Soldiers kidnap 18 Palestinians in the West Bank

Wednesday April 01, 2009 10:00 by IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian sources reported on Wednesday morning that Israeli occupation terrorist soldiers carried out several invasions in different parts of the West Bank during dawn hours, and kidnapped 18 Palestinians.

The Israeli occupation army Radio reported that the eighteen Palestinians were transferred to a number of interrogation center in the West Bank.

The Palestine News and Information Center, WAFA, reported that the invasions were carried out throughout the night and at dawn.

Soldiers broke into and searched dozens of homes and interrogated several residents in their homes and the streets before kidnapping eighteen residents. The 18 Palestinians were kidnapped from Bethlehem, six in Ramallah, three in Jenin, and one in Tulkarem. 

IOTF soldier wounded, two Palestinian fighters killed in Gaza border clashes

[ 31/03/2009 - 03:07 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The Israeli occupation terrorist forces on Tuesday acknowledged that one of its soldiers was wounded in the exchange of gunfire with Palestinian resistance elements east of Magahzi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip.

The Hebrew radio reported that the soldier was flown to Soroka hospital for treatment after the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, fired 18 mortar shells at the advancing IOF unit.

The armed wing said that it was confronting an IOF incursion into Gaza, adding that it was prepared for any IOF "foolishness".

Two Palestinian resistance fighters were killed and two others wounded on Tuesday morning while engaging the invading force, local sources reported, adding that a number of those fighters had fired anti-armored projectiles at IOTF army vehicles and hit a jeep that was seen on fire.

Israeli occupation terrorist forces constructing fence across Azzoun village land

Wednesday April 01, 2009 09:10 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

According to local sources, Israeli occupation terrorist forces have begun construction of a metal fence topped with barbed wire in the northern West Bank village of Azzoun. Azzoun, east of Qalqilia, is already nearly completely surrounded by the Israeli Annexation Wall, and the new fence will close off the village into an even smaller enclave.

Villagers reported that the three-meter high metal fence, topped with barbed wire, already runs about five kilometers from the entrance to the village and along the main road through the northern section of Azzoun. The fence has separated the villagers from reaching their land, in an area that depends almost entirely on agriculture as their only means of livelihood.

 On November 28, 2008, the Israeli Chief of Infrastructure Department in the Israeli Civil Administration handed residents of Azzun village military order # (08/07/S) to confiscate seven dunums of lands located in bloc two of Khalet 'Aris, Al Jarba, Al Murouj, Al Wad Sham, Dhahr Al Rujoum, Al Wad Al Sham, Dhahr Al Rjoum, Al Majma', Talet Hater, Khalet 'Atiya, Al Ras, Kafif Hamera, Dhahr Abu Haniya and Wad Radi areas, under the pretext of security and to “protect the Israeli settlers”. The military order served is to put up five kilometres fence along the part section of the Israeli controlled bypass road # 55, which penetrates the villages' lands for the Israeli settlers accessing the settlements to the main road grid leading to Israel.

 The settlements in question are considered illegal under Israeli law, although the new Israeli government has promised to change the rules to allow all Israeli land takeovers in the West Bank to be recognized by the Israeli government – despite their illegality under Israeli and international law.

 Azzoun is located eight kilometres southeast of Qalqiliya city which is home to 9674 Palestinians. The village spreads over an area of 23624 dunums of land, most of which is farmland.

As in every land takeover by the Israeli military, the Palestinians affected have few means for redress.

Some villages facing large scale land confiscation have taken the Israeli government to court, but this is extremely expensive and prohibitive, as most Palestinians are forbidden from entering Israel, where the court is located.

In addition, the Israeli legal system is heavily weighted to favor Israelis, while Palestinians have no legal standing or rights in the system. Even in the rare cases in which the Israeli court ruled in favor of the Palestinian villagers, such as in the town of Bil'in, the Israeli land confiscation continued, and the Israeli government would not enforce its own court order.

Palestinian students abused, beaten at Abu Dis checkpoint

Tuesday March 31, 2009 22:25 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Two Palestinian students from Ramallah have come forward with allegations that Israeli Border police took them to a room, stripped them naked and beat them with fists and sticks at a checkpoint on Saturday. The students were on their way to the University of Abu Dis, where they are students.

Allegations of beatings by Israeli soldiers and police at checkpoints are not infrequent, although many such incidents go unreported, as the Palestinians who are beaten are afraid of repercussions. In one such incident, late last year, award-winning Palestinian journalist Mohammed Omer was beaten unconscious and suffered several broken ribs and other wounds when he was crossing back into Palestine from a trip to Europe. Omer's case gained international publicity, but many similar cases do not make it into the news.

 In this case, the students reported that they were detained while crossing a checkpoint between the city of Ramallah, where they live, and Abu Dis, where they attend university. A number of Palestinian were detained, but these two were taken to a room and told to strip naked. They say they were then beaten for several hours.

 The two young students, Alla and Iad Mazlum, went with their parents to the Beit El military headquarters to file a complaint. Alla's father told reporters from the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahranoth, “Why should two students on their way to the university encounter such unwarranted brutality?”

Israeli officers denied the allegations.

Extremist settlers attack Palestinian homes in Hebron

Tuesday March 31, 2009 13:45 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

A group of extremist settlers attacked on Tuesday a number of Palestinian homes in the southern West Bank city of Hebron causing excessive damage and terrifying the residents, especially the children.

Local sources reported that several settlers baring arms and others carrying batons attacked homes adjacent to the Keryat Arba’ illegal settlement, north east of the city, and hurled stones and empty bottles at the windows while chanting slogans calling for killing all Arabs.

Resident Khalawi Jadallah Al Ja’bary, an owner of one of the attacked homes, said that the settlers attacked dozens of homes across the road between Keryat Arba’ settlement and the illegal outpost which was evacuated recently by Israel.

The illegal outpost was evacuated after the Israeli High Court ordered the army to remove the settlers from a home that belong to a resident of Al Rajabi family in the city.  

Al Ja’bary also said that the attack lasted for a couple of hours while the army did not attempt to intervene.

 The settlers escalated their attacks after former Defense Minister in Israeli, Ehud Barak, decided to decrease the restrictions on the movement of the Palestinian residents heading to the Ibrahimi mosque on a road that was only used by the settlers and their vehicles for seven years.

The road is in the heart of the Arab city, yet the Palestinians were not allowed to use it while the settlers had free access.

IOTF kidnaps jurist in charge of file of female prisoners in Israeli jails

[ 31/03/2009 - 05:00 PM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)--

Al-Ahrar center for prisoners' studies strongly denounced the Israeli occupation terrorist forces (IOTF) for arresting Raja'a Al-Ghoul, who works for the center as a jurist in charge of the file of female prisoners, holding Israel fully responsible for her life especially since she is in difficult health conditions as a result of her heart disease.

Palestinian eyewitness from Jenin reported that IOF troops and intelligence officers broke into and ransacked the house of Ghoul before rounding her up, adding that they deliberately sabotaged the furniture at the pretext of looking for banned stuff.

Al-Ahrar center affirmed that the arrest of jurists and human rights workers is a dangerous precedent and a flagrant violation of human rights and international conventions.

Ghoul suffers from shortness of heart arteries and already spent four years in Israeli jails.

In another context, Faris Abu Hasan, the lawyer of the international Tadamun (solidarity) society for human rights, said that the IOTF decided Tuesday to extend the administrative detention of Dr. Majda Fidda, a member of Nablus municipality, for an additional period of six months.

The IOTF had arrested Fidda in August 2008 and remained in custody pending the investigation for a period of five months before being administratively detained in January 2009 for three months and today the period was extended for six months.