act is an attempt to stop Kabaha from defending the rights of prisoners and to absent Palestinian leaders who play an active role in confronting the Israeli racist polices and settlement projects and defending Palestinian national rights. Fuad al-Khafsh, director of the Ahrar Centre for Prisoners’ Studies, said that Kabaha was barred from entering his home village, but he was given a permission to enter it after the death of his father a week ago where he had a 40-day permit from the occupation. On Friday, however, he was held by the IOF troops at the entrance of his village and his wife was told to leave.  The blood sugar level of Kabaha, who is diabetic, rose sharply, he was taken to the Khedeira hospital and his family was told that he was under arrest. Kabaha spent more than seven years in Israeli jails and he was only released a few months ago after serving three years of administrative detention, without charge or trial. Former minister detained at checkpoint JENIN (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained former Minister of Detainees' Affairs Wasfi Qabha at a West Bank checkpoint on Friday, witnesses said. Qabha was going to visit his family in Bart'a village in Jenin when he was stopped at Bart'a checkpoint. His wife said forces held him for two hours before he suffered a diabetic attack. She said soldiers asked her to leave, and Qabha was transferred to the Al-Khadeera hospital. She later received a phone call notifying her that her husband was formally detained. Fuad Al-Khafsh, director of the Ahrar prisoners' center, said the former minister was forbidden to enter his village, but that he had been given permission to visit for 40 days following the death of his father last week. Al-Khafsh said this is the third time Qabha has been detained, and added that 11 ministers and deputies are currently held in Israeli prisons.

Israeli police round up 600 Palestinian workers

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

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Israeli police in the 1948 occupied Palestinian land rounded up 600 Palestinian workers from the West Bank for working in those lands without permit. The Israeli radio said on Wednesday night that the border police launched a large-scale arrest campaign, and said that 8 of those arrested were wanted for interrogation while the rest were jailed for illegally residing in 1948 occupied Palestine. Thousands of Palestinian workers head to the 1948 lands in search of jobs due to scarce work opportunities in the West Bank and worsening economic conditions.

Troops Kidnap Elected Legislator In Hebron

Wednesday December 01, 2010 12:01 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Wednesday at dawn, legislator Sheikh Khalil Nayef Rajoub, after breaking into his home and searching it.

Legislator Khalil Nayef Rajoub - Image Palestine-Info

His family stated that soldiers surrounded their home located west of Hebron, approximately at 1 a.m., and kidnapped the legislator taking him to an unknown destination.

Fu’ad al-Khuffash, head of the Ahrar Center for Detainees Studies and Human Rights, reported that the soldiers violently broke into the home of Rajoub and informed him that they have an arrest warrant against him.

Al-Khuffash added that the kidnapping of Rajoub is regarded as a “declaration of a new war against elected legislators and officials, and another attempt to kidnap the legislators” similar to the massive arrests targeting dozens of elected legislators and officials on June 29, 2006.

He stated that the army kidnapped three legislators in the last 45 days; the three are Hatem Qfeisha, Mahmoud al-Ramahi, and today’s kidnapping of Rajoub.

Legislator Rajoub spent four years in Israeli prisons as he was kidnapped on June 29 2006, and was only released five months ago. He was also one of several Hamas officials deported by Israel to Marj al-Zohour in southern Lebanon.

Al-Khuffash demanded international human rights groups to intervene and stop the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people and their elected officials.

On December 17, 1992, Israel arrested and deported 416 members of the Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad. The deported leaders camped near the borders and held a strike until Israel was forced to allow them back due to international pressure.

Palestinian lawmaker detained in Israeli raid

Published Wednesday 01/12/2010 (updated) 02/12/2010 22:05

NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained a Hamas lawmaker Tuesday in Hebron, a prisoners rights group said.

Soldiers raided the home of Nayef Ar-Rujoub overnight, ordering him to get dressed before arresting him, the Ahrar center said.

Only five months earlier, Ar-Rujoub was released from an Israeli after serving a four-year sentence.

An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the arrest in Dura, a village near Hebron, but refused to comment on the reason for his detention, saying he was one of seven Palestinians picked up overnight.

Hamas later "firmly" denounced the arrest of Rajub "by the Zionist occupation forces which continue to hold 10 other members" of the Islamist group.

"This is a heinous crime committed against the Palestinian people's representatives, and a violation of international laws," Hamas said in a statement issued in Damascus.

Hamas has called on "the security services of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and prime minister Salam Fayyad to stop all forms of coordination" with Israel.

Rajub, the former Palestinian minister for religious affairs, was released in June after serving four years behind bars.

He is the brother of Jibril Rajub, one of the leaders of Abbas's secular Fatah movement, which has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with Hamas for years.

The MP was one of more than 60 elected Hamas officials arrested in June 2006 after Gaza militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a deadly cross-border raid. Many of those officials have since been freed.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has demanded the release of hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, including several top militants convicted of deadly attacks, in exchange for Shalit, who is being held in a secret location in the coastal enclave.

The last round of talks over Shalit, mediated by Egypt and Germany, ground to a halt late last year when Israel presented an offer to which Hamas has not yet officially responded.

Israel and Hamas have each blamed the other for failing to reach a deal.

AFP contributed to this report

2 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Two prominent Palestinian prisoners in solitary confinement in Israeli prison are on hunger strike for a fourth day Monday.

The two say they will not end the hunger strike until they are out of solitary confinement, according to Ahrar Center for Prisoners’ Studies.

The center’s director, Foad Al-Khafash, said lawyer Muhammad Abdeen visited Sheikh Jamal Abu Al-Hayja and Ahid Ghalama in Ramleh prison and they told him that the Israeli prison service offered to let them meet with solitary confinement experts to help them cope with the situation, but they refused.

"We will leave this confinement either to a cemetery or to normal cells with other prisoners," they told the lawyer.

Sheikh Abu Al-Hayja was one of the Palestinian fighters who led Palestinian resistance during the Battle of Jenin April 1-11, 2002 in when Israeli forces invaded the refugee camp as part of Operation Defensive Sheild.

Abu Ghalama masterminded the assassination in 2001 of former Israeli minister of tourism Rehavam Ze’evi founder of the far-right Israeli party Moledet which advocated the forced transfer of the Palestinian population.

Palestinian Woman Abducted While Visiting Detained Brother

Wednesday December 01, 2010 05:03 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian sources reported that resident Miriam al-Hour was abducted by the Israeli soldiers, on Monday, while visiting her detained brother, Jamal al-Hour, at the Nafha Israeli prison.

File - Soldiers Kidnapping a Palestinian Woman

Jamal al-Hour is a member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement. He is serving a life sentence.

The Prison Administration claimed that Miriam tried to smuggle a Palestinian Jawwal cell phone SIM card to her detained brother.

Her family denied the Israeli claim, denounced the arrest and demanded Israel to release her immediately.

Jamal al-Hour was abducted after a suicide bombing targeted a restaurant in Tel Aviv in 1997. Several Israelis along with the bomber, Mousa Ghneimat, were killed.

Al-Hour is also believed to be behind the abducting and the killing of Sharon Edri, an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped and killed seven months before the cell was arrested.

On Monday evening, detainees at the Nafha Prison stated that tension is rising at the prison especially after the soldiers abducted Miriam and later on attacked several detainees and their parents during visitation.

Head of the Bethlehem Branch of the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Abdul-Fattah Khalil, stated that the prison administration cut water and power supplies to punish the detainees.