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TERRORISME ISRAELIEN

TODAY in PALESTINE

Samedi, 05 septembre 2015

samedi 5 septembre 2015

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Violence / Raids / Attacks / Suppression of protests / Detentions — West Bank, Jerusalem

Palestinian youth shot in the leg during Qalandiya Camp raid

RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 4 Sept — A Palestinian youth was injured and four others detained during a raid by Israeli forces in the Qalandiya refugee camp early Friday, locals and medics said. Israeli forces raided the refugee camp after claiming that shots were fired at a military watchtower in the checkpoint from the al-Ram neighborhood. Medics said that Israeli military vehicles entered the camp and soldiers searched several homes, including those belonging to former prisoners.Clashes broke out during the raid as soldiers took over rooftops and deployed snipers. Israeli forces fired live fire, tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber-coated steel bullets at youths, who threw back rocks, empty bottles, and Molotov cocktails. An unidentified youth was shot in the leg with live rounds, while Muhammad Ibzei, 21, Ali Khalid Hamad, 19, Ammar Mteir, 27, and Mustafa Fayyaleh, 20, were detained.

http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767428

The occupation injures the child Ahmad Jamjoom with bruises

SILWAN, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 4 Sept — Several Special Forces personnel assaulted on Wednesday the 13-year old Ahmad Anwar Jamjoom after he left his school located inside Al-Aqsa Mosque. Amjad Abu Asab, head of Jerusalemites detainees and prisoners families committee, explained that the forces assaulted Jamjoom upon arrival to Al-Majles Gate and kicked him for no reason. They injured him with several bruises in different parts of his body especially his left arm. Abu Asab pointed out that Ahmad is the son of Anwar Jamjoom who is sentenced for 17 months on charges of confronting the settlers’ break-ins to Al-Aqsa Mosque ; he is a resident of the village of Esawyeh.
http://silwanic.net/?p=61877

In Pictures : Targeting a ’special needs’ vehicle with grenades and rubber bullets
SILWAN, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 4 Sept — The occupation forces targeted on Wednesday late night a “special needs” vehicle with grenades and rubber[-coated steel] bullets while passing through the main street in Al-Tur. Mahmoud Abu Jom’a explained to Wadi Hilweh Information Center that the occupation forces targeted the family’s car while passing through the main street in Al-Tur and fired sound and tear-gas grenades and rubber[coated steel] bullets towards the car. Abu Jom’a added that the car has the special needs sticker on it and was transporting his paralyzed brother Qusai (26) and his brother Wisam. One of the rubber bullets went through the rear window and miraculously no one was injured. Abu Jom’a confirmed that there were no clashes in Al-Tur Main Street but the Israeli authorities were provoking the locals by firing grenades and rubber bullets for no reason. Abu Jom’a added that his brother Qusai was extremely afraid and suffered a hypertension after the windows were broken ; he was transferred to Hadassah hospital for treatment.
http://silwanic.net/?p=61875

Woman injured, eight shepherds kidnapped near Nablus
IMEMC/Agencies 2 Sept — Israeli soldiers attacked and injured, Wednesday, an elderly Palestinian woman, and kidnapped eight shepherds and farmers, in Salem village, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Medical sources in Nablus said an elderly woman, identified as Mahfoutha Eshteyya, 75 years of age, attempted to defend her son as Israeli soldiers were trying to kidnap him, when they violently assaulted her. The woman suffered various cuts and bruises, and was moved to a local hospital in Nablus.
The soldiers also attacked and kidnapped eight Palestinian shepherds in the area, and took them to a number of detention and interrogation centers.
http://www.imemc.org/article/72865

Israeli soldier arrested for ’breaking nose’ of Palestinian prisoner
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 3 Sept — Israeli military police on Wednesday night arrested an Israeli soldier accused of assaulting and breaking the nose of a Palestinian prisoner who was handcuffed and blindfolded at the time, Israeli media reported. According to the Hebrew-language Israeli news site Walla, an Israeli soldier from the Shimshon Battalion of the Kfir Brigade was arrested for allegedly attacking and breaking the nose of a Palestinian prisoner who was handcuffed and blindfolded. The prisoner was taken to Hadassah Hospital for treatment. Israeli news site Haaretz reported that the Palestinian victim was one of 18 people detained overnight Tuesday and is from the el-‘Arrub refugee camp in the northern Hebron district. Walla news site added that the leader of the Kfir brigade said the soldier in question would be suspended until a military police investigation was completed. Meanwhile, the leader of the Shimshon Battalion visited Hadassah Hospital to check up on the health condition of the Palestinian prisoner. After he received treatment, the Palestinian prisoner was transferred to an Israel intelligence site for questioning. Haaretz quoted the Israeli army as saying : "The incident is serious and not in keeping with the IDF’s values. A military police investigation has been opened and its results will be forwarded to the military prosecutor." [Haaretz reported that the prisoner was beaten "throughout the night."]
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767413

Israeli forces beat, detain 2 Palestinian teens
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 3 Sept — Israeli forces allegedly beat and detained two Palestinian teens during separate arrest raids, their lawyer said on Thursday. A lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society visited Mahmoud Muhammad al-Adarbeh and Mahmoud Shaker Youssef, both 18 years old, while being held at the Etzion detention center. Al-Adarbeh, from the al-‘Aroub refugee camp in Hebron, said that Israeli forces beat him across his body using their hands and rifles. The lawyer pointed out that bruises and marks from the beating were still clear on al-Adarbeh’s body when he visited the teen. Al-Adarbeh also told his lawyer that Israeli forces locked his family in their kitchen while they raided his family’s home after midnight on Tuesday. Mahmoud Shaker Youssef, from the Nabi Saleh village, said that Israeli forces beat him with their hands and the butts of their riffles on his head and body when he was being detained him from his village on Aug. 28.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767420

Israeli forces shoot, detain teen in Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 3 Sept — Israeli occupation forces shot and detained a 15-year-old Palestinian boy overnight Wednesday in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem, Palestinian security sources told Ma‘an. The boy, Anan Faris Malash, was shot in his leg [with a live round] after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at Israeli forces near ‘Aida refugee camp in west Bethlehem. Security sources added that over ten Israeli soldiers raided the western entrance of the camp during the early hours of Thursday morning before shooting and detaining the teen. An Israeli army spokesperson did not immediately respond for comment. Since the start of 2015, Israeli forces have injured an average of 37 Palestinians a week, according to documentation by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Frequent clashes occur in ‘Aida camp, which is bordered by an Israeli military site on the other side of the separation wall that lines the camp.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767409

2 Palestinians hit with rubber-coated bullets in Amari refugee camp
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 3 Sept – Two young Palestinian men were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets early Thursday morning during intense clashes with Israeli forces in Amari refugee camp near Ramallah in the central West Bank, locals told Ma‘an. No further information concerning their injuries was reported. Locals said the clashes broke out after Israeli troops stormed the camp and the nearby city of al-Bireh and delivered summons to several young men demanding that they report to Israeli intelligence offices for questioning. Dozens of young Palestinian men hurled stones, empty bottles and fire bombs at the Israeli soldiers who responded with tear gas canisters, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades. On Monday violent clashes during overnight raids were also reported in neighborhoods of al-Bireh.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767404

Nothing to be done about the near-kidnapping of a Palestinian child
+972 Blog 4 Sept by Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz — When Israeli civilians try to kidnap a Palestinian child, the police do their best not to investigate — The date : December 19, 2014. The place : the AM/PM convenience store outside the West Bank village of Hawara. Majed Musa AbdAziz As’ous parks his vehicle across the road from the store, making certain the windows are open, and goes in for a quick purchase. In the front seat on his right sits five-and-a-half year old N. ; two other children sit in the back seat. As the father crosses the road, an Israeli vehicle — As’ous would later remember it being a red Subaru Justy, along with a few numbers from the license plate – with four young, Israeli men swerves into the scene. The Subaru parks near As’ous, with its back window adjacent to the windshield of As’ous’ car. The Israeli in the back seat of the Subaru leans across the window, seizes N., and tries to pull him into the Israeli vehicle. Hearing N.’s terrified screams, As’ous runs back. He manages to see the Israeli vehicle escaping, only to catch a glimpse of the man who almost kidnapped his son . . . In February 2015, two months after the incident, the complaint makes it to the Israeli police, which then pretend to investigate the case. They take As’ous’ testimony, who tells the cops he knows of another witness whom he can locate . . . Rewind, slow motion : the crime – the attempted kidnapping of a child ; the response of investigator A.A. — not to bother to even check whether evidence exists, or whether the cameras cover the road. He just assumes they don’t and closes the case under the ever-popular “unknown perpetrator clause.” (cont.)
http://972mag.com/nothing-to-be-done-about-the-near-kidnapping-of-a-palestinian-child/111375/

Settlers damage power pole in Qalqilia, run over shepherd, kill sheep
QALQILIA (WAFA) 2 Sept – Israeli settlers Wednesday damaged the main power pole that supplies the village of Kufr Qadoum with electricity, causing a power outage that lasted for hours [reported in the previous news compilation] . . . an Israeli settler attempted to run over a Palestinian shepherd while he was grazing his sheep in Masafer Yatta to the south of Hebron. However, the shepherd managed to seek shelter, while only sustaining bruises throughout his body. The shepherd was identified as Issa [Mohammad] Abu ‘Irram. The settler also drove his car toward the sheep, killing at least seven, and causing injuries and fractures to three others. . .
Regarding settlers’ attacks against Palestinians, OCHA, in a weekly report covering the period between August 19 and 24 of 2015, said that five Israeli settler attacks resulting in injury to Palestinians and damages to their property were recorded, including a stone-throwing attack against a 6-year-old child.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=29231

Report : Israeli police open fire at Palestinian car in Jerusalem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 3 Sept — Israeli police on Thursday evening reportedly opened fire at a Palestinian car causing it to overturn and catch fire in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli media reported. Hebrew-language news site nrg.co.il reported that Israeli police chased down the car after it had broken through a checkpoint leading into the al-Eizariya village, opening fire on the vehicle after a short pursuit.Israeli police then detained a passenger and took him to the Ma’ale Adumim detention center for questioning.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767423

Jerusalemite house caught fire due to Israeli tear gas canister
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 3 Sept — Clashes broke out Wednesday evening between Israeli forces and Palestinian youths in al-Issawiya town to the east of Occupied Jerusalem leading to the burning of a Palestinian house. An eyewitness revealed that clashes erupted in Abu Riyaleh district in the town and that Israeli soldiers fired tear gas bombs directly and randomly at Palestinians’ houses. One of the houses caught fire due to a tear gas canister shot by the soldiers. A fire extinguishing vehicle immediately started its work. No casualties have been reported. The fire, however, caused big damage to the house. Israeli police said, in a statement, that the Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli patrol, but no injuries were reported. This is the fourth Palestinian house to catch fire because of Israeli tear gas bombs.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=73381

Palestinians attack US tourists mistaken for settlers
HEBRON (AFP) 3 Sept — Palestinians attacked five US tourists driving in the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday, hurling a petrol bomb and rocks at their car, police said, apparently mistaking them for settlers. The visitors, said by Israel’s Channel 2 television to be students at a Jewish seminary in Brooklyn, were given refuge by a Palestinian man who sheltered them in his home until Israeli security forces arrived to escort them to safety, the police statement said. It added that two of the young men were lightly injured and given first aid on the spot. Channel 2 said the men’s vehicle was torched only after they had abandoned it. The men, wearing the skullcaps of observant Jews, were said to have inadvertently driven into the residential neighbourhood of Jebel Johar while searching for the nearby shrine known to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque and revered by both. Palestinian security sources said they were mistaken for Israeli settlers by the Palestinians. About 700 Israeli settlers live in around 80 homes in the tense city centre and are protected by the Israeli army.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinians-attack-us-tourists-mistaken-settlers-1912115603

Netanyahu hints at easing rules on firing at Palestinian stone-throwers
The Guardian 2 Sept by Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem — Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has ordered his security officials to examine changing the rules governing when soldiers can shoot young Palestinian stone-throwers. A statement issued by his office on Wednesday revealed Netanyahu was considering giving security forces a freer hand to open fire with live ammunition after meeting with his cabinet to discuss a recent increase in the number of incidents involving firebombs and stone-throwing in Jerusalem and on the West Bank. Despite rules of engagement that in theory permit potentially lethal live fire to be used only in life-threatening situations, a number of recent incidents have led to young Palestinians being killed by Israeli soldiers – including a brigade commander – while fleeing and posing no immediate threat. The re-examination of open-fire regulations comes as the Israeli parliament is due to consider sweeping anti-terrorism legislation, which some have criticised for what they say are draconian new provisions. It was unclear from the statement, however, what the new rules might look like or the implications of any new open-fire regulations would be.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/02/netanyahu-hints-easing-rules-firing-palestinian-stone-throwers

Parents of Tamimi boy jailed
IMEMC/Agencies 3 Sept — Israeli forces took into custody, on Tuesday, the parents of Mohammad al-Tamimi, the Palestinian boy who was beaten by a masked Israeli soldier in Al-Nabi Saleh Village on Friday. The pictures of the boy went viral on internet. “The Israeli army arrested Basil and his wife, Nariman, as they tried to cross an Israel military checkpoint at the entrance of Al-Nabi Saleh Village north of Ramallah,” Bassam al-Tamimi, a relative, said. He further stated, according to Days of Palestine : “The Israeli soldiers arrested Basel and his wife and prevented all of the family members from communicating with them.” Palestinian sources confirmed the arrest, noting that the parents were taken by the Israeli soldiers to an unknown place . . . After the incident, a request was reportedly submitted to the Israeli police for the arrest of the Al-Tamimi family, who were accused of “assaulting” the soldier.
http://www.imemc.org/article/72874

Israeli forces detain 2nd PA security officer in 24 hours
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 3 Sept — Israeli forces on Wednesday evening detained a Palestinian Authority security officer and his 10-year-old son at a military checkpoint in Nablus, the second incident of its kind in the past 24 hours. Muamin Qindah, a preventative security officer from a village near Ramallah, was stopped and searched at the Tappuah checkpoint before being taken into custody, his family said. His 10-year-old son, who was with him at the time, was detained for three hours before being released to relatives. On Tuesday evening,Israeli forces detained a 28-year-old preventative security officer after discovering a machine gun, ammunition, and night vision binoculars in his vehicle at the Zatara checkpoint south of Nablus. Palestinian Authority security forces and Israel’s military coordinate security procedures in the occupied West Bank as a result of the Oslo Accords, including arrest raids and intelligence sharing.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767415

Soldiers kidnap seven Palestinians in the West Bank
IMEMC/Agencies 2 Sept — On Wednesday at dawn, Israeli soldiers invaded various Palestinian communities in different parts of the occupied West Bank, and kidnapped at least seven Palestinians. Media sources in Jenin, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank have reported that several military vehicles invaded Kafr Dan village, west of Jenin, and kidnapped Ezzeddin Hafeth Zayyoud, 20 years of age, after storming and searching his home. Soldiers also kidnapped Mohammad Farouq ‘Aabed, 21, from his home in Sielet al-Harethiyya town, west of Jenin. w32In addition, soldiers invaded Beit Ummar town and the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, searched and ransacked several homes, and kidnapped two teenagers, identified as Bashir Azraq Abu Abbash, 18, and Mahmoud Mohammad al-‘Adarba, 17 years of age. The Hebron office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said the soldiers assaulted Ahmad and his sister Dua’ al-‘Adarba, before kidnapping their brother, Mahmoud. Dozens of soldiers also invaded the students’ housing in the Polytechnic University, in Hebron, and searched it causing property damage. The PPS Ramallah office said the soldiers also invaded Silwad town, east of the city, searched and ransacked several homes, and kidnapped three Palestinians identified as Kayed Qaddoura Hammad, Ziad Abdul-Jalil and Mousa Najjar. It said Hammad is the father of detainee Tha’er, who is held by Israel after being sentenced to eleven life terms, and Abdul-Qader who is serving an eleven-year term.
In related news, soldiers closed the southern entrance of the al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, allegedly after locating an “unidentified object.” The army closed the Iron Gate of the roadblock, and prevented the Palestinians from crossing, causing a huge traffic jam.
http://www.imemc.org/article/72862

August monthly report : Temporal division of Al-Aqsa Mosque, arresting 150 Jerusalemites and demolishing five establishments
SILWAN, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 5 Sept — The occupation authorities and Israeli settlers continued their violations in Al-Aqsa Mosque and their assaults on Jerusalemites and their properties in the month of August 2015. Wadi Hilweh Information Center (WHIC) monitored the violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque marked by imposing restrictions on the entry of female Marabouts and other citizens while allowing settlers to break into Al-Aqsa and carry out their tours inside its courtyards in addition to assaulting Al-Aqsa guards and the continuation of the isolation policy. In August, dozens of children and minors were arrested and settlers assaulted many young men and Jerusalemites’ properties. -Al-Aqsa Mosque…starting the “Temporal Division” plan- For the second consecutive month, the occupation authorities escalated its procedures and violations to the right to worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque and started implementing the procedure of “Temporal Division” of the Al-Aqsa between Muslims and settlers. They imposed a siege on Al-Aqsa and closed its gates and prevented women from entering in addition to imposing restrictions on the entrance of men and old people at times when they provided the settlers breaking into Al-Aqsa through Dung Gate with full protection under the umbrella of the so-called “foreign tourism”. (continued)
http://silwanic.net/?p=61894

Israel blacklists 40 Palestinian women from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 3 Sept — Israeli authorities on Thursday distributed a blacklist banning 40 Palestinian women from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque, local sources told Ma‘an. Israeli police and courts compiled the list of women last month, with the women banned from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque for periods between 10 and 60 days .Israeli Jerusalem police commander, Avi Bitton, said on Wednesday that the blacklist is made up of women who "cause trouble and damage" at the site, but that other women not on the list would be allowed entry after presenting identification. Israeli authorities have prevented women from entering the mosque between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. during the past two weeks. Bitton said that the the recent restrictions were imposed “to prevent any tensions in the area, as they violate order, and present a threat to visitors.” However, locals have said Israeli forces have allegedly set aside the four morning hours to allow Jewish worshipers access to the mosque compound through the Moroccan Gate, flouting an Israeli agreement with the Islamic Endowment that runs the compound forbidding non-Muslim worship at the holy site. Local sources said that Israeli police have set up iron barricades and stationed forces at all of the mosque’s gates in order to impose restrictions . . . School students have also experienced restrictions while on their way to and from schools located in the compound.Male students of religious schools have only been allowed entrance to the mosque compound through the Hatta Gate with a teacher as an escort, while female students also need an escort and have been only allowed entry through the Chain Gate.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767412

Prisoners / Court decisions

Charges of beating Arabs dropped for PM security guards
Ynet 2 Sept by Roi Yanovsky — Photo : Abu Najma. Claims that since the incident he’s suffered from hearing problems. (Photo : Eli Mendelbaum) — Seven years after they were beaten by former prime minister Ehud Olmert’s security guards near the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, leading to their hospitalization, Ihab Abu Najma and Ahmad Abu Jamal were shocked to discover that the charges against five of the six suspected batterers have been dropped. Two years ago, the Police Internal Investigations Department planned to file indictments against the six, subject to a hearing. Only one of the security guards was indicted, but a deal was signed as part of the legal proceedings in which he was not convicted, but sentenced to 120 hours of community service and had to pay restitutions to the victims. Two of the guards have since left government employment, and so the case files against them have been expunged. The other three were severely reprimanded and their wages were expropriated.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4697034,00.html

Detainee develops psychological, neurological issues due to 8 years in solitary confinement
IMEMC 2 Sept — The Palestinian Detainees Committee has reported, Wednesday, that political prisoner Mohammad Jubran Khalil, 33, is suffering various psychological and neurological issues, resulting from being held in solitary confinement for the eight consecutive year. The Committee said that Jubran, from the central West Bank city of Ramallah, has also been denied family visits for the ninth consecutive month. Lawyer Karim ‘Ajwa said that Khalil, currently held in solitary at the Asqalan Israeli prison, has been moved into solitary confinement in different Israeli prisons, including Ramon, Eshil and the Negev detention camp. He also stated that Khalil is facing very difficult conditions, placed in dark, cold, dirty and humid cells, without covers, a toilet or even proper ventilation. Khalil, from al-Mazra‘a ash-Sharqiyya village, east of Ramallah, was taken prisoner on March 3, 2006, and was sentenced to one life term.
http://www.imemc.org/article/72864

Court releases Palestinian arrested during IDF raid in Jenin
Haaretz 4 Sept by Amira Hass — House demolished in what Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said was ’a planned operation to capture a terror operative’ — A man arrested by the Israel Defense Forces in the Jenin refugee camp, in the West Bank, this week was released on Thursday after a military judge said there was “nothing” in the file against him. The man, Majdi al-Hija, told Haaretz that the military prosecution had asked the court to extend his detention by eight days, but the judge threw the file out, saying there was “nothing in it.” An IDF force, accompanied by security service men and a police commando unit, raided the refugee camp on Monday night to arrest Abu al-Hija. Army sources said the force had encountered resistance, including stones and fire bombs, and there were reports that gunshots had been heard. Al-Hija was arrested during the operation and his house was demolished. However, members of al-Hija’s family told Haaretz that no shots had been fired from their house or from any house nearby. Nevertheless, the troops surrounded the house, fired six Lau missiles at it and destroyed it with a bulldozer, they said. A police commando was moderately wounded by gunfire and five Palestinians suffered gas inhalation during the course of the all-night operation. An initial army investigation indicated that the police officer had been wounded by an errant shot fired by a member of his own unit. Al-Hija’s wife and five children, whose house was totally destroyed, have been living in al-Hija’s parents’ house in Jenin since the raid. Family members told Haaretz on Thursday that, when the soldiers came to their house, they told the Shin Bet officer with them that there was nobody in it, but he didn’t believe them. They said they asked him to come inside to check for himself but he refused. Then the troops fired missiles at the house and tore it down with a bulldozer.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.674454

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Judaization / Settlements

Israel orders construction of Hebron school to stop
HEBRON (WAFA) 2 Sept – Israeli authorities Wednesday ordered the construction of a school in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, to stop, according to Rateb Jabour, a local activist. Jabour said staff from the Israeli Civil Administration broke into the Sha’b al-Batm locality in Masafer Yatta and ordered the school’s administration to stop the ongoing construction of the school. The school is already composed of caravans, but its administration had earlier this year decided to build a concrete-ceiled building to replace the caravans. This came only two weeks after the new school year started in the West Bank and Gaza. Masafer Yatta is a congregation of about 19 Bedouin localities located about 24 kilometers to the south of Hebron
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=29238

Israeli forces demolish seven houses, agricultural structures in Ramallah village
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 3 Sept – Israeli forces Thursday demolished seven houses and agricultural structures in Taybeh town to the east of Ramallah, displacing 25 Palestinians. Escorting two bulldozers, Israeli forces broke into the village borders and proceeded to demolish four houses and three agricultural structures belonging to al-Ka‘abnah Palestinian Bedouin clan purportedly for being built in C Area, which triggered scuffles. A WAFA correspondent reported on a member of al-Ka‘abnah family as estimating losses at INS 40,000 (about $10,200) and that they were notified about the demolition two weeks ago. Local radios reported on local Mukhtar ‘Ayed Mousa as saying that locals scuffled with Israeli forces in an attempt to stop the demolition from taking place. Israeli forces physically assaulted local youths and fired live ammunition in the air in order to deter and intimidate local youths who attempted to halt the demolition. Mousa affirmed that the Bedouin community was notified by Israeli forces last Monday that they need to evacuate the place ; otherwise, their structures would be demolished.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=29244

Twilight Zone ; Bedouin child starts school, loses home
Haaretz 4 Sept by Gideon Levy & Alex Levac — The swath of West Bank destruction by the Civil Administration continues, with 10 homes of Bedouin families demolished this week. That’s how the school year started for one first-grader — The force swept into the Bedouin camp, did its demolition job and was gone within two hours. Crushed tin siding, scattered on the hillside and in the valley below, sways in the wind, its creaking sounds cutting through the deathly silence. Toddlers skitter about barefoot among the ruins, poking at them in the vain hope of unearthing some lost treasure. Their fathers are trying to come to terms what happened, and tell their tale to a handful of Palestinian reporters and cameramen who have arrived at the disaster zone. A jeep bearing the symbol of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is also here, to enumerate and report. So too is a B’Tselem human-rights organization field researcher, Amer Aruri. Until two years ago, a community of some 500 Bedouin shepherds lived peacefully here, in the al-Hadirath encampment, between the settlement of Adam and the Palestinian village of Jeba, outside Ramallah. Seventeen residents lost their ramshackle dwellings on Monday morning, along with nearly all their property. Among them are some 10 children who just started the school year and now have no home. With their long experience in destruction, the Civil Administration personnel did their usual efficient job. They showed up at around 9 A.M. – four jeeps, one big tractor and one small one, and a van, backed up by armed troops – and were gone by 11. In that time, 15 tin shacks belonging to Bedouin families, including five pens for livestock, were crushed, run over, ripped apart and uprooted. Now their remains are scattered in the wind, heaps of metal and small boards next to what were people’s homes, like monuments to what once existed here. We are at the ground zero of squalor : The huts contained next to nothing – certainly not electricity or water (that goes without saying) – except children with runny noses and tattered clothes. Now they no longer even have a shack to call home. The items the Bedouin were allowed to remove amount to barely nothing : a few piles of woolen blankets, a baby’s crib that stands upside down, and little else . . . Two children in school uniforms return home on a donkey and can’t believe their eyes : This morning, when they left for school, they still had a house.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/twilight-zone/1.674384

Israel confiscates ’part of Islamic cemetery’ next to Aqsa Mosque
[with photos] JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 2 Sept — Israeli authorities on Wednesday morning confiscated a stretch of land belonging to an Islamic cemetery outside the eastern walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, a Palestinian official told Ma‘an. Mustafa Abu Zahra, who heads a committee maintaining Islamic cemeteries in occupied East Jerusalem, said that Israeli nature authority inspectors and Israeli soldiers stormed Bab al-Rahma cemetery and set up a barbed wire fence around a large area of the cemetery’s land. Bab al-Rahma, meaning Door of Compassion, runs along the eastern wall of Jerusalem’s Old City and has been in use for more than 1,000 years. Abu Zahra said that there are graves lying in the land that was seized. He said that the land belongs to the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Endowment, which also oversees the adjoining Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam. Abu Zahra said that "for years Israel has been confiscating land which belongs to the cemetery to use it for touristic routes." Two weeks ago, Israeli forces set up barbed wire fence around a 7,000 square meter stretch of land next to the Bab al-Rahma cemetery belonging to the al-Husseini and al-Ansari families. Abu Zahra said : "Today, the (Israeli) occupation wants to designate new borders for the Islamic cemetery, but its borders and walls were made hundreds of years ago."He added that the Israeli authorities "claimed they were putting a court decision into effect," but he said that they had given no evidence of a court ruling backing their action.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767385

In Pictures : The occupation authorities confiscate parts of ’Bab al-Rahmeh’ cemetery and the locals of Silwan confront them
SILWAN, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 3 Sept — The occupation authorities confiscated on Wednesday new parts of “Bab Al-Rahmeh” cemetery adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the locals of Silwan confronted them by removing the poles and wires that were placed.
http://silwanic.net/?p=61839

Palestinians clean East Jerusalem cemetery facing confiscation
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 4 Sept — Dozens of Palestinians in Jerusalem gathered to clean the Bab al-Rahma cemetery on Friday, in response to plans announced by Israeli authorities to seize parts of the cemetery for a national park trail, local sources told Ma‘an. Islamic and national leaders in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan and the committee for the preservation of Islamic cemeteries in Jerusalem called for protests after the Israeli Nature Authority announced its plan to confiscate 40 percent of the cemetery’s area. Palestinian youths last Wednesday pulled down a barbed wire fence that Israeli authorities put up around part the cemetery earlier that day. The head of the committee for the preservation of Islamic cemeteries in Jerusalem, Mustafa Abu Zahra, told Ma‘an that the part of the cemetery that was fenced off included grave-sites.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767438

Settler attacks international activists in Hebron
[includes video] HEBRON, Occupied Palestine 1 Sept (ISM al-Khalil Team — Yesterday in al-Khalil (Hebron) in occupied Palestine, a female settler harassed and attacked international activists who were monitoring a checkpoint during school-time. In the morning volunteers were standing close to Qurtuba school, monitoring children on their way to school. This school is particularly prone to attacks by settlers, as the stairs leading to the school are located directly at the entrance to Shuhada Street, which has been entirely closed for Palestinian and occupied by settlers since 1994. Anat Cohen, infamous for several attacks on Palestinians, came driving down the street and suddenly almost backed up into the international activists, who had to jump out of the way in order to avoid being run over. She then got out of the car yelling at the volunteers to leave, insulting them verbally and threatening to beat them. The soldier stationed at the checkpoint right opposite did not intervene, even when repeatedly being asked for help by the activists. When the police arrived they ‘explained’ Anat Cohen’s behaviour by stating that it was the first day of school after the holidays for children from the illegal settlements in al-Khalil. They then ordered the internationals to do as Anat Cohen requested and not stand on the street. This is just another striking example of the power individual settlers exercise over the police. [More on Anat Cohen]
http://palsolidarity.org/2015/09/settler-attacking-international-activists-in-hebron/

Israeli government erases $76m in debts owed by settlements
Haaretz 2 Sept by Chaim Levinson — State writes off the majority of debts owed by dozens of Jewish settlements, but released figures this week only after Haaretz filed suit to obtain the information — The Israeli government has erased 65 percent of the debts of 36 Jewish communities in the West Bank and Golan Heights that are owed to the World Zionist Organization’s settlement division, forgoing 300 million shekels ($76.5 million) of the 360 million shekels these communities owe. Dozens of other settlements still owe money on loans granted as far back as 1978. The debts stem from loans provided by the WZO with government funds granted to settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights, used for agriculture and development of the communities. The settlement division has done almost nothing to collect these debts, with only about 15 percent of the total paid back over the years.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.674139

Armed robbery : The Israeli army’s policy in the West Bank
Haaretz 2 Sept by Amira Hass — The much publicized video of an Israeli soldier choking a 12-year-old boy show just one way in which the army terrorizes residents of Palestinian villages in order to steal their land. The soldier who choked 12-year-old Mohammad Tamimi last week belongs to the organization that carries out and ensures the continued armed robbery of land in Nabi Saleh, employing various methods to terrorize the residents. He is not the first and not the last ; the armed robbery is not conducted solely on the lands of this village, and the spring at Nabi Saleh is not the only one in the West Bank taken over by Jewish settlers. The praise the soldier received from his father and the media over the “restraint” he showed mostly teaches us something about what has happened to Israeli society. In the eyes of Israeli society, the courageous behavior of a civilian confronting an armed soldier is mutiny. To Israeli society a uniform and military ID card are retroactive justification for firing, injuring and killing civilians, including children. The noteworthy exception (both positively and negatively) is he who “shows restraint.” For the sake of the soldier and his parents we must hope that it was a conscious decision to refrain from seeking the trigger of his rifle, and not the numerous cameras around him that led to his restraint.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.674150

Gaza

Israeli forces shoot, injure child of fisherman in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 3 Sept - Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian child near the shores of the Beit Lahiya village in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. Medics told Ma‘an that Bilal Abu Amro, 11, was shot in the thigh while he was with his father, a fisherman. He was taken to Kamal Adwan hospital for treatment.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767427

Palestinian Rafah : 2 children injured by random Egyptian gunfire
IMEMC/Agencies 4 Sept — Two Palestinian children from Rafah, in southern Gaza, were injured Monday night by random gunfire on civilian houses by the Egyptian army. Media sources said, according to the PNN, that Adam Abu-Susein (13) suffered moderate injuries, and Mohammad Abu Susein (14) sustained critical injuries. The two children were moved to the Abu-Yousuf Al-Najjar hospital, in Rafah city.
http://www.imemc.org/article/72886

Israeli forces target site in northern Gaza
GAZA (WAFA) 3 Sept – Israeli forces early Thursday launched an airstrike on a site in the northern Gaza Strip, said witnesses. According to WAFA correspondent, an Israeli F-16 fighter jet fired at least two missiles at the targeted site to the north of Beit Lahia, causing damage and spreading panic among children living in nearby houses. No casualties were reported in the cross-border attack. Local media reported that the targeted site was a military site for al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, and that it was known as Falasteen. Israeli media reported that the airstrike was in response to an alleged gunfire shot out on Wednesday night of the Gaza Strip which hit a house in Kibbutz Nativ Ha’Asara border town, causing damage but no injuries. [Haaretz : The army’s initial assessment was that the gunfire was accidental.] Israeli forces reportedly confirmed that the airstrike was carried out in response to the alleged shooting and that the two bullets were “stray sniper bullets.” No group has claimed responsibility for the alleged gunfire, but Israeli forces viewed Hamas “as the only party responsible for what goes on in the Gaza Strip, and for maintaining the quiet in the region.” This came as Israeli forces and six Israeli armored tanks penetrated the borderline with the Gaza Strip. The tanks penetrated the border to the east of Deir al-Balah and proceeded to raze farmlands while randomly firing gunfire.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=29243

Witnesses : Israeli forces detain 9 after crossing the Gaza border
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 2 Sept — Israeli forces on Wednesday afternoon detained nine Palestinians inside of Israel after the group attempted to cross the border east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses said a young man, two women, and six children were detained after sneaking into Israel from al-Faraheen village. Palestinian security forces were present at the scene after the incident, witnesses added. Earlier in the day Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian man near the Gazan border after he crossed into Israel via the sea, according to an Israeli spokesperson. In June a local poll reported that over half of Gazans would choose to leave the besieged strip if they had the choice, the highest number ever recorded.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767400

Gaza gets a connection : Grooms attend weddings via Skype
MEMO 2 Sept — In one of the wedding halls in the Gaza Strip, bride Salwa Reziq is sitting alone on stage her groom is nowhere to be seen, he works in Qatar and, because of the ongoing blockade on the Strip, is unable to attend his wedding. Everything in the wedding hall seems ideal except Salwa, 24, who is sitting without her groom, Khalid Reziq, 29, who is watching the wedding via Skype. Salwa has been engaged to her cousin Khalid for one year, awaiting his return to Gaza, however, she lost hope and decided to organise the wedding alone and then travel to Khalid when the crossings are open. “I feel sad for marrying my daughter off to her cousin without his attendance,” mother of the bride Sameera, 49, said. “We waited for him to come back for a long time, but in the end, we decided to take this decision.” Such wedding celebrations have become common in Gaza due to the almost continuous closure of the Rafah Crossing, which is the main terminal for the more than 1.8 million Gazans to the outside world.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/20790-gaza-gets-a-connection-grooms-attend-weddings-via-skype

Shopping in Gaza’s flea market
GAZA CITY (Al-Monitor) 3 Sept by Moath al-Amoudi — Before sunrise, at 5:30 a.m., hundreds of men and women gather at the popular markets in the Gaza Strip to rummage through piles of secondhand clothes in search of inexpensive items in light of the difficult economic times, or in search of international fashion brands that are no longer offered in Gaza’s traditional markets. . . . Merchant Akram Basal told Al-Monitor, “We arrive at 5:30 a.m. to find people already waiting for us. The secret [for customers] is to beat the competition and arrive early to get the best merchandise. We sell around 1.5 tons of used goods in a single day.” Concerning the price of such goods, Basal said, “In these popular markets, no item costs more than 2 shekels [$0.50]. The economic situation is difficult indeed, and people come here in large numbers in winter or summer to buy goods of all types and sizes.” Parents bring their children along to these markets to find them clothing at affordable prices . . . Rummaging through secondhand goods is not just for Gaza’s poor, as those who are well-off also frequent the market stalls selling used goods.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/originals/2015/09/palestine-gaza-flea-market-brands-low-prices-sales-israel.html

Palestinian refugees - Syria, Lebanon, Sweden

Double displacement : Palestinians flee violence in Syria, then Lebanon
Ein al-Hilweh, Lebanon (EI) 3 Sept by Patrick Strickland — Riad Najem and his family have endured a double displacement in recent years. Having fled Yarmouk, a besieged camp for Palestinian refugees in Syria, during 2013, they took shelter in Lebanon’s Ein al-Hilweh camp. Last week, they were uprooted because of fighting between armed groups within that camp. In the Musalli Mosque — just outside the camp — Najem, his wife and his four daughters have been sleeping on the floor alongside hundreds of others who fled the violence. “We had nowhere else to go,” he said. “A lot of people came to the mosques for shelter but others had to sleep in the streets.” Situated near the city of Sidon, Ein al-Hilweh is home to approximately 80,000 Palestinian refugees, including an estimated 10,000 who fled the ongoing civil war in Syria, according to camp officials. The Sidon municipality — which provided shelter for more than 200 of Ein al-Hilweh’s residents over the last week — estimates that 90 percent of those who are still displaced from the camp were Palestinian refugees who had come from Syria . . . “I don’t want to go back to my home here,” Abu Muhammad Issa, a 57-year-old father of three who also fled to Ein al-Hilweh from Syria in 2013, said. “I already lost my son when Yarmouk was bombed. I don’t want to lose any more children.” “I want to send a message to the international community and the world : Palestinians have suffered enough,” he added. “Find a solution for us. We’ve been through more than six decades of suffering and displacement.” Issa was referring to how 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes during the Nakba, the 1948 ethnic cleansing carried out by Zionist forces. Many of these refugees went to Lebanon and Syria.
https://electronicintifada.net/content/double-displacement-palestinians-flee-violence-syria-then-lebanon/14821

Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon becomes battlefield for Fatah-Islamist conflict
Al-Monitor 4 Sept by Adnan Abu Amer — Recent armed clashes in Ain al-Hilweh could signal that tensions are reaching a boiling point that the Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon is ill-equipped to handle. Two people were killed and 15 wounded Aug. 22-29 in fighting between Islamist militants and members of Fatah. Ain al-Hilweh’s two square kilometers (0.77 square miles) is home to some 100,000 people. Weapons are widespread, and some of the country’s most-wanted people, Palestinian and Lebanese alike, reside there, enjoying the protection of certain armed groups. Over the past few years, matters have been additionally complicated by the Syrian refugees flowing into the camp. The recent fighting was not triggered on the spur of the moment. On July 25, gunmen assassinated Fatah Brig. Gen. Talal Balawna in the southern part of the camp. No one claimed responsibility, prompting a state of alert among the Palestinian groups in the camp. The situation has been unstable ever since. (cont.)
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/09/lebanon-ain-hilweh-camp-palestinian-refugees-tension-clashes.html

Palestinians in Sweden go hungry for their rights
MEMO 4 Sept by Adriano Mérola Marotta — Stateless Palestinians like Aaed Al-Shalabi have been stuck in a legal limbo in Sweden for 17 months without signs of a resolution. He fled his home in Baghdad, Iraq, together with his wife in 2011, leaving behind his life and job as a mechanical engineer. Like the other 120 Palestinian refugees from Iraq and Gaza currently in a makeshift protest camp outside the immigration authorities in southern Sweden, he has grown tired of his isolated and stagnant situation . . . Born out of Aaed’s desperation, the one-man tent protest quickly gained traction on social media and became a focal point for Palestinian refugees in Sweden. Like him, people have travelled hundreds of kilometres to join the protest with a whole host of complaints. At first he was joined by his fellow refugees from Iraq, however the camp quickly grew into an all-Palestinian protest camp after the arrival of over 60 Gazan asylum seekers. They are all frustrated at the lack of progress and information which has characterised their asylum requests. For many, they await imminent deportation to either Iraq or Gaza via Egypt.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/europe/20856-palestinians-in-sweden-go-hungry-for-their-rights

Other news

Palestinian factions urge boycott of upcoming PNC meeting
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 3 Sept — Palestinian political factions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday called for a boycott of the upcoming Palestine National Council (PNC) meeting, the first in nearly 20 years, saying the session will damage national unity. A group of political factions — including Islamic Jihad, Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees, the al-Mujahideen Movement, the Ahrar Movement, the al-Saiqa Movement, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command — met Thursday to declare their opposition to the PNC meeting, expected to convene on Sept. 14-15. The parties condemned the dominance of what they termed the "Oslo team" in the PLO’s current structure, labeling President Abbas’ decision to go ahead with the meeting as an “irresponsible move.” The collection of factions said the session enables a circumvention of the law in order to gain control of the PLO’s Executive Committee, adding that the results from the session will only represent those that participated and not the Palestinian people. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) meanwhile said that a preparatory committee representing all factions, including Islamist parties, should be formed to agree on an agenda for the PNC meeting and put into effect the national unity agreement signed last year. The PNC, responsible for deciding on PLO policies, is convening to a elect new Executive Committee, the PLO’s primary executive body, for the first time in nearly 20 years.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767416

Islamic Jihad leader in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 2 Sept — Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah arrived in Cairo late Tuesday to meet with Egyptian officials, a source from the group said. Shallah, who was accompanied by his deputy, Ziad Nakhala, visited Egypt to discuss the ceasefire agreement reached between Palestinians and Israel after Israel’s military offensive last summer, as well as the opening of the Rafah crossing. The Islamic Jihad officials were also due to discuss the kidnapping of four Hamas members in Sinai on Aug. 19, the source said. Egyptian officials told Ma‘an that the four members were taken hostage by the IS-affiliated Sinai Province militant group as a bargaining chip to force Hamas to release some 50 Salafists currently imprisoned in Gaza. Negotiations have reportedly begun between Hamas and the militant group, with the involvement of both Palestinian and Egyptian mediators.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767387

New Palestinian city welcomes first ’Rawabians’
The Media Line 1 Sept by Felice Friedson — After years of delays and disputes with Israel over water provisions, the first Palestinian planned city opens its gates to the West Bank’s middle class — Hanadi Abu Zahra turns on the tap in her kitchen and is elated to see the water flowing - something most new residents would take for granted even if they had not just moved into a brand new state-of-the-art apartment in a luxury building located in a development that has been the recipient of massive world-wide attention. But whether or not water would be there when the tap was turned on became symbolic of the challenges that had to be overcome in order for Rawabi, the first Palestinian planned city, to transform from one man’s vision to the fulfillment of 40,000 aspirations . . . The “different reasons” Masri says are causing some components to lag behind are in most cases manifestations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - the endless struggle to obtain Israel’s permission to build a road sufficient to support the volume of traffic associated with a city of 6,000 housing units ; and the allocation of a water supply appropriate to a city of that size - threatened to scuttle the entire project.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4696635,00.html

Palestinian archives remain scattered
RAMALLAH (Al-Monitor) 2 Sept by Aziza Nofal — The Palestinian Authority is unable to retrieve Palestinian archives from around the world and store them safely and accessibly, though items such as Jerusalem real estate records currently housed in Turkey would have helped the PA in its legal battle against Israeli settlers — . . . However, on Aug. 11, the director of the Palestinian National Archive, Mohammed Buhais, announced a plan to retrieve Palestinian archives from Arab and world countries, noting that the demand for such archives to be returned emerged in 1996 but has not yet been satisfied. Since there are many Palestinian refugees around the world, Palestinian archives are scattered in Arab and other countries. Now the Palestinian National Archive, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, seeks to gather these materials under a comprehensive national archive. Buhais told Al-Monitor that there is a Palestinian archive in many countries around the world. He said, “Our demands are set on three levels. The first is from Arab countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Iraq and Libya. The second is from friendly countries such as Turkey, Spain and Canada, and the third are countries that share a colonial history with Palestine such as Britain.” (cont.)
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/09/palestinian-plan-retrieve-archive-diaspora-inside.html

Palestinian media, public turn to Israeli press for news
GAZA CITY 31 Aug by Hazem Balousha — Palestinian media outlets mine Israeli media sources for material to translate and present to their Palestinian readers, often using it to bolster their position and stick it to their political opponents — Almost every Palestinian media outlet — print, radio, television and online — dedicates space to translations from Israeli media sources. Some have regular columns or programs featuring topics discussed in the Israeli press, mostly related to Palestinian affairs. Translated opinion pieces by Israeli writers are also offered as well as domestic Israeli news. When it comes to security incidents between Gaza and Israel, as well as the West Bank and Israel, Gazans follow Israeli media stories like breaking news. They also track news and statements issued by Israeli security officials and Israeli press reports about Palestinian officials. (cont.)
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/palestinian-translate-israel-news-media.html

France drops investigation into Arafat’s death
PARIS (Reuters) 2 Sept — French investigating magistrates have decided to drop an inquiry into the death in France of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whose widow alleged he was poisoned, the prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday. A lawyer for his widow Suha Arafat, who has argued that his death in 2004 was a political assassination, told Reuters that they would challenge the decision in an appeals court. Arafat, who signed the 1993 Oslo interim peace accord with Israel but led an uprising after subsequent talks broke down in 2000, died aged 75 in a French hospital four weeks after falling ill. The official cause of death was a massive stroke, but French doctors were unable at the time to determine the origin of the illness and no autopsy was carried out. An investigation was opened in August 2012 at the request of Suha Arafat, and his remains were exhumed for tests that were examined separately by French, Russian and Swiss experts. The Swiss reported their results were consistent with but not proof of poisoning by reactive polonium. The French concluded he did not die of poisoning and Russian experts were reported to have found no traces of polonium in his body.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/02/us-palestinians-arafat-france-idUSKCN0R21XD20150902

International media attention in the arrest of Vittorio Fera
HEBRON, Occupied Palestine 1 Sept by ISN, Al-Khalil Team — Friday the 28th of August Vittorio Fera was violently arrested by Israeli forces. He was beaten up during the arrest and treated badly in prison. His case was in court Monday 31st of August and is now postponed till the 8th of September. The story has been covered in the media, and we are proud of the international media for bringing the case to the surface and showing the world how people are treated in occupied Palestine. Especially Italian media have taken this particular case very seriously, and even the city council of Napoli has taken a stand in the case . . . Vittorio Fera was released on bail with conditions yesterday evening. Shortly after the release, the Italian TV station RAI news made an interview with Vittorio Fera. Other Italian media has been interviewing other activists who took part in the non-violent demonstration and were present at the court in Jerusalem yesterday morning . . . The story has not just reached Italy, but is also getting attention in the rest of the world.
http://palsolidarity.org/2015/09/international-media-attention-in-the-arrest-of-vittorio-fera/

Palestinian police dismantle unexploded ordnance in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 2 Sept — The Palestinian police’s engineering and explosives unit on Wednesday dismantled an old 52-mm mortar shell that was found in the village of al-Majd in southwestern Hebron. Security sources told Ma‘an that a local farmer found the mortar shell while working on his land and immediately informed the police.The engineering and explosives unit went to the site, where they found the unexploded ordnance to be "very dangerous and old," the sources said. The unit then secured the area before dismantling the shell. Security sources called on all Palestinians to inform the police of any suspicious objects found. It was not clear when the shell dated from, although successive wars have left the occupied Palestinian territory littered with unexploded ordnance. Last year, three Palestinians were killed by unexploded ordnance left by Israeli forces in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767388

MADA : 50 media freedoms violations in Palestine in August
RAMALLAH (PIC) 4 Sept — The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) said in its monthly report issued Friday that Palestine witnessed a big increase in violations against media freedoms during August. The report monitored 50 violations against media freedoms during August 2015. The number shows a big increase in violations compared to July ; where 17 violations were committed. An increase of 194 percent was reported over August compared to July, the report said. MADA condemned all types of violations against press freedom, holding the Israeli and Palestinian authorities responsible for these assaults. 37 violations against media freedoms were committed by Israeli forces during August, while 13 violations were committed by Palestinian authorities in West Bank and Gaza Strip. The reported violations against journalists include arrests, attacks, and travel ban, according to the report. MADA pointed out that 28 journalists were prevented by Israeli soldiers from traveling from Gaza to attend a media conference in the West Bank.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=73415

Druze reservists want to give back Protective Edge commendations
Ynet 2 Sept by Lior El-Hai, Yuval Karni — Soldiers are protesting the government’s treatment of their home towns by seeking to return their honors, received after their service in last year’s war in Gaza — Several Druze combat soldiers have decided to protest what they say is the State of Israel’s poor treatment of their community by giving back their Operation Protective Edge participation commendation. One of the protesters is Captain (res.) Youssef Hassoun from Daliyat al-Karmel. "When I came back from the operation (Protective Edge) after 38 days, I found out that our water at home was cut off. They disconnected us, claiming we were illegally connected to the water network. We proved that we weren’t illegally connected, and only then did they reconnect us. I’m a law-abiding citizen, not a pirate," he said, "This situation saddens me. Why are they hurting us, all these years ? We always feel like we have a big rights deficit. Many Druze homes don’t have electricity." Il Asa’ad, 40, from the village of Kisra, who fought in Gaza as well after being called in for reserve duty, said, "For decades we’ve been stepping up and fighting alongside Jews with great sacrifice, shoulder to shoulder and sword by sword. But at home we don’t have infrastructure, we don’t have electricity. It’s a big problem."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4696933,00.html

Snapshot : Will they shoot girls, too ? / Tal Niv
Haaretz 3 Sept — Should Ahed Tamimi, 14, be fighting soldiers ? Maybe not. The important opinion on the subject is that of her parents. Should a child walk across the desert from Eritrea to a better place ? Should a Syrian child have to pass through a wretched camp in Calais in his attempt to reach Britain ? It’s a flight from disaster. But children live in their parents’ world. Here, the soldiers came to her home – not she to theirs. Whether she should or shouldn’t, not every girl her age sees soldiers armed to the teeth, patrolling around her village every day in order to guard land that was given to settlers. Ahed Tamimi also sees her family resisting. Not just submissive ; not just bending. She herself also gets battered, here on the rock, as her family rescues her brother from the soldier. Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev thinks every IDF soldier can execute without trial any person – adult or child, armed or unarmed. Contrary to all the rules of engagement. To every criterion. Regev doesn’t care about children, certainly not Ahed Tamimi, who is an extraordinary girl – and not only because she takes part with her mother Nariman, father Bassem and her brother and the rest of the family in the weekly demonstrations they initiated in Nabi Saleh against the expropriation of land for the adjacent Halamish settlement and the occupation. Not only because she is a girl who acts from a different viewpoint. But because she is a girl who speaks out. Minister Regev wants it to be possible to shoot Ahed Tamimi – seen here with the hand of the soldier lying on her neck in a disabling technique, before she bit him. The biting was filmed, too. But Regev wants it to be possible to shoot her immediately, because she’s “touching” the soldier. (cont.)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/.premium-1.674359

The face of a boy / Uri Avnery
Gush Shalom 5 Sept — Soldiers shoot with guns. The Palestinians shoot pictures. It is not yet clear which are more effective in the long run : the bullets or the photos. A TEST case is a short clip taken recently in a remote West Bank village called al-Nabi Saleh. Every Israeli has seen this footage many times by now. It has been shown again and again by all Israeli TV stations. Many millions around the world have seen it on their local TV. It is making the rounds in the social media. The clip shows an incident that occurred near the village on Friday, two weeks ago. Nothing very special. Nothing terrible. Just a routine event. But the pictures are unforgettable. The village al-Nabi Saleh is located not far from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. It is named in honor of a prophet (Nabi means prophet in both Arabic and Hebrew) who lived before the time of Muhammad and is said to be buried there. His extensive tomb is the pride of the 550 inhabitants.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1441374389