Israeli police order two Palestinian families to leave their homes in East Jerusalem

Tuesday April 14, 2009 17:10 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

The Israeli police today ordered two Palestinian families to leave their homes located in Shikh Jarah neighborhood near Jerusalem's old city.

The two homes are owned by the Al Ghawi and Hannon families. Shikh Jarah is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood. There are 28 Palestinian homes there housing over 500 Palestinians. The Palestinians living there are originally refugees of the 1948 war, the year the state of Israel was created.

During the 1950s the Jordanian government gave the Palestinian refugees rights over this land. Israeli settlers claim Shikh Jarah land used to be owned by Jews prior to the creation of Israel. In the late 70s setters went to Israeli court which ruled in their favour. Palestinian families living there managed to get documents from the Ottoman Archives proving that the land was originally owned by Palestinians, but the Israeli courts refused to recognize the Ottoman documents. Ziyad Hammoury, the dirctor of the Jerusalem center for social and economical rights, told IMEMC that the settlers want to take over all the homes in Shikh Jarah.

"The police orders are political, those families have payed taxes to the Israeli government as all the Palestinians in Jerusalem, the settlers papers claiming ownership of the land is false." Hammoury said. He added that" the police will take over the lands and then give it to the settlers, it just part of the Israeli attempts of taking over East Jerusalem." Both the Al Ghawi and Hannon families went to court last week to appeal the Israeli governments decision, however they were unsuccessful.

23 civilians kidnapped by army in West Bank

Tuesday April 14, 2009 15:07 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies

A total of 23 Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by the Israeli military following invasions which targeted a number of West Bank communities on Tuesday morning.

Palestinian civilians being taken away by Israeli troops near Hebron- photo by WAFA 2009

Local sources said that the kidnappings took place in the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus and the southern city of Hebron.

Ten civilians were arrested and homes were searched when Israeli troops stormed the villages of Beit Umer, Saffa and nearby Hebron.

Witnesses said that troops rounded up all men between the ages of 15 to 45; ten of them were then taken an unnamed detention camp.

Eleven civilians were kidnapped by the Israeli military when troops invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus and nearby villages. Local sources said soldiers ransacked a number of homes before taking eleven civilians away.

Meanwhile two civilians were kidnapped by the army at a military checkpoint near Jenin city. Witnesses told media agencies that the two were detained by the soldiers and transferred to a detention facility.

Troops kidnap eight Palestinian youths near Nablus

Tuesday April 14, 2009 09:28 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Eight Palestinian youths were kidnapped and taken to an unknown location following a dawn raid by Israeli soldiers on  Madama village, South of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Hasan Ziyada, a member of the Madama village council, described more than ten military jeeps invading the village in the early hours of the morning. The soldiers broke into several homes,  kidnapping ten youths as reported by the Maan News Agency.

The eight youths were identified as Mohammad Ghassan Ziyada, 21, Ahmad Abdul Ghani Ziyada, 18, Qassem Nassar, 22, Thaher Yousuf Al-Qitt, 18, Mojahid  Yousef Al Qitt, 16, Waheed Ziyada, 17, and Asa'ad Waheed Al-Qitt, 17.
On Monday evening, Israeli soldiers closed the northern entrance of Madama for several hours and prevented residents from entering or leaving the village. 

IOF troops kidnap ex-detainee who spent 15 years in Israeli jails

[ 14/04/2009 - 02:03 PM ]

AL-KHALIL, (PIC)--

Israeli occupation forces kidnapped on Monday ex-detainee Ra'ed Shahin, 38, after raiding and ransacking his home in Dora city, south of Al-Khalil, at the pretext of being affiliated with Hamas.

His family said that Shahin was released two years ago after he spent 15 years in Israeli jails.

In Nablus district, Palestinian local sources reported that the IOF troops kidnapped at dawn Tuesday a Palestinian citizen from Qusin village in the district alleging that they found in his possession a pistol and a rifle.

Other eyewitnesses said that IOF troops boarding 10 Israeli military vehicles stormed Madma village, south of Nablus, at an early hour today, closed the northern entrance to the village for several hours and kidnapped eight young men, six of them high school students, during raids on a number of homes.   A Palestinian youth was also detained at the Atara roadblock near Bir Zeit after IOF soldiers suspected him then found in his possession a knife, according to the Hebrew media.

Disguised IOF soldiers kidnap two Palestinians

[ 14/04/2009 - 07:58 AM ]

AL-KHALIL, (PIC)--

Israeli occupation forces disguised in plain clothes on Monday evening kidnapped two Palestinian citizens at the entrance of Beit Ummar village, Al-Khalil district, locals reported.

They said that the IOF soldiers claimed to be ordinary Arabs wishing to buy a car before kidnapping the two citizens, who were taken in a private car then in an IOF armored vehicle.

Meanwhile, a Hebrew daily claimed that three Palestinians disguised as rabbis tried to kidnap an Israeli man on Monday evening in occupied Jerusalem.

Yediot Ahronot quoted the man as saying that he was waiting at a road juncture when a car stopped beside him and offered him a lift, but he heard one of them speaking in Arabic asking the others to hurry up before the army arrives, which made him flee the scene.