Hamas releases 159 prisoners to mark Ramadan

 

Published today 15:35

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip released 159 prisoners on Saturday as a gesture to mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, a Ma'an correspondent said.

The release was proposed by Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniyeh and will see 159 prisoners released, 19 granted home leave and a further 72 fast tracked through the court system.

The gesture reflects the humanitarian role of the ministry of the interior, Haniyeh said.

A representative from the ministry of justice told Ma'an that the prisoners would have to enroll in rehabilitation programs and take an oath not to commit more crimes.

In 2011, the Hamas-run ministry of interior in the Gaza Strip released 87 detainees for the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan.

 Maan News Agency

Israel urged to treat Palestinian child detainees in accordance with rights law – UN

 Global Trends

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special Rapporteur Richard Falk. UN Photo/Jess Hoffman

UN 20 July 2012 – A United Nations independent human rights expert today condemned Israel’s use of solitary confinement against Palestinian children, and urged the Israeli Government to treat such detainees in accordance with international human rights laws.

“Israel’s use of solitary confinement against children flagrantly violates international human rights standards,” the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, said in a news release.

“However, using solitary confinement as a punishment for Palestinian children who wish to peacefully protest their situation, including by commencing a hunger strike against conditions of detention, is an appalling abuse of child prisoners,” he added. “I again condemn Israel’s harsh arrest operations and procedures.”

Mr. Falk’s comments came in the wake of earlier concerns on the issue, raised today by the UN Special Committee on Israeli practices in the Occupied Territories, at the end of a fact-finding mission to Jordan, Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

“According to testimony received, Israel uses solitary confinement against 12 per cent of Palestinian child detainees,” the Special Committee’s Chairperson, Ambassador Palitha T.B. Kohona of Sri Lanka, said in a news release. “This is especially troubling when one considers that Israel arrests about 500 to 700 Palestinian children every year.”

The Special Committee also warned that a pattern of detaining and mistreating children “links to broader, longstanding concerns regarding Israel detention of Palestinians generally.”

“Witnesses informed the Committee that mistreatment of Palestinian children starts from the moment of detention,” Mr. Kohona said. “Large numbers are routinely detained. Children’s homes are surrounded by Israeli soldiers late at night, sound grenades are fired into the houses, doors are broken down, live shots are often fired; no warrant is presented. Children are tightly bound, blindfolded and forced into the backs of military vehicles.”

The Special Committee head said that parents are not allowed to accompany the detainees, and that family members are insulted, intimidated and at times physically assaulted. According to witnesses, the detention and transfer of children can last for hours, and can often include stops in Israeli settlements, Israeli checkpoints and police or military bases.

“This pattern of abuse by Israel is grave,” said Special Rapporteur Falk. “It is inhumane, cruel, degrading, and unlawful, and, most worryingly, it is likely to adversely affect the mental and physical health of underage detainees.”

The Special Rapporteur appealed to the Government of Israel to take urgent steps to bring their treatment of Palestinian children detainees into line with international human rights laws, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have.

In its preliminary observations in the wake of its fact-finding mission, the Special Committee drew attention to two further areas of immediate concern in the West bank, including East Jerusalem: the Israeli practice of demolishing Palestinian homes, and violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

The Special Committee also assessed the economic impact of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.

“These Israeli practices lead the Special Committee to one over-arching and deeply troubling conclusion,” Mr. Kohona said. “The mass imprisonment of Palestinians; the routine demolition of homes and the displacement of Palestinians; the widespread violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians; and the blockade and resultant reliance on illegal smuggling to survive; these practices amount to a strategy to either force the Palestinian people off their land or so severely marginalize them as to establish and maintain a system of permanent oppression.”

The Special Committee will present a mission report to the UN General Assembly in November, with its observations and recommendations to improve the human rights situation.

Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not United Nations staff, nor are they paid for their work.

Israel may seize advanced weapons in Syria

Israel may seize advanced weapons in Syria

 

20 July 2012 / REUTERS, JERUSALEM

Israel is preparing for a possible military intervention in Syria in case the Syrian government hands missiles or chemical weapons to the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah, Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Friday.

"I have instructed the military to increase its intelligence preparations and prepare what is needed so that ... (if necessary) ... we will be able to consider carrying out an operation," Barak said in an interview on Channel 10 television.
"We are following ... the possible transfer of advanced munitions systems, mainly anti-aircraft missiles or heavy ground-to-ground missiles, but there could also be a possibility of the transfer of chemical means (weapons) from Syria to Lebanon," he added.
"The moment (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) starts to fall we will conduct intelligence monitoring and will liaise with other agencies," Barak said.
Hezbollah, which has in the past received military and financial support from Syria and Iran, launched thousands of mainly short-range rockets into Israel during Israel's 2006 offensive in southern Lebanon, but some longer-range rockets reached central Israel.
Their border has largely remained quiet since then.
On Thursday, Barak toured the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that Israel captured from Syria in the Middle East war in 1967 and from where it can monitor movements inside the territory of its northern foe.
Barak said Israeli troops were preparing to prevent an influx of refugees into territory that Israel controls there.
"They (refugees) have not chosen to come close to us, but in the event of the regime's downfall, which could happen..., (Israeli forces) here are alert and ready, and if we have to stop waves of refugees, we will stop them," Barak said.
Syrian rebels have assassinated four of Assad's closest aides in Damascus and seized three border crossings with Iraq and Turkey this week, putting the Syrian leader under greater pressure than at any time in the 16-month uprising against his rule.

Palestinians, internationals take part in Nabi Saleh demo

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- A weekly protest took place in Nabi Saleh on Friday as Muslims celebrated the first day of Ramadan, a local committee said.

Dozens of Palestinian and international peace activists took part in the demonstration, urging the Arab world to protect Jerusalem and its holy sites.

Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets towards demonstrators, detaining several international activists, the local committee against the wall said.

Palestinian residents of Nabi Saleh and their local and international supporters demonstrate each week against a nearby settlement's encroachment toward lands owned by the village.

In December 2011, a tear-gas canister killed Mustafa Tamimi, a resident of the village.

Maan News Agency

Mashaal - Mursi Meeting May Bring Relief for Gaza

 by Craig Harrington - IMEMC & Agencies

Hamas party leader Khalid Mashaal met with Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi on Wednesday evening to discuss the future of Gaza’s relationship with Egypt.

Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal

On Wednesday Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal met for nearly two hours with Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi, reports Ma’an News Agency.

The meeting, which lasted nearly twice as long as Mursi’s previous meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, focused on the Egyptian-Gazan relationship. Many believe that the two leaders share intrinsic camaraderie due to their Islamist political ties – Hamas is in fact a branch of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Even if Egypt wanted to approach Hamas with the best intentions it still faces many obstacles thanks to the Palestinian group’s international recognition as a terrorist organization. Egypt was one of the foremost anti-terror partners in the Middle East under President Hosni Mubarak and it joined forces with Israel in sealing-off Gaza in 2007.

Mursi is facing domestic pressure to lift the Gaza blockade and begin sending relief to its embattled residents in the form of food and fuel, reports Ma’an News. Removing these sanctions may not be immediately possible given Egypt’s commitment to peace with Israel and the continuation of Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.

At present the Mursi administration is primarily focused on providing mediation within the factionalized Palestinian political community. Both Mashaal (Hamas) and Abbas (Fatah) requested that Mursi take part in organizing a dialogue for a unity-government in Palestine. Multiple news agencies have reported that pursuing this end will likely take precedence over any sweeping Egyptian policy changes addressing Gaza specifically.

International Middle East Media Center

PCHR Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations 12-18 July

 The full report is available online here
Palestinian Center for Human Rights

Sheikh Sa’ad checkpoint in occupied Jerusalem

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
• IOF opened fire at areas in the Gaza Strip.
- Two members of the Palestinian resistance were killed and two others were wounded in the northern Gaza Strip.
• IOF use force to disperse peaceful protest organized by Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

- 3 Palestinian civilians were wounded.
- IOF arrested 7 international and Israeli human rights defenders, including a journalist.
• IOF conducted 54 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and two limited ones into the Gaza Strip.
- IOF arrested 23 Palestinians, including a child, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the former Mayor of al-Bireh.
• Israel has continued to impose a total closure on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
- IOF arrested a Palestinian patient at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip.
- IOF arrested two Palestinian civilians at checkpoints in the West Bank.
- IOF allowed 40 members of families of Gazan prisoners in Israeli jails to visit these prisoners for the first time since 2006.
• IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
- IOF ordered the demolition of two houses in ‘Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya.
- IOF demolished 3 agricultural rooms and a well in Hebron.
- Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian shepherd north of Ramallah.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (12 – 18 July 2012):
Shooting:
During the reporting period, IOF killed two members of the Palestinian resistance and wounded two others in the Gaza Strip. They also wounded 3 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.
In the Gaza Strip, on 12 July 2012, IOF killed a member of the Palestinian resistance and wounded two others during an incursion into the east of Gaza City.
On 13 July 2012, IOF killed a member of the Palestinian resistance near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northwest of Beit Lahia.
During the reporting period, IOF used force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities in the West Bank. As a result, 3 Palestinian civilians were wounded and dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation. IOF also arrested 7 Israeli and international human rights defenders, including a journalist who was released later.
Incursions:
During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 54 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF arrested 14 Palestinian, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the former Mayor of al-Bireh.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted two limited incursions into Palestinian areas in the east of Gaza City and in the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya. During these incursions, IOF leveled areas of Palestinian land which they had already razed.

Hamas chief meets Egypt president, hails "new era"

 

Marwa Awad Reuters

10:46 a.m. EDT, July 19, 2012

CAIRO (Reuters) - The leader of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement which rules the Gaza Strip, met new Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi on Thursday and hailed Mursi's election as the start of a "new era" for Egypt and the Palestinians.

It was Khaled Meshaal's first visit to Egypt since Mursi won the country's first free leadership vote.

The founding of Hamas was inspired by Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood - Egypt's oldest and most established Islamist movement - but the Palestinian group now operates independently because of its location and the conflict with Israel.


Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, is regarded by the West as a terrorist group for its refusal to recognize Israel and renounce violence.

Meshaal and Mursi discussed ways to ensure that Gaza, which borders Egypt, gets the gas and petroleum it needs despite an Israeli blockade of the territory.

"We have entered a new era in Palestine's relationship with Egypt, the big sister and the leader of the Arab nation," Meshaal said after the meeting. "We were happy with what we heard from President Mohamed Mursi and his vision to handle all these issues."

The talks lasted almost two hours, twice as long as Mursi's meeting a day earlier with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority and leader of Fatah, Hamas's rival.

Hamas was isolated by Egypt under Mursi's ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak, as well as by other Gulf and Arab states and the West. It was embraced by Iran, Hezbollah and Syria - an alliance built on hostility to Israel - though Hamas is Sunni Muslim and its three allies are Shi'ite or Shi'ite-linked Alawites.

Mursi is under pressure from many in his movement to help ease the Gaza blockade. Palestinians accuse Egypt of being complicit in the blockade by closing its border with Gaza.

Egypt's army-backed government decided in February to let more fuel into Gaza and increase electricity supplies.

But Hamas has yet to see any sign of a policy shift since the election of Mursi, who is keen not to upset Egypt's ally, the United States, and weaken his hand in a struggle with the powerful military.

Meshaal said Egypt's presidency and intelligence services would continue to shepherd a reconciliation process between Hamas and Fatah that began last year.

"Egypt has a key role in this," he said, adding that Hamas "remains strategically committed to the reconciliation".

(Writing by Marwa Awad; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer and Tim Pearce)
Courant.com

Israel to stop Syrian refugees from entering Golan

Published today (updated) 19/07/2012 15:28

Israel annexed the Golan in 1981, a move not recognized internationally.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israel will block any influx of Syrian refugees into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Thursday as Syrian rebels pressed home a campaign to overthrow President Bashar Assad.

"They (refugees) have not chosen to come close to us, but in the event of the regime's downfall, which could happen..., (Israeli forces) here are alert and ready, and if we have to stop waves of refugees, we will stop them," Barak said while gazing across the frontier, fighting visible in the distance.

An Israeli defense source noted that Barak, in his comments, spoke only about preventing a flood of refugees, apparently not closing the door completely to Syrians seeking safety.

Barak was speaking to reporters at an Israeli forward position on the occupied Golan Heights, territory captured from Syria in a 1967 war. An Israeli security fence separates the Golan from Syria, to the northeast, along a disengagement line that has has been quiet for decades.

Some two km away, smoke from mortar shells could be seen billowing over the Syrian village of Jubata and gunfire was heard as Syrian insurgents kept up pressure in a 16-month-old revolt against Assad.

Israel's army chief, Benny Gantz, said in January that it was preparing to take in Syrian refugees from Assad's minority Alawite sect who might flee if he fell. The rebels are mainly from Syria's majority Sunni Muslim community.

A senior Israeli officer told journalists at the Syrian border in March that the military had made preparations with international agencies to accept refugees from Syria temporarily and later transfer them to a third country.

But the officer said at the time that a scenario of Syrians crossing over to Israeli lines was unlikely.

Israel annexed the Golan in 1981, a move not recognized internationally. It gave the Druze there, who today number about 20,000, the option of citizenship. Most rejected it.

The UN refugee agency last month doubled its forecast for the number of refugees who will flee Syria this year to 185,000.

Turkey, which stretches along Syria's northern border, has given shelter to more than 50,000 Syrians since March 2011 but thousands have since returned to their homes.

 Maan News Agency

IOF soldiers round up 50 Palestinians in one night

IOF soldiers round up 50 Palestinians in one night
 

AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up 50 Palestinians from Tal Al-Rumaida suburb in Al-Khalil city on Wednesday night, Safa news agency reported.

The agency quoted Issa Amre, the coordinator of youth against settlement, as saying that the soldiers nabbed the young men in a raid on the suburb that included searching many houses.

He said that the youths were taken to a nearby settlement for interrogation, adding that the soldiers were looking for young men responsible for drowning a settler in a nearby spring. Amre said that the settlers were trying since Wednesday morning to control the spring.

Mishaal meets Morsi

Mishaal meets Morsi
 

CAIRO, (PIC)-- Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi is scheduled to meet political bureau chairman of Hamas Khaled Mishaal in Cairo on Thursday.

Political bureau member of Hamas Ezzet Al-Resheq said on his Facebook page that Mishaal would be leading a Hamas delegation in the meeting.

Deputy political bureau chairman of Hamas Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk told the PIC on Wednesday that the meeting was meant to congratulate Morsi for his election victory.

He did not rule out that a number of Palestinian issues might be discussed during the meeting.

IOF soldiers ruin water wells, greenhouses

IOF soldiers ruin water wells, greenhouses
 

AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) ruined a water well and three greenhouses near Edhna village to the west of Al-Khalil afternoon Wednesday, local sources said.

They said that the demolition took place in an area called “Farsh Al-Hawa” in the road between Al-Khalil and Edhna.

This is the second demolition of similar agricultural installations and water wells in the area within one week.

Notebook - Crossing into Gaza

New Statesman - Notebook - Crossing into Gaza

Salaam Kanaan works for Save the Children in the occupied Palestinian territories. She shares notes from a busy week, amid overcrowding so bad, it makes you feel you’re suffocating.

By Salam Kanaan Published 12 July 2012
 

My story is typical for Palestinians of my generation. I was born in Nablus, so I am a “West Banker”, and from the city that used to see itself as the economic hub of the West Bank. My father was a dentist in the city – until he was deported to Jordan when I was six. My parents always wanted me to be educated, and in the 1980s I headed for higher education. The American University in Beirut gave me a BA in public health and an MSc in education – and a sense of vocation for helping people, especially children. I came back to Palestine in 1993 and now live in Ramallah, the heart of the West Bank and headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, with my husband (who is from Gaza) and two children. I started working for Save the Children UK in 2007.

Crossing purposes

The difficulty of travel defines Palestinian life. If I’m not the only Palestinian who managed to have breakfast in Amman, lunch in Ramallah and dinner in Gaza, I must be one of the very few. For a Palestinian with a “Palestinian” identity card, it is already difficult to move between the towns and villages on the West Bank. So, travelling between Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza in one day is a bit of a nightmare.
I was in Amman visiting my family when I received a phone call from the Save the Children security co-ordinator saying my permit to Gaza was ready. I can only enter Gaza on a certain day and at a certain time, and leave two days later on a specified day and at a set time. I travelled from Amman to Ramallah early on the day my Gaza permit would be valid, hoping to drive my two girls to Ramallah and then take a taxi down to Gaza. Well, I wasn’t exactly driving, as Palestinians are not allowed to drive between Jordan and the West Bank, nor between the West Bank and Jerusalem, nor between these places and Gaza. Movement and access follow a strict permit regime marked by checkpoints, walls and guns.
The crossing between Jordan and the West Bank was extremely busy and it took us about six hours to cross. By the time I arrived in Ramallah it was 3.30pm. The taxi to drive me to Gaza was delayed at Qalandiya checkpoint – the main crossing between Jerusalem and Ramallah. I started the journey to Gaza at about 5pm and at 6.55pm I arrived at the Erez crossing, where I was admitted into Gaza.

Growing needs

I had not been to Gaza for four months. Though the Gaza Strip is one of the most crowded places on earth, I was struck by the emptiness of the dark streets. For the past three months, Gaza has been suffering from shortage of fuel. You see only a few cars driving down the roads. The queues outside gas stations stretch for more than one kilometre. Added to that, electricity cut-offs for more than 12 hours a day make things even worse.
The overcrowding in Gaza creates connections between people, whether they like it or not. Despite the open sea, the place feels like it is suffocating. The average family has about six children; the needs are growing. Schools run two or three shifts a day, so you always see loads of children out on the streets.
Gaza is a unique mix of the extraordinary and the ordinary. Extraordinary for its political situation, but ordinary for the acts of daily life that make it bearable.

The right to dignity in life

It has been hard to work for Save the Children, faced with such challenges of poverty and access, and amid conflict, violence, checkpoints and a four-year blockade of Gaza. Children are unable to escape the continual threat of violence. Across the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), one in three families cannot afford one balanced meal per day, and basic supplies and medical equipment are in short supply. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza are forced to live in camps and 80 per cent of families are reliant on humanitarian assistance such as food and cash handouts.
To support a child’s right to a dignified life, Save the Children implements projects aimed at improving access to quality services for the poorest children and their families in the OPT. Those programmes include health interventions, with a special focus on mother and child health and nutrition and children with special needs. In addition, we run programmes focusing on access to quality inclusive education, as well as ensuring the availability of protection services to the children in the OPT.
The work is difficult. We co-ordinate with other organisations – local and international NGOs and the United Nations. There are forums, venues and systems to make life easier, and to guarantee that work is being done.
I am in some ways an outsider, working for an international NGO, but as a Palestinian I am also treated like an insider. We set our priorities with local people. We know about the politics, but we have to keep out of it. So we work with independent groups that reach out to mothers or provide services to children. My job is to make sure that the money reaches the people it is intended for.

Silent spring

The Arab spring has put the Middle East in the news – but not in a way that has helped Palestinians. I applaud the growing freedom of people in the region. But I can see that the Palestinian cause has slipped down the agenda. We are not in the news and for some people we are no longer the issue of the day.
Salam Kanaan is the outgoing country director for Save the Children UK in the OPT. She holds the position of programme director at Medical Aid for Palestinians in the OPT

2 Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai

 

Published today 14:34

An Egyptian soldier stands guard at the Egyptian Rafah crossing, north of
Sinai, on Aug. 22, 2011. (Reuters/Asmaa Waguih)

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) -- Two Egyptian soldiers were killed on Thursday by gunmen in the Sinai peninsula, security sources told Ma'an.

They were on patrol in the town of Sheikh Zuwaid when they were shot at by two unidentified Bedouin tribesmen riding a motorbike with their faces covered, according to eyewitnesses.

The soldiers were named as Ali Abdul Ibrahim and Islam Abdullah Abdul Rahman.

Security in the isolated Sinai has deteriorated since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising in February 2011.

Groups of militant Islamists scattered across the north of the desert peninsula have attacked police stations and a pipeline exporting gas to Israel and Jordan.

Police have been absent for months from Sheikh Zuwaid and some other cities of north Sinai since last year's uprising. Army troops, seen as more welcome among the local population, are struggling to ensure security in their place.

Reuters contributed to this report

 Maan News Agency

Palestinian prisoner Dirar Abu Sisi in serious condition

 Scoop News
Gaza Ministry of Detainees’ Affairs
17/07/2012
The lawyer of the Ministry of Detainee Affairs visited Ashkelon jail last Sunday 15th of July. He said that the medical condition of the isolated prisoner Dirar Abu Sisi is serious, and getting worse.
Dirar Abu Sisi, snatched off a Ukranian train and rendered to Israel by Mossad
The lawyer confirmed that Abu Sisi is still being held in solitary confinement in Ashkelon prison, in a serious medical condition. Abu Sisi suffers from several medical problems, one of which is heart arrhythmia. He also suffers from high blood pressure, reaching 160/100. The lawyer said that Abu Sisi takes medication for both diseases.

The lawyer advised that Abu Sisi is also complaining of stomach problems. Abu Sisi suffers from a stomach ulcer, for which he takes Castro. He also has a problem in his kidneys - he has fatty deposits on both kidneys, and kidney stones which causes him a severe pain, and he doesn’t receive any medication for these problems, having to heal himself by drinking a lot of water.
Abu Sisi confirmed to the lawyer that he was hit on his left knee and suffers permanent knee pain. The prisoner said, "All of these ailments that I am now suffering from appeared after I was detained, and violently beaten during interrogation."
Abu Sisi clarified that when he was first detained he weighed 98kg. After a year and a half in solitary confinement, the doctor reports Dirar Abu Sisi weighs 61kg.
The Minister of Detainees Affairs Dr. Atallah AbuSebah warned of the seriousness of Abu Sisi’s medical condition, stressing that risking the prisoner’s life will be crossing a red line that may lead to the deterioration of the situation in all Israeli prisons.
AbuSebah noted that Israel insists on keeping Dirar Abu Sisi in solitary confinement, and refuses to implement the Al Karameh agreement which was signed between the Israeli prison services and the High Committee of Leadership of the Hunger Strike last month, one of the conditions of which was to release all prisoners from solitary confinement.
AbuSebah emphasised the need for immediate action, and made an urgent call for legal groups, international organisations, and the International Committee of the Red Cross to put pressure on the Israeli occupation to provide the necessary medical treatment for the prisoner Abu Sisi, and to immediately and unconditionally release him from solitary confinement.
Translation by Mukarram AbuAlouf

The World Watches Israel Breach UN Charter Another 22 Times

 Scoop News
by Julie Webb-Pullman
18 July 2012
Israeli continues unabashed its land-grabs and attacks on Gaza.
Overnight, Israeli gunboats opened fire on fishermen towards the west of Deir Al Balah, and at 8am this morning multiple Israeli tanks and bulldozers accompanied by heavy shooting began leveling land 200 meters away from Khuzza, east of Khan Younis.
Each and every attack on fishermen, who are well within their legal 20 mile limit let alone the Israeli-imposed unlawful 3 mile limit, is a breach of Gaza sovereignty.
Each and every attack on fishermen is an attack on civilians going about their lawful work, and prevents them putting food on the tables of the Gaza population entrapped by the illegal Israeli siege. Between January 2011 and the end of April 2012, the Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights documented approximately 150 incidents in which the Israeli Navy prevented Gazan fishermen from plying their trade – including 60 arrests at sea, 12 injuries and 20 cases of sabotage or confiscation of boats and fishing gear.

Each and every leveling operation, of which there have been 22 in the last two months, is a blatant breach of the sovereignty of the Gaza Strip. The international community - particularly the United Nations - has not condemned even ONE of these 22 examples of gross breaches of the UN Charter.
Each and every leveling operation destroys agricultural land, also severely impacting on Gaza's ability to produce the food necessary to support its population.
Each and every leveling operation creates terror in the citizenry - if they are not actually killed or injured, which so many are.
Each and every leveling operation, each and every attack on fishermen, and on the citizenry, is one more nail in the coffin of UN credibility, which continues to hand out food packages rather than ensure the security conditions for Gaza that would enable them to produce their own - all the while appeasing Israel's claims to security, while ignoring the equal right of Gazan - and Palestinian - citizens to the same.
The solution to Israel's security problems lies in its own hands - withdraw to behind the internationally-recognised and internationally-accepted borders of 1967, and stay there. If Israel wants buffer zones, create them on their own side of these borders, in accordance with international law.
The endless lip-service paid to Israeli rights by international fora more closely resembles kissing ass than it does any genuine intent to apply international law "without fear or favour."
If the UN wants credibility, it must enforce its endless resolutions condemning Israeli breaches of the UN Charter, and the numerous other UN and international conventions it scorns every day.
As yet another Israeli F-16 flies over on its way to wreak chaos and suffering on yet another Gazan family I wonder, will the international community cease its hypocrisy, and do something THIS time?

PRC member killed in Rafah explosion

Maan News Agency

Published today (updated) 18/07/2012 20:53

PRC members are seen training in Gaza (MaanImages/File)

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A member of the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees died Wednesday in an explosion in Rafah in the south of Gaza.

Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman of the ministry of health in Gaza, told Ma’an that the body of Abdul Rahman al-Sabana, 24, was taken to Abu Yusuf al-Najjar hospital.

The Salah al-Din Brigades said he died in a “Jihad” mission.

Israeli Bulldozers Demolish Facility in Silwan

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA 
 JERUSALEM, July 18, 2012 (WAFA) – Bulldozers of the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem Wednesday demolished a Palestinian facility in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan under the pretext of building it without a permit, according to Jawad Siyam, director of Wadi Hilweh information center in Silwan.

Siyam said the 16-square-meter facility is 100 years old and has been used to house cattle and birds. Israeli municipality staff seized the cattle and birds, and fined the owner.

Patients and escorts from Gaza arrested on way to medical care

Patients and escorts from Gaza arrested on way to medical care

PHR Israel wishes to alert a continuation of Israel’s policy of arresting patients and those who escort them, using their need to enter Israel for medical treatment. It is important to mention that the long occupation and closure and the economic situation significantly contributed to the under development of the health system in Gaza causing it to be highly dependent on referrals to Israel or via Israel to the West Bank and East Jerusalem medical centers. This makes patients from Gaza an extremely vulnerable group.

PHR Israel had recently learnt on 3 cases were medical needs were used to detain people:

Rawhy Fouad Qarqaz: 42 yr. old (Married + 3 children). Suffers from severe knee pains and diagnosed with a meniscus derangements. On May 31, 2012 he was referred to MakassedHopital in East Jerusalem for orthopedic management. On June 18 PHR receives his file and sends a request (June 24) to allow his exist from Gaza for treatment. Following different correspondence PHR Israel receives a letter from the Israel DCO stating that “the authorized bodies decided to summon Mr. RawhyQarqaz to a "security interview", that will take place in Erez Crossing, on July 15^th at 08:00”. PHR Israel passed this response to Mr. Qarqaz, emphasizing that this is not an easy thing and he should think whether he wishes to take this interview or not. To our deep dismay, the interview was used to arrest him.

Ahmad Chala: 25yr. old: A brother to Bila’l Chala, 8 yr. old. Bilal underwent a bone marrow transplant and suffered from complications that necessitating a prolonged hospitalization Schneider Children Medical Center. Ahmad asked for a permit to replace his mother who needed to come back to Gaza, and stay by his brother’s side. Being told he was granted a permit, Ahmad reached Erez Crossing on July 2^nd only to be arrested on the spot. Ahmad and Bilal’s father. whose permit requests were denied twice is now afraid to apply again though he wishes to replace his wife after she went a breakdown following her son's arrest.

Wa’il Kamil Muhammad Al-Taweel: 40 yr. old. According to field information collected by Al Mezan, (the following is taken from Al Mezan's update) he was arrested at Bayt Hanoun crossing after he left his house heading for the crossing at around 8:00 a.m. on Sunday to attend an “interview”with the Israeli intelligence apparatus, with the aim of obtaining medical treatment abroad. According to Al Mezan, he received a referral on 6 June 2012, and obtained an appointment for 5 July 2012 at Al Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem.  The Office of Health Coordination, which is responsible for arranging Gazan patients’ passage through BaytHanoun crossing, notified him on July 5^th that he needs to go to the crossing for an interview with Israeli intelligence.  He went at roughly 8:00 am and returned home exhausted around 6:30 pm.  He told his wife that he had been subjected to a full search and interrogation at the crossing, during which he was struck in the face, had his hair pulled, and was held in an underground cell.  At-Taweel stayed in his home Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, then on Sunday morning (8 July 2012) received a phone call from the Office of Health Coordination telling him to attend another interview with Israeli intelligence.  He left his home for the crossing and did not return, according to his family.  At around 10:00 pm they received a phone call informing them that the patient had been detained in Ashkelon prison. Al-Taweel is prohibited an attorney visit and thus it is unknown what methods are used in his interrogaton and how it effects his already vulnerable medical condition. Past experience shows that those sometimes amount to cruel and inhuman treatment.

Conclusion: For several years PHR Israel witnessed the abuse of Palestinian Patients by the Israel Security Agency (Shabac): they are told that a permit is waiting for them at Erez Crossing, or are invited for an “interview” on which they are told their permit depends. Once they reach the crossing they are arrested or harshly interrogated (see: Holding Health to Ransom: GSS Interrogation and Extortion of Palestinian Patients at Erez Crossing 2008 and Adalah, Al Mezan and PHR-I press release 2011).

Following PHR Israel’s correspondence, we were notified by the Prime Ministers’ office that Israel saves for itself the right to arrest individuals who ask to enter Israel for medical reasons following intelligence information that indicates they pose a security risk.

While PHR Israel does not doubts Israel’s right to conduct a security examination for those wishing to enter or pass through its territory, It does view the policy described as exploiting desperate medical needs to manipulate and mislead individuals into arrests.

This policy amounts to conditioning access to healthcare on one's willingness to come to the interview, a procedure now feared by many – as they hear of the arrests that followed such “invitations”. This policy also harms the trust of the patients in human rights organizations who – in the process of advocating for their permits – are notified by the authorities of the interview, and in their turn notify the patient.

PHR Israel therefore demands:

Requests for permits for medical treatment will not be used for arrests or illegal interrogations (that use threats, extortions or cruel inhuman, and degrading treatment). Israel has other methods to arrests individuals if it so wishes.

Patients now in detention will be immediately allowed to see a physician they trust. Their medical need is obvious as all medical reports were handed to authorities with their request for a permit.

Please share your concern with the Israeli authorities at this harmful policy

for further information: hadas@phr.org.il

sincerely,
Hadas Ziv
Public Outreach
Physicians for Human Rights Israel

Witness: Settlers abduct 4 at gunpoint, later released

Maan News Agency

Published today (updated) 18/07/2012 12:44

TULKAREM (Ma’an) -- A group of Israeli settlers abducted four Palestinians at gunpoint in the northern West Bank on Tuesday evening, before later releasing them, witnesses said.

The group, who work for an advertising company in Ramallah, were stopped outside the evacuated Israeli outpost Homesh near Nablus by an Israeli-plated car, and a group of settlers ordered them at gunpoint to walk to a neighboring hill.

Noman Jalali, 32, from nearby Anabta town, said they were forced to walk behind the vehicle while surrounded by dozens of settlers, two of whom carried small weapons and another carrying a machine gun.

Jalali said they were beaten and verbally abused by the group while they held them for over an hour.

"One of them asked in Hebrew for another man to shoot us but he replied that we had children and they began laughing," Jalali said.

Their cellphones and money were seized by the abductors, he said.

Homesh outpost was evacuated in 2005, but settlers and Israeli politicians are campaigning to rebuild on the area, which remains under Israeli control.

Radwan calls for defending Al-Aqsa

Radwan calls for defending Al-Aqsa

 

GAZA, (PIC)-- A leader in Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" warned the Zionist entity from provoking the feelings of Arabs and Muslims through falsifying the facts about Jerusalem and al Aqsa Mosque, calling on the Palestinian resistance to defend the Islamic sanctities.

Yehuda Weinstein, the Israeli government's adviser, said in broadcast remarks that Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings are integral to Israeli territory and thus under Israeli Law, especially the planning and building law.

Dr. Ismail Radwan, a leader in Hamas Movement told "Quds Press" agency that: "weinstein's serious statements demonstrate the aggressive intentions against al-Aqsa mosque, provoke the feelings of Muslims and aim at reversing the truths, falsifying the history and obliterating the Islamic landmarks of the Islamic civilization in Jerusalem."

Hamas' leader also considered that the visits made by some Arab and Muslim figures to the Holy City give cover for the occupation and give it legitimacy to continue in its aggression against the Palestinian people.

For his part, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, head of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem, told Quds Press agency on Tuesday that "the remarks of the Zionist government's advisor are unacceptable, because they will lead to a direct intervention in the powers of the Islamic Waqf," stressing that Muslims will always be protecting and defending al Aqsa Mosque because this "is a part of their faith".

Meanwhile, Al Aqsa Mosque preacher warned of the Israeli intervention in the affairs of the mosque, noting that the occupation is provoking events in order to justify its interference in the affairs of al Aqsa.

Child injured by military vehicle in Hebron

 Maan News Agency

Published today (updated) 18/07/2012 00:23

HEBRON (Ma’an) -- A nine-year-old boy was injured when he was struck by an Israeli military vehicle in Hebron's Old City late Monday, a medics said.

Ahmad Yahya Abu Rajab was hospitalized with fractures to his hand, but is in a stable condition, the head of disaster unit in the Red Crescent Society in the southern West Bank Nasser Kabajja told Ma'an.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the incident involved Israeli Border Police, and a police spokesman said he was looking into the report.

PCHR’s Delegation Testifies before the UN Committee

  Scoop News

PCHR’s Delegation Testifies before the UN Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices
On 15 July 2012, a delegation of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) testified before the UN Special Committee to Investigate into Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories. PCHR was represented by PCHR’s Deputy Director for Program Affairs, Mr. Hamdi Shaqqura, and PCHR’s Deputy Director for Administrative and Legal Affairs, Mr. Iyad al-Alami.
This is the second session held by the Committee in Gaza. The Committee arrived in Gaza via the Rafah International Crossing Point, as Israel refused to receive the Committee officially and prevented it from completing its work. Over the past few years, the Committee has worked from Cairo, Amman and Damascus.

During the meeting with the Committee, Mr. Shaqqura outlined Israel’s practices during the period covered by the Committee’s investigations, pointing to the deterioration of human rights and international humanitarian law in Gaza. In particular, Mr. Shaqqura highlighted Israel’s violations of the right to life. He provided data and numbers about civilian casualties that result from the disregard the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has for the principles of distinction and proportionality. He explained that the IOF directly targets civilians in their residential areas. Mr. Shaqqura noted that all kinds of weapons are employed by the IOF, and that IOF use warplanes to carry out military operations, disregarding the impacts of the use of such weapons on civilians and civilian property.
Mr. Shaqqura also highlighted the death of a child, Mamoun Mohammed Zuhdi al-Dam (13), from al-Shaaf area, on 20 June 2012 when an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a farm owned by the child’s family. Mr. Shaqqura explained that the IOF directly targeted the farm, despite the fact that the farm is located in an open area with no military operations nearby.
Mr. Shoqqura addressed the violations committed in the buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, noting that although the buffer zone is identified to be 300 meters in width, PCHR has documented attacks that took place approximately 1,500 meters from the border. He also talked about the IOF’s continued attacks against Palestinian fishermen in the sea, within the 3 nautical-miles that the IOF allows fishing.
In addition, he talked about Israel’s closure imposed on the Gaza Strip, warning of the continued institutionalization and acceptance of the closure at the international level. He pointed to alleged improvements claimed by Israel, explaining that these improvements are artificial and never address the essence of the issue. The civilians’ suffering is unfathomable and it can come to an end only by lifting the closure.
For his portion, Mr. Iyad al-Alami talked about the detention conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israel’s jails and the lack of justice in Israel’s judicial system. Mr. al-Alami highlighted the cruel, inhuman and degrading detention conditions of Palestinian prisoners, including torture, the deterioration of their health conditions, medical negligence, including prisoners who suffer from serious diseases, and solitary confinement.
Mr. al-Alami also noted that thousands of prisoners are detained under bad conditions and talked about Israel’s illegal policies practiced against prisoners, including administrative detention which violates a prisoner’s right to fair trial, their right to defense and their right to know the charges against them. He also addressed the denial of prisoners’ right to family visitation, noting that such a denial is a form of collective punishment imposed on prisoners and their families.
Regarding the lack of justice in Israel’s judicial system, Mr. al-Alami highlighted the role Israel’s courts play by providing legal protection for the crimes committed by the IOF. He also reviewed the challenges that victims of human rights violations trying to get having access to the courts face, in view of the present laws that prevent redress and reparation for victims.
Mr. al-Alami also reviewed the obstacles created by Israel’s authorities to prevent victims from having access to justice, especially the financial obstacles presented by the fees required by Israel’s courts. He explained that these obstacles place an even greater burden on Palestinian victims if they choose to resort to Israel’s courts. In addition, there are other material challenges, as a result of the IOF’s decision in June 2007 to prevent Palestinian civilians from leaving the Gaza Strip to appear before Israel’s courts, whether as victims or eyewitnesses. The IOF further creates legal obstacles by enacting laws and legal amendments designed to deny victims their right to have access to justice.

Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org

Rights groups: Israel detains Gaza patient at Erez crossing

Maan News Agency

Published today (updated) 18/07/2012 00:18

Palestinian and Israeli rights groups said Israel's detention of Palestinian
patients trying to leave the coastal enclave had escalated, with Rawhi
Kerkez's arrest the third such case in a month. (MaanImages/File)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities detained a Palestinian patient due to travel from the Gaza Strip for hospital treatment in Jerusalem, Palestinian and Israeli rights groups said Monday.

Rawhi Fouad Kerkz 43, from Jabaliya, never returned from Israel's Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip after he went to meet intelligence officials to discuss his permit on Sunday, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Physicians for Human Rights - Israel said.

Kerkez had an appointment in Al Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem for May 31, and while his appointment passed, Israeli intelligence summoned him to Erez to review his application.

After he left early Sunday, later in the evening an Israeli official telephoned the family to tell them he was being held in Ashkelon jail.

An Israeli military spokeswoman referred Ma'an to the Ministry of Defense, who could not be reached for comment on Kerkez's detention.

The groups said Israel's detention of Palestinian patients trying to leave the coastal enclave had escalated, with Kerkez's arrest the third such case in a month.

They urged the international community to stop Israel's violation of the right to medical treatment.

Israeli Army Destroys Trees And Land in Nablus

  by Jack Muir - IMEMC & agencies 

On Tuesday, the Israeli army of occupation destroyed farmland belonging to a Palestinian family in the village of Qasra near Nablus in the northern part of the West Bank.

Israeli troops destroy farmland source:GS

The Israeli army destroyed land belonging to Mohammad Shahadeh and Saqer Shahadeh on Tuesday. They razed the fields surrounding about 30 olive trees and then proceeded to uproot the trees. The village has come under attack before from settlers living in the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Aish Kodesh. In November 2011 in separate attacks, settlers uprooted trees and pelted Palestinian cars with stones.

Destroying farmland is a common tactic used by the Israeli army and illegal settlers to deprive villagers of their livelihood drive Palestinian families from their homes.

 International Middle East Media Center

Video: Israeli army night raid on the village of Nabi Saleh - July 17, 2012

by theIMEU In the early morning hours of July 17, up to 200 Israeli soldiers invaded the village of Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank. They searched numerous houses and briefly detained videographer Bilal Tamimi

#Tahrir Help Build Hope by Helping Build #Gaza's Ark/ Aidez à donner de l¹espoir aux Palestiniens en aidant à construire l¹Arche de Gaza

(Le français suit l'anglais)

 Help Build Hope by Helping Build Gaza’s Ark.

The Gaza’s Ark project is coming together very well (for details of project visit www.GazaArk.org <http://www.gazaark.org/> ). Jointly with our international partners in Gaza, the United States and Australia, we are working hard at organizing all the logistics related to building the Ark.

Our fundraising has started and we are now at a critical point. We need to start making financial commitments for building supplies and paying the wages of the local builders in Gaza.
The estimated cost of this mission is $400,000. Raising this sum will depend on the generosity of all of our donors, those who can afford to make large donations such as $1,000 or more, as well as thousands of smaller donations.

For those who generously donated funds to purchase the Tahrir, we want you to know that we are continuing our efforts, through legal means, to put pressure on Israel to release the Tahrir. Last month, we were inspired and our hopes raised by Israel’s release of the two Greek boats from the 2010 Flotilla. After a lengthy legal and political battle, both boats have now been returned to ports in Turkey and Greece.

We are appealing to your generosity now to help financially support the building of the Gaza’s Ark. If you would like to volunteer to work on this project locally please write to us at the email below. On our website you will see our brochure and our postcard: if you would like us to send you copies to distribute locally, please contact us and we will be happy to send you some.

Israel’s inhumane blockade can be lifted but it will take the determined efforts of all of us.

Please make this your project to build hope for the Palestinians of Gaza.

For regular updates, see:
www.GazaArk.org <http://www.GazaArk.org/>
www.facebook.com/GazaArk <http://www.facebook.com/GazaArk>
@GazaArk on Twitter

Please make your checks payable to:
Alternatives International (please write: "Gaza’sArk" in the memo field)
and mail it to
Gaza’s Ark
C.P. 92087, Portobello
Brossard, Quebec
J4W 3K8

You can also donate online at www.GazaArk.org <http://www.GazaArk.org/>

---

Aidez à donner de l’espoir aux Palestiniens en aidant à construire l’Arche de Gaza

Chère amie, Cher ami :

Le projet « L’Arche de Gaza » est en bonne voie de réalisation (pour en savoir plus, visitez
www.GazaArk.org <http://www.gazaark.org/> ). En collaboration avec nos partenaires internationaux à Gaza, aux États-Unis
et en Australie, nous travaillons très fort à mettre en place toute la logistique de la construction
de l’Arche.

Notre campagne de levée de fonds ayant commencé, nous nous trouvons à un moment critique de la concrétisation de notre projet: nous devons commencer à engager des fonds pour l’achat des matériaux de construction et la rémunération des ouvriers du bâtiment de Gaza. Le coût estimé du projet s’élève à 400 000$. Réussir à lever cette somme dépendra de la générosité des milliers de partisans de notre cause, que leur générosité nous accorde un don de 1 000$ ou davantage ou un don plus modeste, nous sommes sensibles à toute contribution financière, quel qu’en soit le montant.

Nous tenons à assurer tous ceux qui ont fait un don en vue de l’achat du Tahrir que nous poursuivons nos efforts, par des moyens juridiques, pour faire pression sur Israël pour qu'il nous restitue le bateau. Le mois passé, Israël a libéré les deux bateaux grecs de la Flottille de 2010, ce qui nous a remonté le moral et redonné espoir. Après une longue bataille juridique et politique, les deux bateaux ont finalement été libérés et, par la suite, ont pu gagner des ports en Turquie et en Grèce.

Nous faisons appel à votre générosité dans l’espoir que vous voudrez bien nous aider financièrement à construire l’Arche de Gaza. Si vous pouvez travailler dans votre communauté en tant que bénévole pour cette campagne, merci de nous écrire à l'adresse ci-après. Sur notre site vous trouverez notre carte postale ainsi que notre dépliant – il suffit de nous contacter et nous nous ferons un plaisir de vous envoyer des copies que vous pourrez distribuer dans votre entourage.

Le blocus inhumain qu’Israël impose à la population de Gaza sera levé grâce aux efforts conjugués de nous tous.

Nous vous prions de vous impliquer dans ce projet qui vise à donner espoir aux Palestiniens et Palestiniennes de Gaza.

Pour des mises à jour régulières, voir :

www.GazaArk.org <http://www.GazaArk.org/>
www.facebook.com/GazaArk <http://www.facebook.com/GazaArk>
@GazaArk on Twitter

Nous vous prions de libeller votre chèque à l’ordre de :
Alternatives International (veuillez inscrire « L’Arche de Gaza » dans la section « remarque » du chèque) et de l’envoyer par la poste à

Gaza’s Ark
C.P. 92087, Portobello
Brossard, Quebec
J4W 3K8

Il est également possible de faire des dons en ligne à : www.GazaArk.org <http://www.GazaArk.org/>

You have received this message from the Canadian Boat to Gaza.

www.tahrir.ca
info@tahrir.ca

Fateh Political Prisoners In Gaza Declare Hunger Strike

 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Families of political prisoners held by the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip stated that their detained sons declared an open ended hunger strike demanding their release.

File - Image By Pal Press

The families told the Palestine Press News Agency that the Military Prosecutors Office in Gaza has been delaying the cases of the political prisoners under different claims including the alleged absence of certain judges.

The families added that the military prosecutors’ office in Gaza cancelled all bails presented by the prisoners’ lawyers, and rejected dozens of bail applications.

The Palestine Press News Agency stated that a Fateh movement official in Gaza, revealed a few days ago, that there are 71 Fateh members currently imprisoned by Hamas, and demanded their immediate and safe release.

It is worth mentioning that several Hamas officials repeatedly denied the existence of political prisoners in the Gaza Strip, and demanded the Fateh-led Authority in the West Bank to release all political prisoners.

 International Middle East Media Center

Report: Clinton assures Israel Mursi will keep Gaza closure

 

Published today 16:30

Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi and Foreign Minister Muhammad
Kamel Amr meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the presidential
palace in Cairo July 14, 2012. (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Israeli officials during her visit to the country on Monday that the new Egyptian president had promised her he would not end the closure of the Gaza Strip, an Israeli news site said.

Clinton secured a promise from Muhammad Mursi, Egypt's first Islamist president, that it would not fully open the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip, the sole entry and exit point not controlled by Israel, Israel's Inyan Merkazi ('Central Issues') news site said.

Israel maintains a land, sea and air blockade on the Gaza Strip, tightened five years ago when Hamas took control of the coastal enclave.

Quoting unnamed Israeli sources, the site said Clinton reassured Israeli officials that Mursi will respect the 1979 peace deal between Israel and Egypt, and intends to request some amendments to its terms.

The new Egyptian president wants to deploy more Egyptian security forces to the Sinai peninsula which borders Israel, currently restricted under the Camp David agreement.

Officials in the Gaza Strip have expressed optimism that Mursi, whose Muslim Brotherhood party is close to Gaza rulers Hamas, would break a hole in the blockade by fully opening the Rafah border.

It was shut in 2006 under Israel and Egypt's blockade of the enclave, but reopened in May 2011, three months after former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was ousted by massive street protests against his rule.

Maan News Agency

Video: Israel continues illegal settlement expansion

SUPPORT - PSC 30th Anniversary Sponsored Walk Brecon Beacons National Park 3rd – 5th August 2012

Please support PSC’s 30^th Anniversary walk taking place on 3^rd –  5^th August in the beautiful hills and valleys of South Wales, near Abergavenny.

 

We are thrilled that Haya Alfarra a young Palestinian from Gaza who works for the Palestinian Mission in the UK is joining us and has agreed to be our  ‘Poster Walker’. If you don’t know anyone doing the walk then please consider sponsoring Haya.

 

 

 ‘I am really excited to be taking part in the fundraising walk – please help me to raise as much money as I can for the essential work that PSC carries out.

PSC has done great work in advancing the struggle for rights, peace and justice in Palestine. Over the last 30 years, there has been a radical shift in British public opinion on Palestine. PSC together with other organisations have brought Palestine to the mainstream; this would not have been possible if it were not for the tireless efforts of the PSC. Continuing PSC’s numerous activities and its wide base of membership requires your support through donations.

Please help me raise money to help fund PSC, so that it can continue and develop its important work in raising the voice of Palestinians in the UK and in supporting the struggle for freedom and justice in Palestine.’

 

TO SUPPORT HAYA - You can pay online:

 

Visit http://www.palestinecampaign.org/sponsoredwalk

Select ‘Sponsored Walk 2012’ in Appeal category and type Haya Alfarra in the name of walker section.

Or send a cheque to PSC marked ‘Haya’s sponsorship.

 

There are still a few places available for walkers to participate, if you would like to register please email Steve psc.admin@palestinecampaign.org for more information.

 

Yours,

 

Steve

Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Box BM PSA
London
WC1N 3XX

Tel: 020 7700 6192
Fax: 020 7609 7779
Web: www.palestinecampaign.org

 

 

96 Days of Hunger Strike: Act Now to Save Akram al-Rikhawi’s life!

Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
 

Akram al-Rikhawi has now been on hunger strike for 96 days. He is the longest serving hunger striker anywhere in the world.  He is suffering from numerous medical conditions, including diabetes, asthma, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, glaucoma, kidney problems and immune deficiency. Addameer reports that “Prior to his arrest, Akram received injections of Kenacort to treat his asthma, but following his arrest, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) did not allow Akram to take this injection. Instead, it was replaced with injections of cortisone, which is most likely the cause of severe complications, resulting in additional chronic illnesses such as diabetes and osteoporosis, from which Akram now suffers.” Take action today to call for the immediate release of Akram al-Rikhawi!
Akram began his hunger strike on April 12 of this year to demand his early release due to his heath circumstances. He also has eight children, and he and his wife are also responsible for the care of the five children of his late brother. Despite his severe health circumstances and his difficult family and economic straits and responsibility for 13 children, his appeals for early release in 2012 and on June 5, 2012 were both rejected.
He did not stop his hunger strike on May 14 at the time of the agreement between prisoners and the Israel Prison Services because his unique circumstances were not addressed – namely, early release on medical grounds. Physicians for Human Rights were denied access to Akram for nearly two months, until June 6. He has lost 26.5% of his body weight – and was already very unhealthy. Akram has been refusing medical examinations since mid-May – and in response, the cortisone injections have only increased. PHR has stated that he must be transferred immediately to a civilian hospital in order to receive proper medical care, and filed suit to demand he be transferred – which was denied by an Israeli District Court on June 14. Since June 16, he has been refusing supplements and other forms of artificial nourishment that the Israeli prison hospital has attempted to impose on him.
He has now been on hunger strike for 96 days. He is in severe danger. International action is urgently needed to save his life! It is urgent that we act now to free Akram Rikhawi and secure his much-needed medical care.
Akram al-Rikhawi is not the only Palestinian prisoner currently on hunger strike:

• Samer al-Barq has now been on hunger strike since May 22, for 55 days, protesting Israeli violations of the agreement with the prisoners – after his own administrative detention, rather than expiring as agreed by the Israelis at the end of the strike, was renewed for an additional three months. Samer al-Barq is now on hunger strike until his release is secured.
• Hassan Safadi, a long-term hunger striker who had been striking for 71 days at the time the May 14 agreement was concluded, had his administrative detention order renewed by the Israelis on June 21, despite the explicit agreement that the long-term hunger strikers such as Safadi serving in administrative detention without charge or trial would not have those orders renewed. Safadi is now on his 25th day of hunger strike and plans to continue until he is released.

The Israeli Prison Services have continued to violate the May 14 agreement in numerous ways – Dirar Abu Sisi remains in solitary confinement and another prisoner was recently moved to isolation. Although family visits to Gaza prisoners have now been announced, they will be “experimental,” apply only to 25 of the 479 prisoners and will exclude prisoners’ children from visits.
After his 96-day hunger strike, Palestinian soccer star Mahmoud Sarsak returned on July 10 to his home in Gaza to a hero’s welcome. It is urgent that we act now for all Palestinian prisoners to return to their families and homes like Sarsak. Administrative detention, mass roundups, and military trials are continuing in Palestine.  International solidarity and action is needed to hold the occupation accountable for its ongoing imprisonment and abuse of the people of Palestine!
TAKE ACTION!
1. Sign a letter demanding the Israeli state transfer Akram Rikhawi, Samer al-Barq and Hassan Safadi immediately to hospitals and release them. Tell the Israeli Prison Services that the world is watching! Click here to sign.
2. Sign this letter, circulated by UFREE, to members of the European Parliament and demand action to save the life of Akram Rikhawi.
3. Join a protest or demonstration outside an Israeli consulate for Palestinian prisoners. Many groups and organizations are holding events – join one or announce your own. Organizing an event, action or forum on Palestinian prisoners on your city or campus? Use this form to contact us and we will post the event widely. If you need suggestions, materials or speakers for your event, please contact us at samidoun@samidoun.ca. (The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign has great materials, available at http://www.ipsc.ie/the-issues/factsheets)
4. Contact your government officials and demand an end to international silence and complicity with the repression of Palestinian political prisoners. In Canada, Call the office of John Baird, Foreign Minister, and demand an end to Canadian support for Israel and justice for Palestinian prisoners, at : 613-990-7720; Email: bairdj@parl.gc.ca. In the US, call the office of Elizabeth Jones, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs (1.202.647.7209). Demand that Elizabeth Jones bring this issue urgently to his counterparts in Israel.

Contact Israeli Officials to free striking prisoners Akram Rikhawi, Samer al-Barq, Hassan Safadi

It is urgent that Israeli officials hear that the ongoing hunger strikes of Palestinian prisoners, Akram Rikhawi, Samer al-Barq, and Hassan Safadi are being followed around the world. Rikhawi - in poor health - is on his 95th day of hunger strike! Tell the Israelis that people around the world are demanding their freedom and are monitoring the situation of Palestinian prisoners and hold the Israeli officials responsible for their lives. Use this form to send a letter of protest to Israeli officials.

Gaza families visit jailed relatives in Israel

 Maan News Agency

Published today (updated) 16/07/2012 10:43

Gaza families will visit jailed relatives in Israel for the first time since 2007.

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Families in the Gaza Strip will visit relatives detained in Israeli jails on Monday for the first time since 2007, a prisoners group said.

Gaza-based group Husam told Ma'an that 48 family members would visit 25 relatives being held in Israeli jails. There are a total of 473 Gazan prisoners detained in Israel, group spokesman Muwaffaq Hmeid said.

The families left Gaza City at 4.00 a.m. to travel to the Erez crossing, he added.

Another group of families is expected to visit relatives on July 23, Hmeid said.

"This is a first step and we hope that visits by residents of Gaza will resume in full," said Juan Pedro Schaerer, the head of the ICRC delegation in Israel and the occupied territories.

"We have repeatedly called for the resumption of family visits, which are a lifeline for detainees and their families. Under international humanitarian law, Israeli authorities have an obligation to allow the detainees to receive family visits," a statement said.

In 2007, Israel started limiting what it considers privileges for Hamas and Gaza prisoners in a bid to put pressure on Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held in Gaza until last fall.

The visitors issue was one of the key demands of the hundreds of prisoners who went on a hunger strike in the spring.

In a deal to end the strike, Israeli authorities agreed to allow limited personal visits.

Official: Palestinian figures responsible for Arafat's death

Maan News Agency
 

Published today 12:28

Allegations of foul play have long surrounded Arafat's demise in
November 2004.

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- A Palestinian intelligence officer and member of an official investigation committee on Sunday accused Palestinian figures of killing late president Yasser Arafat.

Fahmi Shabana made the comments during an interview with Israeli journalist Yoni Bin Manahim, which was published Sunday on Israel's Reshet Bet new-site.

Shabana said that two Palestinian figures were involved in Arafat's death, a security figure from the Gaza Strip and a political figure who helped cover up the crime.

The Palestinian leadership has information on the death of Yasser Arafat which it will never make public, Shabana said, adding that the Al-Jazeera's report aimed to end President Abbas' political career.

Allegations of foul play have long surrounded Arafat's demise in November 2004 after French doctors who treated him in his final days said they could not establish the cause of death.

The controversy surrounding Arafat's death was reignited by an Al Jazeera expose last week in which the Swiss Radiophysics Institute said it found "surprisingly" high levels of polonium-210 on Arafat's clothing - the same substance used to kill former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.

The Swiss institute said, however, that the symptoms described in the Palestinian president's medical reports were not consistent with the radioactive agent.

The Palestinian Authority has agreed to exhume his body from Ramallah to complete investigations, but has yet to set a date to carry it out.

Allegations of foul play - and of Palestinian involvement in it - have long marked factional fighting among Palestinians.