INDEPENDENT NEWS

In Occupied Palestine: May 20 & 21, 2005

Published: Mon 23 May 2005 11:43 AM
In Occupied Palestine
Zionism in practice
Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Property
May 20 & 21, 2005
UN Agency Condemns Israel as Nuclear Polluter and Occupying Power
Two More Palestinian Victims of Settler Road Rage
Israelis Fire Stun Grenade at Worshippers Inside Mosque
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[Source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group]
Annexation Wall Building: 23 sites
Attacks: 26 – in Occupied Palestine the following were some of the people and areas that came under Israeli fire:
Khan Yunis –
• The West Khan Yunis refugee camp (four times - on one occasion at 12:40pm).
• A group of children north of the neighbourhood of Al Amal.
• The neighbourhood Al Amal
• Palestinian houses east of the village of Abasan, injuring a resident.
Rafah –
• An Israeli Army tank shelled the Ash Sha’ut neighbourhood of the Rafah refugee camp.
• A Palestinian security patrol in the Tall Zu’rub neighbourhood of the Rafah refugee camp.
• A Palestinian National Security location in the neighbourhood of Tall as Sultan.
• At 9:40pm an Israeli tank shelled the neighbourhood of Tall as Sultan and the area came under fire again at 10:30pm.
• At 12:15am, the Israelis detonated explosives on Palestinian land.
• At 1:30am, flares were fired over Palestinian territory north of the Sufa Crossing, setting fire to Palestinian wheat fields.
Gaza – Palestinian land to the south of Gaza City
Curfews: 1
See Raids below.
Deaths: 1
Central Gaza – the Israeli Army killed Mohammed Ribhi Barakeh near the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom.
Desecration: 1
Hebron – the Israeli Army raided the Al ‘Arrub refugee camp, fired a stun grenade inside the Omar Bin al Khattab Mosque while worshippers were performing Friday prayers, injuring two of the worshippers. The Israelis also smashed the windscreen of a vehicle parked near the mosque.
Destruction of property: 6
Jenin – during an Israeli Army training exercise in the area of At Tabaqa, east of Tubas, a fire was started, which destroyed a large area of pasture used for grazing.
Also see Desecration above.
Detentions: 13
Home invasions and occupation: Numerous
Tulkarem – at 4am, the Israeli Army raided the village of Seida, invaded the homes of villagers and took three people prisoner. The raid continued until 5:30am.
Ramallah & El Bireh – the Israeli Army raided Ramallah at 9:55am, again at 4:50pm and again at 9pm, when they invaded a house.
Nablus – on 18 May, the Israeli Army raided the village of Salim, invaded the home of a member of the Palestinian Presidential Guard and ordered members of his family to report to Israeli Intelligence.
Nablus – Israeli Occupation forces raided the city and the area surrounding Balata refugee camp at 1:15am. Firing stun grenades, the Israelis invaded people’s homes, set up a checkpoint in the centre of the city and searched people and vehicles.
Gaza – Israeli infantry raided the village of Al Mughraqa at 11pm and invaded a house after detaining and photographing the residents of the house.
Injuries: 15
See Attacks and Desecration above and Physical assaults and Settler violence below.
Physical assaults: 3
Qalqilya – Israeli Army Occupation forces raided the town of Azzun and detained two people. The Israelis beat one of the detainees, Mahmoud Bilal Is’haq, so savagely he had to be taken to hospital. At 12:45am, the Israelis raided the town again, firing stun grenades and flares as they roamed the streets.
Ramallah & El Bireh – Occupation forces fired rubber-coated bullets and tear-gas grenades at international and Israeli peace activists who were protesting against Israel’s annexation Wall. Six people were injured and, in addition, Israeli soldiers beat many of the protesters. The Israeli Army also detained approximately 26 international and Israeli peace activists.
Hebron – the Israeli Army set up a flying checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Idhna, searched Palestinian vehicles, and impeded civilian movement, severely beating some people, including six Palestinian National Security officers, who had their uniforms taken from them.
Also see Desecration above.
Prisoners taken: 17
Raids: 45
Ramallah & El Bireh –
• At 9:35am, the Israeli Army raided the village of Kafr ‘Ein and set up a checkpoint at the village entrance. At 10:30pm, the Israelis raided again and set up a checkpoint in the centre of the village. People and vehicles were searched and Israeli troops then roamed the streets.
• At 11:30am, Israeli Occupation forces raided Ramallah and patrolled the area surrounding Al Muqata’a and several neighbourhoods in the city itself. At 1:55am, the Israelis raided the city again, invaded a residential building, detaining the residents and took one person prisoner. The raid continued until 3:10am.
• At 10pm, the Israeli Army raided and roamed the streets of Beit Rima for half an hour.
• At 9:40pm, the Israeli Army raided the village of Beit Sira, imposed a curfew, and took a 16-year-old boy prisoner.
Tulkarem –
• At 10:45pm, the Israelis raided the village of Far’un, set up a checkpoint and searched villagers and their vehicles.
• At 10:35pm, Israeli Infantry raided the area between the villages of Ramin and Bizzariya. The raid continued until 11:20pm.
Jenin – the Israeli Army raided the villages of Deir Abu Da’if and Beit Qad at 3am setting up checkpoints and patrolling the whole area.
Settler violence: 7
Nablus – a gang of Israelis from the Jewish settlement of Yitzhar, late at night set fire to Palestinian agricultural land in the village of Burin.
Jericho – a gang of Israeli settlers took up positions at the entrance to the Palestinian village of Ein ad Duyuk; the Israeli Army removed the settlers.
Hebron – an Israeli settler mob stoned the homes of Palestinians in the Tall Rumeida neighbourhood.
Khan Yunis – an Israeli settler, driving a tractor, ran over two Palestinians who were working in the settlement of Netzer Hazani. The victims were taken to hospital.
Hebron –
• An Israeli settler mob in the old city severely beat three Palestinians.
• Israeli settlers from the Jewish settlement outpost of Ramat Yishay threw stones and empty bottles at the home of a Palestinian.
• Israeli settlers from the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba forcibly prevented Palestinians from using the racially segregated settler bypass road connecting the settlement to the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Times indicated in Bold Type contribute to the sleep deprivation suffered by Palestinian children.
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Zionism in principle
"When we [followers of the prophetic Judaism] returned to Palestine...the majority of Jewish people preferred to learn from Hitler rather than from us."
Martin Buber
speaking to a New York audience - Jewish Newsletter, June 2, 1958.
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Israelis Kill Palestinian as Occupation Forces Storm West Bank Refugee Camp
The Israeli Army shot and killed Mohammed Baraka, a 22-year-old Palestinian, early on Friday afternoon, in an attack on the settlement of Kfar Darom. Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees and Fateh’s Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in a joint press statement jointly claimed responsibility for the raid, which took place as Occupation forces invaded a refugee camp in the West Bank, closing the only road between the north and the south of the Gaza Strip. Several refugees were shot and wounded and others injured by tear-gas grenades. Israeli forces continued to close the Salah ad Din road, linking the northern and southern Gaza Strip for the second consecutive day. Witnesses said that Israeli soldiers manning the Abu Holi and Al Matahen checkpoints closed them without warning, forcing hundreds of people to wait for hours, unable to reach their homes.
An IPC correspondent reports that a large Israeli force, backed by combat helicopters, raided the Balata refugee camp and took prisoner Yehya Araysheh (18), Hani Khalil, Mahmoud Ehstewi (16), and Samer Al Tirawi (20), who was shot in the leg. Eyewitnesses said that an exchange of gunfire took place between the invading troops and members of the Resistance who were defending the camp. Among the wounded were the city's old mosque preacher, Ezzeddin Urduneyya (42) and Met'eb Eissa (38), who was heading for the mosque to perform the dawn prayers. Eissa's condition was described at the Rafidiya Hospital as critical.
Israeli forces also stormed the old refugee camp of Askar in Nablus and took two prisoners, one of whom was aged 17.
Elsewhere, Israeli soldiers manning the Al Bathan military checkpoint between Nablus and the northern Jordan Valley continued to humiliate and molest pedestrians and people in vehicles, subjecting them to excessively intrusive searches.
In the village of Bal'een, west of Ramallah a Palestinian, Hussein Hassan, was shot and wounded and dozens of protesters made ill from tear-gas inhalation when Israeli forces violently suppressed a peaceful demonstration against Israel’s annexation Wall. The demonstration had been organised by the Popular Committee to Resist the Wall and included many foreign and Israeli peace activists. Israeli soldiers arrested 26 of the activists. The international demonstrators held the flags of their countries and gagged themselves with adhesive tape to demonstrate the silence of the international community in the face of Israel’s annexation of West Bank land.
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WHO Condemns Israeli Nuclear Waste Disposal in Occupied Palestine
At its 58th Assembly held between May 15 and 26, the World Health Organisation (WHO) condemned Israel’s disposal of nuclear waste in Occupied Palestine and demanded that Israel refrain from such actions. During its Assembly at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, the UN agency drafted a resolution that has been circulated by the Palestinian Authority and supported by Arab, Islamic and some European delegations.
The resolution demanded that a fact-finding committee be sent to Israeli-Occupied Palestinian territory to measure radiation levels and to inspect the Israeli nuclear-waste dumps there and in the Golan Heights. The World Health Organisation also asked Israel to ensure freedom of movement for medical teams, ambulances, patients and medical supplies, during and after the proposed withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The WHO also stressed the importance of keeping border crossings open to ensure the steady movement of economic assistance and trade.
European delegations, including most EU members, expressed themselves in favour of the resolution. The Palestinian Health Minister, Dr. Thohni Al Wuheidi, described the resolution as a victory for the Palestinian and Arab delegations, as well as for the Palestinian people. He expressed gratitude to the Secretary General of WHO and the delegations that voted for and supported it.
This is the first time that a resolution has been passed by a UN agency defining Israel as an Occupying Power. It is also the first time that such a resolution has been approved by all the European countries, including Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
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Palestine Solidarity:
1. A letter from prison http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0505/S00316.htm
2. ISM - Israeli Solidarity Visit to Hebron's Families http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0505/S00317.htm
Palestine Human Rights Campaign –
3. Update From Occupied Palestine http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0505/S00307.htm
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1. Please send in VANUNU PETITIONS to P.O. Box 56.150 Auckland 3 ASAP.
2. Remember Human Rights Film Festival still goes on till Thursday -- Academy Theatre Auckland. (Promises on this week)
3. Lunch tickets going fast... Please book early as below...
PALESTINE HUMAN RIGHTS AND INDONESIAN HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNS are holding a joint fund raising lunch to celebrate and support our ongoing work. Our invited guest is Ahmed Zaoui.
Jack Dickey Hall 174 Greenlane West (near Gt. South Rd corner) Greenlane.
Saturday 28th May 2005 at 12 30pm.
Attendance ONLY by booking tickets. $20 Children Free.
Only 50 tickets available to each group so please book early.
David Wakim Tel: 520 0201
ENDS

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