Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel
Prisoners Archive - March 2009
Treatment of Prisoners and Detainees by Israel and Others
Prisoners Archive - March 2009
Treatment of Prisoners and Detainees by Israel and Others
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Detainees in Ramon Prison demand Israel to stop nude searches IMEMC & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 3/31/2009 Palestinian detainees imprisoned at the Ramon Israeli Prison voice an appeal to human rights groups in order to oblige Israel to stop the naked and provocative body searches practiced by the soldiers against them. The detainees stated that several days ago, they were undress in front of each other, while the soldiers insulted them and searched their rooms. They added that the soldiers, and a special police unit, claimed that they were searching for "illegal materials" in the rooms. The detainees also said that the army escalated its attacks against them recently, repeatedly broke into their room, searched them, and placed a number of detainees in solitary confinement. They "Illegal materials" the army usually searches for are usually certain books and educational materials. The Israeli Prison Administration decided recently to bar the entry of newspapers, and confiscated radios and TV sets. PFLP: 'Israel’s decision to impose more restrictions on the detainees, a terrorist decision' IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center 3/31/2009 The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) described the Israeli decision to impose for retractions against the detainees, as a terrorist decision that treats the detainees as hostages, and violates the basic international law. The PFLP issued a press released stating that this decision is another Israeli violation against the detainees and their legitimate rights. It also said that Israel rejects to recognize the international rights of the Palestinian detainees, as they are freedom fighters and prisoners of war who should be treated in accordance with the international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. In its statement, the PFLP said that this violation is "yet another Israeli violation to the humanitarian law, and the so-called Peace process". The PFLP demanded the Palestinian Authority, the Arab League, different human rights groups and the related United. . . Prisoners Defense Office: Kidnap more soldiers; raise swap demands to 11,600 Ma’an News Agency 3/31/2009 Gaza – Ma’an – The Palestinian Prisoners Defense Office called on Shalit’s captors to increase their bargaining power and kidnap more soldiers to ensure the success of a prisoner swap and the freedom of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. The comments from the office came in after Israel tightened restrictions on Hamas affiliates and Islamic Jihad members in Israeli prison, and conducted a mass sweep of arrests targeting Hamas leaders in the West Bank. The office also called swap negotiators to include the names of more prisoners in their demanded list to 11,600 prisoners. The office condemned the recent reports of psychological warfare on Palestinians in Israeli detention centers, and the harsh living conditions imposed on political leaders. Israeli forces detain young man, 39-year-old woman from Jenin Ma’an News Agency 3/31/2009 Jenin – Ma’an – Two Israeli forces detained a young Jenin man and a female former prisoner from their homes in the city’s easternmost neighborhood and the Jenin Refugee Camp Tuesday. . Security sources reported a military force storming homes under intense fire and evacuating residents. They then detained 21-year-old Samer Hashim As-Sa’di. The As-Sa’di family said soldiers destroyed several pieces of furniture and confiscated a computer, used by Samer for his studies at the Jenin Arab American University. An Israeli military force also stormed the refugee camp at dawn and detained 39-year-old Raja Al-Ghoul, a former prisoner who served 14 months in Israeli prison. The troops surrounded Raja’s home as well as the homes of her close relatives and the relatives of her husband. Once they were in the home soldiers claimed there was intelligence linking her to security concerns. IOA transfers female Palestinian prisoner to section of Israeli criminals Palestinian Information Center 3/29/2009 AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Lawyer of the prisoners’ foundation Muhjat Al-Quds stated that female detainee Siham Al-Heih, 30, was transferred Sunday from section 12 in the Telmond Hasharon prison where other Palestinian women are imprisoned to other section dedicated to Israeli female criminals. The foundation appealed to international organizations concerned with prisoners to pressure Israel to stop such violation of human rights, stressing that such a measure is contrary to the norms pursued in prisons, where criminal convicts are jailed separately from other prisoners who are detained for political reasons. The IOF troops had stormed and ransacked days ago the homes of Al-Heih family and kidnapped Siham, and confiscated documents and one computer. In the same context, Ra’fat Hamduna, the director of the Palestinian center for prisoners’ studies, called on the media to raise and follow up the issue of prisoner Heih. Bethlehem man denied life saving treatment in Israeli prison Ma’an News Agency 3/13/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli prison officials have refused to release a Bethlehem man suffering from kidney failure and severe kidney stones for treatment, the Palestinian Detainees Society said Friday. According to the society and the Red Crescent, Issam Ash-Sha’er has been denied permission for proper treatment and has been forced to take only basic medications to delay the inevitable surgery on the kidney. The pills, they added, are now beginning to cause permanent damage to the man’s stomach. The Red Crescent and the Detainees Society both urge for the man’s immediate release. [end] Israel releases Gazan man after five years in prison Ma’an News Agency 3/13/2009 Gaza – Ma’an – After spending five years in an Israeli detention center, Israeli authorities released 30- year-old Adham Salamah on Thursday, two weeks after his scheduled release date. Salamah, originally from Rafah, was detained on unclear charges in early 2003 after the Israeli army invaded the As-Sultan area of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. He was sentenced to five years in prison and was shuffled between the Ashkelon and Negev facilities. According to the Husam Prisoners’ Society, Israeli prison administration informed Salamah that he was being held as an “illegal combatant” and would remain in Israeli custody beyond the five-year term. Salamah was moved to a separate room in the Negev facility, and not informed how long he would be there. He was released Thursday and entered Gaza on the same day. Israeli legal group offers pro bono assistance to Gaza detainees Ma’an News Agency 3/12/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – An Israeli legal organization announced on Thursday its willingness to review complaints from families of “illegal combatants” from Gaza held by Israel. The Center for the Defence of the Individual, Hamoked, is an Israeli human rights organization that that works on behalf of Palestinians living under military occupation. The group said in a statement that it is prepared to receive complaints from the families of Gaza’s detainees, Palestinians arrested by the Israeli army and declared as illegal combatants after they had finished their sentences. The organization said it will appoint attorneys to represent detainees appearing before Israeli judicial authorities, offering pro bono legal services. The center, which is based in Jerusalem, told Ma’an that Gaza’s residents can call 026264438 or 026283555 to file a complaint. Report: Palestinian prisoners face numerous kinds of suffering in Israeli jails Palestinian Information Center 3/11/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- The Palestinian center for prisoners’ studies reported Wednesday that the Palestinian prisoners face numerous kinds of suffering and violations in Israeli jails, noting that many prisoners had not seen their families for about two years. A statement received by the PIC outlined some of the daily suffering experienced by the Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails such as the policy of medical neglect, arbitrary transfers, separating brothers in prison from each other and confiscating their personal belongings. Ra’fat Hamduna, the center’s director, called for organizing a wide and massive event involving all organizations and parties that are concerned with the issue of prisoners prior to the international day of Palestinian prisoners, which takes place next April, in order for the world to know the size of violations committed by Israel against thousands of Palestinian prisoners including children and women. Supreme Court upholds ban on Palestinian activist from traveling to accept award Ha’aretz 3/10/2009 The Supreme Court has banned a Palestinian human rights activist from traveling to Amsterdam to receive a prize. Shawan Jabarin, the West Bank-based director of Palestinian human rights organization al-Haq, hoped to travel to the Netherlands Friday to receive the Geuzenpenning Prize on behalf of his organization. But spokeswoman Ayelet Filo says the court ruled there was real evidence that he is involved with terror organizations, and therefore he will not be allowed to leave for security concerns. Geuzen Resistance Foundation spokeswoman Edith Kwakernaak said Tuesday the organization was shocked and disappointed. "Freedom of movement is a human right, too," she said. "It’s a shame that he can be held prisoner in this way. " Court: Probe death of Ketziot prisoner in botched ’morale boosting’ op Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz 3/10/2009 The Be’er Sheva Magistrate’s Court has ordered an investigation into the death of Mohammed Ashkar, who was shot in the head during an operation that was intended to be a morale-booster for the elite Israel Prisons Service unit Masada. The operation on October 22, 2007, consisted of a surprise personal search and a search also of the cells of prisoners in Section 12b at the Ketziot Prison for security offenders. In June Judge Drora Beit-Or is to hear testimony of the commander of Ketziot, Shlomi Cohen, and the head of the Prisons Service southern district, Eli Gavison. The attorney for the family of the dead prisoner is also expected to call members of the Masada unit to examine their possible responsibility at the operational and command level. Ketziot is the largest security prison in Israel, with some 2,200 prisoners. British activists promise to back Palestinian prisoners’ issue Palestinian Information Center 3/10/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- A group of English and Scottish activists on Monday met in Gaza with relatives of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails and listened to their suffering. Mohammed Al-Katari, the undersecretary of the prisoners’ ministry that hosted the meeting, welcomed the guests and said that such foreign delegations serve as a link to convey the woes of the Palestinian people to the outside world. He elaborated on the Palestinian prisoners’ suffering in occupation jails as a result of quelling measures and deprivation of basic needs. He said that such practices should be exposed before the world community. Members of the delegation stressed that they would exert all efforts possible to convey the question of those prisoners and to organize support rallies. The families of prisoners briefed the guests on the conditions of their next of kin in occupation jails and. . . Israel bans former PFLP operative from traveling to Amsterdam Associated Press, Jerusalem Post 3/10/2009 The Israeli Supreme Court on Tuesday banned a Palestinian human rights activist from traveling to Amsterdam to receive a prize. Shawan Jabarin, the West Bank-based director of Palestinian human rights organization al-Haq, hoped to travel to the Netherlands Friday to receive the "Geuzenpenning Prize" on behalf of his organization. But courts administration spokeswoman Ayelet Filo said the court ruled there was "real evidence that he is involved with terror organizations, and therefore he will not be allowed to leave out of security concerns. " In 1985, Jabarin was convicted by an Israeli court of terror activity on behalf of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He served nine months in prison. Israel put him in administrative detention in 1994, charging that he was still active in the PFLP, and has stopped him from traveling several times in the past. Khazindar warns of total paralysis of vital sectors in Gaza Palestinian Information Center 3/8/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Mahmoud Al-Khazindar, the deputy chairman of the society of owners of petrol stations in Gaza Strip, has warned of a big crisis that would paralyze vital sectors in the Strip if Israel continued to ban entry of fuel. Khazindar in a press statement published on Sunday said that Israel was linking entry of fuel supplies to the progress in the prisoners exchange deal and to the improvement in the security conditions (firing of missiles). He described such a policy as a new pressure tool on the Palestinians that would lead to doubling their sufferings. The diesel quantities that were smuggled through the tunnels with Egypt were about to run out, the petrol official warned, adding that the depletion of diesel would freeze all life activities in the Strip. Israeli MP tables draft law banning visits to Palestinian prisoners Palestinian Information Center 3/7/2009 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Danny Danon, a Likud member of the Israeli parliament, has tabled a draft law with the parliament stipulating banning family visits to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails especially those of the Hamas Movement. The Israeli TV seventh channel said that Danon’s draft law suggested allowing lawyers and Red Cross representatives to visit those prisoners only once every three months as long as Hamas retained the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in captivity. It quoted him as saying that he wished to deter the Palestinian resistance factions from attempting to capture more Israelis. Israel retains more than 11,000 Palestinian captives in its jails. [end] Farawna: 'May 8, a day of solidarity with Palestinian female detainees' Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 3/6/2009 Palestinian researcher, specialized in the issue of detainees, Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated on Friday the May 8, International Women’s Day, should be a day of solidarity with the Palestinian women detained by Israel. "The world marks this day to salute the women and their important role, struggle and achievements", Farawna said, "but it forgot that there are thousands of Palestinian women suffering under Israeli occupation, imprisoned and abused". He added that the world must understand that the detained Palestinian women are facing harsh treatment in Israeli prisons and are deprived from their basic rights. "They face torture, physical and psychological", Farawna said, "Some of them were even sexually harassed during interrogation". He also said that dozens of women are still imprisoned by Israel; some of them gave birth in prison, others left children behind, while a number of them are below the age of 18. Palestinian prisoners hope pope will press their case Ma’an News Agency 3/6/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestinian political prisoners called on Pope Benedict XVI to press for their release during his visit to Israel in May. In a statement smuggled from Israel’s Negev (Naqab) desert prison camp and released to the public on Friday, the prisoners said, “We appeal Pope Benedict XVI to intervene to resolve our case and end our suffering. ”The prisoners said they welcomed the visit, and also called on the Catholic clergy to raise this issue of Palestinian prisoners with "His Holiness. " Benedict plans to visit Jordan, the West Bank, and Israel during a four day visit. It will be the first Papal trip to the Holy Land since John Paul II came in 2000. There are more than 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails, many of them elderly and sick. Hundreds are charged in connection with attacks on Israelis. Palestinian held in Israeli investigation dies without medical attention PNN, Palestine News Network 3/4/2009 Nablus -- A Palestinian died waiting to cross a checkpoint. This is not the first time. Just a month ago a taxi driver, Nidal, pointed out a Palestinian ambulance on the side of the road surrounding by Israeli soldiers. "By the time it gets permission to pass, the patient will be dead. " There are also numerous stories of checkpoint babies, including the East Jerusalem case where the father could not visit the hospital. Today’s case regards medical neglect in a holding cell. The Palestinian Prisoners Society reports hundreds of cases of medical neglect of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, but this recent case resulted in death. Now the Palestinian police linked to the Palestinian Authority are conducting an internal investigation with the Israeli Justice Ministry to indict an Israeli officer and policeman at the Rehovot police station. Tulkarem man sentenced to prison for Jihad ties Ma’an News Agency 3/4/2009 Tulkarem – Ma’an – An Israeli military court sentenced Kayed Ne’man Rabah Tholthin, a resident of the West Bank city of Tulkarem, to 20 months in prison on Wednesday for alleged activity with the Islamic Jihad movement. Tholthin will also be made to pay a 3,000 shekel fine. Israeli forces seized Tholthin from his house in January 2007. He is being held in Israel’s Megiddo prison. [end] Lawyers demand better treatment for detainees at remand hearings Ha’aretz 3/4/2009 The Israel Bar Association is demanding that the police, Prisons Service and Courts Administration address the flaws Haaretz revealed in how detainees are handled at magistrate’s court remand hearings around the country. "What is particularly worrisome in terms of preserving basic human dignity is the failure to remove handcuffs inside detention rooms," contrary to the law, the IBA stated. On Thursday, Haaretz reporters checked detention procedures at the magistrate’s courts in Haifa, Acre, Petah Tikvah, Tel Aviv, Be’er Sheva, Jerusalem and Ashdod. They found that police representatives and Prison Service officials are late for hearings, while the detainees are left to wait handcuffed in the hall, and cannot meet with their lawyers in a suitable venue. IBA criminal forum head Rachel Toren sent a letter to Police Commissioner David Cohen, Prison Service Commissioner Benny Kaniak and courts director Judge Moshe Gal two days ago. Policy of arresting Palestinians on the rise PNN, Palestine News Network 3/3/2009 Ramallah - Abdel Nasser Ferwana is the head of prisoners affairs. Noting today that the Palestinian political prisoner population is on the rise, he also said that treatment is deteriorating. An essential component of the occupying authority’s policy is to arrest as many Palestinians as possible, said Ferwana today. "The arrests are without justification, without compliance to international norms and are part of the unjust laws created by the Israelis. " He stressed that the "authorities of occupation use the arrests in order to humiliate the citizens and put pressure on them, blackmail and bargaining. "Ferwana said that urgent intervention is needed to put an end to random arrests which escalated significantly in the West Bank during the past month. The number of arrests in February reached 365, including 50 children. Extra 800 shekels added to PLO prisoner payments following Abbas’ order Ma’an News Agency 3/3/2009 Nablus – Ma’an – An extra 800 shekels (190 US dollars) will be added to the stipends given to Palestinians affiliated with PLO factions in Israeli prisons this month, head of Palestinian Prisoner Society in Nablus Ra’ed Amer confirmed on Tuesday. Each PLO-affiliated prisoner receives 1,000 shekels(238 US dollars) per month, plus an extra 300 shekels (71 US dollars) if theyare married, and an extra 50 shekels (12 US dollars) for each child. The stipend is paid by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) each month. There are currently 4,500 men and women registered as prisoners in Israeli prisons. The increase will be applied to February’s payment, set to go through banks this week. Amer explained that the increase was made following the instructions of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Waed Society: 'Sick prisoners facing death due to medical negligence' Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 3/3/2009 The Waed Society for detainees and ex-detainees warned that there are dozens of Palestinian detainees who are facing slow death in Israeli prisons due to the Israeli policy of medical negligence, depriving the detainees from their basic rights, especially the right to medical attention. In a press release on Monday, the society said that it was informed that dozens of detainees are currently facing death as they need urgent medical attention but the Israeli prison administration is ignoring their rights. [end] Solidarity with Palestinians lands Egyptian party leader in jail Daily Star 3/4/2009 CAIRO: Magdi Hussein, secretary general of Egypt’s suspended Socialist Labor Party, has been sentenced to two years in prison by a military tribunal. Hussein, along with two others, was charged with "infiltrating" into the Gaza Strip following Israel’s recent campaign against the coastal enclave. Protests against his arrest continue to be ineffective. "It was an illegitimate, vindictive sentence for which there is no moral or legal excuse," Gamal Fahmi, managing editor of opposition weekly Al-Arabi al-Nassiri, and board member of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate told IPS. Hussein was arrested by Egyptian authorities on February 1 while returning to Egypt via the Rafah crossing, the sole transit point along Egypt’s 14-kilometer border with Gaza. Hussein was on his way back from a weeklong visit to the territory, still reeling from Israel’s military campaign from December 27 to January 17. EGYPT: Solidarity With Gaza Brings Jail Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, Inter Press Service 3/3/2009 CAIRO, Mar 3(IPS) - Magdi Hussein, secretary-general of Egypt’s suspended Socialist Labour Party, has been sentenced to two years in prison by a military tribunal. Hussein, along with two others, was charged with "infiltrating" into the Gaza Strip following Israel’s recent campaign against the coastal enclave. . . Protests against his arrest continue to be ineffective. "It was an illegitimate, vindictive sentence, for which there is no moral or legal excuse," Gamal Fahmi, managing editor of opposition weekly Al-Arabi Al- Nassiri, and board member of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate told IPS. Hussein was arrested by Egyptian authorities Feb. 1 while returning to Egypt via the Rafah crossing, the sole transit point along Egypt’s 14-kilometre border with the Gaza Strip. Hussein was on his way back from a week-long visit to the territory, still reeling from Israel’s military campaign from Dec. Medical neglect on the rise in Hadarim Prison, nine more arrests PNN, Palestine News Network 3/2/2009 Ramallah -- During early morning invasions of the West Bank Israeli forces arrested nine Palestinians. Break-ins included Nablus and it’s Balata Refugee Camp. Jalazone Refugee Camp in northern Ramallah was also hit along with the southern city of Hebron. An Israeli military source said the Palestinians were on a list of the "wanted," which at times is said to include thousands of people. Currently some 11,000 Palestinians are being held in Israeli prisons, many without charge or trial. Medical neglect is rampant, along with violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Palestinian Prisoners Society reported today that the Israeli prison administration in Hadarim Prison has increased restrictions on Palestinian political prisoners and is engaging in more widespread medical neglect. Report: Israeli Army kidnapped 292 Palestinians from the W.B during the month of February Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 3/2/2009 The Palestinian Political detainees Society issued a report on Monday stating that the Israeli military have kidnapped 292 Palestinians during the month of February. Of those 292 kidnapped, 35 were sick and 59 were children, in addition to four women, the report said. According to the Society report, the number kidnapped from different cities were: Bethlehem: 24; Hebron: 90; Ramallah: 68; Nablus: 35; Qalqilia: 22; Jenin: 25; Tulkarem: 13; Jericho: 8; Tubas: 6; and Salfet: 1. [end] 23 Palestinians killed in February Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 3/2/2009 The International Solidarity for Human Rights reported on Sunday that the Israeli Army carried out repeated violations in the occupied territories in February, killing 23 Palestinians, including four children and three women. Eighteen residents died in the Gaza Strip, most of them from wounds sustained during the latest Israeli offensive "Cast Lead" on the Gaza Strip, while five residents were killed in the West Bank. The ISHR stated that the Israeli Army increased its attacks against the Palestinian territories, and kidnapped more than 300 residents, including dozens of children and a number of women. The institution added that most of the kidnapped residents were taken to prison after the Israeli Army broke into their homes during the night, while a number of residents were kidnapped on roadblocks in different parts of the West Bank. Occupation releases MP Zeidan after 23 months in detention Palestinian Information Center 3/2/2009 TULKAREM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority has released Palestinian lawmaker Abdel-Rahman Zeidan, former Minister of the Ministry of Public Works in the 10th Palestinian government of PM Ismail Haneyya. Sources close to the former minister said that he was released from the Negev desert prison on Monday 2 March 2009 after spending 23 months in detention. Zeidan was arrested on 23 May 2007, to join tens of Hamas lawmakers and ministers in Israeli occupation jails. This was the second time Zeidan was arrested and detained. He had to undergo surgery during his detention as he suffered ill health. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said in a report that the Israeli occupation forces arrested 292 Palestinians in the West Bank during the month of February. Amongst those arrested 35 people who are suffering health problems, 59 minors and 4 girls. Israel releases former Hamas minister from prison Ma’an News Agency 3/2/2009 Tulkarem – Ma’an – Israel released Abdel Rahman Zaidan, a member of the Palestinian parliament and a former minister of public works on Monday after holding him prisoner for 22 months in prison. Zaidan, a member of the Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform List, was a minister in the 10th Palestinian government. He was arrested in May of 2007 and served time between Israel’s Negev prison camp and Megiddo prison. Residents in Zaidan’s hometown of Deir Al-Ghusun, near the West Bank city of Tulkarem, are preparing a celebration at Al-Faiha Hall to welcome him home. Israel seized dozens of members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in response to the capture of soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still held by Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip. Some forty members of the PLC are still in Israeli jails. Human rights group demands investigation into Gaza City murder Ma’an News Agency 3/1/2009 Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) on Sunday called upon the de facto government in Gaza to initiate an immediate investigation into the murder of one of the Strip’s residents. Hamza Mahmoud Al-Shoubaki, age 40, was abducted by unidentified gunmen on Thursday, 26 February and subsequently died. "PCHR reiterates that this murder is part of the state of security chaos and violations of the rule of law plaguing the occupied Palestinian territory," the group said in a statement to Ma’an. According to investigations conducted by the group, at approximately 22:00 on Thursday, 26 February, masked gunmen abducted Hamza al-Shoubaki from the Al-Daraj neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. Al-Shoubaki’s wife provided a testimony to the rights organization, stating:"Approximately four months later, I visited my husband at the ISS prison. . . -- See also: PCHR Calls for Investigation into Gaza City Murder Spanish war crimes probe against Israeli officials to go on Ha’aretz 2/27/2009 A Spanish court announced a decision on Friday to go ahead with a much publicized investigation against senior Israeli officials over alleged war crimes. Last month, Spanish judge Fernando Andreu launched the investigation against seven current or former Israeli officials, over a 2002 bombing in Gaza that killed top Hamas militant Salah Shehadeh and 14 other people, including nine children. The investigation includes former defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, and former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Dan Halutz, who served as the commander of the Israel Air Force at the time of the targeted assassination of Shehadeh, along with five other Israeli officials. The judge initially launched the investigation under a doctrine that allows prosecution in Spain, and other European countries, to reach far beyond national borders in cases of torture or war crimes. $9,000 buys black market mobile in Israeli prison; bankrupts families Ma’an News Agency 2/27/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an report – A recently released Palestinian detainee reported rumors of exorbitant black market prices for items such as cell phones. The former prisoner, who preferred to remain anonymous, said families were bankrupting themselves to purchase the up to 25-30,000 shekel (6-7000 US dollar) phones, just so they could hear their sons’ voices. The source, who spent 10 years in Israeli prisons, said the black market smuggling and near extortion of prisoners families was allowed to continue because of a lack of Palestinian organization within the Ofer prison in particular. He said he felt badly for those conned into purchasing the smuggled items and hoped detainees would discourage the practice in the future. Head of the detainees’ society in Bethlehem Abdullah Az-Zaghari confirmed that he personally had heard of mobile phones being sold for as much as 40,000 shekels (9,500 US dollars). PPS demands medical attention for Palestinian detainees Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 2/24/2009 The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) stated that several detainees at the Ofer Israeli detention facility are suffering from different health problems due to torture and medical negligence, while the administration refuses to provide them with the needed medical attention. Detainee Mohammad Salah, age 19, from al-Khader town near Bethlehem, is currently facing a deteriorating health condition as he was violently attacked by Israeli soldiers when he was kidnapped on January 16, 2009. The soldiers kicked him in various parts of his body, mostly in his chest, and struck him with batons and rifle-butts. Salah said that during his interrogation he was cuffed, and the soldiers kicked and clubbed as they tried to make him sign a forced confession. He was later moved to the Hadassah Ein Karem Israeli hospital in Jerusalem, and the doctors had only given him pain-killing pills for infections and bruises. Palestinian legislator sentenced to 19 months imprisonment Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 2/24/2009 The Israeli Military Court in Ofer prison sentenced on Monday Palestinian legislator, Ahmad Abdul-Aziz Mubarak, from al-Jalazoun refugee camp in Ramallah, to 19 months imprisonment. In a press release, Hamas legislators in the occupied West Bank slammed the court’s decision, and considered it another Israeli violation that targeted elected Palestinian officials, including legislators and mayors. The legislators demanded different human rights groups and international parliaments to intervene and ensure the release of all Palestinian legislators and officials illegally detained by Israel. It is worth mentioning that Mubarak was arrested on April 17, 2007, only a month after he was released from another Israeli detention facility. Israel is currently holding 49 legislators and ministers captive without legal basis. Settler soldier receives harsher sentence Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 2/24/2009 Soldier who protested eviction of his West Bank home has jail sentence increased from 4 to 6 months, after military prosecution says original sentence too lenient - An Israeli soldier who was detained for his behavior during the eviction of the northern West Bank outpost of Adei-Ad was sentenced on Tuesday to half a military year in prison by an IDF appeals court. Prior to an appeal by the prosecution, he had been sentenced to four months in prison. Private Menachem Bakush, who serves in the military rabbinate, was accused of disobeying orders and damaging the image of the IDF when he protested a military eviction of the settlement in late December 2008. Bakush, married and father to a baby girl, had been on the way to his base near Jerusalem when he received a message that IDF forces were clearing out the outpost where he lived. Still wearing his uniform and armed with a military-issue rifle, he entered the area, which the IDF’s Central Command Chief had temporarily decreed to be a closed military area. Four Hizb At-Tahrir members detained by PA police in Salfit Ma’an News Agency 2/23/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestine’s Hizb At-Tahrir (Liberation Party) said that four of their members detained by Salfit police for more than 20 days began a hunger strike on Sunday. The party said in a statement received by Ma’an that the parents of the detainees are condemning the arrests. They also said they blame the Palestinian Authority for the detentions and that the government “will be held responsible if anything happens to their sons. ” [end] Palestinians taken from Gaza held in torturous conditions PNN, Palestine News Network 2/22/2009 Gaza -- The fate of Palestinians arrested from the Gaza Strip during the recent major attacks is being slowly uncovered. Several were found after being taken out of Al Naqab Prison under false pretences. The Palestinians were being held, according to the Israelis, as "illegal combatants" and therefore, they said, did not require the attention of the Red Cross or attorneys. The Palestinian Prisoner Society has followed the case closely while issuing reports when new information becomes available. Ghazi Sobhi Al Attar is among those taken from the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces kidnapped the young man, along with his father and 17 year old brother, from their home in the north’s Beit Lahiya on the third of January this year. It was just days after the major attacks began on 28 December. In an eventual meeting with PPS lawyers Al Attar was able to give some of the details of his family’s arrest. Israeli soldiers seize former prisoner at checkpoint Ma’an News Agency 2/20/2009 Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers seized 37-year-old Muhammad An-Nawaj’a at a checkpoint between Ramallah and Bethlehem on Thursday night. Witnesses said that the soldiers assaulted An-Nawaj’a before arresting him. An-Nawaj’a is a former prisoner who was on his way home to the town of Yatta, near Hebron. An-Nawaj’a’s parents condemned the arrest, calling on human rights organizations to press for his release. [end] Focus on Gaza Al Jazeera 2/20/2009 Al Jazeera’s recent coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza was unparalelled. The network was the only international broadcaster with reporters on both sides of the border, in Israel and Gaza. The war may now be over but the human suffering continues. Focus On Gaza is a new weekly show that will examine all facets of life in the Gaza Strip. Presented by Imran Garda the programme will bring all the latest news and devolopments in Gaza and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Al Jazeera will also showcase family life in the densely populated area that some describe as the world’s largest open prison. Focus on Gaza features Al Jazeera’s team in the territory including correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin as we continue to lead the way in covering one of the world’s most intractable conflicts. - Human rights investigators continue to look into allegations that Israeli soldiers may have committed crimes of war during their Gaza military campaign. Tadamun: IPA bars transplant for detainee Palestinian Information Center 2/18/2009 NABLUS, (PIC)-- The international Tadamun society has charged the Israeli prisons authority with barring a Palestinian detainee from undergoing a kidney transplant operation. The society in a press release on Wednesday quoted its lawyer as saying that the detainee, Zuhair Lubada, is forced to have dialysis three times weekly and each session takes four hours accompanied by severe pains. It said that the detainee also suffers from liver problems and teeth ache but no treatment is provided for him. Lubada, 47, is held under administrative custody, without charge or trial, since 19/6/2008. Lubada, a father of four children, is held in the Ramle prison hospital. Tadamun held the IPA fully responsible for the lives of dozens of detainees and prisoners who suffer serious diseases and are held in the Ramle prison, demanding their immediate release to enable them receive proper medical treatment. Report: 'Amy kidnapped 7,600 children since 2000, 246 remain behind bars' Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 2/19/2009 Palestinian researcher, specializing in detainees’ affairs, Awni Farawna, stated that the Israeli Army has kidnapped a total of 7,600 Palestinian children, males and females, since the year 2000; 246 children are still behind bars. At least 200 of the kidnapped children were detained under administrative detention, without charges or trial. Some of the children were as young as 12 years old. One detainee is now 13 months old as he was born behind bars. His mother, Fatima Al Zoq, was kidnapped while pregnant, and gave birth in prison while she was handcuffed and her legs were tied to the hospital bed. Farawna stated that Israel’s targeting of children is a policy that targets childhood and a healthy growth, and expressed concern over the fate of the detained children as they are subjected to different sorts of violations, including torture and isolation, which affects their growth,. . . Mazuz mulls indicting senior Arab MK for attacking cop during protest Jack Khoury and Tomer Zarchin, Ha’aretz 2/19/2009 Attorney General Menachem Mazuz is considering indicting Hadash Chairman MK Mohammad Barakeh for attacking a policeman during a demonstration. Barakeh is suspected of having assaulted a member of the Israel Prison Service’s elite Masada unit at a protest in the West bank village of Bi’ilin in 2005. The policeman was taking a detainee to a police car at the time of Barakeh’s alleged assault. Mazuz is considering also including on the charge sheet the crimes of offending a public servant and issuing threats. Barakeh, a prominent Israeli Arab MK, is alleged to have committed these offenses at two other demonstrations in addition to the one at Bi’ilin. In one of the incidents, Barakeh allegedly attacked a police officer during a 2006 protest in Tel Aviv, while in another he is accused of assaulting a passerby during a demonstration in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square. Ministry of prisoners holds IOA responsible for lives of Raymond detainees Palestinian Information Center 2/17/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- The ministry of prisoners’ affairs held the IOA fully responsible for the lives of Palestinian prisoners in the Raymond prison after a painful skin infection swept through the jail and infected dozens of Palestinian prisoners with this disease as a result of the unhealthy incarceration conditions in this jail and the policy of medical neglect practiced by Israel against all Palestinian prisoners. In a press statement received by the PIC, Riyadh Al-Ashqar, the director of the information office in the ministry, explained that an infectious skin disease has spread recently among the Raymond prisoners and infected about 60 of them with symptoms similar to those caused by eczema but they are more serious. According to Ashqar, the prison administration refused, despite the many appeals made to it, to bring a doctor specialized in skin diseases. Conditions deteriorate in Eshel Prison without accountable administration Ali Samoudi for PNN, Palestine News Network 2/17/2009 Jenin -- The Palestinian Prisoners Society said today that the conditions in the Eshel Prison are continuing to deteriorate since the recent transfer of the Department Director. Officers and guards are using arbitrary actions and new restrictions which have exacerbated the suffering of Palestinians. The list of banned goods has been expanded, says the PPS, obliging Palestinians to purchase necessities from the prison store at exorbitant prices and a random schedule. In a report issued after a visit by the PPS lawyer investigating transfers of detainees, several cases were taken into account. Safwat Jibril Jabour was sentenced on 8 October 2002 to two life times plus 22 years. The 34 year old explained to the PPS that the general situation in the prison is "poor and chaotic in the absence of a director. Fatah activist sentenced to seven years in Israeli prison Ma’an News Agency 2/17/2009 Gaza – Ma’an – An Israeli military court in the city of Beersheba sentenced a 38-year-old Fatah activist to seven years in prison on Tuesday after postponing his trial for two and a half years. Ali Fuad Abu Al-Foul, who is from Gaza, faced charges related to activities with Fatah and its armed branch, the Al-Aqsa Brigades. He was seized by Israeli forces at the Erez crossing while returning to Gaza from the West Bank city of Jericho in October 2006. According to sources close to him, Abu Al-Foul suffers chronic back pain and impaired vision after he was tortured in prison. Abu Al-Foul is married and has two sons, Muhammad and Fuad. [end] Israel installs surveillance equipment in Palestinian detention center Ma’an News Agency 2/17/2009 Salfit – Ma’an – Israeli prison guards at the Huwwara detention center have installed surveillance equipment in cells and common areas and are using information obtained by the devices during interrogation, prisoners at the facility said this week. A report from the Prisoners’ Society released Tuesday said the prison was being used to gather information and inmates would be released or taken elsewhere for questioning shortly after arriving. Prisoners said they were very disturbed by the development, noting that it violated their rights to privacy. Several prisoners also reported poor health conditions in the prison, noting that there were no doctors on staff and only basic painkillers like acetaminophen were available for the treatment of all manner of illnesses. In protest of the conditions detainees organized a hunger strike and were brutally punished for their actions. 2 ex-Border Guard officers jailed for robbing Palestinians Ilana Curiel, YNetNews 2/17/2009 Officers get prison sentence for demanding illegal Palestinian residents hand over NIS 4,000 in market -Two former Border Guard officers received prison sentences Monday after being convicted of robbing Palestinians at a Beersheba market. One of the officers received six months in jail and the other four - but the sentences can be converted to community service. The Beersheba District Court handed the tougher sentence to a 22-year old former officer who was convicted of abuse of power, assault, and demanding of property under threat. His accomplice, a 21-year old, was convicted of abuse of power and aiding the demanding of property under threat. According to the indictment, the two officers met three Palestinians at the city’s market three years ago and asked them for IDs. After ascertaining that the Palestinians were illegal residents, the officers ordered them to empty their pockets. Israeli soldiers sentenced for extorting money from Palestinian workers Ma’an News Agency 2/17/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – An Israeli court in Beersheva sentenced two soldiers to four and six month prison terms after they were found guilty of stealing 4,000 shekels from four Palestinians. The money was taken in lieu of arrest as soldiers discovered the men were attempting to work in Israel without permits. The Palestinians were held at gunpoint until cash was produced. The incidents took place three years ago. The Israeli court ordered 1,700 shekels in compensation for each of the Palestinian men. [end] Israel intends to use the unlawful combatant law against Gaza POWs Palestinian Information Center 2/16/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- The PA ministry of prisoners’ affairs in Gaza said on Monday that Israel intends to use the law of "unlawful combatant" against more than 200 civilians kidnapped during its war on the Gaza Strip whose fate and whereabouts are still unknown and concealed by the IOA. In a statement received by the PIC, Riyadh Al-Ashqar, the director of the information office in the ministry, explained that Israel devised the law of unlawful combatant to legalize the abduction of civilians endlessly and without any trial. Ashqar added that according to this arbitrary law, the prisoners are denied the right of defending themselves or knowing the charges filed against them. Moreoever, the IOA does not level any indictment against them at the pretext that there are secret files, he pointed out. The Palestinian official revealed that before the war, the IOA had founded a special judicial. . . 22-year-old released from Israeli prison after four years Ma’an News Agency 2/16/2009 Tulkarem – Ma’an –Israeli forces released 22-year-old Nabil Jamil Issa Bado following a four year prison term on Monday evening. Nabil, from the Tulkarem refugee camp, spent the duration of his sentence at the Israeli Negev prison, notorious for its difficult living conditions. Israeli forces detained Bado from his house on 18 August 2005. He was accused of affiliation to Fatah and acting against Israel. [end] IOF troops quell Na’lin peaceful march Palestinian Information Center 2/14/2009 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces on Friday quelled the weekly peaceful demonstration organized by the inhabitants of Na’lin village, along with foreign sympathizers, to protest confiscation of their lands. Local sources said that the IOF soldiers fired sonic and gas bombs at the participants, and added that 15 of them were treated for suffocation including five journalists and an international activist. In the West Bank, IOF troops arrested three citizens including a young woman in Nablus district at dawn Saturday, local sources reported. They noted that two other young men were rounded up from the Duma village to the southeast of Nablus at dawn Friday. The Israeli occupation authority renewed the administrative detention, without trial or charge, of former PA minister of prisoners’ affairs Wasfi Qabaha, 49, for six months despite absence of any charge against him since his detention on 23/5/2007. PPP: Skin diseases spreading in Ramon detention facility Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 2/13/2009 "The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) reported Thursday that a skin disease is spreading among the Palestinian detainees in Ramon Israeli detention facility, as nearly 50 detainees are suffering from allergies that are causing the skin to peal off. The PPS said that the disease was first found three months ago, but it was minor and was accompanied with small pimples that would burst and leave a small mark. But later on, the disease started spreading and started to affect different parts of the body, and one detainee also had the disease under his nails causing him to lose three of them. In a letter sent to the prison’s physician, the detainees said that the disease is rapidly spreading among them, but the administration failed to conduct the needed arrangements for treatment. Later on, the detainees held a protest and the administration allowed some of the detainees to be. . . Hamas murder campaign in Gaza exposed Rory McCarthy, Bethlehem, The Guardian 2/13/2009 Islamist regime has killed dozens and tortured others as ’collaborators’ with Israel in war’s aftermath, Amnesty and Guardian sources say - New evidence has emerged revealing the extent of the crackdown by Hamas during and after Israel’s war in Gaza last month. Amnesty International said Hamas forces and militias were involved in a "campaign of abductions, deliberate and unlawful killings, torture and death threats against those they accuse of ’collaborating’ with Israel, as well as opponents and critics". It said at least two dozen men had been shot by Hamas since the end of December and "scores of others" shot in the legs, kneecapped or beaten. Amnesty gave detailed accounts of some of the cases and said there was "incontrovertible evidence" that Hamas security forces and militia were "responsible for grave human rights abuses". -- See also: VIDEO - Living in the rubble: a Gaza family left homeless by the war National and Religious Institution in Jerusalem to hold a protest Saturday Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 2/11/2009 National and Religious Institutions issued a press release stating that they are planning to hold a protest against the ongoing Israeli siege on Gaza, and to demand a boycott against Israel for its ongoing violations, in addition to demanding the release of 11. 000 political detainees imprisoned by Israel. The protest would be conducted at noon Saturday, February 14, at the Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem. The protest is entitled "Lift the Blockade on Gaza Now", "Boycott Israel Now". There are hundreds of Palestinian detained who were kidnapped and imprisoned by Israeli before the first Oslo agreement was sign between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel in 1993. The agreement was entitled Gaza-Jericho First. More than 200 prisoners died in Israeli prisons due to torture and medical negligence. Hundreds of women and children and also detained by Israel. [end] Barghouthi: The prisoners ready to remain in jails without waiving one demand Palestinian Information Center 2/12/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- Dean of the Palestinian prisoners Na’el Al-Barghouthi stated that the prisoners in Israeli jails are willing to stay in captivity for the rest of their lives without the Palestinian resistance relinquishing one demand regarding the prisoner swap deal. In a letter sent through the Wa’ed society for detainees and ex-detainees, Barghouthi expressed the Palestinian prisoners’ rejection of the Israeli attempts to link the issue of captive soldier Gilad Shalit with the opening of crossings, calling on the Palestinian resistance not to be swayed by any Arab or Israeli pressures trying to ignore or extract concessions on the issue of Palestinian prisoners. In another related context, Israeli military analyst Aluf Ben opined that a prisoner swap deal between the Hamas Movement and Israel might come to light soon, noting that Hamas is insistent on clinging to its demands regarding. . . Israel releases 25-year-old Palestinian woman after seven years in prison Ma’an News Agency 2/12/2009 Bethlehem- Ma’an – Israeli authorities released 25-year-old A’reen A’wad Husein Shu’eibat from prison on Thursday. The young woman was detained in 2002 during the Israeli siege of Bethlehem. The young woman, from the Bethlehem suburb of Beit Sahour spent her seven-year imprisonment in the Israeli Ad-Damun prison in northern Israel. The young woman prepared to launch a suicide bomb attack against the Israeli soldiers occupying Bethlehem in 2002. She left her home prepared to carry out the mission but had a change of heart and returned home. Israeli intelligence surrounded her home two days following the event. Forces imposed a curfew on the entire town, raided the home and arrested her. A’reen was in her second year of a Business Administration degree at Bethlehem University when she was detained. She was charged with attempting to carry out a suicide attack. VIDEO - Soldier who fired gunshots in Hebron to be jailed Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 2/12/2009 (VIDEO) Corporal Nahum Ben-Yaakov of Givati Brigade arrested after Ynet publishes video showing him threatening, firing in air during clash between settlers, Palestinians. Plea bargain states soldier to serve five months in prison - VIDEO -An Israel Defense Forces soldier, who fired gunshots in the air during a clash between settlers and Palestinians near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba adjoining the city of Hebron, will serve five and a half months in prison, according to a plea bargain which will be presented to the court in the coming days. "The soldier’s actions were severe, so the punishment must deter all those holding weapons in their hands," a military source involved in the affair said Thursday. Initial ReportSoldier recorded firing gunshots in Hebron / Exclusive video obtained by Ynet reveals IDF ununiformed soldier. . . Amnesty International accuses Hamas of targeting Fatah rivals during war The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 2/11/2009 GAZA CITY - Hamas militants or security forces killed two dozen people and beat or tortured scores more during and after Israel’s recent Gaza offensive, Amnesty International said in a report released yesterday. Many of those targeted had been detained on charges of spying for Israel and were killed after fleeing a Gaza prison damaged in Israeli airstrikes, the report said. Others were former security officers for the Palestinian Authority or members of Hamas’ rival Fatah movement, the report said. Many of the victims were abducted from their homes by Hamas gunmen or security officers and later found dead, the report said. Others were beaten or shot through the legs, many permanently injured, Amnesty said. Amnesty’s findings echo recent reports by Palestinian human rights groups. MP Mansour calls for independent committee to probe Haj’s death Palestinian Information Center 2/10/2009 NABLUS, (PIC)-- MP Mona Mansour has called for the formation of an independent investigation committee including representatives of legal and human rights institutions, factions and relatives of Mohammed Al-Haj to determine the exact cause of his death in PA custody. She said that all those involved in the "crime" should be prosecuted in the light of the findings of the proposed committee so as to avoid recurrence of this incident. Mansour, a Hamas MP in Nablus, said in a press release on Tuesday that the PA preventive security apparatus’s claim that Haj committed suicide in his cell was a premature investigation result and was unfair to the man, a Hamas activist, and his family. The lawmaker asked for the release of all political detainees in the jails of former PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s security apparatuses to furnish the atmosphere before initiation of national dialog and real conciliation. Another political detainee in Abbas’s jails rushed to hospital Palestinian Information Center 2/10/2009 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Palestinian political detainee in the jails of Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas was rushed to Tulkarem hospital on Monday after elements of the preventive security apparatus in the city severely tortured him. Well-informed Palestinian sources identified the tortured man as Esam Dhamiri, adding he was kidnapped three days ago at his Tulkarem home, and that he was now in the intensive care unit under tight security from those militias who denied him family visitation. A couple of days ago, a Hamas political detainee, Mohammed Al-Haj, 30, died after he was tortured at the hands of the same apparatus’s elements in Jenin city. Dhamiri was released from Israeli jails few months ago after he spent two years there. Family of Dhamiri held Abbas and his lieutenant Ibrahim Abu Al-Jazar, the chief of the apparatus in Tulkarem, responsible for the life of their son, urging the. . . Amnesty Condemns Hamas’ deadly retribution against opponents and critics Palestine Media Center 2/11/2009 Since the end of December 2008, during and after the three-week Israeli military offensive which killed some 1,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, Hamas forces and militias in the Gaza Strip have carried out a deadly campaign of abductions, deliberate and unlawful killings, torture and death threats against those they accuse of “collaborating” with Israel, as well as, Amnesty International revealed in a new document today. At least two dozen men have been shot dead by Hamas gunmen and scores of others have been shot in the legs, kneecapped or inflicted with other injuries intended to cause permanent disability, subjected to severe beatings which have caused multiple fractures and other injuries, or otherwise tortured or ill-treated. Most were abducted from their homes and later dumped – dead or injured – in isolated areas, or found in the morgue of one of Gaza’s hospitals. Some were shot dead in hospitals where they were receiving treatment for injuries. Disappeared free Gaza activist, Teresa McDermott, found in Israel’s Ramleh Prison Staff, International Middle East Media Center News 2/9/2009 Scottish activist Teresa McDermott was found in Ramleh prison, four days after the Israeli Government claimed she suposedly "disappeared", after being forcibly removed from a seaborne Lebanese aid mission to Gaza, a statement sentto IMEMC on Monday by the Free Gaza movement said. Teresa was one of only nine passengers aboard the cargo ship on February 4, 2009 when Israeli gunboats intercepted it, boarded, and forced the ship to Ashdod port in Israel. All the passengers and crew aboard were released on Thursday, February 5, except Teresa. Between Thursday evening and Sunday morning there was no word in regards to Teresa’s whereabouts, except for several false stories stating that "Britons" had departed to London. Finally, on Sunday, Teresa was able to call her brother John in Scotland to say she was in Ramleh prison in Israel. Prisoners’ conditions spur complaint by Jerusalem public defender Tomer Zarchin, Ha’aretz 2/9/2009 Prisoners sit with their legs chained together for hours in a cell in the back of an Israel Prisons Service van, while they await hearings in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court. The cell is only 1. 5 meter by 1. 5 meter in size. The prisoners are kept in the van because there is not enough room in the holding cells at the court, according to a complaint submitted on Sunday by attorney Moshe Hacohen, chief public defender for the Jerusalem district. Hacohen’s complaint was filed with Prisoner Commissioner Benny Kaniak and Judge Amnon Cohen, president of the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court. Hacohen demanded the two intervene immediately, due to the "disgraceful and inhuman conditions" of the prisoners. Last Wednesday, after one prisoner complained, Hacohen and his staff went to the back entrance of the Jerusalem court and confronted a depressing. . . Hamas prisoners declare hunger strike over man who died in PA jail Ma’an News Agency 2/9/2009 Jenin - Ma’an – Hamas-affiliated Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails declared a hunger strike on Monday in protest of the death of Abd Al-Jamil Al-Haj, a Hamas member who died while in Palestinian Authority custody in Jenin on Sunday. The detainees, in a statement issued from an Israeli prison, said that Al-Haj’s death “is a disgrace on the forehead of the PA and all those who kept silent over such crimes. ”The PA declared Al-Haj’s death a suicide, but his family says that he was tortured, and that he was arrested on political grounds. The detainees are calling for the PA to shut down its prisons, noting "dozens" of cases of torture against Hamas members in PA jails. The Hamas-run de facto government in Gaza has also been accused of human rights abuses, including torture. Philip Rizk - Egypt’s Latest Political Captive Kalash, Kabofest 2/7/2009 A group of activists were recently detained in Sariaqos, north of Cairo. They had been holding a march in the rural area to raise awareness about the situation in Gaza. For several hours, they walked around, talking to bystanders and asking them to join the protest. They did what they had to do. As they were heading back to Cairo, they were stopped and arrested. All of them were released... except for Philip Rizk. Human rights lawyers arrived to help the activists but Rizk was snuck out of the prison’s backdoor of and taken away. According to a Reuters report, he was put in an unmarked car with no license plates; police also blocked his companions’ vehicle to prevent them from following. A Facebook group set up by his friends and family explains further: Phil’s parents went to the police headquarters to file a missing persons complaint.... Scottish activist on humanitarian mission for Gaza found in Israeli prison PNN, Palestine News Network 2/9/2009 Gaza -- The missing passenger from the Lebanese ship bringing aid to Gaza was found yesterday. Resident of Scotland, Teresa McDermott, was able to telephone her brother from Ramle Prison on Sunday. The Israeli administration arrested all of the passengers from the Togo flagged ship, Tali, last week after "beating and kicking" them. That report was confirmed by Al Jazeera reporter Salam Khader who was on board. For four days McDermott was held without contact in the Tel Aviv area Israeli prison. She was one of nine passengers aboard the cargo ship carrying medical and humanitarian supplies as part of ongoing local and international efforts to break the siege on Gaza. On 4 February Israeli gunboats intercepted and boarded the ship, forcing it into the Israeli Ashdod port. The Tali was impounded and the aid confiscated. Investigation sought after Gaza man tortured to death by security forces Ma’an News Agency 2/9/2009 Gaza – Ma’an – A Palestinian human rights organization is calling for an investigation in to the death of a Gazan man it says was tortured to death by Palestinian security forces in Gaza. According to the independent Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Jameel Shafiq Shaqqura, 51, from Khan Yunis refugee camp Internal Security Services and subsequently died of his injuries. According to PCHR’s investigation, the security forces delivered Shaqqura to a hospital on 31 January. He died on Friday after his condition deteriorated while in custody. The victim’s brother, Aatef Shaqqura told PCHR that on 30 January Jameel and three others were summoned to the Khan Yunis Sports Club for questioning “in a case they knew nothing about. ”“At approximately 06:30 on Saturday, 31 January, I received a phone call from a staff member of Nasser Hospital, who informed me that. . . Fatah calls for investigation into death of Hamas PA prisoner Ma’an News Agency 2/9/2009 Nablus – Ma’an – The secretaries of the Fatah movement in the West Bank called on the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Monday to open an investigation into the death of a Hamas member in a PA prison. Ad Al-Jamil Al-Haj died in a Palestinian Preventive Security detention center in the West Bank city of Jenin on Sunday. The PA said Al-Haj committed suicide, but his family and Hamas are alleging that he was arrested on political charges, then tortured and possibly killed. In a statement the Fatah secretaries also expressed concern at the deteriorating human rights situation in Gaza, blaming the Hamas movement for abuses there, which the statement said were documented by the human rights organizations Addamir, Al-Mezan, and the Gaza Community Mental Health Program. The statement said that “Hamas’ coup” is the cause for “all the catastrophes that are going on in Gaza. PCHR Calls for Investigation into the Death of Palestinian Tortured by Security Services in Khan Yunis Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 2/8/2009 PCHR calls for an immediate and rigorous investigation into the circumstances of the death of Jameel Shafiq Shaqqura, 51, from Khan Yunis refugee camp, who was tortured by the Internal Security Services and subsequently died of his injuries. PCHR calls also for the results of the investigation to be made public, and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice according to the law. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 10:40 on Friday, 6 February, medical sources at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, confirmed that Jameel Shafiq Shaqqura had died from a brain clot caused by torture and severe beating to his head. Security officers had transferred Shaqqura to Nasser hospital on 31 January, as his health had deteriorated whilst he was in their custody. The victim’s brother, ’Aatef Shaqqura gave PCHR the following testimony. . . . PA held responsible in death of Hamas man in West Bank prison Ma’an News Agency 2/8/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – The family of a Hamas member who died in a Palestinian Authority (PA) prison on Sunday are holding the PA responsible for his death. A Palestinian security source earlier confirmed that 30-year-old Mohammad Abd Aj-Jamil Al-Haj died in a Palestinian Preventive Security detention center in the West Bank city of Jenin. He was arrested on Friday. The security source claimed that Al-Haj committed suicide. Al-Haj’s brother, Bilial, however, told Ma’an that that Al-Haj had been arrested for political reasons, adding that no charges had been leveled against his brother. Bilal Al-Haj said that upon arrival at the morgue, his brother’s body had bruises on his waist. A Hamas spokesperson also accused the PA security forces of causing Al-Haj’s death. Scottish activist seized from Gaza aid boat held in Israeli prison Ma’an News Agency 2/8/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – A Scottish human rights activist seized by the Israeli Navy from a Lebanese aid ship bound for Gaza has been detained in Israel’s Ramleh prison, according to the Free Gaza Movement. Teresa McDermottwas detained along with eight other passengers on Thursday when the Israeli Navy stormed the Togo-flagged cargo ship, firing shots and reportedly assaulting them. The others, including Lebanese and Palestinian nationals, were deported. Israeli officials claimed that McDermott would be flown to London. McDermott however never appeared in London. According to Free Gaza, McDermott, an employee of the postal service, was able to call her brother John in Scotland from Ramleh prison on Sunday. The ship is still in Israeli custody. Israeli officials claimed that they transferred the humanitarian cargo to Gaza, but there has been no confirmation of this. Israeli prisons escalate measures against Palestinians refusing orange uniforms Palestinian Information Center 2/8/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- The ministry of prisoners’ affairs in Gaza reported that the Israeli prison authority stepped up recently its arbitrary measures against the Palestinian prisoners who refuse to wear the orange uniforms. Riyadh-Al-Ashqar, the director of the information office in the ministry, said that the Israeli prison administrations have been trying for several months to impose by force an orange uniform on the Palestinian prisoners who unanimously refused to wear it. Ashqar pointed out that this uniform is known worldwide as uniform worn by prisoners sentenced to death and those held in the notorious Guantanamo detention camp, adding that some administrators in Israeli jails stated publically that the Palestinian prisoners must be treated as terrorist and not as war or political prisoners. The official affirmed that the Israeli prison authority faced the prisoners’ refusal to. . . Mizan center demands Israel to probe torture of prisoners from Gaza Palestinian Information Center 2/8/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- The Mizan center for human rights reported that it filed four complaints with the Israeli military prosecutor and the legal advisor to the Israeli government demanding them to conduct an investigation into the torture of Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip kidnapped during the last Israeli war. In a press statement received on Sunday by the PIC, the center underlined that the information obtained by its lawyer based on testimonies of prisoners released recently confirmed that the IOF troops had tortured and maltreated them. According to the testimonies, the IOF troops were using batons and rifle butts to beat the prisoners as well as they were shackling and blindfolding prisoners in painful positions for long hours. The center expressed its strong condemnation of the Israeli persistence in committing serious and organized violations against the rules of international. . . Egypt sources: Hamas agrees to link Shalit deal to opening of Gaza border Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Jack Khoury and Barak Ravid, Ha’aretz 2/9/2009 Hamas has acceded over the past few days to the Israeli demand to link the opening of the border crossings to the release of kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, Egyptian sources told Haaretz on Sunday. This allows progress toward a cease-fire, by creating a connection between the opening of all crossings by Israel, completion of a prisoner swap and Shalit’s release. Egyptian sources told Haaretz cautiously that they were "very optimistic" about making progress toward a deal in the near future. However, they said it could not be known when there would be a breakthrough. According to the plan Egypt is promoting, Israel would open the crossings, albeit not totally, when a cease-fire is reached. The crossings would operate at 80-percent capacity, which would allow a large quantity of merchandise to pass into the Gaza Strip, as Hamas is demanding. Activists seek ’Gaza abuses’ probe Al Jazeera 2/8/2009 Human rights groups have called on Hamas officials to investigate widespread allegations of abduction, torture and the killing of Palestinians accused of being collaborators during Israel’s war on Gaza. Al Jazeera has been shown sworn affidavits, medical records and photographs of alleged victims of reprisals committed against Fatah supporters by security agents or associates of Hamas. "I think that the officials from the Hamas deposed government have the responsibility to investigate into these incidents. . . and bring those who have committed those crimes to justice," Randa Siniora of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, said on Sunday. "There is a state of vigilantism and chaos, lawlessness in the Gaza Strip right now," she said. "Extrajudicial killings have increased during the Israeli aggression. "Separately on Sunday, the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights called for an investigation into the death of a man beaten in the custody of security forces loyal to the Hamas movement. Early morning raids PNN, Palestine News Network 2/7/2009 Nablus -- The sounds of doors being blown open and jeep engines in the streets remain a part of life in the West Bank. Early Saturday Israeli forces invaded the town of Beit Fureik in the Nablus Governorate and took four young men from the Khatatbeh family. To the east of the city in Azmut, another young man was arrested: 19 year old Amer Mohammad Murad. The village of Azmut has faced increased aggression this week while early Saturday Israeli forces fired live ammunition at residents. To the north Israeli forces arrested brothers from the Sadi family at Jenin’s Attara military checkpoint. There are some 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. [end] High school student seized by Israeli forces at Tulkarem checkpoint Ma’an News Agency 2/5/2009 Tulkarm – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers seized a student from the West Bank village of Kur, near Tulkarem, while he was crossing the Jabara checkpoint on Thursday. The detainee,18-year-old Omar Ismat Jayyusi is a high school student on his way to Tulkarem when he was arrested by Israeli forces. [end] B’tselem: Administrative detainees sometimes held for years Ali Waked, YNetNews 2/5/2009 Rights organization claims number of Palestinians held without indictment has decreased, but claim 10% of them have been held for over two years -Security forces are currently holding hundreds of Palestinians in administrative detention, sometimes for years, without filing an indictment against them, a B’tselem report says. The report, published Thursday, also says the number of prisoners held in administrative detention decreased considerably in 2008, from 813 to 546. The Shin Bet refused comment on the claims. B’tselem’s report, which deals mainly with the issue of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, says the State takes advantage of its legal authority to detain prisoners without indictment. The detainees are permitted to appeal their arrest, but are prevented from seeing the evidence against them. -- See also: Israel holding 42 Palestinians in administrative detention for over two years and Prisoners from Gaza were held in appalling conditions B’Tselem: 548 Palestinians in administrative detention, 455 dead before Gaza war Ma’an News Agency 2/5/2009 Bethlehem - Ma’an- Forty-two Palestinians have been in Israeli custody without charges or being seen by a judge for at least two years, announced the Israeli Human Rights group B’Tselem in their 2008 annual report. Of these men, 23 have been in administrative detention for over two and a half years, including three who have been detained between three and four and a half years, and two over four and a half consecutive years, the report revealed. The vast majority of administrative detainees (372) have been held without charge or trial for at least two consecutive periods. At the time of publication the report held the total number of Palestinians being held without charges in Israeli prison at 548. Six are under 18. This figure is down from 2007, when the organization counted 813 at the year’s end. The total number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli custody at the end of December 2008 was 7,904. [? ] -- See also: Israel holding 42 Palestinians in administrative detention for over two years and Prisoners from Gaza were held in appalling conditions Report: Israel removing names of soldiers in Gaza war from legal documents Ma’an News Agency 2/5/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Removing the names of soldiers in the Israeli army from the arrest warrants they signed during the Israeli war on Gaza is proof of the condemnable nature of their actions, said the Palestinian Prisoners’ Studies Center Thursday. Israeli forces detained dozens of Gazans during the war, 41 of which were sent to the Negev prison camp. As they were admitted to the prisons their arresting soldiers signed the Israeli prison forms releasing them from custody. The names have been since blacked out of the records in what appears to be an attempt to hide the identities of soldiers who may face prosecution. The Prisoners’ Center confirmed that reports of the ill-treatment of the Negev prisoners and stressed that the soldiers who mishandled them should be prosecuted. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that officials have begun removing the names of soldiers. . . Mandela Institute: Israel uses prohibited interrogation means against prisoners Palestinian Information Center 2/2/2009 NABLUS, (PIC)-- The Mandela institute for human rights revealed Monday that Israeli interrogators use prohibited investigation means with the Palestinian prisoners in the Jalame prison including the intensive use of lie detector tests, adding that the prisoners are denied any visits by lawyers and the Red Cross, and some of them are isolated and threatened with punishing and detaining their relatives. In a report received by the PIC, the institute said that the prison administration prevented its lawyer from meeting prisoners Shaker Abu Awwad and Tayseer Nubani at the pretext that their visit was prohibited by the Israeli intelligence and told him that other prisoners had been taken to the Megiddo prison. The report touched on the suffering of prisoner Fadi Al-Barri who had been exposed to various forms of harsh interrogation since his arrest on 12/1/2009. Two Palestinians freed after 18-year terms in Israeli prison Ma’an News Agency 2/4/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Thousnds of Palestinians from the northern West Bank town of Kafr Thulth welcomes two Fatah-affailited prisoners who were released from Israeli prison after 18 years on Tuesday. The two prisoners, Amjad Audah and Theib Audah, were welcomed by relatives and traditional Palestinian songs, a celebration one onlooker described as “like a wedding party. ”Upon arrival, Amjad’s mother hugged him, joining in the singing. Theib headed to the town’s cemetery to visit the graves of his mother, who died in 2002, and his brother, who was killed by Israeli forces during the first Intifada. Thousands of Palestinian citizens from the northern West Bank town of Kafr Thulth along with representative on Monday welcomed two Fatah-affiliated prisoners Amjad ‘Audah and Theib ‘Audah who were released from Israeli jail after serving 18-year sentence. Political prisoners to record experiences under interrogation to help others survive PNN, Palestine News Network 2/4/2009 Gaza -- Palestinian factions are re-accounting the culture of resilience in the cellars of interrogation, says expert on the affairs of political prisoners, Abdel Nasser Ferwana. Through the adoption of a clear strategy with consistent aims, victories could be won by sheer tenacity, Ferwana said today, but preparation is lacking. "At the hands of Israeli interrogators hundreds of cases reveal that there is great steadfastness among those who are subjected to detention or arrest and just as many who falter," said the former Palestinian Authority official. A mistake was made, he said, in emphasizing the culture of fierce resistance and sacrificial operations. Ferwana said this was blown out of proportion in the press due to statements made and written by factions that attempted to make more out of that one aspect of the Al Aqsa Intifada that proportionally was minor. Mandela Institute: Israel uses prohibited interrogation means against prisoners Palestinian Information Center 2/2/2009 NABLUS, (PIC)-- The Mandela institute for human rights revealed Monday that Israeli interrogators use prohibited investigation means with the Palestinian prisoners in the Jalame prison including the intensive use of lie detector tests, adding that the prisoners are denied any visits by lawyers and the Red Cross, and some of them are isolated and threatened with punishing and detaining their relatives. In a report received by the PIC, the institute said that the prison administration prevented its lawyer from meeting prisoners Shaker Abu Awwad and Tayseer Nubani at the pretext that their visit was prohibited by the Israeli intelligence and told him that other prisoners had been taken to the Megiddo prison. The report touched on the suffering of prisoner Fadi Al-Barri who had been exposed to various forms of harsh interrogation since his arrest on 12/1/2009. Fate of Gazans taken during attacks remains unknown Ali Samdoui, Palestine News Network 1/29/2009 PNN exclusive -- Some 300 Palestinians were taken during the attacks on Gaza, but for many their fate remains in limbo. President of the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Qaddura Fares, told PNN today that the Israeli administration refuses to disclose their names. It is unknown know exactly who was taken or to where. Tens have been released and report the existence of many remaining, including those with untreated medical conditions. Approximately 40 people were put in Al Naqab Prison where they are being held without access to the Red Cross, lawyers or winter blankets. The Israelis are referring to these political prisoners as "enemy combatants. " On Thursday Fares expressed an ongoing concern. "Israeli occupation authorities continue to refuse to disclose the names of citizens who were detained during the war of aggression on Gaza and refuse to give an announcement. . . Rights groups challenge Israeli detentions of captured Gazans Ma’an News Agency 1/29/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israel held many Gaza prisoners in harsh and humiliating conditions and threatened their lives and their health, according to an investigation released on Wednesday. Seven Israeli human rights organizations appealed to the Military Judge Advocate General, Brigadier General Avichai Mandelblit and to Attorney General Meni Mazuz concerning the “appalling conditions” in which Palestinians arrested during the fighting in Gaza were held, Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem said in a statement. The group’s investigation brings to light the “humiliating and inhuman treatment to which [detainees] were subjected” from the time of their arrest until their transfer to the custody of the Israel Prison Service, the statement said. The complaint, written by attorneys Bana Shoughry-Badarne, from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), Lila Margalit,. . . Gaza detainees suffer from ’inhuman’ Israeli actions Middle East Online 1/29/2009 TEL AVIV - Seven Israeli human rights groups demanded an inquiry on Wednesday into the "inhuman" treatment meted out to Palestinians taken prisoner during Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip. Evidence collected from detainees provided a "shocking portrayal of the harsh, inhuman and degrading conditions in which Palestinian prisoners were held during the initial days of their incarceration," they said in a statement. "Many detainees -- minors as well as adults -- were held for many hours, sometimes for days, in pits dug in the ground, exposed to bitter cold and harsh weather, handcuffed and blindfolded. "These pits lacked basic sanitary facilities. . . detainees went hungry. "Some of the detainees were held near tanks and in combat areas, in gross violation of international humanitarian law. " The groups submitted a complaint to Israel’s attorney general and the military. . . Dozens believed dead in reprisal attacks as Hamas retakes control Rory McCarthy in Gaza City, The Guardian 1/30/2009 Suspected collaborators shot during and after war • Escaped criminals killed by relatives of their victims - Evidence is emerging of a wave of reprisal attacks and killings inside Gaza that have left dozens dead and more wounded in the wake of Israel’s war. Among the dead are Palestinians suspected of collaborating with the Israeli military. Others include criminals who were among the 600 prisoners to escape from Gaza City’s main jail when it was bombed as the war began. Their attackers are thought to be their victims’ relatives. During and after the war, there have also been attacks on security officials from Fatah, the bitter rival of Hamas, the Islamist movement in control of the Gaza Strip. One witness told the Guardian how her brother, a Fatah military intelligence officer, was shot three times in the legs in an apparent punishment attack by gunmen from Hamas’s armed wing. -- See also: Fatah downplays Hamas attacks on members during Gaza assault Report: Gaza detainees held bound for days Aviad Glickman, YNetNews 1/28/2009 Seven Israeli human rights groups file complaint with military advocate general chief, attorney general regarding what they describe as IDF’s ’inhumane, appalling treatment’ of Palestinian detainees during Gaza op - Seven Israeli human rights organizations urged Chief Military Advocate General Brig. - Gen. Avichai Mendelblit and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Wednesday to launch an investigation into reports that Gaza detainees were held in "horrid conditions" and treated "inhumanely" during the IDF’s operation in the Strip. In a letter to Mazuz and Mendelblit, the groups, which include the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights said that detainees arrested by IDF forces in Gaza suffered from appalling treatment while in the army’s custody. -- See also: B'tselem: Prisoners from Gaza were held in appalling conditions Rights groups: IDF subjected Gaza detainees to deplorable conditions Tomer Zarchin, Ha’aretz 1/29/2009 Seven human rights organizations approached Israel Defense Forces Military Advocate General Avihai Mandelblit and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Wednesday seeking an investigation into the IDF’s treatment of Palestinians detained during Israel’s Gaza offensive. The human rights groups argued that the detainees were treated in a deplorable manner and were subjected to humiliating conditions from the moment they were seized and up until being transferred to the custody of the Israel Prisons Service. In a letter, composed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, B’Tselem and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel among others, it was argued that the detainees had testified to the difficult conditions they faced during the first days of their imprisonment. Israel tortures Gaza prisoners Palestinian Information Center 1/28/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- The ministry of prisoners’ affairs in Gaza has charged that the Israeli occupation authority was using cruel and internationally banned interrogation methods with detainees captured in Gaza during the Israeli onslaught. The ministry, in a press release on Wednesday, said that the Israeli occupation forces took with them more than 200 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip after their withdrawal and subjected them to torture rounds in order to extract any information on resistance elements and places from where the homemade rockets are being fired at Israeli targets. It pointed out that the prisoners were subjected to severe beating especially in the upper parts of the body, forced to sit in uncomfortable positions, deprived of sleep and forced to sit on children chairs while both hands and feet shackled in addition to violently shaking them and exposing them to extreme cold. Legal expert concerned over lives of Gaza prisoners Palestinian Information Center 1/26/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- Abdul Nasser Farwana, an expert on prisoners’ affairs and an ex-prisoner in Israeli jails, has expressed concern over the lives of Palestinians kidnapped during the Gaza invasion at the hands of Israeli occupation forces. He said in a statement on Sunday that those who are thought to have direct or indirect links to resistance were particularly prone to field execution as well as the wounded. The researcher recalled that the IOF had previous record of crimes against unarmed prisoners, and expressed concern that the Red Cross was not allowed access to visit those detainees or know the fate and number of them. He said that IOF refusal to disclose the exact number of those detainees could mean allowing the opportunity to execute some of them in cold blood, and called in this respect for investigating the circumstances that led to the death of Palestinians found under the rubble of their homes after the IOF withdrawal. Prisoner’s Society in Hebron: Israeli forces arrested seven from Hebron area Ma’an News Agency 1/26/2009 Hebron – Ma’an – Seven Hebron-area residents were arrested by Israeli forces overnight Saturday, and the homes of the detained men ransacked. The Palestinian Prisoner’s society in the West Bank district of Hebron condemned the detentions, saying “the Israeli occupation continues with its policy of arresting [West Bank] residents with or without a justification. ”The detentions cause harm to civilians and their families, as soldiers regularly ransack homes and intimidate family members, a statement said. The society identified the detained men as:Wisam Ar-Rajabi 31,Husein Muhammad Al-Atrash, 30,Ismail Abu Husein, 21,Ali Abd Al-Mutaleb, 16,From the nearby town of Ash-ShuyoukhYousef Ghassan Is’eifan, 20. Israel sends 41 Gazan ‘illegal combatants’ to desert prison camp Ma’an News Agency 1/24/2009 Gaza – Ma’an – Forty-one Palestinians seized by Israel during its invasion of the Gaza Strip have arrived at the Negev prison camp in southern Israel, a prisoners’ affairs expert reported on Friday. Researcher Abed An-Naser Farawnah said he has learned that the Gazan detainees have been remanded to Section Nine of the desert camp, far away from the other prisoners, and are being denied contact with other inmates. The Gazans have been designated ‘illegal combatants,’ he said. Farawnah noted that the prisoners already in the Negev Prison asked the prison authorities to meet the new arrivals. The existing prisoners were told that the Gazans are under the direct control of Shin Bet, the Israeli security service. The others in the camp are dealt with under a law dealing with “legitimate fighters. The prison administration said the prisoners arrived in two groups. Report: The IOF troops executed many detained civilians during its war on Gaza Palestinian Information Center 1/24/2009 GAZA, (PIC)-- The Palestinian center for the defense of prisoners on Saturday revealed that the IOF troops kidnapped during their aggression on the Gaza Strip about 300 Palestinian civilians, some of them were executed by gunfire or tank shells. In a statement received by the PIC, the center explained that the IOF troops, during the war on Gaza, used a number of Palestinian citizens as human shields to protect themselves from Palestinian gunfire in blatant violation of all international norms and conventions. Different Palestinian eyewitnesses told the center that the IOF troops executed prisoners individually and collectively. The eyewitnesses reported that the IOF troops executed children and women individually when asking them to come out one by one from their homes, adding that in some cases, the IOF troops put a number of Palestinian citizens in one house and then shelled or opened fire extensively on that house. Ex-prisoner dies after undergoing surgery in Gaza Ma’an News Agency 1/25/2009 Gaza – Ma’an – A 47-year-old former Palestinian prisoner, Ahmad Shabat, from the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, died on Sunday evening after undergoing surgery in Ash-Shifa Hospital. According to one of his relatives, Shabat was unable to leave his house for a week during the Israeli war on Gaza, and was unable to receive treatment for a kidney condition. Shabat’s relative also said that he had” inhaled gas fired by the Israeli army. ”He was hospitalized at Ash-Shifa after the Israeli army withdrew from Gaza last week. Shabat, a member of the Fatah movement, was jailed by Israel from 1975 to 1983. [end] Israel refuses to release Gaza man who served six-year sentence Ma’an News Agency 1/24/2009 Gaza – Ma’an – Israel refused to release a Palestinian political prisoner from Gaza on Saturday although he completed his six-year prison sentence. Muhammad Abu Aun, from Jabaliya Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip, was instead remanded to Israel’s Negev Prison camp under a 2007 law that allows detainees to be held without trial as “illegal combatants. ” The law was passed in September 2007, when Israel also pronounced Gaza an “enemy entity. ”According to Muhammad Hassan, the lawyer defending Abu Aun, the head of the Israeli military’s Southern Command ordered him to be detained for another six months. [end] Four Islamic Jihad activists declare hunger strike in PA prison Ma’an News Agency 1/24/2009 Gaza – Ma’an – Four Islamic Jihad activists imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority (PA) declared a hunger strike on Friday protesting what they said were the “dire conditions” in prison, Islamic Jihad said on Saturday. In a statement the Islamic movement identified the men as Abd-ar-Rahman As-Sa’di who has been in prison for three months; Zakariyya Sarhan and his brother Jalil, who have been detained for seven months; and Alaa Abu Ar-Rub who has been jailed for four months after he was severely wounded by the Israeli army. Islamic Jihad said the PA in Ramallah is liable for the safety of the four along with other political prisoners. The movement called on all Palestinian factions to take a united stand for the release of political prisoners. Palestinians taken from Gaza being held as 'illegal combatants' PNN, Palestine News Network 1/23/2009 Gaza -- Head of Prisoners Affairs in the Palestinian Authority, Abdel Nasser Ferwana, reported Friday night that detainees from Gaza are being held in horrific conditions at Al Naqab. Forty-one Palestinians are being held in the Israeli desert prison in isolation. They are not allowed contact with anyone and are being held by the Israeli military as "illegal combatants. " There are approximately 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons, but they are not held under this Israeli law. Ferwana asked that the Israeli prisons department allow detainee representatives to visit them and provide for some of their basic needs, but the administration of Al Naqab rejected the request. The Palestinian Authority official said he was informed that "these Gazans are under the direct control of the army under the law if illegal combatants. Hamas: 'Government in Gaza to distribute 40 M Euro to aid Gaza residents' Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 1/22/2009 The Palestinian Information Center, affiliated with Hamas movement, reported Thursday that the dissolved Palestinian government in Gaza, headed by Ismail Haniyya, decided to distribute 40 M Euros on the residents of the Gaza Strip who were affected by the latest Israeli offensive. Taher Al Nunu, spokesperson of Hamas, said in a press conference in Gaza City, that the "Government decided to distribute the money to compensate the affected families". He added that 4000 Euros will be handed to families that completely lost their homes, two thousands to families that partially lost their homes, a thousand Euros each to family that lost a member, and 500 Euros to each wounded resident. Responding to claims by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah that Hamas left prisoners at Al Saraya prison when it was shelled by Israel, Al Nunu said that "no prisoner was killed, and we have no political prisoners". Bethlehem families sound call for legal justice Najib Farrag, Palestine News Network 1/21/2009 Bethlehem -- As part of the resistance, Palestinians are again invoking international law by leading a global movement to try Israeli leaders for war crimes. Director of the Palestinian Prisoners Society in Bethlehem, Abdullah Zughari told a sit-in today in the West Bank city, "Israeli officials and military leaders be prosecuted as war criminals. . . . . . by the International Criminal Court, charged with the massacres and destruction in the Gaza Strip. "From the families of the 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons came an echo to the call moving toward The Hague. "One cannot allow the killing of children and women, and the destroying of homes and use of internationally prohibited weapons," said a father who added a demand for the release of political prisoners. Wednesday’s demonstration was held in front of the local headquarters of the international Red Cross on Jamal Abdel Nasser Street. Palestinians rally in Bethlehem demanding war crimes tribunal over Gaza Ma’an News Agency 1/21/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Dozens of Palestinians rallied on Wednesday at the Red Cross headquarters in the West Bank city of Bethlehem in solidarity with the Gaza Strip demanding war crimes tribunals for Israeli leaders. The demonstration was organized by a committee of Palestinian political factions and the Palestinian Prisoner Society. Demonstrators chanted slogans condemning Israeli aggression in Gaza while others raised posters calling for war crimes prosecutions. On some posters, photos of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni appeared next to swastikas. [end] Israel releases Qalqiliya’s mayor from prison Ma’an News Agency 1/21/2009 Qalqilia – Ma’an – Israel released the mayor of the West Bank city of Qalqiliya from prison on Tuesday night after holding him for nearly two years. The 43-year-old Hamas-affiliated Mayor Wajih Qawwas was seized by Israeli troops in May 2007. Speaking to Ma’an upon his release, Qawwas said, “All detainees wish that [Palestinian] unity will be achieved soon especially after the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the bloody Israeli massacres. ”“The Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails hope that Palestinian factions will reconcile to oppose the Israeli attacks and the confiscation of lands,” he said. Qawwas praised the Palestinians’ steadfastness and opposition to the Israeli attacks against civilians, mosques, lands and schools in the Gaza Strip. 250 Palestinians recently taken from Gaza held under interrogation PNN, Palestine News Network 1/20/2009 Najib Farrag -- At least 250 people were arrested during the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Legislative Council member working on the issue of political prisoners, Issa Qaraqa’ reported today that 250 more Palestinians are being held in the prisons of the Naqab Desert. "Conditions are extremely harsh," Qaraqa’ confirmed on Tuesday. "The prisoners have been subjected to beatings and abuse. A number of them are wounded and in need of treatment in hospitals. They are being held hostage by the Israeli intelligence service for interrogation. "The PLC deputy noted that Gaza Palestinians are being detained in Al Naqab because of a lack of space in the investigation rooms of Askelon, Jalama and Petah Tikva. They are in total isolation from the rest of the prison population. Qaraqa’ called the International Red Cross to visit the political prisoners from the Gaza Strip and see the conditions and circumstances. 250 Gazans in Negev detention center; men are harshly beaten and interrogated Ma’an News Agency 1/20/2009 Bethlehem - Ma’an - At least 250 Gazans were detained by Israeli troops during the Gaza invasion, said member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Issa Karake on Tuesday. The men are being held in the Negev prison, living in tents and being constantly beaten and attacked, said Karake. Several need hospital treatment, which they are being denied and many are also being used by the Israeli intelligence units as information sources and are interrogated for hours. The Gazans have been isolated and not permitted to interact with prisoners from the West Bank or East Jerusalem. Karake called on the Red Cross to visit the detainees and verify his story, then put pressure on Israel to release the men immediately. The men are very worried about their families, Karake said, adding that they would like to go home and make sure their loved ones are alright. Palestinian prisoners left untreated for virus at Israeli jail Ma’an News Agency 1/20/2009 Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Palestinians held in the Huwwara prison by Israeli forces have come down with a severe flu, which has remained untreated and is aggravating several pre-existing health conditions, said the Detainees Society Sunday. According to their report the Israeli prison administration has repeatedly refused to treat the prisoners, and continue harsh treatment despite the prevailing illness in the facility. A lawyer for the society noted that the prison was very cold and that prisoners commented that there were not enough blankets to keep them warm, though 15 prisoners have been transferred to facilities with better conditions, adding that the Huwwara prison has many in solitary confinement or in damp, dark cells. Some families remain indoors after ceasefire PNN, Palestine News Network 1/19/2009 Gaza -- The planes, tanks and missiles of Israeli forces did not only deprive the people of Gaza’s Zeitoun neighborhood of food and drink, but deprived them of all the meanings of security and peace of mind. Sleep became impossible, something of an unattainable miracle that Gazans had waited for since the twenty-seventh of December. The Israeli ceasefire may not be appropriate in terms or long-lasting, but it has allowed thousands of people have to sleep, now through the tears they still spill in mourning of the huge losses. Ramadan is a Gaza City resident from the Zeitoun neighborhood. He said that people were hostages in their homes which had become the cells of many families and the graves of others in this, "the world’s largest open air prison. " With more bodies uncovered each of the two days of ceasefire it is unknown how many people have died although the number. . . A ’Police State’ Celebrates Nora Barrows-Friedman, Inter Press Service 1/20/2009 JERUSALEM, Jan 19(IPS) - The Israeli government is stepping up efforts to suppress dissent and crush resistance in the streets. Police have been videotaping the demonstrations and subsequently arresting protesters in large numbers. According to Israeli police reports, at least 763 Israeli citizens, the majority of them Palestinian and 244 under 18 years old, have been arrested, imprisoned or detained for participating in such demonstrations. Most have been held and then released, but at least 30 of those arrested over the past three weeks are still being held in prison. Ameer Makhoul, director of Ittijah, the Union of Arab Community-Based Associations in Haifa, tells IPS that these demonstrations "are part of the uprising here inside the Green Line, to share responsibility and to share the challenge with the people in the Gaza strip. " Political prisoners suffer medical neglect in the cold, pray for Gaza Ali Samoudi, Palestine News Network 1/18/2009 Jenin -- Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli administration number at approximately 11,000. Among them are hundreds of cases of serious medical neglect and more of general illness. The Palestinian Prisoner Society reports this week that the spread of influenza is reaching epidemic proportion. At Huwara Prison in southern Nablus, built on West Bank land as military prisons are, the administration is refusing to allow appropriate treatment or humane quarantine to combat the virus that has spread rapidly among the Palestinians inside. Large numbers of people are forced to share cramped spaces without proper heating or enough warm blankets. Food is inadequate in both quality and quantity. Farhan is from Nablus and is subject to bouts of severe pain in his right kidney in addition to influenza. Israeli court extends imprisonment of Hamas PLC member Ma’an News Agency 1/16/2009 Hebron – Ma’an – An Israeli court at Ramle prison extended on Tuesday the detention of Muhammad An-Natsha, a Hamas-affiliated member of the Palestinian parliament. The court ruled that An-Natsha is a “danger to the security of the state of Israel. ”Jailed by Israel since 2002, An-Natsha was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) after campaigning from his prison cell. Israel is holding some 40 members of the PLC in Israeli jails, many of them seized in the summer of 2006 in response to the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian fighters from Gaza. [end] Imprisoned women appeal for news of families in Gaza Ali Samoudi, Palestine News Network 1/15/2009 Jenin -- Palestinian political prisoners from the Gaza Strip are suffering a severe dearth of information about their families. The Israeli prison administration has all but banned news, reports the Palestinian Prisoners Society. "The suffering is exacerbated when contacts with relatives are disallowed. " Earlier this week a PPS lawyer discovered that dozens of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have gone to the Israeli prison administration during the past 20 days to ask for the slightest contact with family members, but every request has been denied. Family visits and contacts for political prisoners from Gaza have been difficult for at least four years during which time the transfer of funds to prison store accounts, the Cantina, have been banned. Fatma Azzak is a woman who is sentenced to 14 years in Israeli prison. Gaza op: Most detainees not Hamas men Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 1/13/2009 Defense officials disappointed by low number of terrorists apprehended in wake of Gaza incursion -Despite the accomplishments boasted by the defense establishment in respect to the military operation in Gaza, it appears the IDF has failed to detain a significant number of Hamas terrorists. In 10 days of fighting in the Gaza Strip, more than 200 Palestinians have been arrested and brought to Israel for questioning. But to the dismay of defense officials, fewer than 30 have been found to have connections to Hamas or any other terror organization. Upon analysis of this data, officials have decided to forgo the establishment of a judiciary facility that had been planned for Ketziot Prison. As part of the preparation for the operation in Gaza, the IDF had planned to establish the judiciary facility in order to interrogate and classify detainees. Reports: Only 30 of 200 Gazans seized during invasion are linked to armed groups Ma’an News Agency 1/13/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Only 30 of the 200 Palestinians seized by the Israeli army throughout the war in Gaza have been linked to Hamas or other armed groups, Israeli media reported on Tuesday. According to the reports, Israeli authorities have also put on hold a plan to open a new wing of the Negev prison camp in which many Palestinians are held. The detainees are reportedly being treated as illegal combatants, and will be placed in administrative detention, a practice under which Palestinians can be held indefinitely without trial. Military prosecutors say that judges have already been assigned to the cases of the 200 detainees, and they will be remanded to prison terms according to recommendations from the Israeli security services. 700 people, mostly Arabs, arrested so far in protests against IDF Gaza op Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz 1/12/2009 Seven hundred protesters against the Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza, mostly Israeli Arabs or residents of East Jerusalem, have been arrested since the operation began, and dozens have been indicted. The protesters, 226 of whom are still in custody, are suspected of involvement in disturbances, illegal demonstrations or stone-throwing, police said. Of the detainees, 237 are minors. Most of the protests that led to arrests took place in Jerusalem or the north. Palestinians and Israeli left-wing activists claim that in the wake of Operation Cast Lead, the IDF has reintroduced the use of a semiautomatic rifle that uses live ammunition to disperse crowds that was banned after the second Intifada. The Ruger. 22 rifle was banned following the Al-Aqsa Intifada, in which it was used to break up protests and caused the deaths of a number of Palestinians, including youths and children. Israeli soldier shoots 12-year-old boy near Hebron Ma’an News Agency 1/8/2009 Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers fired on a small boy during clashes that erupted in a refugee camp near Hebron on Thursday. An Israeli soldier shot 12-year-old Ya’qub Nassar in the stomach. Paramedics evacuated him to Hebron Hospital, where medical sources reported that he is "seriously injured. " An 18-year-old Palestinian, Sami Ibrahim Thibi, was shot in the neck and also taken to a hospital. Medical sources there described his condition as serious. Medical officials at Hebron Hospital told Ma’an that the 12-year-old boy is undergoing surgery on his stomach, where a bullet entered before passing through his back. Gunfire broke out during a rally in which Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers clashed at the Al-Fawar Refugee Camp, which is just south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said on Thuresday. . . Mass demonstration in Ramallah in solidarity with Gaza Ma’an News Agency 1/4/2009 Ramallah – Ma’an – Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday to denounce the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. Demonstrators carried banners calling for Palestinian national unity, for Palestinian factions to oppose the Israeli onslaught, and for the international community to intervene and stop the “massacres. ”The Undersecretary of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Ministry said that now is the time for Palestinians to resolve their internal issues, and that the involvement of Fatah in the protests was a sign of commitment to unity. Ramallah is the seat of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority (PA), while Gaza is ruled by the rival Hamas movement. General Tawfiq At-Tirawi, the former head of PA intelligence also participated in the demonstration. Bethlehem activist sentenced to three life terms, plus 25 years Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – An Israeli military court on Wednesday sentenced an Al-Aqsa Brigades activist to three life terms in an Israeli prison, with an additional 25 years. The Offar military court had convicted 35-year-old Nasser Ibrahim Ubeijat of killing three Israeli soldiers and other clashes with occupying forces. Ubeijat was originally arrested in 2006 by Israeli forces in the Halhul area of Hebron. [end] Israeli court refuses appeal of deportation order for Diaspora Palestinian Ma’an News Agency 12/30/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Israeli Higher Court of Justice on Tuesday refused an appeal by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society over the impending deportation of Nasri Atwan from Al-Khadr, south of Bethlehem. Atwan is in Israeli custody for allegedly remaining in the West Bank illegally. While in custody, Atwan was given a Palestinian ID card, although the Higher Court still insists on deporting him. The Prisoners’ Society in Bethlehem condemned the decision, calling on the Palestinian Authority and other human rights organizations to intervene and stop the deportation. [end] Free Gaza Movement to Send Emergency Boat to Gaza Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 12/28/2008 The Free Gaza Movement intends to send an emergency boat to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to help in easing the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, living under siege and under ongoing Israeli Military offensives. The movement intends to hold a press conference on Monday at 16:30 at the Larnaca Port in Cyprus. The boats will be filled with three to four tons of urgently needed medical supplies. In a press release, the movement stated that Dr. Elena Theoharous, a surgeon and Member of Parliament in Cyprus, will also be onboard the ship along with three other surgeons. Furthermore, the movement added that the Hon. Cynthia McKinney, former U. S. Congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate, and Sami al-Hajj, an Al Jazeera reporter and former detainee at Guantanamo, will be onboard the ship. Dr. Free Gaza to send aid vessel on 'emergency mission' Ma’an News Agency 12/28/2008 Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Free Gaza Movement is sending its Dignity vessel "on an emergency mission of mercy" to Gaza, according to a statement sent to Ma’an on Sunday. The ship will depart Cyprus on Monday with three to four tons of urgently needed medical supplies, the group said. On board will be four physicians, including Dr Elena Theoharous, a surgeon and member of parliament in Cyprus. Also going are the Hon. Cynthia McKinney, former U. S. Congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate, and Sami al-Hajj, an Al-Jazeera reporter and former detainee at Guantanamo Bay. Dr Khaled from the Shifa Hospital ICU in Gaza City told the group on Saturday that the majority of cases are critical shrapnel wounds from Israeli gunboats and helicopters, with an estimated 80 percent who will not survive without urgently needed medications. Free Gaza Movement: Dignity to sail emergency medical supplies to Gaza International Solidarity Movement 12/28/2008 (Larnaca, Cyprus) The Free Gaza movement will hold a press conference at 16:30 Monday, December 29 at the port in Larnaca. We are sending in the DIGNITY on an emergency mission of mercy to Gaza loaded with three to four tons of urgently needed medical supplies. On board are four physicians, including Dr. Elena Theoharous, a surgeon and Member of Parliament in Cyprus. Also going are The Hon. Cynthia McKinney, former U. S. Congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate, and Sami al-Hajj, an Al Jazeera reporter and former detainee at Guantanamo. Dr Khaled from Shifa hospital ICU in Gaza City told us on Saturday that the majority of cases are critical shrapnel wounds from Israeli gunboats and helicopters, with an approximate 80% who will not survive. Eliza Ernshire, one of the Free Gaza organizers says, “We have calls for surgeons willing to go into Gaza and work there throughout this crisis. IOA extends for 7th time administrative detention of Jihad activist Palestinian Information Center 12/27/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority has renewed the administrative detention, with trial or charge, of Sheikh Ghassan Al-Saadi, 45, of the Islamic Jihad Movement in the Jenin refugee camp for the seventh time running. Relatives of Saadi said that the Israeli Negev prison authority informed the detainee of his renewed detention for four more months on the last day of his former detention order. They said that the court refused Saadi’s lawyer’s appeal for his release at the pretext that a secret security file prevented his release and that his release would pose dangers on the Israeli public. The relatives appealed to the human rights groups to pressure the IOA into releasing him especially when he is the sole breadwinner of a family of 8 children. Meanwhile, the Palestinian center for human rights said that the Israeli occupation forces have been daily storming. . . Israel sentences PFLP leader to 30 years in prison Efrat Weiss, AFP, YNetNews 12/25/2008 Ahmed Saadat, who was accused of planning 2001 murder of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi, sentenced for heading illegal "terrorist" organization -An Israeli military court on Thursday sentenced Ahmed Saadat, the leader of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), to 30 years in prison for heading an "illegal "terrorist" organization. " "There is no doubt that the accused controls the PFLP," the judges said in the ruling. " When we consider the appropriate sentence for someone who headed a murderous "terrorist" organization, we take into account not only his position, but his actions as well. "The offenses the accused has been convicted of indicate that he initiated and participated in military activity with the aim of killing innocent people. "A military source said on condition of anonymity following the verdict. . . Ghoul: Verdict on Sa’adat illegal, blames PA leadership for surrendering him Palestinian Information Center 12/26/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- PA minister of prisoners and ex-prisoners Mohammed Faraj Al-Ghoul has condemned the Israeli court verdict against Palestinian legislator Ahmad Sa’adat, and described it as illegitimate and has no legal leg to stand on. Sa’adat, who is the secretary-general of the PFLP, one of the PLO’s main factions, was sentenced to 30 years in prison by an Israeli court accusing him of being the master mind in killing an Israeli minister in 2002. He was placed in PA custody in a prison in Jericho city under American and British guards before he was kidnapped by the IOF troops from the jail after his guards abandoned it. In a statement he issued Thursday, and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC, Ghoul described the verdict as "political", adding that the Israeli occupation would fail to strip legitimacy of the kidnapped Palestinian legislators. Soldier indicted for firing in Hebron squabble Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 12/25/2008 Pursuant to footage released Tuesday, military court decides to imprison soldier until end of legal proceedings - A military court indicted an infantry soldier on Thursday, on counts of threat of force and illegal use of a weapon. Corporal Nahum Ben-Yaakov is accused of firing into the air repeatedly in the vicinity of civilians and of threatening them. According to the ruling, passed by Col. Nir Aviram, the chief justice of IDF Southern Command’s military court, the soldier will be detained in military prison until legal proceedings against him come to an end. In footage released by Ynet on Tuesday, Ben-Yaakov, of the Givati brigade, was seen firing a weapon into the air and making threats during a clash between Palestinians and settlers in Hebron last month. Clashes in Hebron-An IDF soldier residing in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat. . . Palestinian Dies Due to Negligence in al-Ramah Israeli Prison Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 12/24/2008 The Palestinian Prisoners Society reported on Wednesday that detainee Jom’a Ismail Mousa, age 65, from Shu’fat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, died as a result of medical negligence on the part of the Israeli Prison Services. The detainee spent most of his time in the al-Ramla prison hospital, which lacks the basic medical equipment. Mousa was sentenced to one life-term, and an additional ten years. The Israeli Prison Authorities claimed that the police are investigating his death, and that "he died while receiving medical treatment at the prison hospital". Fares Abu Hasan, head of the International Solidarity Institution for Human Rights in Palestine, held the Israeli occupation responsible for the death of Mousa because Israel ignored calls by several human rights groups, demanding the immediate release of Mousa in order to receive proper medical attention and treatment. Elderly Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli jail Ma’an News Agency 12/24/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestinian prisoner, 65-year-old Jum’ah Isma’il Muhammad Mousa from Jerusalem died on Tuesday evening at Israeli Nitzan prison in Ramla after he fell ill. According to Israeli sources, the victim was hospitalized in Israeli Prison Service medical facility where he collapsed and was later announced dead. Mousa had been serving lifetime imprisonment since 1993. According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society in Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, he suffered from heart disease, blood pressure and diabetes. He was married and left behind a widow and eight children. Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member from Bethlehem Issa Qaraqi’, in charge of prisoners committee in the PLC held Israel accountable for deathdescribing that as “war crime”. He called for formation of international committee to investigate the incident along with the cases of several other prisoners who do not receive proper medical treatment. Palestinian Jerusalemite prisoner dies in occupation jail due to medical neglect Palestinian Information Center 12/24/2008 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli prisons authority on Wednesday declared the death of Juma Mousa, 65, from the Sha’fat refugee camp east of occupied Jerusalem, who was serving a life term along with ten years. Mousa was suffering from chronic diseases, heart and diabetes in addition to urinary tract infection, and used to spend more time in Ramle prison hospital than in his prison cell over the past ten years. The IPA alleged that Mousa died while receiving treatment in the prison hospital and that the police was investigating his death. Mousa was detained since 29th March 1993 and was one among 30 similar cases of prisoners in Ramle prison hospital with chronic diseases. The Wa’ed society for prisoners and ex-prisoners denounced the Israeli systematic humiliation and penal measures against prisoners. Fugee Fridays / Left to fend for themselves on the streets of Tel Aviv Daniel Gold, Ha’aretz 12/24/2008 "I found her Saturday night, 8 months pregnant and sleeping in the park," Yotam Sheffy tells me. The woman, an Eritrean refugee, had spent three nights in the park after prison authorities released her from Ketziot Prison without notifying any of the various organizations assisting the refugee population. She is the newest addition to a cramped shelter run by the organization Yotam works for, the African Refugee Development Center (ARDC). There is no hint of emotion in his voice as he tells me this, no exasperated sigh or sadness to betray his stoic demeanor. After more than a year of working for the ARDC, the sight of helpless African refugees left to fend for themselves in the streets of south Tel Aviv has grown all too familiar for him. I have spent the past two months investigating the refugee crisis, interviewing volunteers,. . . Israeli forces assault Palestinian prisoners Press release, PCHR, Electronic Intifada 12/22/2008 The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns attacks launched by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against Palestinian detainees at Ofer detention facility in Beitunia town southwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 11:00am on Saturday, 20 December 2008, dozens of IOF prison guards, accompanied by representatives of Ofer the detention facility administration arrived at Department B to conduct a search without prior coordination with the representatives of detainees. They provocatively searched the department and violently beat a number of detainees. As a consequence, tension spread throughout the detention facility and the detainees declared high alert. Soon after, the administration of the detention facility sprayed hot water, and used sound bombs and tear gas canisters against the detainees. Gazans condemn Israeli Ofer prison violence, call it step in chain of Israeli aggression Ma’an News Agency 12/22/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli prison guards’ Saturday attacks on Palestinian detainees is the latest example of Israel’s chain of aggression against all facets of Palestinian society, said participants of Monday’s protest against in Gaza. Palestinian politicians and leaders of factions and human rights societies gathered in front of the Red Cross Headquarters in Gaza City to condemn the Ofer detention center attacks and affirm Palestinian commitment to resisting Israeli aggression. The regular sit-in is organized by the Wa’id Society for Prisoners Families. Hamas-affiliated lawmaker Mushir Al-Masri told protesters that prisoners are a top priority for this party, saying Hamas is open to all possibilities for securing the release of prisoners. He said resistance groups in Gaza will not be deterred by Israeli threats to assassinate resistance leaders, and that any attack on Gaza would only open the door to wider resistance operations. Palestinian prisoners declare hunger strike after violent clashes with Israeli guards Ma’an News Agency 12/21/2008 Jenin – Ma’an – Palestinian prisoners declared a hunger strike in an Israeli prison camp in the West Bank on Sunday, a day after clashes with prison guards left ten people injured. “The strike is ongoing until the prisoners’ demands are granted by the prison administration. Otherwise, escalating actions will be taken,” said Mahmoud As-Sa’di, a prisoner and a spokesman for the detainees in the Ofer prison camp. Eight prisoners and two Israeli guards were injured when guards water cannons, tear gas, and rubber-coated bullets to suppress a prisoner demonstration. The prisoner said they were protesting an invasive search of prisoner property. Speaking on the phone from inside the prison, As-Sa’di told Ma’an that the prison administration is still ‘provoking’ prisoners by confiscating all their belongings except their clothes. IPS: Ofer riot was spontaneous but not ideological Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post 12/21/2008 The Palestinian prisoner riot that rocked the Ofer high-security prison near Pisgat Ze’ev on Saturday came as "no surprise" to the wardens who guard the facility, an Israel Prisons Service spokesman said Sunday. "As we see it, this was a totally spontaneous incident," IPS spokesman Yaron Zamir told The Jerusalem Post, explaining that wardens expected disturbances of this kind to erupt periodically. Zamir denied press reports that claimed the rioting had been launched by Hamas prisoners, saying that the prison wings had no clear-cut segregation between Hamas and Fatah prisoners. "The wing in which the riots began has mixed prisoners [from Fatah and Hamas]; they are not fully separated," he said. "The disorder began as a localized incident of hotheadedness, a spontaneous reaction to the entrance of IPS staff who had come to carry out a routine inspection," he explained. Al-Kurd tent demolished for fourth time; Islamic Judicial Council condemns act Ma’an News Agency 12/21/2008 Jerusalem – Ma’an – The Protest Tent of Umm Al-Kurd was demolished for a fourth time Sunday. The elderly woman was evicted from her home by an Israeli court order stating the building, constructed 50 years ago, did not have the proper permits. Umm Al-Kurd’s husband died the day after the family was evicted; she set up a protest tent on property near the site of her demolished home which has been destroyed four times since November. The Islamic Judicial Council condemned the action, which saw dozens of Israeli soldiers and police dismantle the Sheikh Jarrah tent. The condemnation came during a Sunday session of the council headed by Palestinian Judge Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi in Jerusalem. The council demanded all of the International human rights organizations intervene immediately to stop the Israeli attacks on both prisoners and the Al-Kurd family. Clashes erupt in Israeli-run prison Al Jazeera 12/20/2008 At least seven Palestinian detainees and three Israeli guards have been injured in a prison riot, according to Yaron Zamir, a prison service spokesman. The clashes in the Ofer detention centre near the West Bank town of Ramallah erupted on Saturday when dozens of Palestinian inmates started throwing objects at guards who had entered to search a prison ward, Zamir said. "Following the violence a larger force was sent into the ward and order was restored shortly afterwards," he told the AFP news agency. Seven prisoners injured after inhaling tear gas were treated at the jail. Three guards were lightly injured by objects thrown at them, Zamir said. More than 11,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, many of them detained for long periods without trial. Northern West Bank under attack as Israeli forces terrorise Palestinian villages International Solidarity Movement 12/20/2008 Nablus Region - Photos - From Thursday 18th to Friday 19th December, Israeli military forces invaded multiple villages and cities in the Northern West Bank; including Nablus, Burin, Beita, Jenin and Araba - occupying homes, destroying property, and terrorising families. In the case of Beita, the incursion coincided with Israeli authorities cutting all water supplies to the village of 12000 people, leaving all homes and businesses entirely without water. Israeli forces invaded the village of Beita at approximately 12am on the morning of Thursday 18th, storming more than 100 houses. "No one in Beita slept. No one slept that night" reported one elderly villager, whose son was arbitrarily detained, made to strip naked and tortured for six hours. Mahadi, aged 24, was detained from his home when approximately twelve Israeli soldiers invaded his home at 12am on Thursday morning. 16 lightly wounded as Palestinian inmates clash with guards Raanan Ben-Zur, YNetNews 12/20/2008 Prisoners are housed in tents - Inmates at Ofer Prison clash with guards during routine search, set fire to mattresses and hurl objects. Ten guards lightly wounded from tear gas, reinforcements sent to restore order - Palestinian inmates at Ofer Prison clashed Saturday afternoon with guards and set tents and mattresses on fire. Ten guards and six prisoners have been reported lightly wounded in the clashes. The inmates began hurling objects at the guards and torching their mattresses during a routine search of one of the facility’s quarters, in which prisoners are housed in tents. Large reinforcement troops were immediately alerted to the scene to restore order, and firemen arrived to extinguish the blaze. The Israeli Prison Authority put into action an emergency plan and summoned guards from other prisons to help quell the outburst. Palestinian prisoners clash with Israeli guards at West Bank jail The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 12/21/2008 Clashes broke out Saturday between Palestinian inmates and Israeli guards at a West Bank prison. The Israel Prisons Service said about 150 prisoners took part in the fighting that started when inmates threw objects at the guards and set two tents on fire. It said order was laster restored and the fires extinguished. Palestinian deputy minister of prisoner affairs, Ziad Abu Ein, said guards were carrying out an inspection at the Ofer prison when the clashes erupted. He said the guards used stun grenades, tear gas and clubs. The Prison Service said seven inmates suffered minor smoke inhalation and three guards were injured during Saturday’s clashes. Abu Ein, however, said eight prisoners were injured. Outside the prison, several ambulances and scores of Israeli riot police wearing gas masks were seen entering the facility. Ofer prison guards assault Palestinian prisoners, many injured Palestinian Information Center 12/20/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Tens of Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli Ofer prison west of Ramallah were injured or suffered suffocation on Saturday evening after Israeli jailors assaulted them with batons, rubber bullets and gas canisters. Sources in both Wa’ed society catering for prisoners and ministry of prisoners said that the Israeli Nahshon unit members, specialized in quelling prisoners, also opened water cannons at hundreds of prisoners in wards 5 and 6. The sources said that the prisoners tried to defend themselves and threw whatever they had in their possession at the soldiers. The prisoners were confronting a violent search of their wards, the sources said, adding that around 400 prisoners were targeted in the quelling operation. They said that four Israeli soldiers were hurt in the clash, and noted that the disturbances extended to all other ten wards leading to the burning. . . PLC Speaker Aziz Dweik sentenced to 36 months by Israeli court Ma’an News Agency 12/16/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – An Israeli military court sentenced Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) to 36 months in prison on Tuesday. Dweik, who last went before a judge in 2007, has already served 28 months, meaning he technically has eight months left to serve. As PLC speaker, the Hamas movement says it believes Dweik will by default become the acting Palestinian president when the current president, Mahmoud Abbas, reaches the end of his term on 9 January. Dweik is reported to be in poor health and underwent surgery in prison to remove kidney stones last week. Since 2006, he was held by Israel along with 40 other members of the PLC who were seized during an Israeli campaign in retaliation for the abduction of an Israeli soldier. The Gaza-based Acting Speaker of the PLC, Dr Ahmad Bahar, condemned the Israeli court decision and demanded Dweik’s immediate release. Israeli forces detain 13 Palestinian youths near Hebron Ma’an News Agency 12/16/2008 Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces ransacked several homes in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, evacuated occupants at gunpoint and detained 13 Palestinian youth Tuesday morning. The Prisoners’ Society in Hebron condemned the arrests, especially those of 17-year-old Murad Abu Judah whose life may be endangered by the detention. Abu Judah was shot in the leg three years ago by Israeli soldiers and needs several medical attentions. Palestinian sources identified the arrestees as, 20-year-old Thaer Abu Hashim, 18-year-old Muhammad Za’aqiq, 17-year-old Omar Awad, 16-year-old Muhammad Ikhlayyil, 18-year-old Murad Abu Judah, 19-year-old Saddam Awad, 18-year-old Alaa Sleibi, 16-year-old Nasr Sabarnah, 17-year-old Sharif Breigheith, 18-year-old Ahmad Al-Alami, 17-year-old Omar Al-Alami, 18-year-old Muhammad Al-Alami and 20-year-old Ibrahim Sabarnah. Two Palestinian girls appeal for releasing them from IOA detention center Palestinian Information Center 12/16/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Two Palestinian female children have appealed to legal centers on the local and international levels to demand their release from the Israeli occupation authority’s notorious Maskobeh detention center in occupied Jerusalem. Sources of the Palestinian prisoner’s club said that Samah Sumada, 15, was detained at the Qalandia roadblock on 2/12/2008 and was since then subjected to cruel interrogation rounds in Maskobeh. Israeli soldiers manning the road barrier claimed that she had a knife and was investigated over suspicion of planning to kill one of the soldiers. The other child Baraa Barakat, 15, was also detained at the same barrier on the same day with the same charge, the club sources noted. They added that she was blindfolded, hand shackled and taken to Maskobeh on the same suspicion. The club sources said that the mental conditions of both girls were. . . Head of ’Hamas parliament’ sent to 3 years in jail Ali Waked, YNetNews 12/16/2008 Dr. Aziz Dwaik, Hamas’ designated president, sentenced to three years jail time, two years probation by Israeli military court - The Military Court at Ofer Base sentenced Dr. Aziz Dwaik, head of the Hamas parliament [sic - Palestinian Legislative Council], to three years in prison, two years probation and a NIS 6,000 fine, after convicting him of membership in Hamas. Dwaik was arrested by Israel shortly after Gilad Shalit was kidnapped to Gaza. Dwaik will be credited 28 months for time served. The court noted that his health played a part in the verdict. If Dwaik is not released, Hamas plans to name his deputy, Dr Ahmed Bahar, acting president. The movement considers Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas nothing more than head of the Fatah organization. Dwaik has been in held by Israel June 2006, along with 40 other Hamas lawmakers. Celebrations welcome 18 released detainees in Tulkarem Ma’an News Agency 12/16/2008 Tulkarem – Ma’an – Eighteen Palestinian detainees arrived in Tulkarem on Monday through the Ennav checkpoint and the entrance to the Nour Shams refugee camp. The released detainees were welcomed by crowds including their families, friends, relatives and Fatah leaders and members. Celebrations took place in many parts of Tulkarem and included singing, clapping, fireworks and a few gun shots into the air to express happiness. The men were among 227 Palestinians freed by Israel in a gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Some 11,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli jails. [end] Israeli prisons officer: Lets tighten Palestinian jail conditions Ma’an News Agency 12/16/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Israel should tighten the conditions of Palestinians in Israeli jails, according to a high-ranking Israeli prisons’ official in an interview with Hebrew-language newspaper Ma’ariv on Tuesday. The officer, who asked Ma’ariv not to identify her, was quoted as saying that Palestinian prisoners in Israel’s custody live in what resembles a boarding school, enjoying excellent life conditions, while captured soldier Gilad Shalit “is rotting in captivity. ”“I can no longer shut up, nor can I sleep knowing that Shalit is rotting inside a basement, without visits of appropriate life conditions,” she reportedly told the Israeli newspaper. “He can’t even see the sun, and in return, we have a boarding school in our jails or a collective nursery including thousands of Palestinian prisoners, some of whom are criminals and scoundrels,” the anonymous official insisted. Prisoners minister: Detaining MP Abdel Razak anew serious precedence Palestinian Information Center 12/14/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- Minister of prisoners in the caretaker government Mohammed Al-Ghoul on Sunday said that the Israeli court’s decision to renew detention of MP Dr. Omar Abdul Razak after releasing him was a serious precedence and a political decision. He said in a press release that the Salem military court had sentenced the MP, who also served as finance Minster in the PA tenth unity government, to 26-month imprisonment term before releasing him after spending five months and a week. He added that the Israeli courts proved their subjugation to the intelligence orders and re-imposed an additional five-month sentence on him along with a financial fine. The kidnapping of MPs and ministers is a political decision to blackmail the Palestinian people and to use those detainees as a bargaining chip in return for releasing the Israeli captured soldier in Gaza, Ghoul elaborated. Report: Palestinian prisoners in Israel victims of medical neglect Ma’an News Agency 12/13/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an - Palestinian Prisoners Society confirmed Saturday that many Palestinian prisoners are suffering from different illnesses in the Israeli detention facility of Gilboa Prison in Israel just north of the West Bank city of Jenin. Prisoners say their maladies are caused by medical negligence on the part of the prison administration. The Prisoners’ society released a report on the conditions of life for Palestinians in the prisons shortly several lawyers with the organization visited the facility. Conditions that confronted legal staff lead to a call to allow prisoners to receive checkups from medical personnel, and for those prescribed medication to be granted access to it. Israeli military court to former PLC member: Come back to prison Ma’an News Agency 12/13/2008 Bethlehem - Ma’an - Former Palestinian Minster of Finance Omar Abd Ar-Razeq was asked by the Israeli Military Attorney on Saturday to turn himself into Israeli authorities in order to serve a five month prison term starting Monday. In an interview with Ma’an Ar-Razeq indicated that he would indeed turn himself in on Monday. He said he would be transferred to Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah, where he would spend an unknown number of months in detention. Ar-Razeq was arrested in 2006 after Palestinian factions in Gaza captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Though many ministers were charged, they are generally seen to be held as collateral for Shalit. Ar-Razeq initially spent 26 months in prison and was released in August 2008 and appeared before an Israeli court again in November, at which point his sentencing was postponed. Hamas Security forces release four reporters detained in central Gaza two months ago Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 12/12/2008 The SKeyes Centre for Freedom of the Media, reported on Thursday that the security forces of the Hamas dissolved government in Gaza, released on Wednesday evening four Palestinian reporters who work with the "Palestine Press". The four were identified as Mohammad Shahin, Yousef Fayyad, Akram Al Loh, and Hani Ismail. They did not face any official charges and were verbally accused of "planning a coup against the regime" and "collaborating with the Ramallah authority" (the Palestinian Authority headed by president Mahmoud Abbas). The four reporters were released without any legal procedures as the authorities did not abide by the law in arresting them and in the procedures that followed the arrest. The SKeyes center said that some reports indicated that the reporters were tortured and were forced to stand for extended periods while their hands were tied. Israel releases Palestinian lawmaker who won seat while in prison Ma’an News Agency 12/9/2008 Bethlehem - Ma’an – Israel released a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)after holding him for three years prison on Monday, following a court ruling. The court at Israel’s Ofer detention center acquitted 47 year-old lawmaker Nizar Abdel Aziz Ramadan of all charges. Ramadan had been held in administrative detention under which Palestinian detainees can be held without charge or trial virtually indefinitely. Ramadan was first detained in September 2005. He campaigned and won a seat in the PLC while still in prison in 2006. Ramadan is a member of Hamas’ “Change and Reform” list representing the West Bank city of Hebron. Forty other members of the PLC are still in Israeli prisons. Rights group to Mazuz: Probe IDF targeted killings in West Bank Tomer Zarchin, Ha’aretz 12/10/2008 The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel is demanding the attorney general order a criminal investigation to determine whether any crimes were committed in the planning and execution of past targeted assassinations. Attorneys Avigdor Feldman and Michael Sfard wrote Attorney General Menachem Mazuz a letter, asking him to clearly and unconditionally prohibit assassinations when detention is an alternative, and to prohibit giving advance approval to harming innocent bystanders. They also demanded Mazuz establish a committee to examine the constitutionality of past assassinations, as the High Court of Justice called for in a 2006 ruling. Two weeks ago, Haaretz Magazine published an investigation by Uri Blau that revealed the Israel Defense Forces approved assassinations in the West Bank even when detention appeared to be a viable alternative. UN to Israel: Free Palestinian prisoners, lift Gaza blockade Jerusalem Post 12/9/2008 UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday called on Israel to lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported. After two days of discussions, the council, which consists of 47 member states, passed a list of 99 ’recommendations’ of gestures for Israel to make to ease Palestinian suffering, including freeing all prisoners. Tuesday’s discussion was the third time the Palestinian situation has been discussed since 2006. Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Aharon Leshno Yaar, was quoted by Reuters as saying that "Israel remains committed to reinforcing areas in which we are succeeding and bettering those areas that need improvement. " He called the discussion in the Human Rights Council "positive and productive. " According to the report, representatives from Syria, Egypt and Iran condemned Israel during the discussion, regarding its policies on Palestinian prisoners and settlement construction. UN’s recipe for peace, in just 99 steps Reuters, YNetNews 12/9/2008 Human Rights Council lists recommendations for improvement of human rights in Israel, including lifting of Gaza blockade, release of Palestinian prisoners. ’Israel committed to bettering areas that need improvement,’ says ambassador -The UN Human Rights Council called on Israel on Tuesday to take 99 measures, from lifting its blockade on Gaza to releasing Palestinian prisoners. The 47-member-state Council adopted the list by consensus at the end of a two-day review of Israel’s human rights record. Under a new mechanism, known as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the records of all United Nations member states are to be subjected to scrutiny every four years. "Israel remains committed to reinforcing areas in which we are succeeding and bettering those areas that need improvement," said Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Aharon Leshno Yaar. Two-tier Israel Seth Freedman, The Guardian 12/9/2008 Last week, Israeli TV reported the findings of a major survey which suggests that the rate of cancer cases diagnosed in soldiers who serve in Tel Arad is 2. 5 times higher than that of soldiers serving in the Infantry Corps as a whole, thanks to the plethora of carcinogens emanating from the chemical and industrial plants dotted around the Negev. Parents of new recruits currently training at Tel Arad are furious that they were not alerted to the dangers sooner, especially since – according to one parent – "the data’s existed since 2002, and no one bothered to mention it to the soldiers. "- My alma mater was demolished shortly after I left its prison-like gates for the last time and, if families get their way, the base where I received my military education will soon suffer a similar fate. Situated deep in the Negev desert, Tel Arad seemed an ideal place to undergo basic training health-wise, Family appeals for Palestinian detainee infected with hepatitis Ma’an News Agency 12/8/2008 Jenin - Ma’an – The family of a Palestinian detainee who contracted hepatitis in prison appealed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as well as international institutions to secure the release of their son and provide him with proper medical care. Othman Abu Kharj, from the town of Az-Zababida town south of Jenin, is sentenced to life plus 20 years. He has served five years to date and became infected with hepatitis two years ago when he received an injection with a needle infected by another detainee. According to doctors and specialists, Abu Kharj keeps losing weight because he is unable to eat healthy food and drink sufficient fluids. [end] Israeli forces detain wife of Islamic Jihad leader for second time in Jenin Ma’an News Agency 12/7/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – The wife of prominent Islamic Jihad leader Bassam As-Sa’di was detained for a second time on Saturday; taken out of her family home in Jenin by Israeli forces. The 49-year-old Nawal As-Sadi was previously detained at the Huwwara checkpoint south of Nabulus, and kept in prison for 18 days. Bassam As-Sa’di is currently serving a five-year sentence in an Israeli prison. Two of Nawal’s sons were killed by Israeli forces during the second Intifadah. [end] Journalist’s Syndicate: release imprisoned media workers and ensure free speech Ma’an News Agency 12/6/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – Palestinian journalists and media workers must be released from West Bank prisons by the Palestinian Authority security apparatus, said a statement from the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate on Saturday. The Syndicate said some journalists had been in prison for more than three months, and hoped they would be released before the start of Eid Al-Adha. The statement also called for free access for journalists to locations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as a guarantee that news publications from both areas would be made available and not censored. [end] 17-year-old who beat Arabs sent to jail Aviad Glickman, YNetNews 12/7/2008 Youth convicted of assaulting Arab minors with sticks, clubs and knives at Jerusalem mall on eve of Holocaust Day, sentenced to one year in prison. Attack followed messages on Web calling on Jews to hurt Arabs - A 17-year-old youth was sentenced to one year in prison on Sunday after being convicted of assaulting Arabs with sticks, clubs and knives along with several other teenagers on the eve of Holocaust Day. "I can’t imagine that throughout his life the accused never heard of the Jews’ Holocaust and was never exposed to the horrors in the pursuit of people for belonging to a different race," the Jerusalem Youth District Court wrote in her ruling. According to the indictment, several young people of the Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood in the capital conspired to hurt Arabs on the eve of the past Holocaust Day. Skin condition spreading in Israeli prison; sufferers refused access to treatment Ma’an News Agency 12/6/2008 Nablus – Salfit – Ma’an – An alarming number of Palestinian prisoners of Israel have been infected by a skin disease, caused by the unsanitary conditions inside the prison facilities, said a lawyer for the Prisoners’ Society on Saturday. The lawyer noted that Israeli prison medical staff have refused to treat the condition, which is adding to the intolerable living situation in the prison. According to one prisoner, Tamer Samer Badran, dozens of prisoners have developed a rash from what they believe to be chemicals used in the shower water. He explained that he asked to be seen by a doctor but was refused. Badran has been in the prison since 17 December 2007, and was arrested for being affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah. He is still in Al-Julma prison in the northern West Bank. Imprisoned PLC members urge PA to shoulder Hebron responsibilities Ma’an News Agency 12/6/2008 Nablus/Salfit - Ma’an – The detained members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) with the change and reform bloc sent a statement of solidarity with the residents of Hebron on Saturday. In the statement, sent from the Israeli Megiddo prison, they called on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to shoulder their responsibility to protect citizens and ensure their safety against such attacks. "These attacks are not new,” the statement read, “but the settlers’ fierceness is increasing and more responsible and serious protection for the people of Hebron is required. ”The members wished good health and a speedy recovery to those injured, and urged the PA to provide sufficient support to the people. PA tells Red Cross: No political prisoners in Jenin prisons Ma’an News Agency 12/4/2008 Jenin – Ma’an – The Palestinian Authority (PA)’s head of security forces in Jenin denied that there are political detainees in Jenin prisons, according to statements made during a meeting with an International Red Cross (IRC) delegation on Thursday. Commander Radhi Asidah insisted that all prisoners in Jenin prisons were originally fugitives wanted for other crimes. The Red Cross delegation reportedly praised the security forces’ performance, despite its challenges. Asideh spoke about efforts being made to establish "a modern and developed military and security" establishment. The IRC offered to train national security personnel by offering its expertise on human rights issues, according to a statement received by Ma’an. Palestinian jailers can be worse than Israelis, ex-prisoners say Reuters, Ha’aretz 12/4/2008 Allegations of torture, arbitrary arrest and other abuses of due legal process have long been common from Palestinians in the West Bank. But lately more such accusations are leveled not at Israeli forces but at fellow Palestinians, part of the bitter factional rivalry that has divided families and made the two Palestinian territories fiefdoms of the warring camps - Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip and secular Fatah in the West Bank. To make sense of statistics provided by human rights groups,interviewed people in the West Bank city of Hebron about their complaints. Following are three of those in detail: L. , FACTORY WORKER At the height of an uprising against Israeli rule a few years ago, Hamas recruiters tried to persuade L. to sign up as a suicide bomber. Three journalists accused of fabricating anti-Hamas news released from Gaza prison Ma’an News Agency 12/4/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – The de facto government released three journalists from the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a month in prison on charges of fabricating anti-Hamas news. The release of journalists with the Palestine Press in Gaza Yousef Fayyad, Hani Ismail and Akram Al-Loh followed what a Hamas security officer called "intense intervention by fellow journalists" who appealed to senior Hamas leader and de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. The Palestinian Journalists Bloc said they were relieved by Haniyeh’s decision saying, “The release of those three journalists is a step for the better and also a call for journalists to commit to their jobs and be objective. ”[end] Israeli forces extra-judicially kill pardoned Palestinian International Solidarity Movement 12/2/2008 Nablus Region - Photos - At approximately 9:30pm on Monday 1st December, Israeli Special Forces entered Balata refugee camp in Nablus and arrested 28 year old Mohammad Kamal Abu Thraa - an ex-freedom fighter who had been granted amnesty by Israeli authorities in exchange for serving time in Palestinian prison. Two hours later he was pronounced dead from gunshot wounds. Friends and residents of Balata report that Mohammad had been eating dinner with his family before he received a phone call from Palestinian police advising him to wait in front of a convenience store on Al Aqsa street, for a police car to pick him up and take him to the police station to sleep for the night. This was a routine call, as Mohammad had been sleeping in a Nablus police station every night for the past year, forsaking armed struggle in order to take advantage of an amnesty scheme organised between Palestinian and Israeli authorities. IOF unit assassinates 'pardoned' AMB member Palestinian Information Center 12/2/2008 NABLUS, (PIC)-- A special unit of the Israeli occupation forces on Monday night shot and killed Mohammed Abu Dra, a member of the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades the armed wing of Fatah, in Balata refugee camp east of Nablus city. Local sources reported that the IOF troops were hiding in one of the streets near the refugee camp while Abu Dra was on his way to the PA prison where he stays every night in accordance with a PA agreement with Israel that stipulates an Israeli "pardon" to those who renounce resistance and stipulates retaining those who accepted the "pardon" to remain in PA jails for a period of time. However, the IOF soldiers ambushed Abu Dra and shot at him before dragging him to the car they were boarding and taking him to Hawara roadblock east of Nablus. The IOF carried Abu Dra to Kfar Sava hospital then told the PA that he was dead and handed his body to the Palestinian liaison office, the sources elaborated. Study: Most Palestinian prisoners from northern West Bank Ma’an News Agency 12/2/2008 Bethlehem - Ma’an - More than 50 percent of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons are from the northern West Bank, according to the results of a study released on Tuesday. Reported in the study’s findings is that 53. 8 percent of the total number of currently detained persons and those released between January 2007 and August 2008 are from the northern parts of the West Bank, compared to 28. 3 percent and 17. 9 percent from the central and southern parts of the West Bank, respectively. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) released the main results of a survey of Palestinian households in the West Bank on Tuesday, which focused on socioeconomic characteristics of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails. The results also shed light on the average age of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, finding that 33. Court: State obligated to rehabilitate Palestinian prisoners Aviad Glickman, YNetNews 12/2/2008 Judges accept appeal by female prisoner, remark that conditions in which she had been living ’saddened and concerned’ them. ’These prisoners were created human, no one has the right to forget that,’ verdict says -The High Court of Justice on Tuesday reminded the State of its obligations towards Palestinian prisoners, as part of their ruling on the case of a female Palestinian. The judges stated that the Palestinian prisoners were subject to poor conditions, and that they were not being rehabilitated properly by correctional facilities. The court approved an appeal made by 20-year old Nada Dirbas, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit a felony and contact with a foreign agent. Her sentence was reduced from six years to four. The indictment against Dirbas was filed one year ago. Ill woman denied medical treatment as she awaits trial in Israel; family appeals for help Ma’an News Agency 12/1/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – The family of 25-year-old Sana Salah, who stands accused of attempting to stab an Israeli soldier, is appealing to have Sana released from Israeli custody so her medical conditions can be treated. Sana, from the village of Al-Khader south of Bethlehem, suffers from weak eyesight and severe psoriasis in her feet. She has been held in Israeli custody for four months awaiting her trial, and has received no medical treatment. “She told me last Thursday during a court hearing that prison wardens keep beating her,” said Sana’s mother. “As a result [of the beating],” her mother added, Sana “has lost complete eyesight in her left eye. ”Israeli authorities expect Sana to be given a five-year sentence for attempting to stab an Israeli soldier near Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. Three hunger-striking former fighters moved to hospital from PA prison Ma’an News Agency 11/30/2008 Nablus – Ma’an – Three former Palestinian fighters have been hospitalized a day after they and ten others began a hunger strike demanding their release from a Palestinian Authority (PA) prison. The hunger-strikers are all members of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah. They are held in the PA’s Juneid prison near the West Bank city of Nablus as a part of an amnesty agreement with Israel. Under the arrangement, fighters, usually Fatah members, agree to give up their weapons and serve a term in prison exchange for a “pardon” from Israel. These thirteen have not received their pardons after a year in prison and are demanding that Israel resolve their dilemma. Two prisoners were transferred to hospital on Sunday afternoon. A third prisoner, who started the hunger strike one day earlier and suffers from a previous injury, was taken to hospital Sunday evening. Israeli MK suggests Palestinian prisoners be used as human shields to prevent projectile attacks Ma’an News Agency 11/29/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners in Israel should be used as human shields to protect Israeli targets around Gaza, according to the suggestion of an Israeli Knesset member published in the Hebrew daily newspaper Maariv in Saturday. Member of the Knesset (MK) with the center-right Likud party Gilad Arden was quoted in the paper responding to the reports of eight injured Israeli soldiers after several projectiles were launched from the Gaza Strip. Ma’an has not received any statements from Palestinian factions claiming responsibility for the attacks. According to the Israeli news source Yedioth Ahronoth, however, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) claimed responsibility for the mortar fire, as well as the Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, which is affiliated with Hamas. Arden told the paper that the Israeli government should transfer Palestinian prisoners. . . Nablus prisoners start hunger strike over term lengths Ma’an News Agency 11/29/2008 Nablus – Ma’an – Thirteen Palestinian prisoners affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah movement, have begun a hunger strike in response to "foot dragging" on the part of the Israeli army in regard to their sentences, the governor of Nablus told Ma’an. The 13 prisoners were originally apprehended PA security forces and held at the Jneid Prison in the West Bank for their own protection, as they were wanted by Israel and targeted for arrest and even extra-judicial assassination. Several have been behind bars for more than one year. The prisoners who are on hunger strike were identified as: Sameh Al-Asmar, Mohammad Tayseer Melhim, Mohammad Mershed, Husni Al-Salaj, Mohammad Mansur, Haitham Te’mah, Sa’ed Sarisi, Kayed Al-Masri (a 15-year-old boy), Sabri Al-Kurdi, Tareq Suleiman, Mu’taz Teryaqi and Hassen A’rayshah. Ailing Palestinian prisoner shunted between several prisons, aggravating health conditions Ma’an News Agency 11/29/2008 Hebron - Ma’an – The family of 60-year-old Palestinian prisoner Ahmad Al-Qiq said the man, who suffers from health problems, was transferred between Israeli prisons between four and six times in the past weeksA few weeks ago Al-Qiq was transferred to the Negev prison, then again transferred to the Ramlah prison where his medical condition worsened. He may then have been transferred back down to the Negev prison and then a few days ago made the trip to Ofer Prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah. According to his family Al-Qiq was sentenced to four months in prison and despite the existence of several known health conditions, he has been transferred to several prisons during his sentence. After ignoring his health condition for months, Dweik undergoes surgery Palestinian Information Center 11/29/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- The presidency of the PLC stated that speaker Aziz Dweik, 61, underwent on Friday a surgery in the Israeli Ramla prison hospital after the prison administration ignored his health condition and did not provide him with medical treatment for long months. Dr. Ahmed Bahar, the acting speaker of the PLC, strongly condemned the IOA for continuing to detain Dr. Dweik and maltreating him despite his old age and poor health condition. Dr. Bahar appealed to all Arab and Islamic parliaments, international associations and human rights organizations to intervene for the release of the PLC speaker from Israeli jails in order to receive appropriate medical care. In a new development, confirmed information received by the Hamas Movement said that a serious infectious disease started to spread among Palestinian prisoners in the PA Juneid prison in the West Bank. Israel releases Salfit PLC staffer following 29-month detention Ma’an News Agency 11/29/2008 Nablus/Salfit – Ma’an – Israeli authorities released a Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) chief of staff from the West Bank city of Salfit on Friday following a 29-month prison detention. The 40-year-old legislative aide, Ibrahim Abu Madi, was released at noon on Friday, according to Ma’an’s correspondent in Salfit. Abu Madi was originally detained during an arrest campaign carried out against deputies and other officials affiliated with the Hamas movement. Israeli authorities refused to comment on what criminal suspicious, if any, led to the arrest of the legislative official. [end] Israel releases Tulkarem man after two-year detention Ma’an News Agency 11/29/2008 Tulkarem – Ma’an – Israeli prison services released a Palestinian detainee on Friday evening, Muhammad Tanbouz of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, after he completed a two-year sentence. The 20-year-old Tambouz was arrested from his home in the Iktaba neighborhood of Tulkarem on 1 February 2007. He was released on Friday evening from Rimon prison. Muhammad Tambouz is affiliated with the Fatah movement. [end] Female ex-prisoner says Palestinian female captives denied medical treatment Palestinian Information Center 11/28/2008 RAMALLAH, [PIC]-- Palestinian ex-prisoner Kholod Al-Masri, who was released from Israeli jails on Thursday, affirmed that Palestinian female captives in Israeli jails were living in harsh prison conditions and deliberately denied proper medical treatment. Masri, who is a councilor in Nablus municipal council, was speaking to the Palestinian center for defending the prisoners shortly after she was released. "We call on the international community to immediately mobilize to rescue Palestinian female captives in occupation jails as they indeed live in a very miserable condition amidst deliberate medical neglect on the part of the Israeli jailors", she said. She explained that sick Palestinian female captives suffer a lot before they could be allowed to check up; and in spite of that hardship, the jail doctor refuses to render proper medical services to them, and gives them Akamol tranquilizer only regardless of the sickness. Imprisoned PLC speaker undergoes surgery following Israeli delay Ma’an News Agency 11/28/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – The imprisoned speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) underwent surgery on Friday despite Israeli delays and "medical negligence," according to the de facto speaker in the Gaza Strip. Dr. Aziz Duweik has been imprisoned for the past 28 months in an Israeli jail even though he has been "long suffering due to medical negligence by the Israeli prison authorities," the de facto PLC office in Gaza said on Friday. According to a statement sent to Ma’an, Duweik underwent surgery inside the Ramla detention facility to remove kidney stones on Friday. Ahmad Bahar, the deputy PLC speaker in Gaza, denounced the continued imprisonment of Duweik and the "harsh treatment by Israeli soldiers there," holding them "fully responsible if something happens to him. " Army: ’Targeted killings comply with Court rulings’ Uri Blau, Ha’aretz 11/27/2008 Human rights activists are considering filing a motion accusing the army of contempt of court following Haaretz’s report yesterday that the Israel Defense Forces have assassinated Palestinians in apparent defiance of High Court of Justice guidelines for such operations. Yoav Leff, spokesperson for the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, said he intends to contact the Attorney General and request that he looks into the report. In a conversation with Brigadier General Yair Naveh, who was the GOC Central Command at the time, he told Haaretz: "Never mind the court’s instruction, I don’t know when the court issued them. "He added he preferred arresting suspects. Brigadier General Avichai Mendelblit, Chief Military Advocate General, reacted to the publication by saying the article - which will appear in full in Haaretz’s weekend supplement - was "annoying and misleading. US National Lawyers Guild Calls for Freedom of Dweik, Sa’adat Palestine Media Center – PMC, Palestine Media Center 11/25/2008 The US National Lawyers Guild called for the freedom of Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian political prisoners held in the jails of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on the occasion of the November 25, 2008 meeting of the Israeli military trial against Sa’adat. DPA reported Monday that an IOF trial of the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Abdelaziz Dweik, scheduled for Tuesday in the IOF detention center of Ofer west of the West Bank city of Ramallah, was again delayed. Israel currently holds over 11,000 Palestinian men, women and children as political prisoners. Ahmad Sa’adat, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has been imprisoned by Israel for over two and one-half years, after being abducted from the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) prison at Jericho on March 14, 2006 during a 10-hour siege by the IOF. PFLP holds rallies in support of jailed leader Sa’dat Ma’an News Agency 11/25/2008 Ramallah – Ma’an – Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza rallied in support of Ahmad Sa’dat, the jailed leader of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Sa’dat’s deputy, Abd-Ar-Rahim Mallouh addressed a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah, saying that prisoners in Israeli jails should be viewed as freedom fighters. He said Israel’s maltreatment of prisoners amounts to “state terrorism. ”Sa’dat was locked in a Palestinian Authority (PA) prison in Jericho when Israeli forces seized him in 2006. The PA imprisoned him in 2002, following the PFLP’s assassination of the Israeli tourism minister and right-wing figure Rehavam Ze’evi in 2001. “The Palestinian Authority, resistance factions, organizations and average citizens must stand to protect what prisoners have been imprisoned for and what historic leaders such as [PFLP founder] George Habash,. . . Report: Only 6% of abuse claims against IDF lead to charges Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 11/26/2008 Just 6 percent of the 1,246 investigations opened by the military police regarding offenses against Palestinians and Palestinian property in the territories during the first seven years of the second intifada have led to indictments, according to a report to be released today by the human rights organization Yesh Din. The report, which bases its data on information provided by the military prosecution, also found that although some 2,000 Palestinian civilian noncombatants were killed by Israel Defense Forces fire during that time, according to human rights groups (defense officials say the number is far lower), only five soldiers and officers have been convicted of killing civilians, four of them on negligence charges. A total of 13 have been indicted. "A soldier who hits a bound Palestinian detainee or shoots an unarmed civilian knows the chances he will. . . Israeli army storm Hebron college and arrests eight students Report, Addameer, Electronic Intifada 11/25/2008 On 30 October 2008, at 10:15am, the Israeli army stormed the faculty of the Palestine Technical College in Arroub refugee camp, Hebron and arrested students from some of the classrooms. The students were blindfolded, shackled, and then repeatedly beaten, slapped, and punched all over the body. They were then taken to Gush Etzion military detention center. At 9:00pm two of the boys were released, however, eight of them are still in detention in Ofer Prison. None of the boys are older than 16. Hatem is a teacher at the Palestine Technical College. He was the only teacher present in the playground area at that time. One of the soldiers shouted at him, "Where are the boys that threw stones? "This was in response to an allegation that stones had been thrown at an Israeli civilian car by a person who came from the refugee camp and who had been wearing a black jacket. Jordanians visit relatives in Israeli jails Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 11/26/2008 AMMAN: More than 30 Jordanians left the kingdom for Israel on a rare trip on Tuesday to visit their relatives who are imprisoned in the Jewish state, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. "A bus left for Israel this morning, carrying 37 people who are relatives of 16 Jordanian prisoners in Israel. They will visit the inmates on a one-day trip," Nassar Habashneh said. The visit, the second in two years and the third since Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994, was due to take place on November 18, but it was postponed by Israel for "procedural issues," the ministry has said. In 2006, 37 Jordanians representing 16 families visited their relatives in Israeli jails during a trip organized by the Foreign Ministry. Opposition groups, including the Islamic Action Front, accuse the Jordanian government of "negligence" in its handling of the prisoner issue. Palestinian expert says Israeli torture of Palestinian prisoners is ‘routine’ Ma’an News Agency 11/23/2008 Ramallah – Ma’an – It came as no surprise to Abdun-Nasser Farawna when the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronot published a report about a “top secret” Israeli intelligence document authorizing the use of torture against Palestinian prisoners. Farawna, a former prisoner and an expert in prisoners’ affairs, said torture “began in 1967 as a policy which later got legal coverage and judicial immunity. It aims at destroying Palestinian and Arab prisoners both physically and psychologically. ”To Farawna, Israel’s use of torture is neither secret nor new. Farawna said the legalization of torture in Israel dates back at least to thereport of a government commission headed by Supreme Court President Moshe Landau in 1987. Landau was charged with examining government interrogation techniques. His committee came up with a two-part report. Jailed activist accuses Israeli prison guards of torture Ma’an News Agency 11/23/2008 Bethlehem - Ma’an - An International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist detained in an Israeli jail condemned Israel on Saturday for conditions that he said qualified as "real torture. " Vittorio Arrigoni accused Israel of treatment "manifestly violating every human and civil right" during his ongoing detainment in an Israel jail in Ramle, calling Israeli actions toward himself and two others "against every international law. " Arrigoni is an ISM activist detained in an Israeli prison since his arrest on a Gaza fishing boat. He apparently gave up on a previously announced hunger strike in exchange for his telephone, according to the activist. "In order to report these regrettable events I had to stop my hunger strike so that I could have back my telephone," he said. In a statement received by Ma’an, Arrigoni wrote that he had spent recent hours "locked in a piggish toilette full of fleas and parasites and without drinking water. Barghouthi: IOA measures against Gaza war crime Palestinian Information Center 11/20/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- MP Dr. Mustafa Al-Barghouthi has charged that the Israeli occupation authority’s measures against the Gaza Strip, siege and closure of crossings, constituted a war crime and a blatant violation of the international laws and the Geneva Convention. The MP also denounced the Israeli occupation forces’ detention of Palestinian fishermen and foreign activists off the Gaza coast, describing it as "a kidnapping". He said in a press statement on Wednesday that the deteriorating conditions in the Strip herald a humanitarian disaster as the IOA was blocking the entry of fuel, foodstuff and other basic materials into the Strip for more than two weeks. The IOA has turned Gaza into a big prison and is exercising collective punishment against it, Barghouthi said. The lawmaker called for an immediate end to the IOA "crimes" against the Palestinian people and urged the world not to treat Israel as a "state above the law". Five seized at East Jerusalem house demolition protest Ma’an News Agency 11/19/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – A Palestinian and four internationals were taken into Israeli police custody at a protest in East Jerusalem on Wednesday, according to a statement. The five were demonstrating against the demolition of a Palestinian family’s home in Sheikh Jarrah, an East Jerusalem neighborhood, where the house was demolished by Israeli forces on 9 November. The home, which belonged to the Al-Kurd family, was built on private Palestinian property, the statement claimed. Later on Wednesday afternoon, all five protestors were released without charges. Aside from the one Palestinian seized by Israeli police forces, two of the jailed protestors are from Denmark, one is British and another is from Sweden. All five were temporarily jailed in the Israeli “Russian Compound” prison in Jerusalem. The family’s house was slated for demolition in order to pave the way for a 26-story. . . Who stole Palestinian prisoners’ money? Ali Waked, YNetNews 11/19/2008 Palestinian Ministry for Prisoner Affairs allots millions of shekels every year for residents held in Israeli prisons. Ynet learns PA has launched investigation into disappearance of inmates’ canteen allowance; senior official arrested - Government corruption - the Palestinian version:The Palestinian Authority has appointed a commission of inquiry into two serious corruption affairs in the Ministry for Prisoner Affairs. A senior ministry official was arrested recently on suspicion of stealing hundreds of thousands of shekels allotted to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The inmates, most of whom are jailed in Nafha Prison in the Negev, were meant to use the money to purchase products at the jail’s canteen. Desperate TimesBarak plays hardball with Hamas, wants to limit prisoner visitations / Hanan Greenberg Defense minister proposes. . . Two Palestinian lawmakers sentenced to prison terms Ma’an News Agency 11/19/2008 Hebron –Ma’an – Two Palestinian members of parliament were sentenced to lengthy prison terms and fined by an Israeli military court on Tuesday. Lawmaker Samir Al-Qadi was sentenced to 42 months in prison and a 7,500 shekel fine. Al-Qadi was originally sentenced to just 28 months. Bassem Az-Za’arir was sentenced to 26 months in prison and 9 months probation. Both men are members of Hamas’ Change and Reform Bloc, and are from the West Bank city of Hebron. It is noted that Az-Za’arir and Abd Ar-Razeq were released on bail three months ago. Other lawmakers from Hebron will be sentenced on the 24th, 25th, and 26th of November. Over 40 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council are in prison. Israel rounded up dozens of deputies, including members of Hamas and Fatah, in response to the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian fighters in 2006. Hamas: Egypt detained nine Palestinian patients Ma’an News Agency 11/17/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – Egyptian security forces detailed nine Palestinian patients on Monday who traveled to Cairo for treatment, taking them to an unknown location, Hamas-affiliated media reported. According to Hamas’ Al-Aqsa satellite channel, Egyptian forces arrested the patients during a raid. A Three-year-old girl is reportedly among the detainees. The Egyptian government has denied the incident and says it will open an investigation. The patients all traveled to Egypt from the Gaza Strip. Among the alleged detainees is the brother of a Hamas lawmaker named Mushir Al-Masri who accompanied his 3 year-old daughter to Egypt treatment. The other patient detainees are: Hussam Mahmoud Ar-Ramlawi, Iyad Ali Hassan Salem from Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip. Salem is reportedly paralyzed. Salem’s brother Muhamad Ali Hassan, Muhammad Said Radwan, Nour Khamis Al-Masri. . . Israel releases PLC member with Hamas after 28 months in prison; 46 still detained Ma’an News Agency 11/14/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli army released member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) for the Hamas bloc Mahmoud Musleh in prison on Thursday. Musleh was seized from the West Bank city of Ramallah, where he lived and worked, in the days following the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006. Musleh was one of 56 PLC members taken from Ramallah at the time; 46 of his colleagues remain in prison. He was released after 28 months of detention. [end] MIDEAST: Palestinian Factions Torture Opponents Cherrie Heywood, Inter Press Service 11/15/2008 RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov 14(IPS) - Unity talks between the two main Palestinian political factions Hamas and Fatah failed before they even began this week following Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’s refusal to release 400 Hamas prisoners held in PA jails in the West Bank. Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip, demanded their release as a precondition for attending the talks which were due to take place in Cairo under Egyptian mediation. Last week Hamas released 80 Fatah political prisoners from Gaza’s jails and demanded the PA reciprocate. According to human rights organisations, the bitter political rivals continue to imprison, torture, persecute and abuse their political opponents as the power struggle for supremacy across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank intensifies. These are the two main Palestinian territories. Israel to try troops over Palestinian abuse video Middle East Online 11/14/2008 JERUSALEM - The Israeli army is to try several soldiers suspected of posting a video on YouTube that shows them humiliating a bound and blindfolded Palestininan, a statement said on Friday. The clip posted last week showed soldiers from the crack Golani Brigade forcing a prisoner to repeat degrading remarks in Hebrew while they looked on and laughed. "The inquiry regarding the issue is in its final stages, and it has been found that the event occurred fifteen months ago in the area of the Gaza Strip," the statement from the military said. "Some of the soldiers involved are still in active service. At the end of the inquiry, these soldiers will be charged in a disciplinary trial. "The Israel Defence Force considers this to be a grave incident and a serious infraction, and is treating it as such. Furthermore, the IDF is taking additional action in order to prevent such incidents in the future. IDF to court-martial soldiers filmed humiliating bound Palestinian Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 11/14/2008 The Israel Defense Forces ruled on Thursday it will court-martial four infantrymen who were filmed verbally abusing a bound and blindfolded Palestinian at what is believed to be a checkpoint in the West Bank, Channel 10 reported. According to the report, IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi ordered an investigation into the incident, tapping GOC Northern Command Gadi Eizencot to oversee the probe. Last week, soldiers from the Golani infantry brigade posted a video on YouTube depicting a blindfolded Palestinian being forced to repeat phrases in Hebrew as the soldiers manning the checkpoint laugh in the background. One of the lines is: "Golani will bring you a log to stick up your ass. " As the detainee repeats the words, the soldiers are heard laughing raucously in the background. Israeli court extends detention of alleged stone-throwing children Ma’an News Agency 11/12/2008 Ramallah – Ma’an – The Israeli military court at Ofer detention center in the West Bank extended the detention of eight Palestinian students until 14 December on Wednesday citing a need for ‘further investigation. ’The court rejected a petition to release these detained students on bail. The students all attend a school in Al-Arroub, in the southern West Bank. The children are accused of throwing stones at Israeli troops. Mahmoud Hassan, an attorney for the Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association, condemned the court’s decision, saying the students will be prevented from continuing their studies. Hassan added that the detention center where the youths are held “lacks the minimum requirements of humanitarian law. ” Two Palestinian women released from Israeli prisons Ma’an News Agency 11/12/2008 Tulkarem – Ma’an – The Israel Prison Service released on Wednesday two Palestinian women prisoners, after both completed two and a half year sentences. Thirty-six-year-old Wadha Fuqaha isfrom Ramallah in the central West Bank ,and 23-year-old Falastin Nakhlah is from Al-Jalazun Refugee Camp near Ramallah. Both women are affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement. Fuqaha was detained on 22 June 2006. Her husband Yousif served some seven years in Israeli jails, most recently a seven-monthterm beginning in 2005. [end] Youth center worker sentenced to 10 months in prison Ma’an News Agency 11/12/2008 Nablus – Ma’an – The Israeli military court Salem sentenced Mathfar Thuqan on Wednesday an administrator at the Youth Center in Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus to 10 months in prison and a 2,000 shekel fine. Thoqan has two brothers in Israeli prisons, Amir who is serving a life sentence, and Arabi who is sentenced to 18 years. [end] IOF troops demolish house under construction Palestinian Information Center 11/12/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces at dawn Wednesday demolished the home of Nasser Shalash in Shakaba village, west of Ramallah city, at the pretext of lack of construction permit. Local sources said that the soldiers escorted a number of bulldozers that flattened the house, which was under construction, and leveled a sheep pen. Witnesses said that the soldiers handed demolition notifications to owners of seven houses in the village at the same pretext. In Nablus, IOF soldiers rounded up three members of the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the PFLP, after ambushing them in one of the city’s streets. Eyewitnesses reported that the IOF special forces beat the three after detaining them with their riffle butts. In another development, relatives of the prisoner Alaa Brejiah, 37, appealed to legal and human rights groups to intervene and save his life. Israeli police kidnaps a Palestinian reporter in Jerusalem Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 11/11/2008 The Israeli police kidnapped on Monday at night Abdul-Baset Al Razim, a Palestinian reporter from Jerusalem after breaking into his home in Abu Dis and searching it. The Police and members of the so-called border-guard units, broke into the house of Al Razim casing excessive damage, confiscated his laptop, several documents, his mobile phone and took him to an Al Maskobiyya prison in Jerusalem. His wife voiced an appeal to local and international human rights groups and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate to intervene for his release, especially since he suffers from several chronic diseases and needs regular medical checkups. She added that some of the medications her husband is taking cannot be skipped but the police kidnapped him without allowing him to carry any of his medications. Lies abound: Presence of political prisoners affirmed in West Bank and Gaza Ma’an News Agency 11/9/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Human Rights organizations confirmed on Sunday the existence of political prisoners in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Fatah categorically insists they do not have political prisoners and Hamas, though also guilty of the phenomena, said on Saturday that conciliation talks cannot go forward until its West Bank affiliates are released. Hamas withdrew from the long-anticipated Cairo national conciliation talks early Saturday, less than one day before their scheduled start. The party declared it could not take talks seriously while its West Bank activists remained in Palestinian Authority (PA) prisons. According to Hamas, the PA is holding 400 Hamas activists behind bars. According to Fatah there “are no political prisoners” in West Bank prisons. Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) for Fatah Mohammad Al-Lahham confirmed that. . . European MPs reach blockaded Gaza by sea AFP, YNetNews 11/8/2008 65-foot boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists, European politicians docks in Strip in protest of Israeli sanctions imposed on Hamas. British MP: Even prisoners have rights, rights to have food and medicine and to live in dignity. People here in Gaza don’t have those rights -A boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists and European politicians was allowed to dock in Gaza on Saturday despite a strict Israeli blockade, in the third such voyage in less than three months. The 20-metre (65-foot) "Dignity" arrived in Gaza at 9:30 am after departing from Cyprus on Friday to protest against the Israeli sanctions imposed after the IslamistHamas movement seized the Gaza Strip in June 2007. On board were 11 European politicians, most of them British, and activists of the US-based Free Gaza Movement who last month completed a second successful attempt to reach the Gaza Strip. Political prisoner completely paralysed as a result of torture Palestinian Information Center 11/7/2008 Ramallah, (PIC)-- Palestinian sources in the West Bank said that Amer Ghazal, a political prisoner in one of Abbas’s jails has suffered complete paralysis as a result of the torture he underwent at the jail. The sources, which preferred to remain un-named, said on Friday that Ghazal underwent severe torture, including prolonged periods of (Shabh), which takes several forms; the tying of the feet and hands together behind the body, usually sitting on a low stool and the hanging to a door or a ceiling by the feet of the hands. Ghazal is detained at the notorious Junaid prison in Nablus. This prison has been named by the Palestinian citizens the (Maslakh) which means the abattoir or slaughterhouse. Another political prisoner, Bashir al-Dhaher (42) was reported a few days ago to have gone on an open-ended hunger strike to protest the sever torture he underwent, according to sources. VIDEO - B’Tselem: JAG informs High Court will not amend indictment in shooting of bound Palestinian International Solidarity Movement 11/7/2008 On 4 November 2008, the judge advocate general, Brig. Gen. Avichai Mandelblit, informed the High Court of Justice that, despite the court’s suggestion that the prosecution consider filing more serious charges against Lt. Col. Omri Borberg and Staff Sgt. L. in the case involving the shooting of a bound and blindfolded Palestinian in Ni’lin, he decided to leave the indictment as it is. Attorney Dan Yakir, of the Association for Civil Rights, stated on behalf of the petitioners - the Association for Civil Rights, B’Tselem, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Yesh Din - that, "We regret that, despite the severe criticism voiced by the High Court, the JAG remains firm in his opinion that abuse of a bound Palestinian detainee by a senior officer and shooting him is, at most, unbecoming conduct. The High Court now has the task of determining the appropriate response for such serious acts. ”. Addameer Update: Military judge rejects appeal on continued detention of Salwa Salah and Sara Siureh Addameer Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association, International Solidarity Movement 11/7/2008 Letter of appeal - Dear Friends, I am writing to inform you that on November 2, 2008 the Military Judge at Ofer Military Court rejected the appeal by Addameer Attorney Mahmoud Hassan to reduce the administrative detention order of Salwa Salah and Sara Siureh. This means that both girls will remain in prison until their current administrative detention order ends on January 3, 2009. It is not certain that both girls will even be released on this date. Administrative detention orders can be renewed indefinitely under Israeli Military Law. Both girls are now in Damoun prison in Israel and are being held with the other Palestinian adult female detainees. They have now spent more than 5 months in Israeli prisons, being held without charge or trial. Background - Salwa and Sara were both arrested from their homes in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on June 5, 2008. VIDEO - IDF troops film themselves humiliating bound Palestinian Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 11/7/2008 Channel 10 on Thursday released footage taken by Israel Defense Forces soldiers of themselves humiliating a bound and blindfolded Palestinian man at a West Bank checkpoint. The footage shows the Palestinian kneeling and repeating sentences given to him to say by the soldiers, who belong to the Golani infantry brigade. One of the lines is: "Golani will bring you a log to stick up your ass. "As the detainee repeats the words, the soldiers are heard laughing raucously in the background. Later Thursday, the army issued a harsh condemnation of the troops’ actions. "The IDF views this incident gravely and condemns it. Behavior of this kind goes against IDF values and its soldiers’ expected norms of behavior," the IDF Spokesman’s Unit said in a statement it released. Ministry of prisoners: Israel is responsible for kidnapping four women from Gaza Palestinian Information Center 11/6/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- The ministry of detainees and ex-detainees in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday held the IOA fully responsible for the lives of four Palestinian women who were abducted during the incursion of IOF troops into central Gaza and taken to an unknown destination. In a statement received by the PIC, the ministry reported that Israeli special units backed by air cover encircled on Wednesday morning amid intensive gunfire the house of Al-Humaidi family and forced everyone out before rounding up four women and two men, pointing out that the IOA refuses to admit the kidnapping of the four women. The ministry appealed to Egypt in its capacity as the truce sponsor to urgently intervene to get the four women released. In the same context, the Palestinian center for human rights explained Wednesday that theIsraeli military aggression started on Tuesday at about 0830 pm. Three women abducted during Gaza attack are released; fourth woman in hospital in Israel Ma’an News Agency 11/6/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli forces have released three Palestinian women who were taken from the Gaza Strip when Israeli troops invaded Maghazi Refugee Camp on Tuesday night, while another was still in an Israeli hospital of the city of Beersheba on Thursday. Released detainees Hanan and Sharihan Hassan Al-Hamidi said they “were interrogated and assaulted for several hours,” during their detention. The family of the fourth woman, Hanin Al-Loh, asked international institutions to secure the release of their daughter, who they said was shot in the back, hand, and leg, duing the Israeli incursion. The released women said Al-Loh was injured and left alone in the street bleeding for an hour before she and the others were abducted by Israeli soldiers. Two men, the husbands of the women detainees, were also abducted during the same raid. Palestinian released from Israeli prison after four years Ma’an News Agency 11/6/2008 Tulkarem – Ma’an – Israel released on Thursday Rasem Aqawi to his home in the West Bank after spending four years at the Negev Prison. Aqawi was received by residents of his hometown, Allar, a village near the city of Tulkarem. Samara said the Palestinian detainees are living in worsening conditions in Israeli jails. He said Israel has banned families of prisoners from giving clothes to their relatives inside the prisons. Rasem called on human rights institutions to intervene assist Palestinians in Israeli jails. [end] Jailing of Palestinian lawmaker draws condemnation Ma’an News Agency 10/15/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – The arrest and trial of Palestinian lawmakers by Israel is a “racist” policy by the occupation against representatives of the Palestinian people, said deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Dr Ahmad Bahar on Wednesday commenting on a ruling in Israeli court against PLC member Dr Azzam Salhab. Salhab, a professor from the West Bank city of Hebron, was sentenced to 46 months in prison. He was first jailed by Israel on 25 September 2005, and was elected to the PLC while in prison. He was a lecturer at Hebron University for 20 years. Bahar described Israeli conducts in that regard as violations of international law. He ascribed such trials to Israel’s failure to find those lawmakers guilty of any crime, except that of being representatives of the Palestinian people. He called on all the Arab and Islamic countries’ parliaments along with. . . Driver who sparked Acre riots freed to house arrest, has license suspended Jack Khoury, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008 The Galilee District Police are leaning toward recommending pressing charges against Tawfik Jamal, the Acre resident who sparked the riots that began during Yom Kippur last week after driving through a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in the mixed city, Haaretz has learned. Jamal was released yesterday to house arrest by the Haifa District Court. During his remand hearing his attorney argued that Jamal’s arrest was motivated by political considerations. They told the court their client denies the allegation against him. He was arrested on Monday on suspicion of harming religious sensitivities and reckless endangerment in connection to the incident. The maximum penalty for both charges is four years in prison. His driver’s license was suspended for 30 days. The city remained quiet yesterday, but Acre Police Chief Superintendent Avi Edrey said police forces would remain deployed. . . Asylum-seekers jailed due to gov’t dispute over contagious disease tests Ruth Sinai, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008 Some 200 asylum-seekers from Africa have been jailed for weeks despite a court order to release them, due to an argument between the Health Ministry and the Prison Service over financing the refugees’ tests for contagious diseases. Brahma Sanogo, from the Ivory Coast, was arrested six weeks ago on his way to work in Ramat Gan. Although he had an official document granting him the protection of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees while his asylum request was being reviewed, he was sent to Ma’asiyahu Prison. Only two weeks later, after his employer found him and arranged legal representation for him, was Sanogo brought before the custody tribunal, which hears the cases of migrants. The tribunal ordered Sanogo released immediately, after he underwent medical tests. Report: Sick Palestinans suffer neglect, abuse in Israeli jails Ma’an News Agency 10/11/2008 Nablus – Ma’an – Two Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups on Saturday produced evidence of maltreatment, abuse and medical neglect at Israeli prisons in a petition filed with Israel’s highest court. An attorney representing the Palestinian Prisoners Association filed a petition with Israel’s High Court of Justice on behalf of Alaa Badawi, a prisoner serving a 25-year-sentence at Nafha Prison. The petition alleges that Israeli prison guards failed to provide the inmate with medically necessary treatment. Badawi suffers from a stomach disease that, without medication, causes him to lose weight rapidly. As a result of the guards’ alleged refusal to give him anything other than diarrhea medication, Badawi currently weighs just 34 kg. The petition filed with the Israeli High Court compiles numerous violations at the prison, but focuses on the neglect of Badawi’s long medical file. PA forces accused of torturing Minister of Waqf during political detention Ma’an News Agency 10/11/2008 Gaza – Ma’an - The undersecretary of Waqf (religious trust sites) Anwar Mara’ba has been assaulted and tortured during his time in prison in Ramallah. Mara’ba, who is a prominent Hamas member and ran for office in 2006, was arrested on 10 July, as part of an ongoing series of “political arrests. ” Hundreds of Hamas and Fatah supporters from the West Bank and Gaza Strip respectively, have been arrested based primarily on their political affiliations. Many of those arrested have been local party leaders and prominent supporters. For Mar’aba, said a statement from the Employees Union in the de facto government in the Gaza Strip, his more than 60 days in Palestinian Authority (PA) prisons have seen him be severely maltreated. Mr Mara’beh has begun a hunger strike in protest of his ill-treatment. The Union released their statement on Saturday saying they were preparing. . . Medical negligence in Israeli prisons leads thousands to suffer Ma’an News Agency 10/11/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – Medical negligence in Israeli prisons left 2000 sick and at least 160 dealing with severe diseases without the aid of proper treatment according to the Center for the Study of Detainees. Director of the Detainees Centre Ra’fat Hamduna, who himself served 15 years in Israeli jails, organized several visits to the jails by medical professionals. The nurses and physicians were to provide basic treatment of the prisoners and organize further appointments and medications or surgeries for those in need. Hamduna said that medical workers found many prisoners in very poor health, especially as the weather turns cold this fall. He said medical neglect is certainly one of the major causes of death for Palestinians serving in Israeli prisons. In a report released on Saturday Hamduna asserted the importance of the health of the prisoners, saying that it is a crime to have the sons and daughters of Palestine suffer so badly in prison. Palestinian captives determined to reject orange uniform Palestinian Information Center 10/11/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- The PA ministry of prisoners and ex-prisoners’ affairs has confirmed that the Palestinian captives in Israeli jails were determined not to accept the orange uniform that the IPA wants to impose on them, and that they vowed to take unprecedented steps in this regard. In a statement he issued and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC, Reyadh Al-Ashkar, the information officer in the ministry, pointed out that the Palestinian detainees reject the orange uniform due to the bad psychological effect that would inflict on them because the orange uniform was known to be the uniform for those sentenced to the death penalty on the one hand, and because it would replicate the bad picture of the captives in the infamous US concentration camp of Guantanamu on the other hand. He quoted the supreme committee of the captives as saying in a statement it issued and a copy of which was. . . Sources: PA security torture deputy minister of religious affairs in its jails Palestinian Information Center 10/11/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Informed Palestinian sources reported that the Fatah-affiliated preventive security apparatus in Ramallah kidnapped sheikh Anwar Mara’ba, the deputy minister of religious affairs, adding that preventive security chief Ziad Hab Al-Reeh interrogated and tortured the sheikh brutally in the Beyoutna prison. The sources also underlined that everybody in the prison could clearly hear screams of pain coming from the Mara’ba’s cell, adding that he fainted more than once at noon Friday as a result of the excruciating torture inflicted on him. In a statement received by the PIC, the family of Mara’ba held Hab Al-Reeh and the PA leadership in Ramallah fully responsible for the life of the sheikh. In a related development, the same sources said that the preventive security elements in the Beyoutna prison used a baton charge against the Palestinian prisoners and some of them opened fire indiscriminately at them. Soldier in shooting of bound Palestinian could face more charges Ma’an News Agency 10/10/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – An Israeli military judge is considering filing new charges against the soldier that shot a bound Palestinian in the West Bank city of Ni’lin, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported on Friday. Judge Avi Mandelblit said he was considering amending the charges first brought against Israeli soldier Omri Burberg. The soldier was formerly a commander until his indictment over his shooting of a bound Palestinian detainee during an anti-wall protest. The military judge apparently is reconsidering the charges based on an Israel High Court of Justice ruling that urged Mandelblit to formally accuse the soldier of crimes more significant than his original “conduct unbecoming of an officer” charge. Report: 20 kinds of violations committed against women in Israeli jails Palestinian Information Center 10/9/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The prisoner center for studies revealed that the Palestinian women imprisoned in Israeli jails are exposed to more than 20 types of violations, stressing that such violations start from the moment of arrest until release. In a report, the center explained that the most prominent violations against Palestinians female prisoners in Israeli jails are the brutal way of their arrest before the eyes of their children and families, the physical and psychological pressures during interrogations, the medical neglect and many other repressive practices committed by Israeli prison administration against them. The center said that the number of Palestinian women in Israeli jails is about 70 prisoners, 50 of them are serving different sentences, and five others are administratively detained. The center also pointed out that there are about 10,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails including 340 children. Report: Palestinian girls seized in June still held without charges Ma’an News Agency 10/8/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – A human rights organization appealed to the public on Wednesday to take action against Israel’s administrative detention of two Palestinian schoolgirls being held in a women’s prison since June. The Addameer Foundation said Israeli officials again requested an administrative detention order for Salwa Salah and Sara Siureh, two 16-year-old girls seized from their homes on 5 June. Their first administrative detention was ordered on 12 June. From the date of their arrest until 21 July, neither of the girls was allowed contact with their families. Salah was originally sentenced to four months, while Siureh received a five-month detention. A military court confirmed the orders on 18 June, though an appeals hearing reduced Siureh’s sentence from five months to four. Originally due for release on 4 October, officials issued the second order on 5 October, one day after they were legally free to go. After 16 years in Israeli prison Firas Jarar sat down with PNN’s Jenin correspondent Ali Samoudi Ali Samoudi, Palestine News Network 10/8/2008 Jenin -- Sitting in his Jenin home Firas Ahmed Mohammad Jirar recalls the vividly harsh memories of 16 years in Israeli prison. Jirar says he cannot forget being moved from one prison and detention center to another despite being newly released. "I am so happy to see my family, but it will be incomplete as long as there are prisoners in the jails. He continued, "The suffering is during the current period is seriously escalating. We must deliver the message of the prisoners and keep them at the top of the priorities. "Despite the warmth that greeted Jirar as he returned to his family and the people he has not seen since he was 19 years old, he cannot stop talking about the situation of the Palestinians in Israeli jails, the daily suffering. "The meaning of freedom is lost when so many of our people are languishing in prisons where they are living in the cruelest of situations. Israeli official to be prosecuted abroad for torture Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 10/7/2008 Nablus - The Dutch judicial authorities failed to arrest Ami Ayalon, who is now Minister without Portfolio in the Israeli government, while on a visit to the Netherlands from 16 to May 20, 2008. He is being prosecuted for torture in 1999-2000 when he was Director of the Israeli General Security Service, Shin Bet. Ayalon’s term as GSS Director lasted from 18 February 1996 through 14 May 2000. The torture charge stems from periods in which he was "investigating persons suspected of committing crimes against the security of Israel. " The request for his arrest was submitted to the Dutch authorities by one of the victims, Khalid Al Shami. Lawyers for Al Shami in Gaza City, from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, have prepared the case file. The man resorted to seeking justice abroad after the Israeli authorities refused to take action, in part because torture is allowed in Israel. Dutch lawyers seek arrest of Minister Ayalon for ’war crimes’ The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/8/2008 Lawyers for a Palestinian who claims he was tortured in an Israeli jail are seeking a Dutch arrest warrant for former Shin Bet head Ami Ayalon, a human rights activist said Tuesday. The lawyers are appealing Dutch prosecutors’ decision not to investigate Ayalon when he visited the Netherlands last May. Ayalon is a minister without portfolio and the former head of its Shin Bet security service, which is responsible for intelligence activities in the Palestinian territories. The case is the latest example of Palestinians appealing to outside courts under a principle known as universal jurisdiction, which says some crimes are so serious they can be prosecuted anywhere, not just in the country where they were committed. Khalid al-Shami alleges he was permanently seriously injured after being tortured while jailed in Israel for 50 days early in 2000. Report: Minister Ayalon evaded arrest in Holland Itamar Eichner, YNetNews 10/7/2008 Yedioth Ahronoth says Dutch authorities denied request filed by attorney representing Palestinian who claimed to have been tortured by Shin Bet to arrest former chief of Israeli security service -Discreet talks between Israel and Holland prevented the arrest of Minister Ami Ayalon (Labor) by Dutch authorities, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday. According to the report, In May, when Ayalon attended a conference in Holland marking Israel’s 60th anniversary, a local attorney representinga Palestinian who claimed to have been tortured by the Shin Bet between 1999-2000, during Ayalon’s tenure as head of the Israel security agency, turned to Holland’s attorney-general and demanded that the Israeli minister be detained. Word of the attorney’s request reached officials in Jerusalem, who immediately contacted Dutch authorities to make certain Ayalon would not be arrested. Jailed Palestinian undergoes third surgical operation in Israeil prison Ma’an News Agency 10/7/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – A Palestinian sentenced to life imprisonment in an Israeli jail underwent his third major operation since his sentencing 16 years ago. Relatives of prisoner Rizaq Salah, who is from the town of Al-Khadr near Bethlehem, said doctors performed a cholecystectomy on the man as treatment for severe stomach pain. Doctors performed an appendectomy on the prisoner in 1995, which was shortly after they extracted liquids from his knee. Bethlehem-based Prisoners’ Society demanded in a statement received by Ma’an that Israel release Palestinians suffering from serious illness. The society estimated that around 1,000 Palestinians need urgent operations or are disabled as the result of being shot by Israeli soldiers during apprehension. Palestinian captives determined not to wear orange uniform Palestinian Information Center 10/7/2008 NABLUS, (PIC)-- Palestinian captives in the Israeli Hadarim prison asserted Tuesday that they won’t wear the orange uniform, which the Israeli prison authority tries to impose on them, urging Palestinian masses to support them in this regard. Lawyer Buthaina Dakmak of the Mandela foundation that caters from Palestinian captives in Israeli jails met Palestinian MP Ahmad Sa’adat, the secretary-general of the PFLP, and Tawfeek Abu Na’im, one of Hamas’s political leaders in the Hadarim jail, adding that both Palestinian leaders highlighted the importance of the Palestinian popular support in this regard. She also quoted the two leaders as asserting that four of the Palestinian detainees were sent by the IPA to the isolation cells for rejecting to wear the orange uniform. She said that the four prisoners were denied their simplest human rights and that they were completely isolated. Israeli Prisons Continue to Swell Amidst Talks of a Possible Exchange Palestine Monitor, Palestine Monitor 10/7/2008 The Israeli detention of Palestinians continued late Monday night and Tuesday morning throughout several cities in the West Bank despite the fact that no attacks have emanated from there in over a year, and despite the ongoing peace talks in which prisoner(s) held by both sides remain a key issue. Their assault on the city of Jenin left several wounded, including two sisters in their twenties, and the detainment of two people for unknown charges. This, only days after an operation in Jenin in which the IDF entered into the "˜Martyrs Cemetery’ reportedly digging up graves. Tuesday also saw the arrest of five West Bank residents of Bethlehem’s Dehaisha refugee camp and an unspecified number of others were evacuated to hospitals for the beatings received at the hands of the IDF. In total, the early morning raids resulted in the arrest and detainment of 19 Palestinians according to the Israeli military. Daily Israeli invasions include digging up corpses, desecrating Qu’ran Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 10/6/2008 According to eyewitness reports, recent Israeli invasions have included soldiers digging up graves in Jenin, and desecrating copies of the Qu’ran, the Muslim holy book, by tearing it apart and throwing it in the toilet in several different cities. Israeli forces invade Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank on a daily basis, allegedly in order to abduct Palestinians that they consider ’wanted’ for various reasons. Often the ’tips’ to the Israeli soldiers on who they should abduct come from Palestinian informants who give names of their personal enemies, or from Palestinian detainees under torture, who give their Israeli captors any names they can think of in order to stop the pain. In recent weeks, Palestinian eyewitnesses have reported some particularly egregious behavior on the part of the invading Israeli troops. After 24 years in Israeli prisons, Gaza human rights proponent attacked by Palestinian police Palestine News Network 10/5/2008 PNN - As the party-based assaults between the Gaza and Ramallah governments continue with new transgressions reported nearly daily, the Gaza police attacked Rafat Al Najjar, his wife, son and brother-in-law in the southern Gaza Strip’s Khan Younis. The 65 year old is a former Palestinian Legislative Council member who is the current Chairman of the Board of Al Dameer Association for Human Rights in Gaza. He spent more than 24 years of his life in his Israeli prisons. Gaza City’s Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, which has field investigators throughout the Strip and the West Bank, called on Sunday for an official investigation into Friday’s assaults and for the perpetrators to be prosecuted in the justice system. Reports of the incident indicate that after noon on Friday Al Najjar’s neighbors in the Jourat Al Lout district of Khan Younis began fighting. Fatah member’s relatives say he was executed in PA jail Ali Waked, YNetNews 10/1/2008 Tensions high in Ramallah ahead of funeral of man charged with shooting former Palestinian information minister. PA says he died following deterioration in his medical condition, family claims he was tortured by intelligence service - Tensions were high in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday ahead of the funeral of Shadi Shami, a Fatah member in his 30s who died two days ago at a Jericho prison belonging to the Palestinian intelligence service. Shami was arrested in 2002 and was charged with shooting former Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr, who now serves as the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s ambassador to Egypt and is considered one of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ close advisers. Shortly after the shooting incident, which left Amr with a serious injury to his leg, Shami was arrested byIsrael. Fateh member dies in a Jericho prison IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 10/1/2008 Palestinian media sources in the West Bank reported on Wednesday that one member of Fateh movement died in vague circumstances at the Jericho Central Prison controlled by Fateh security forces and police in the West Bank city of Jericho. The sources stated that Shady Shaheen, in his thirties, suffered from a sharp deterioration in his health conditions two days ago, but members of his family accused the security forces of torturing and executing him in prison. The family demanded an autopsy to reveal the causes of his head. Shaheen was arrested in 2002 after he was accused of opening fire at Nabil Amro, the then Palestinian Minister of Information. Amro is now the Palestinian Ambassador in Cairo and is one of the close figures to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. Amro was wounded in his legs during the period when the late Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, was surrounded by the Israeli army in his Ramallah headquarters. Al Shami family says son was tortured PNN, Palestine News Network 10/1/2008 Ramallah - The family of Shadi Al Shami is accusing the Palestinian Intelligence Service of torturing their son to death after six years in Jericho Prison. He was jailed in 2002 for shooting the former Information Minister and current Palestine Liberation Organization ambassador to Egypt, Nabil Amr. Palestinian Authority security announced Al Shami’s death two days ago. In an official announcement the PA wrote that he died of deteriorating health. Clashes between the Al Shami family and members of the Palestinian security are expected during Wednesday’s funeral service in Ramallah. Shadi Al Shami was a member of the Fateh party imprisoned by Israeli forces. Upon his release from Israeli prison he was taken by the PA. Egypt nabs 28 suspected infiltrators en route to Israel Ma’an News Agency 10/1/2008 Bethlehem - Ma’an - Egyptian security forces announced the detainment of 28 Africans nabbed at the Israel-Egypt border crossing in central Sinai on Tuesday. The accused infiltrators are citizens of Eritrea, Sudan, Chad and Ethiopia, according to security sources. Egyptian police say they detained the suspected infiltrators at Al-Arish Prison in the Sinai town of Al-Arish in northern Sinai, where police notified the suspects’ embassies. [end] Palestinians claim detainee in Jericho prison died from torture Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 9/30/2008 Shadi Muhammad Shahin died Monday night in the Jericho prison run by the Palestinian Authority. While the circumstances around his death remain unclear, his family claims that he died due to torture by the Palestinian police. According to the Palestinian Information Center, a Hamas-run website, Shahin, who was in his thirties, died Monday after being tortured for some time. The Palestinian police, run by the Fateh-affiliated Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, claim that Shahin died of illness, and promised to conduct a full autopsy and investigation of the death. Jericho prison is the main Palestinian Authority-run prison, although Israeli occupying military forces have, in the past, raided the prison to extract men they wish to imprison in Israeli prisons. The most famous raid took place in 2006, when Israeli forces bombed and demolished parts of the prison, killing a number of prisoners. Journalists to Abbas: Release jailed reporters in West Bank Ma’an News Agency 9/30/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – A journalists’ committee on Tuesday called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to release all reporters currently held in Palestinian Authority (PA) jails. The group demanded that Abbas release jailed news officials in West Bank prisons to spend time with their families during ’Eid. Among those detained are Farid Hamad, Khaldun Al-Mathlum, Abdullah Adawi, Asid Al-Amarneh. The committee said that journalists have a right to free speech, though it also admitted that reporters have a responsibility to avoid intensifying the Fatah-Hamas rivalry, according to a statement. [end] A prisoner dies under torture in Jericho prison on the eve of Eid Palestinian Information Center 9/30/2008 File picture of political prisoners in Jericho prison RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Palestinian sources revealed that a young man from Ramallah died Monday evening in Jericho jail, which is run by Abbas’s PA, as a result of sever torture meted to him inside the jail. Shadi Muhammad Shahin, a Palestinian in his thirties from the Ramallah district died in Jericho jail, according to the sources. The PA police claimed that Shahin died as a result of illness and not under torture and that an autopsy will be carried out to determine the cause of death. Reasons behind the detention of Shahin are not clear yet, but the PA police say that he was detained pending prosecution in a case brought by the attorney general in Jericho. It is, however, known that the Jericho jail is used mostly for detaining political prisoners and elements of the resistance from various resistance factions. Mothers of detainees in Abbas’s jails call for their release before talks Palestinian Information Center 9/29/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Mothers of Palestinian detainees in Abbas’s jails called on all Palestinian parties who want to see the Palestinian reconciliation talks succeed to work for the release of their sons. The mothers issued a statement in which they said it was not right for a Palestinian administration to detain Palestinians for their political affiliation, and if everyone claims to be interested in reconciliation, then political prisoners should be released. The mothers said in the statement that they were optimistic when they heard about Fatah agreeing to the talks, but were disappointed that there was no mention of their sons’ plight when Fatah presented Egyptian officials with their views on the reconciliation. They ended their statement by calling on Hamas leadership to make the release of political prisoners a condition before starting talks. Palestinian man, accused of shooting diplomat, dies in Jericho prison Ma’an News Agency 9/29/2008 Jericho - Ma’an - Thirty-year-old Muhammad Muhammad Shahin died in a Palestinian Authority (PA) prison on Monday, according to a police official. Shahin was detained in 2003 for shooting Nabil Amer, the Palestinian representative to Egypt while the latter was in Ramallah. The source said that Shahin, who was from the Ramallah area in the central West Bank, died of health problems and not as the result of maltreatment in prison. Police assured that a full autopsy would be performed. [end] Israeli court extends detention of DFLP Secretary General Ahmad Sa’adat Ma’an News Agency 9/28/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Israeli court extended the detention of Secretary General for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmad Sa’adat during a Sunday hearing. He is now due for release on 25 October. The Ad-Damir foundation for prisoners’ and human rights, which has been following up the Sa’adat case, said that it received a document from Israel saying that the man’s term had been extended. Sa’adat has refused to recognize Israeli courts during all hearings, and says all legal action taken against him is in fact illegal, since no indictment papers, warrants charges were brought prior to his arrest. Sa’adatexplained that all he was guilty of was performing his duty towards his people and their cause. Palestinian university professors work for release of political prisoners Ma’an News Agency 9/28/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – A delegation representing Palestinian university professors headed by Dr Husam Udwan, visited political prisoners detained by the de facto government at Al-Mashta prison in Gaza City and met with all detainees on Sunday. Dr Udwan said the visit was part of professors’ ongoing efforts to end the state of rivalry and lay the grounds for serious and real national dialogue. He explained that the delegation freely toured the prison and watched firsthand the living conditions of the political prisoners. Foods and drinks were distributed to the detainees who also had chance to telephone their families using the delegation’s cell phones. “We made sure prisoners are well-treated,” said Dr Udwan. “We are closer than ever to seeing those political prisoners in Gaza released,” he added. As for political detainees in the West Bank, “we have been making great efforts. . . Israeli soldier sentenced to 4 months for accepting bribes at checkpoint Ma’an News Agency 9/26/2008 Jerusalem - Ma’an – An Israeli soldier who took cigarettes from Palestinians in exchange for allowing them through the Qalandiya checkpoint separating the central West Bank from Jerusalem has been sentenced to four months in prison. The officer, Ofer Levy, will spend the four months in an Israeli military detention center, the Israeli magistrate’s court announced on Friday. In comparison, the checkpoint commander who held up Nahil Abu Raja, a 21-year-old pregnant Palestinian en route to a Nablus hospital after feeling contractions in her seventh month of pregnancy was sentenced to 14 days in prison. Nahil’s baby was born at the checkpoint and died after minutes, unable to receive the necessary treatment. The soldier was declared to have violated military protocol by not allowing Nahil and her husband to pass the checkpoint. Hamas’s captives in Israeli jails reject orange uniform Palestinian Information Center 9/26/2008 NABLUS, (PIC)-- The supreme committee of Hamas captives in Israeli jails has rejected on Thursday the decision of the Israeli prison authority (IPA) of changing the brown uniform of the captives to orange. In a statement it issued and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC, the committee explained that the orange uniform would produce adverse psychological repercussions on the prisoners because it is known to be the uniform of those sentenced to death, and it would replicate the picture of the captives in the infamous US concentration camp in Guantanamu. "A number of Israeli politicians had repeatedly insisted that the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails must be regarded and dealt with as "terrorists", and not as political prisoners or prisoners of war and freedom fighters", the statement pointed out. Moreover, the committee warned if the decision is implemented, it would. . . Student council members in Israeli prison PNN, Palestine News Network 9/26/2008 Ramallah -- The Israeli military court in Beer Aseeba sentenced Birzeit University’s student body president to four years in prison. Abdullah Awais’ sentence was suspended to one year and an estimated 2,000 shekel fine. Awais was a fourth year student at the Ramallah area university’s Faculty of Engineering Information Technology Department. Israeli forces arrested the young man at a checkpoint in the West Bank between eastern Nablus’ Atara Village and Birzeit. Three other student council members are in Israeli prisons including Fadi Hammad, former student body president. Israeli forces currently hold an estimated 11,000 Palestinians in its prisons. [end] Israeli soldiers injure ten, detain ten others at demonstration Ma’an News Agency 9/26/2008 Ramallah – Ma’an – Ten protesters were reportedly injured Friday during clashes at a demonstration near the West Bank city of Ni’lin. The injured Palestinians suffered from teargas inhalation after Israeli soldiers fired rounds in response to rocks thrown by residents, furious that bulldozers were preparing confiscated land to build a toxic waste dump. Ten other Palestinian youths were arrested by Israeli soldiers, who accused them of participating in the apparently peaceful rally. It was not immediately clear if the detainees were among those throwing rocks, participating in the demonstration, or both. A spokesperson for the protest group was unavailable for comment Friday as he remains hospitalized with severe injuries sustained at another demonstration on Tuesday. He had been shot in the face by a teargas canister, causing severe bruising and blood loss, according to medical officials in Ramallah. Israeli Human Rights Groups: 'Shooting a cuffed resident, oppression, not only an indecent behavior' Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 9/27/2008 The Israeli High Court of Justice is slated to convene on Sunday in order to discuss an urgent appeal filed by Ashraf Abu Rahma, a Palestinian resident o Na’lin village near Ramallah, who was kidnapped by the soldiers, cuffed and blindfolded before a soldier shot him in the leg. The appeal was filed in direct coordination with the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied territories (B’Tselem),Yesh Din Organization, the Association For Civil Rights in Israel, and the Popular Committee Against Torture. Abu Rahmaand the appealing organizations are demanding the court to void a ruling which stated that the brigade commander, and the soldier who opened fire, conducted an "indecent behavior", which makes this grave violation look like a minor incident. The petitioners are demanding the court to change the charges in a way which would reflect the seriousness of the. . . Israeli prisons authority deprives Palestinian prisoner of her medication Palestinian Information Center 9/25/2008 NABLUS, (PIC)-- The Palestinian prisoner Rima Daraghma, who is suffering from bad health, was denied medicine by the Israeli prisons authority, the Palestinian prisoner’s club lawyer said on Wednesday. He said that a doctor, who was allowed into jail to check her, diagnosed her illness and prescribed a medicine but the prison administration refused to give her the medicine, claiming that it was not necessary for her. Daraghma, who hails from Tobas in the West Bank, also complained that she is deprived of family visits for more than nine months and does not know the reason. [end] Dichter: Prof attack takes us back to days of Rabin assassination Shahar Ilan and Roni Singer-Heruti , and Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 9/26/2008 Public Security Minister Avi Dichter joined senior political officials on Thursday in condemning a pipe bomb attack on the home of left-wing activist and Haaretz columnist Professor Ze’ev Sternhell, saying that the incident called to mind the days of the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Dichter described the event, which left Sternhell lightly wounded, an "assassination attempt" and a "nationalistic terror attack perpetrated, in all likelihood, by Jews, which pushes our society many years backward. " Speaking at a police ceremony in Netanya, Dichter added that "the pipe bomb that was planted yesterday should be viewed as a bomb meant to kill. The law enforcement authorities will not rest until the terrorists are put where they belong ? in prison. "Police suspect Jewish extremists of having carried out the pipe bomb attack earlier in the day. Dichter: Attack on professor Jewish terror Raanan Ben-Zur, YNetNews 9/25/2008 Internal Security Minister Dichter says pipe bomb attack on Professor Ze’ev Sternhell takes Israel back to days of Rabin assassination; law enforcement officials will not rest until ’terrorists’ behind the attack are imprisoned, he says -The attack on Professor Ze’ev Sternhell is a "nationalist terror attack apparently perpetrated by Jews," Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter said Thursday evening. " This attack takes us, Israeli and Jewish society, back many years, to the days of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination," Dichter said at a police ceremony held in Netanya, north of Tel Aviv. "We should view the explosive planted last night as one that aimed to kill," he said. ""The law enforcement establishment and police will not rest until those terrorists will be placed where they deserve to be - in prison. PPS lawyers meet several detainees in a number of Israeli detention facilities Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 9/25/2008 Lawyers of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) visited a number of detainees in a several Israeli prisons and detention centers. The detainees complained of mistreatment, abuse and lack of medical attention. In Hasharon prison, one of the PPS lawyers met with detainee Reema Daraghma, from Tubas, who informed him of her very bad health condition. Daraghma told the lawyer that she was examined by the prison doctor and that he prescribed medications for her but the prison administration insists that she does not need those medications and refused to provide her any needed meds. She was barred from her visitation rights since more than nine months without being informed about the reason behind this act. The lawyer also met detainee Sanaa’ Shihada, from Qalandia refugee camp in Ramallah, who also complained of bad treatment against her and the other detainees. Jerusalem court reduces Vanunu’s sentence Aviad Glickman, YNetNews 9/23/2008 Nuclear whistleblower’s prison sentence reduced from six to three months du to ’ailing health’ and ’lack of claims his actions jeopardized Israel’s security’ - The Jerusalem District Court reduced Tuesday Mordechai Vanunu’s prison sentence from six to three months in prison due to his ailing health. The nuclear whistleblower was convicted of contacting foreign journalists and violating the travel restrictions imposed on him. The Jerusalem court hearing was held after the Magistrates’ ruling was appealed by Vanunu’s attorneys. "In light of (Vanunu’s) ailing health and the absence of claims that his actions put the country’s security in jeopardy, we believe his sentence should be reduced," the judges said. Vanunu told reporters prior to the hearing, "When I’ll be free to talk and move about I’ll be able to speak with you. Israeli doctors conduct surgery on Palestinian prisoner without his consent Palestinian Information Center 9/22/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- A Palestinian prisoner called Muhannad Awda reported that he was forcibly taken by the prison administrant to the Soroka hospital despite the fact that he was not suffering from any disease, adding that Israeli doctors drugged him and conducted an open heart surgery on him. Awda explained to the lawyer of the Mandela institute that he was not suffering from any heart disease, pointing out that he was medically tested before sending him to prison and proved free of any disease. The prisoner added that in the hospital, he was asked to sign papers authorizing doctors to conduct a surgery on him and to take his organs, but he refused, noting that before he was taken to the operating room, he asked to be allowed to contact his family or permit them to visit him, but was refused. The prisoner elaborated that during the surgical operation, he woke up suddenly and saw. . . 10 Palestinian children suffer food poisoning in Israeli prison Palestinian Information Center 9/18/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Mandela institute for human rights and political prisoners reported that 10 Palestinian minors imprisoned in the Israeli Telmond prison have suffered food poisoning after they were served sardine meals. In a report issued following a field visit to the prison, the institute said that cases of poisoning happened among children in section 14, adding that the prison administration transferred 15 of them to the internal clinic where it was discovered that 10 minors had severe food poisoning. In another development, Palestinian prisoner Ra’ed Drabiya told the lawyer of the prisoner club who visited him that the Israeli doctors inside the prison treat him like a "guinea pig". Drabiya explained that he is suffering from a disease in his back and the prison doctors failed to diagnose it, pointing that he underwent three surgeries but to no avail. Palestinian female captive decides to go on hunger strike due to medical neglect Palestinian Information Center 9/22/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- The ministry of prisoners and ex-prisoners’ affairs in Gaza city expressed anxiety over the deteriorated health of Palestinian female captive Amal Fayez Juma of Nablus city who suffers of womb cancer in an Israeli jail. According to Reyadh Al-Ashkar, the information officer in the ministry, Juma’s health was seriously deteriorating due to the deliberate medical neglect on the part of the Israeli prison authority (IPA), adding that Juma decided to go on hunger strike to end her ordeal. He added that the captive must be immediately released to receive proper medical treatment abroad before her illness reaches advanced levels that couldn’t be cured. "Juma had suffered internal bleeding and severe stomach pain long time ago, but the IPA refused to attend to her medical needs that made her health condition deteriorate further as they refused to heed recommendations from. . . Mayor of Jenin suffers from medical neglect in Shatta prison Palestinian Information Center 9/20/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Mayor of Jenin Hatem Jarrar, who is imprisoned in the Israeli Shatta jail, said in a letter through the lawyer of Mandela institute that his health condition deteriorated as a result of the policy of medical neglect exercised by the prison administration. Jarrar explained that he suffers from diabetes, hypertension, and kidney problems, adding that he suffered from severe pains after undergoing a surgery to repair a hernia because of the inappropriate incarceration conditions and the lack of medical follow-up. In another related context, prisoner Mohamed Al-Kaddoumi, who was sentenced to 19 years in jails, told the prisoner club’s lawyer that the Israeli doctors in the prison misdiagnosed his medical case where they told him that the cause of his ongoing unbearable stomachache was the existence of stones in his kidney and thus prescribed him kidney medicines. Detained Jerusalem deputies in Israel criticize absence of Palestinian leaders Ma’an News Agency 9/20/2008 Jerusalem – Ma’an – A letter from detained members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) sent a letter to Palestinians that was read during the sermon at Al-Aqsa mosque on Friday, calling for leadership from the Jerusalemite community. “Where is the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas? Where is Salam Fayyad? Where are the members of the executive committee? ” asked the letter, and wondered, “do they just come to Jerusalem to meet with Olmert and Livni? ” rather than to pray or lead the Palestinian people? The PLC members, writing from the Ayalon prison near Ramle in central Israel, said more leadership for Jerusalem and Jersalemites would be a positive influence in the strengthening of Arab-Islamic relations with Palestinian leaders. “Our nation faces many troubles,” continued the statement, “while Palestinians wait at the checkpoints to reach Jerusalem our leaders. . . Hamas warns Israel over Schalit deal Jerusalem Post 9/20/2008 Hamas would reject every existing agreement on a prisoner trade for kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit if Israel tried to change the terms of the deal, senior Hamas leader in Gaza Mahmoud Al-Zahar has threatened. Zahar, who made his comments during an interview with the Ramatan news agency on Friday evening, insisted that if Israel continued what he called its policy of withdrawing from arrangements, Hamas would cancel all of the arrangements made and would demand a new number as well as a new list of prisoners’ names the group wished to release. "In this case, we will also go back on our word. . . We will open a new page, begin anew and demand greater numbers," Zahar warned. Zahar’s declaration came in response to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s announcement that Israel has already agreed to free 450 Palestinian prisoners before Schalit is transferred. . . IOA releases former minister Abu Arafa after 27 months in jail Palestinian Information Center 9/17/2008 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM- The IOA released at noon Tuesday Khaled Abu Arafa, the former minister for Jerusalem in the tenth PA government, after spending 27 months in the Israeli Eshel prison in Beer Sheba. Lawyer Fadi Al-Qawasmi stated that the Israeli military prosecution decided to cancel two indictments filed against Abu Arafa after it failed during two years to prove anything against him. Qawasmi added that the only charge that was proved against Abu Arafa was serving as minister for three months in the Palestinian government formed by the Hamas change and reform parliamentary bloc, adding that after two years of follow-up, he managed to refute all charges leveled against Abu Arafa. He opined that the kidnapping and prosecution of Abu Arafah were because of his active role in defense of Jerusalem at the social and political levels. 10 Palestinian children suffer food poisoning in Israeli prison Palestinian Information Center 9/18/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Mandela institute for human rights and political prisoners reported that 10 Palestinian minors imprisoned in the Israeli Telmond prison have suffered food poisoning after they were served sardine meals. In a report issued following a field visit to the prison, the institute said that cases of poisoning happened among children in section 14, adding that the prison administration transferred 15 of them to the internal clinic where it was discovered that 10 minors had severe food poisoning. In another development, Palestinian prisoner Ra’ed Drabiya told the lawyer of the prisoner club who visited him that the Israeli doctors inside the prison treat him like a "guinea pig". Drabiya explained that he is suffering from a disease in his back and the prison doctors failed to diagnose it, pointing that he underwent three surgeries but to no avail. Israeli occupation renews administrative detention of Hamas spokesman Palestinian Information Center 9/19/2008 JENIN, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authorities have renewed on Thursday the administrative detention of Hamas spokesman in Jenin sheikh Khaled al-Haj ten minutes before he was due to be released. The family of Haj say that the administration of the Negev desert prison, where their son is languishing after being moved between several prisons, handed him the detention renewal notice extending his administrative detention by 4 more months minutes before his due release, this renewal is the fourth in a row. The Occupation authorities extended the administrative detention of Haj despite the fact that there are no charges levelled against him. The Israel high court rejected a request by his lawyer that Haj be released. IOF troops kidnapped Haj from his home in Jenin on 11 January 2007 and subjected him to 70 days of harsh interrogation, then given 11 months prison sentence and 2000 Shekels on charges of owning a pistol. IOF tight measures on visits to captives increase during Ramadan Palestinian Information Center 9/19/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Relatives of the Palestinian captives in Israeli jails have complained that the IOF troops were humiliating them before they could be allowed to see their relatives in the Israeli jail in flagrant violation to human rights conventions and prisoners’ rights. They added that the IOF troops were deliberately delaying them for several hours under the heat of the sun, especially during the month of Ramadan knowing that they are fasting. "The Israeli occupation imposes on us many restrictions, which are not as alleged by the occupation for security reason, but merely to humiliate and to increase the burden on the captives’ relatives", said a sister of Palestinian captive Khaled Mohammed of Nablus city. The 55 year-old mother of Palestinian captive Hassan Al-Masri, who is detained in the Negev desert prison, pointed out that the IOF troops forced her to wait for long hours in a very hot hall before they allowed her to see her son. Detention of Qalqiliya journalist by PA security called violation of judicial independence Ma’an News Agency 9/15/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestinian Journalist and civilian Mustafa Sabri has been denied release from a military prison despite a court order for his release after he was detained as a political prisoner by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces in on 31 July. Sabri is a journalist for Al-Aqsa TV, and was picked up in a series of politically motivated arrests throughout the West Bank by the PA. A corresponding series of political arrests were made in Gaza by de facto government forces. The arrests came days after the 25 July car bombing in which four Hamas activists were killed and one young girl. The arrests continued throughout the summer, and by some accounts are ongoing. Political arrests have been a major issue in unity talks, with all sides calling for the release of those arrested. PCHR are calling Sabri’s detention a “violation of the powers and independence of. . . Ad-Dameer Association demands Abbas to release a detained Palestinian reporter IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 9/15/2008 The Ad-Dameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association demanded the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas to issue direct orders for the release of reporter Mustafa Sabri who was detained by Palestinian security forces on July 31. Sabri remains imprisoned although the Palestinian High Court of Justice ordered his unconditional release. The Ad-Dameer added that Sabri was repeatedly detained and interrogated over the last several months by the security forces in Qalqilia, in the northern part of the West Bank,The association also said that Sabri declared a hunger strike in protest to his continued detention in spite of the decision of the high court. It stated that all sorts of political arrests, and assaults against public freedom and the freedom of press are illegal, and added that Abbas must act in order to stop these violations. News in Brief - Barak applauds criminal investigation of New Profile Ha’aretz 9/16/2008 Defense Minister Ehud Barak yesterday applauded Attorney General Menachem Mazuz’s decision to order a criminal investigation into an organization suspected of encouraging draft dodging. The New Profile organization gives recruits "detailed and reliable information about the procedures that enable one to obtain an exemption from military service," according to its web site. Barak met yesterday with the heads of several pre-army preparatory programs. "Army service is a pillar of Israeli society," he said. (Yuval Azoulay) A Jerusalem court yesterday sentenced a man to three years in prison and one year suspended sentence for throwing a flare onto a basketball court last year and causing physical injury to a security guard. The court also ordered the defendant, Yossi Malach, to pay NIS 150,000 in compensation to the guard, Yoav Glizentein, who lost two fingers when he picked up the flare, which exploded in his hand. Israeli soldier gets 14 days for role in stillborn at checkpoint Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 9/13/2008 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: An Israeli soldier was sentenced to 14 days in prison for his role in an incident in which a Palestinian delivered a stillborn baby after being forced to wait at a checkpoint inside the Occupied West Bank, the Israeli Army said Friday. "The incident is one that could have been prevented," the Israeli military said, adding that the squad commander who was in charge of the checkpoint at the time was removed from his position and sentenced to 14 days in jail. Nahil Abu Raja was heading from her village to hospital in Nablus with her relatives earlier this month when she was held up at an Israeli checkpoint outside the Occupied West Bank city while she was in labor. "The soldiers at the checkpoint did not allow the vehicle to enter Nablus via the checkpoint as they did not possess a vehicular entrance permit," the army said in a statement. Three minors among nine seized in Ni’lin Ma’an News Agency 9/11/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces reportedly seized nine Palestinians near Ramallah on Thursday. Eight of the six men and three children lived in the village of Ni’lin, west of the city. One other detainee is from Ramallah. All were taken for investigation, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources. Witnesses said Israeli forces took two of the minors when they could not locate those they intended to arrest. The father of Mohammed Salah Khawaje, 12, told reporters that Israeli soldiers used the boy as a human shield against rocks thrown by Palestinian youths. The two other minors seized in the raid are Mohammed Loi Khawaje, 13, and Sofian Nawaf Khawaje, 17. Israeli forces also took Arafat Amira, Imad Azzam Khawaje, 18, Mustafa Khawaje, 20, Milhim Amira, 22, Yousef Amira, 34 and Salah Mira, 36. IDF court jails soldier who didn’t let woman in labor through crossing Jpost.com Staff, Jerusalem Post 9/12/2008 Military court on Thursday sentenced the IDF commander of the Hawara Crossing to 14 days in prison and dismissed him from military service following his involvement in an incident in which a Palestinian woman was delayed at the IDF checkpoint and consequently, gave birth to a dead baby. The woman was on her way to a Nablus hospital last Thursday after having contractions. According to her husband, even when the baby’s head was crowning, the soldiers at the crossing north of Jerusalem did not let the couple through. The Palestinian ambulance team that arrived at the scene could not save the newborn. [end] PA military prosecution refuses court decision to release journalist Sabri Palestinian Information Center 9/11/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The PA military prosecutor rejected the decision taken by the higher Palestinian court to release journalist Mustafa Sabri who has been detained in the PA intelligence jails for 84 days in Qalqilya and decided to keep him in prison until further notice. The PA security apparatuses had summoned Sabri nine times over the past months, where he was sometimes detained or released. He was elected to membership in the Qalqilya municipality after spending several years in Israeli jails because of his national orientations. His family reported that Sabri was arrested in 26/7/2008 and exposed to extreme torture, but after his release he published a story about what happened to him and was arrested again during the same month on a charge of disturbing public order through his news reports. In a new development, informed Palestinian sources told the PIC reporter that the. . . Electrical fire breaks out in PA prison in Jericho Ma’an News Agency 9/11/2008 Jericho – Ma’an – A fire broke out in a prison operated by the Palestinian Intelligence service in the West Bank city of Jericho on Wednesday night, causing no injuries. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an that the fire resulted from a faulty electrical connection. Twelve Palestinians are held at the Jericho facility. The men are serving temporary sentences in Palestinian Authority custody under an amnesty agreement for Palestinian armed activists. [end] Administrative detention extended for Hamas leaders from Tulkarem Ma’an News Agency 9/9/2008 Tulkarem – Ma’an – The Israeli prison service has extended the administrative detention of several of Hamas leaders and activists from the Tulkarem area of the northern West Bank. Hamas sources told Ma’an that Sheikh Abdullah Yaseen, the Hamas spokesperson in Tulkarem, and another member named Samih Qarut were remanded for six more months, following siz months of detention without trial. Local Hamas leader Muhammad Abu Al-Kheir was designated for a further five months, his fifth consecutive administrative detention order. Israel detained 15 Hamas leaders in Tulkarem on 8 May 2007. [end] Long-term Palestinian political prisoners on the rise PNN, Palestine News Network 9/9/2008 Gaza -- The number of years behind Israeli bars for dozens of Palestinian political prisoners has surpassed 15. Na’el Barghouti is the longest standing after being imprisoned on 4 April 1978. There are 340 Arabs who have been held in Israeli prisons since before the Oslo Accords, the agreement which directed Israel to release political prisoners. Abdel Nasser Farawana is a researcher and the Director of Palestine behind Bars. He said on Tuesday that a large number of Palestinians have joined the ranks of those imprisoned since before Oslo. Two hundred and ninety Palestinians have been in Israeli prison for more than 15 years. Eighty-one are still imprisoned after 20 years. Eight Palestinians join the ranks this month. Four of them are from the West Bank: Ashraf Ghazi Al Wadi from Tulkarem detained since 11 September 1993, Mohammad Mousa Tkatgah from Bethlehem detained. . . Palestinian prisoner ’jumped to escape torture’ Associated Press, YNetNews 9/8/2008 Abdel Karin plunges from second-story window of Nablus prison 15 days after being arrested by Palestinian security. ’I began to prefer death,’ he says -A Palestinian prisoner says he jumped from a second floor window to escape torture at the hands of his Palestinian jailers. Prison officials say he fell. The prisoner is 34-year-old Mohammed Abdel Karim. He’s being treated in an east Jerusalem hospital for back injuries from his plunge. The Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq says the case is an example of widespread abuse of prisoners in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Abdel Karin plunged from the second-story window 15 days after he was arrested by Palestinian security and taken to a prison in the West Bank city of Nablus. He said every day he was tied up in painful positions every day. Gaza female prisoners in Israeli jails appeal for allowing family visits Palestinian Information Center 9/8/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Gaza female prisoners in the Israeli occupation jails have appealed to the concerned institutions to pressure the Israeli occupation authority to allow family visits to them similar to West Bank prisoners. Prisoner Fatema Al-Zak told the Palestinian prisoner’s club lawyer that she was psychologically depressed because of inability to see her offspring and relatives. She asked the lawyer to appeal for her case. She said that her child Yousef could not see his father, brothers and relatives ever since his birth in captivity. The 8-month-old Yousef is the youngest prisoner. Two other prisoners, Wafa Al-Bis and Rawda Habib, also from the Gaza Strip, voiced similar appeals during the meeting with the same lawyer. In another context, Ahmed Al-Kurd, the minister of labor and social affairs in the PA caretaker government, said that 150,000 Palestinian families in. . . Mandela calls for the release of Palestinian researcher Palestinian Information Center 9/6/2008 JENIN, (PIC)-- The Mandela institute catering for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation authority jails on Saturday asked the human and legal rights groups to pressure the IOA to release Ibrahim Abul Haija, the Palestinian researcher and writer. A statement by lawyer Buthaina Dakmak, the institute’s chairperson, charged that Abu Al-Haija’s administrative detention, without trial or charge, was in continuation of the IOA’s war on freedom of opinion and expression. She recalled that the IOA detained Abul Haija, who is well known political analyst, from his home in Jenin six months ago and sentenced him to administrative custody for six months. He was not interrogated or charged during his detention, the lawyer noted, adding that the court of appeals refused to release him at the pretext of "secret evidence" against him. Saturday report: Israeli authorities deliberately mistreat Palestinians during prison transport PNN, Palestine News Network 9/6/2008 Gaza -- A report issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Saturday indicates that torturous conditions are the norm during transport. "Prisoners are waiting in trucks for over five hours without food, water or ventilation in the summer, and without heat during the winter. The ill suffer even more as they are chained in twos. " The Ministry writes that "Israeli prison authorities deliberately exercise various forms of maltreatment and torture against Palestinian prisoners in order to pressure them and weaken their morale while being transported. "Today’s report is focusing on transport between prisons and to and from court or the hospital. "The prison administration will not inform the imprisoned of the transfer to a new location until the night before so there is not adequate time for him to prepare himself. Abbas’s security men toss prisoner from third floor breaking his spine Palestinian Information Center 9/5/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Muhammad Samir Abdel-Karim, from the northern West Bank city of Nablus who was imprisoned by the PA Security at Junaid has a broken spine and is in critical condition. According to a PIC special source, the PA security arrested Abdel-Karim secretly 15 days ago. After subjecting him to torture for several days, Abdel-Karim was thrown from the prison’s third floor causing him a fractured spine. The source said that the torture included tying up hands and feet together from behind for a week and breaking his teeth. The same sources said that the PA security, who are trying their best to keep the story out of the press, transferred the prisoner to the French hospital in Jerusalem four days ago. Palestinian parliament speaker moved from one Israeli prison to another Ma’an News Agency 9/4/2008 Hebron – Ma’an – The speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Aziz Dweik, has been moved from one Israeli prison to another, one of Dweik’s colleagues in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) said on Thursday. PLCmember Samira Halaykah Dweik said he was moved from Megiddo prison to Hadareim prison. Another lawmaker, Samir Al-Qadi, was moved from Ofer prison to Megiddo. Halaykah said that the Israeli prison service is abusing Dweik and the other 40 members of the PLC who are still in prison. According to Halaykah, even the transportation between prison facilities can become a means of torture, and a month ago, four lawmakers were injured while in transit between prisons. Liberated prisoner: Jailors tried to push me to commit suicide Palestinian Information Center 9/4/2008 AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- The Liberated prisoner Noura Al-Hashlamon said on Thursday that the Israeli jailors had tried to push her to commit suicide while in administrative captivity over the past two years. She told the PIC reporter in Al-Khalil city that Israeli jailors dropped broken glass in her prison cell during her hunger strike and when she asked them to get them out they refused. Hashlamon said she told court that she does not intend to commit suicide and that she is a believer and that her hunger strike was to protest the so-called secret file against her which was used to renew her administrative detention. The ex-detainee said that her husband was also held under administrative custody for the past 26 months without trial or charge, leaving their seven children without their parents. She recalled that she went on two hunger strikes, the first for 26 days and the second. . . Prisoners’ Ministry in Gaza: Israel detained 3,900 Palestinians so far this year Ma’an News Agency 9/3/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – The Israeli forces carried out more than 250 raids in the West Bank during July, and detained more than 420 Palestinians, including children and members of local government councils, statistics released by the Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs in Gaza show. According to the ministry, Israel has detained 3,900 Palestinians so far this year. Forty children under the age of 18 were detained during August. Nine hundred prisoners from the Gaza Strip have been denied the right to family visits for more than 15 months on the pretext that Israel will not coordinate the visits with the de facto government in Gaza. The International Committee of the Red Cross normally facilitates such visits. Forty one members of the Palestinian Legislative Council are still in Israeli prisons. Prison conditions deteriorate PNN, Palestine News Network 9/3/2008 Nablus -- Solitary confinement and the use of military dogs in Israeli prisons were prevalent in Israeli prisons during the month of August. Raids and arbitrary punishments both work to crush spirits and deprive Palestinians of the most basic of rights, the Prisoner Support Society wrote in the latest report. Abdullah Barghouthi is serving a life sentence. Prison guards at Askelon beat severely during a random attack. Bruises now cover his body, his muscles are torn and he is in solitary confinement. A 36 year old woman from Askar Refugee Camp in Nablus revealed that she suffered cancer in her uterus, finding out from a medical exam inside the prison. Megiddo Prison within the boundaries of northern Israel is holding 850 Palestinians. The report states that they suffer from a shortage of drinking water as part of the Prison Administration’s policy. Rights group: Gazan man held in 'secret location' since Hamas-Fatah shootout in early August Ma’an News Agency 9/3/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – The Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights (PICCR) said on Wednesday that de facto government security forces in Gaza have been detaining Zaki As-Sakani without disclosing his location or allowing him to see a lawyer. Thirty-Three-year-old As-Sakani has been held since 2 August. According to his family, As-Sakani was detained after he was wounded in fighting in the Ash-Shuja’iyyah neighborhood of Gaza City. Hamas-allied security forces fought a battle with Fatah-linked gunmen that day, leaving nine Palestinians dead. The de facto government in Gaza previously claimed to have released all detainees jailed during the events in Ash-Shuja’iyyah. As-Sakani was reportedly taken to the intensive care unit at Ash-Shifa Hospital. His mother tried to visit him at hospital, but she was not allowed to go enter the ICU. Israeli court lenient on soldiers who abused Palestinian Taxi dispatcher Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 9/2/2008 The Jaffa Israeli Military Court handed down lenient rulings against Israeli soldiers who attacked a Palestinian Taxi-dispatcher in the southern West Bank city of Hebron in January 2008. The soldiers were indicted on charges of severely abusing the Palestinian man, forcing him to strip naked, and assaulting him with rifles until he lost consciousness. The taxi dispatcher was identified as Ziad Abu Sneina. He was ordered to fully undress, yet in refusing to remove all of his clothes, the soldiers kicked, punched, and hit him with their rifles. The Israeli army totally rejected the allegations and claimed that soldiers tried to subdue the man after he became "uncontrollable. " The court ruled that three soldiers of the Kfir Brigade will receive active prison terms ranging between 67 days and five and a half months. Border Guard officer convicted of kidnapping, manslaughter Aviad Glickman, YNetNews 9/2/2008 Jerusalem District Court finds fourth officer involved in 2002 kidnapping of 17-year-old Palestinian youth guilty. Policeman who filmed incident convicted of same offenses -The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday found Border Guard officer Shahar Botabicka guilty of the abduction and manslaughter of a Palestinian youth. Botabicka and three other Border Guard officers were involved in the 2002 kidnapping of a Palestinian teenager, during their service in the West Bank city of Hebron. The incident was caught on tape by Border Guard officer Denis Alhazov, who was also found guilty of abduction and manslaughter. Officers Yanai Lalza and Bassam Wahabee were also convicted for their involvement in the incidents, with the court sentencing Lalza to six and a half months in prison and Wahabee to four and a half years. Female detainee released from administrative detention Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 9/1/2008 Researcher and specialist in detainees’ affairs, Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated on Monday that the Israeli Authorities released detainee Nora Al Hashlamoon, 37, after nearly two years imprisonment under administrative detention orders without filing any charges against her. Al Hashlamoon, from the southern West Bank City of Hebron, was kidnapped on September 14, 2006 and was imprisoned under administrative detention orders which were renewed for nine consecutive times. She is a mother of six children and her husband Mohammad is still imprisoned under administrative detention orders since September 2006. Farwana stated that Al Hashlamoon was repeatedly asked to choose between remaining under administrative detention or be deported o Jordan along with her children for three years. She refused to be deported and carried repeated hunger strikes. Palestinian woman released from Israeli custody after 27 day hunger strike Ma’an News Agency 9/1/2008 Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces evening released 37-year-old Noura Al-Hashlamoun from Israeli custody after serving 26 months in prison. Hashlamoun was detained on 19 June 2006 and was under administrative detention without trials or charges. She went on hunger strike for 27 days as a protest for her illegal detention, and ended the strike only after prison authorities announced her release. In early 2008 the Israeli Supreme court issued a deportation order for Hashlamoun, who was ordered sent to Jordan along with her husband and six children, aged three to 14. Hashlamoun’s husband Muhammad has been detained since September 2006 accused of affiliation with Islamic Jihad. Al Akhras to PNN: new organization to aid Palestinians upon release from Israeli prison Palestine News Network 9/1/2008 Bethlehem -- When Palestinians are released from Israeli prisons their cases often get dropped by local services specializing in prisoner rights. There are approximately 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, taking all of the time and more than prisoner rights groups have. Iman Al Akhras is the director of new Bethlehem organization established to deal with follow-up after release. She told PNN on Monday that Bethlehem is teeming with Palestinians released from Israeli prisons and it is crucial that they receive aid. The Freed Prisoner Assembly does not have a formal office, but is instead working out of the offices of other institutions dealing with prisoner rights. She said today, "We aim to assist all organizations and associations dealing with prisoners. Our objective in establishing this new organization is to assist prisoners in all material respects. ’Lenient’ sentences for troops who assaulted Palestinian Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 9/1/2008 Soldiers convicted of beating taxi dispatcher in Hebron sentenced to active prison terms of less than six months after military court partially rejects victim’s contradictory testimony - The Jaffa Military Court sentenced three soldiers from the Kfir Brigade to active prison terms ranging between 67 days and five and a half months after finding them guilty of assaulting a Palestinian man in the city of Hebron. Though the prosecution put forward a grave indictment against the troops, the court only convicted them on a small number of the charges brought against them. Two of the soldiers are expected to finish serving their sentences in the coming days, as they had been in detention for the duration of the court proceedings - more than four and a half months. The third soldier, who was sentenced to 67 days jail time, will not return to prison, as he has already served out his sentence. Haniyeh’s nephew released from Israeli prison after 15 years Ma’an News Agency 8/31/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – After serving 15 years in Israeli prisons, the nephew of Palestinian Prime Minister of the de facto government Ismail Haniyeh was released. Abel Mo’ti Haniyeh was released on Sunday afternoon, and is not at Erez crossing on his way to the Gaza Strip. The announcement came Sunday from the media spokesperson for senior prisoners Mahmoud Abu Hasirah. According to Abu Hasirah, Haniyeh served his sentence in different prisons including Ashkelon, Nafha, Hadarim and Megedo. He also spent time in solitary confinement. [end] New Israeli Medical Association boycott website Stop The Wall 8/31/2008 The Medical Committee for Boycott of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) has launched a new website. The site contains information, articles and analysis on the Occupation’s use of torture as well as the acceptance by Israeli doctors of this practice. The boycott targets the IMA because it has consistently refused to condemn or issue advise doctors who are involved with torture. As an institution, the role of the IMA is to insure that international medical standards are met. By remaining silent, it is effectively condoning torture and ill-treatment of Palestinians. The IMA boycott movement began in the UK. Last year, they published a letter in The Guardian signed by 130 British doctors calling for a boycott of IMA. Those involved in the IMA boycott have also been active in supporting Palestinian universities and students, sending aid to Gaza and working toward an academic boycott within the UK. Mandela appeals for ending tragedy of Palestinian hunger strikers in Jalama jail Palestinian Information Center 8/30/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Mandela institute for human rights and political prisoners appealed to international humanitarian institutions especially the Red Cross to end the tragedy of Palestinian detainees in the investigation cellars of the Israeli Jalama prison, who went on a hunger strike in protest at the unjust incarceration conditions. Lawyer Buthaina Duqmaq, the head of the Mandela institute, stated that the Jalama prisoners decided to go on the hunger strike after all efforts made to stop their detention in isolation cells and to convince the prison administration to transfer them to central prisons failed. Lawyer Buthaina said that the IOA extended the detention of prisoners several times despite the fact it ended investigating them two months ago, and the prison administration refused to transfer them and end their isolation tragedy. Freed former PLC member Husam Khader sees release as a first step; wants national dialogue Ma’an News Agency 8/30/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – Despite all of its criticism, the good will gesture from Israel of releasing 198 Palestinian prisoners is an accomplishment and a victory for the Palestinians, says released prisoner Husam Khader. A member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) for the Fatah bloc, Khader gave an interview with the Gazan radio station Sout Ash-Sh’ab (People’s Voice) on Friday following his release from Israeli prison. Khader is from Balata camp near Nablus in the West Bank, and is widely respected for his work on the rights of refugees both in Palestinian territories and in the Diaspora. During the interview Khader called the release of the prisoners a move paves the way for the release of all of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention facilities. Asked about the experience of his five year imprisonment Khader said that it did not change anything about his views. Fatah hosts welcome celebration for released prisoners in Balata camp Ma’an News Agency 8/30/2008 welcomed in Balata Nablus – Ma’an – A welcome home celebration was prepared for the released prisoners from the Balata refugee camp on Saturday, organized by the area’s Fatah leaders. Top on the list of those celebrated was Hussam Khader, a member of the Palestine Legislative Council who was arrested in 2003. Khader is known as a defender of the rights of refugees whether inside Palestine or in the Diaspora. For his strong political drive and work on the issue of refugees, Khader is respected and appreciated by all of the Palestinian political parties. Residents of the refugee camp took part in the ceremony, which honoured the released prisoners and their families. Friends and family of the freed detainees came from around Nablus to join in the celebration. The secretary of Fatah Hussam Abu Al-Adas delivered a speech in front of hundreds and praised the steadfastness of Palestinians and the detainees’ stamina. Palestinian journalist recounts mistreatment while detained by the P.A IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 8/29/2008 Palestinian journalist, Awad Rajoub, 30, was recently released from a Palestinian prison where he was detained and interrogated by Palestinian security forces. He said that he was subjected to mistreatment, and was facing harsh conditions for over a month. Rajoub told reporters on Friday that he was in solitary confinement for more than fifteen days in a bad cell and that he had to use his own shoes as a pillow. He added that at one point during interrogation his head was covered with a bad-smelling sack which also barred him from seeing the interrogations and anybody around him. Rajoub also said that he could hear other prisoners being tortured and that he knows that some of them were transferred to hospital due to torture. The reporter works with the Arabic news service of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera. He was charged with "writing provocative reports that are considered as undermining national interests". Journalist recounts nightmarish detention in PA prison Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank, Palestinian Information Center 8/29/2008 A Palestinian journalist just released from a Hebron jail has accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) security authorities of mistreating him and incarcerating him in "difficult conditions" for over a month. Awadh Rajoub told reporters Friday that he was placed in solitary confinement for more than 15 days and that he had to sleep in a rancid cell, using his own shoes as a pillow. "At one point they covered my head with a bad-smelling sack, apparently in order to prevent me from seeing people they didn’t want me to see. "But I heard people being tortured and I know that several people were transferred to hospital or sent to their homes due to torture. " Rajoub, who works for the Arabic service of al-Jazeera. net, was charged with writing inflammatory reports and undermining vital national interests. Rights org calls for an end to political arrests Report, PCHR, Electronic Intifada 8/29/2008 Dozens of Palestinians have been arrested on political grounds by security services of the two Palestinian governments in Gaza and Ramallah. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) calls upon the two governments to stop political arrests which are prohibited under the Palestinian Basic Law and a Palestinian High Court of Justice ruling, and to release all detainees who have been arrested in this context. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at least 100 members and supporters of Hamas, including public figures, Imams of mosques, school teachers, university students, journalists and elected members of local councils, have been detained by Palestinian security services in the West Bank for various periods. The detainees include a number of journalists: Mustafa Sabri, 42, who is also a member of the municipal council of Qalqilya and who was arrested on 7 August 2008; Fareed Detainees in Al Jalama Israeli prison on hunger strike Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 8/29/2008 Lawyer Bothaina Doqmaq, head of the Mandela Institute in Palestine, reported on Friday that the detainees in several sections and in solitary confinement in Al Jalama Israeli prison and interrogation center started a hunger strike on Thursday in protest to the harsh living conditions and the administration’s rejection to move them to ordinary sections although they ended their interrogation period. Doqmaq stated that the detainees held talks with the administration to remove them from their solitary confinement but to no avail. She added that the detainees are deprived from their visitation rights and cannot even meet with representatives of the Red Cross. The detainees complained of bad treatment, bad food, and the lack of medical attention and treatment especially since there are several detainees who are sick and need urgent attention. PCHR Calls upon the Two Palestinian Governments to Put an End for Political Arrests Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 8/28/2008 Dozens of Palestinians have been arrested on political grounds by security services of the two Palestinian governments in Gaza and Ramallah. PCHR calls upon the two governments to stop political arrests which are prohibited under the Palestinian Basic Law and a Palestinian High Court of Justice ruling, and to release alls detainees who have been arrested in this context. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at least 100 members and supporters of Hamas, including public figures, Imams of mosques, school teachers, university students, journalists and elected members of local councils, have been detained by Palestinian security services in the West Bank for various periodsThe detainees include a number of journalists: Mustafa Sabri, 42, who is also a member of the municipal council of Qalqilya and who was arrested on 7 August 2008; Fareed Hammad, 35, from Nasif: Palestinian prisoners live in difficult conditions in Israel jails Palestinian Information Center 8/28/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Ra’fat Nasif, 43, one of Hamas’s political leaders, who was released Wednesday after four and a half years in Israeli jails, stated that the Palestinian prisoners are living in difficult conditions as a result of the arbitrary Israeli practices against them especially the policy of isolation, transfers and mass punishment. Nasif said that the release of prisoners is a natural right and obligation especially since there are more than 11,000 prisoners in Israeli jails, noting that the prisoners support any option to get them released. The Hamas leader held the Israeli government fully responsible for the suffering of its captive soldier Gilad Shalit and his family as it is responsible for the suffering of thousands of Palestinian prisoners and their families, calling on it to comply with the conditions of the Palestinian resistance regarding the prisoner swap deal. Legal report: IPA breaks records in violating captives’ human rights Palestinian Information Center 8/27/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- The prisoners’ center for studies has accused the Israeli prison authority (IPA) of maltreating Palestinian captives in Israeli jails, asserting that it had broken the records in violating the simplest human rights of the Palestinian prisoners. The center quoted former Palestinian captive Abu Ali Yatta as confirming that the IPA had turned life of the Palestinian captives into intolerable hell, and keeps on punishing and imposing more restrcoitions on them on daily basis. Yatta was released from jail a couple of days ago after he spent more than 20 years in Israeli jails. Another Palestinian captive in the Israeli Ramon prison where he spent nearly 20 years of his life has confirmed to the center, through telephone contact, that life inside the Israeli prisons became intolerable, and that he anticipates a very strong reaction from the Palestinian captives with the aim to preserve their dignity and their legal rights. US-born Israeli activist detained after breaking Gaza siege The Daily Star and Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 8/28/2008 ASHKELON, Israel: Police on Wednesday released an Israeli they held overnight for joining international activists who sailed to the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israel’s blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory. US-born Jeff Halper, who was detained when he walked across the Erez border crossing between Gaza and Israel on Tuesday, told AFP he was freed on a 2,000 shekel ($570) bond. Halper said he was accused of violating a military order that generally bans Israelis from entering Gaza, which has been ruled since June 2007 by Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group pledged to Israel’s destruction. He said he was also charged with "being a nuisance," adding that authorities told him this was because Israeli troops would have been sent in to rescue him had he been kidnapped. But he said he felt more threatened inside the Israeli prison than in Gaza. Israeli Bar: Palestinian captives in isolation for five years without trial Palestinian Information Center 8/25/2008 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli barristers’ syndicate has issued a report on Monday, revealing that there were a number of Palestinian political prisoners who spent many years in solitary confinement in Israeli jails without being charged or brought to courts. The report also monitored the bad conditions of the Israeli jails, and the sharp shortage in medical services that put lives of captives at risk, and resulted in the death of a number of them. In addition, the report focused on the maltreatment of the Palestinian prisoners at the hands of the Israeli Nahshon unit, which is in charge of transferring prisoners from one jail to another. According to the report, seven Palestinian political prisoners were thrown into the darkness of the solitary confinement at the Israeli Ayalon prison without knowing the charges against them, adding that those prisoners weren’t classified. . . Detainee in Abbas’s jail loses 20 kg of his weight Palestinian Information Center 8/26/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Relatives of Sheikh Adnan Al-Husary have expressed concern over news that the Sheikh had lost 20 kilograms of his weight during 50 days of detention in the preventive security apparatus’ jails in Tulkarem. Well informed sources said that the security apparatus, loyal to PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, refuses to allow any visits to the detainee while his relatives are appealing to the Red Cross and human rights groups to call on him and ask for his release. The relatives said that Husary suffers from a number of diseases due to his incarceration in Israeli occupation prisons for two years under administrative detention. Meanwhile, relatives of another detainee in Abbas’s jails Ali Daraghme are concerned about the reported deterioration of their son’s health after one month in detention. They appealed to legal and human rights organizations to intervene and demand his release. Palestine Today 082708 IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 8/27/0200 Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 4 m 0s || 3. 66 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Wednesday August 27th, 2008. Israeli military forces continue to invade West Bank cities and kidnap Palestinian civilians, meanwhile Israel keeps Gaza crossing closed as Free Gaza Boats prepare to leave, these stories and more, coming up, stay tuned. The News Cast An Israeli military force kidnapped three Palestinian civilians from the West Bank cities of Hebron, Nablus and Jenin on Wednesday morning, local sources reported. A number of military vehicles invaded Hebron and the nearby Surief town and Beit Ula village. Troops launched a wide scale search of residents’ homes. Soldiers took Tahseen Abu Ayesh, Sharif Adwan and Ibrahim Saraheen prisoner and led them to undisclosed location. Released from Israeli prison after more than 20 years Maisa Abu Ghazaleh, Palestine News Network 8/20/2008 Jerusalem -- Nader Je’ba Ashour’s mother cried as she took him into her arms. They were separated for nearly 21 years. Ashour’s sentence of 20 years in 70 months ended and he was released from Israeli Jelbua Prison. Despite the passage of many years, the last two months of his sentence were some of the most difficult. Ashour was unable to sleep and became increasingly worried about his ill health. Prison becomes what is known. His mother said, "Despite the difficult wait over several years, the joy will only be complete upon the release of all prisoners from Israeli jails. I am so happy to see my son, but I do not consider myself to the mother of just one prisoner but rather of all the prisoners. " Three of her children have been imprisoned. Several officials greeted Ashour as he arrived home. Wife of prisoner appeals for his removal from isolation Palestinian Information Center 8/20/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The wife of Palestinian prisoner Yousef Masalha has appealed for removing her husband from his solitary confinement cell in the Israeli prison of Beer Sheba. She addressed the appeal through the Wa’ed society for prisoners and ex-prisoners asking human rights and legal institutions to pressure the Israeli occupation authority to take her husband, who has been jailed for more than 15 years, out of isolation. She asked the Red Cross to immediately intervene to save his life especially when other internees had told her that his health condition was worsening in isolation. The wife denounced Masalha’s unjustified continued isolation, adding that the health and psychological conditions of internees held in isolation were very bad. Masalha, 42, was sentenced to life in prison after his arrest from his home 15 years ago and has been deprived of family visits for. . . High Court issues injunction halting Na’alin shooting trial Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 8/21/2008 The High Court of Justice issued a show-cause order and an interim injunction yesterday in response to a petition by four human rights groups demanding tougher charges against two soldiers involved in shooting a bound Palestinian at Na’alin a month ago. Lt. Col. Omri Burberg, who was commander of Battalion 71, is accused of holding the bound Palestinian, Ashraf Abu Rahman, while a soldier under his command fired a rubber-coated bullet at the prisoner at close range, wounding him slightly. Burberg and the soldier, L. , were charged with conduct unbecoming, and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi transferred Burberg to the armored corps training grounds at Tze’elim. In response to the petition, Justice Ayala Procaccia issued a show-cause order giving the military advocate general, Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit, three weeks to submit a detailed justification of his decision not to press more serious charges. Court orders IDF to explain soft indictment against Naalin commander Aviad Glickman, YNetNews 8/19/2008 Palestinian shot in anti-fence rally files High Court petition demanding IDF amend indictment to include offences punishable by actual jail time; court delays legal proceedings, orders military to explain indictment -Several human rights groups petition the High Court Tuesday asking that it order the Military Advocate General, Brigadier-General Avi Mandelblit and the IDF’s Chief Prosecutor, Colonel Liron Lieberman, to explain their reluctance to amend the indictment filed against Lt. Col. Omri Burberg and Staff Sergeant L. for their involvement in the Naalinshooting incident. The petition was filed by B’Tselem, Yesh Din, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and the Palestinian who was shot, Ashraf Abu-Rahma. Subsequently, the court issued an interim order suspending the legal proceedings, as well as order-nisi compelling the Military Prosecution. . . After a petition filed by human rights groups, High Court suspends proceedings in Nil’lin case Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 8/19/2008 Ashraf Abu Rahma, the Palestinian resident who was shot by the soldiers after they bounded and blindfolded him, filed a petition along with Israeli Human Rights groups; B’Tselem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Yesh Din, against the Judge Advocate General’s decision to prosecute the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Omri Borberg, and the soldier who fired the shot, Staff Sgt. L, for "unbecoming conduct", the High Court issued a decree nisi, forcing the Judge Advocate General to justify his decision, B’Tselem reported. The court also decided to suspend the military court until a decision is made on the petition. The petition was written by attorneys Limor Yehuda and Dan Yakir of ACRI. The petitioners demanded the court to change the decision against the soldier due to the severity of the offense he carried out when he shot and wounded the bound detainee. The sister of the soon to be released: We are waiting for all 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons Fadi Yacoub, Palestine News Network 8/18/2008 Sena Al A’taba’ spoke with PNN after receiving the news that her brother, long-time political prisoner in Israeli jail, Sa’ed Al A’taba’, is about to be released. He is among the 200 names presented to President Abbas by the Israelis as what they refer to as a "good-will gesture. "Although Palestinian officials say that 200 out of over 11,000 [number reported by the Mandela Institute] falls far short, Sa’ed’s sister is pleased at the possibility of seeing her brother. He has been imprisoned since 1977, well before Oslo in the early 1990s when all prisoners were to be released. But the Israelis never honored that agreement: that is, until now, at least for some. Sena’s brother was arrested on the night of his marriage ceremony just days before his sister was planning to travel abroad. He is among the 200 names presented to President Abbas by the Israelis as what they refer to as a “good-will gesture. Palestinians slam Israel’s ’revolving door policy’ on prisoners Ali Waked, YNetNews 8/19/2008 Human rights center says Israel detaining far more Palestinians than it is releasing; 1,751 since beginning of year -Officials in the Palestinian Authority do not appear overly enthused by the Israeli cabinet’s recent decision to release 199 prisoners, including detainees with ’blood on their hands’, as a gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas. According to data provided by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the IDF has arrested 1,751 Palestinians in the West Bank since the beginning of the year, including 500 who have been detained since last month’s Mediterranean summit in Paris, during which Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged to free more prisoners. Palestinian Legislative Council member Mustafa Barghouti said that since the Annapolis peace conference in late November, Israel has released 788 Palestinians, but detained more than 3,700 others, among them 30 teenagers. Israeli lawyer gets Palestinian prisoner out of solitary confinement after seven years Ma’an News Agency 8/19/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – An Israeli lawyer working with the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs managed to get prisoner Muhammad Abdi out of solitary confinement after seven years at Ramlah prison on Tuesday. Lawyer Avigdor Feldman secured Abdi’s transfer to Hadareim prison, where he met fellow prisoners again. Palestinian lawyer Jawad Amari, who is in charge of legal affairs at the Ministry of Prisoners Affairs said, that Abdi’s transfer was a step towards getting all other Palestinian prisoners out of solitary confinement. He asserted that the ministry was doing its best, given limited financial resources, to achieve this. He named a number of notable Palestinian prisoners who have been in solitary confinement: Abdullah Barghouthi, Hasan Salamah, Mahmoud Issa, Ahmad Al-Mughrabi, Ibrahim Hamid, Jamal Abu Al-Hayja, Mu’taz Hijazi, Jum’ah Muhawish, PLC member Muhammad Natshah and Abu Humam, amongst others. Hamas: PA forces detain 17 members across the West Bank Ma’an News Agency 8/17/2008 Bethlehem - Ma’an - Palestinian Authority (PA) security systems detained seventeen Hamas members in the West Bank on Saturday and Sunday. Hamas said in a statement received by Ma’an that security forces detained Mohammad Hussein Birri in Imatin and the two brothers Mohammad and Fadi Bakir, Amir Dahbour, Jawad Hussni and Na’el Enayeh all from Azzoun, in the northern West Bank district of Qalqiliya. In the Jenin governorate Hamas said Adib Faris Hijazi and Naser Abdel Qader Yassin were detained from the village of Abu Da’if. In the Tulkarem governorate PA forces detained Ahmad Asem who was released a few days ago from PA prisons, as well as Qassab Zaqqout, Misleh Hamdan and Kifah Ghanem from the village of Deir Al-Ghusun. In Salfit, east of Nablus, PA forces detained Nahel Na’im, Amin Shaker, Sanad Ghazzawi and Ahmad Sidqi. Fatah: Hamas police violently disburse women and children protesting Ma’an News Agency 8/17/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – A non-violent protest involving the wives and children of several Fatah affiliated detainees was violently disbursed by de facto Hamas police on Sunday. A spokesperson of the Fatah central media office in Gaza condemned the attacks saying “police forces in PLC [Palestinian Legislative Council] headquarters square prevented local and international media outlets from covering the incident and imposed consequences against whoever filmed or photographed the protest”. The spokesperson further condemned the de-facto police policy of preventing Palestinian or Fatah flags from being raised during weddings of Fatah affiliates in Gaza. De facto police go so far, he added, as to prevent artists and singers from performing in Fatah celebrations, making them sign pledges that they will not perform. Israeli troops invades Jenin, paralyze movement of civilians Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 8/16/0200 Israeli army troops invaded West Bank city of Jenin Saturday at dawn and erected several military checkpoints, and searched anumber of houses, local sources reported. Eye witnesses said that a at least eight Israeli jeeps, vehicles backed by helicopters invaded the city and positinoed in several location for around two hours. troops launched a large search campaign, and ransacked several houses, without taking anybody prisoner, locals reported. Israeli Soldiers also erected a number of military checkpoints in the city and resitricted the movement of civilians in the city. [end] Cell phone videos show Israeli soldiers maltreating Palestinians Palestinian Information Center 8/16/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- An Israeli human rights organization called Yesh Din revealed cell phone videos showing Israeli border policemen maltreating Palestinian residents of occupied Jerusalem. According to the organization, some video snapshots were recorded in July 2007 and others recently in August 2008. The video recordings showed the Israeli soldiers severely beating a group of Palestinian detainees and forcing them to perform the military salute. A passerby found the cell phone which was apparently lost by one of the Israeli soldiers and handed it in to the organization. In another context, the Israeli military court under direct instructions of the Israeli intelligence, extended, the administrative detention of Khaled Al-Haj, a prominent Hamas leader in the West Bank, for the third consecutive time without leveling any charge against him. After Israeli assassination threats two young men submit themselves to Israeli custody Ma’an News Agency 8/15/2008 Nablus – Ma’an – Two young Palestinian men turned themselves in to Israeli soldiers on Thursday evening after their families received assassination threats from the Israeli intelligence. The two men from Nablus went to the Huwwara checkpoint, about five kilometers outside of the city. The checkpoint one of the most notorious in the West Bank and effectively cuts off Nablus from the cities to the south; men often stand in line for hours waiting to pass through, and cars without an Israeli license plate are not allowed to pass. Wijdan Sarawi, a former Palestinian woman prisoner told Ma’an’s reporter that her son 18-year-old Hamzah Sarawi and his friend 18-year-old Imad Darwish turned themselves over to Israeli forces. She explained that Israeli troops stormed her family house in Nablus on Wednesday morning, inspected the house and damaging parts of its interior under the pretext of looking for her son Hamzah, who was not at home. Israeli assassination threats force two young men to turn selves in Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 8/15/0200 Local sources reported that two young Palestinian men turned themselves in to Israeli soldiers on Thursday evening after their families received assassination threats from the Israeli intelligence services. The two men from Nablus went to the Huwwara checkpoint, approximately five kilometers outside the city. The checkpoint one of the most notorious in the West Bank and effectively cuts off Nablus from the cities to the south; civilians will often stand in line for hours waiting to pass through and cars without an Israeli license plate are not allowed to pass. Wijdan Sarawi, a former Palestinian woman prisoner told Ma’an’s news agency that her eighteen year old son Hamzah Sarawi and his friend Imad Darwish, also eighteen, had turned themselves over to Israeli forces. She explained that Israeli troops stormed her family house in Nablus on Wednesday morning, inspected the house. . . Abbas’s henchmen torture old man from Nablus; now fighting for his life Palestinian Information Center 8/15/2008 marks of torture on the body of Sheikh Majd al-Barghouthi who died as a result of severe torture From Anas al-Masri, NablusAn elderly man from Nablus is fighting for his life in a local hospital after undergoing severe physical and psychological torture at the hands of CIA-trained Palestinian security (PA) interrogators The man, identified as Hajji Marwan K. Al-Khalili, had a massive stroke Thursday during a "torture session" at the Preventive Security headquarters in Nablus. According to his family, the torture included severe beating, using plastic hoses, electric shocks, hooding, shaking, and sleep deprivation. Al-Khalili, 67, was abducted by PA security personnel at the Allenby border crossing on 5 August as he was returning home from Saudi Arabia where he performed Umra, or Minor Pilgrimage to Islam’s holy sites in Mecca and Madina. De facto ministry of prisoners in Gaza organizes picnic for prisoners’ families Ma’an News Agency 8/15/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – The de facto Hamas ministry of prisoners and freed prisoners in the Gaza strip will host a picnic on Saturday for the families of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. The trip will be at the seaside recreation house Al-Hurriya on the Gaza beach. De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh will visit the picnickers and deliver a speech in order to show solidarity with them. The de facto government ministry of prisoners and freed prisoners called on media outlets on Friday to spread the word of the Saturday event. According to the ministry, "the day’s activities will begin at 9am with a speech by de facto minister of prisoners Dr Ahmad Shweidih. There will be some amusement and competitions for children as well as breakfast and lunch for all picnickers. "A thousand prisoners’ relatives are expected to participate. Former fighters 'assaulted' by PA prison guards Ma’an News Agency 8/13/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Former Palestinian fighters in the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Jericho prison said on Wednesday that they have been assaulted by prison guards, denied family visits, and their cell phones confiscated. According to one prisoner, the PA prison guards beat the men in response to a protest about the conditions in the jail. The men have been on a hunger strike for five days. The men are currently in PA custody as a part of an amnesty deal between the PA and Israel, under which fighters pledged to give up violence and serve a prison term in exchange for having their names removed from Israel’s list of "wanted" Palestinians. Of 25 men in the Jericho facility, 11 are affiliated to the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, the faction that also controls the Palestinian Authority. "The prison administration disrespects [the prisoners’] parents and. . . Detainees report arbitrary practices in Israeli jails Ma’an News Agency 8/14/2008 Jenin – Ma’an – Visits to Israeli prisons reveal unlawful and arbitrary practices, said the head of the Prisoners’ Society in Jenin, Raghib Abu Dyak. Reporting on conditions in the Jalama detention center north of Jenin, the Salem detention center north west of Jenin, as well as prisons in Ashkelon, and Nafha prison on the outskirts of the Negev town of Mitzpe Ramon, Dyak related visiting lawyers’ observations. In Jalama, an Israeli military court extended the detention periods of ten Palestinians from eight to 25 days during a hearing of the court on Thursday. Anan Khader, one of the society’s lawyers, visited 38 new detainees at Salem detention center. It was reported that detainees reported being handcuffed and blindfolded, and many had their noses held shut to prevent them from breathing. Dyak highlighted that this practice is against humanitarian laws. IOA deprives Hamas leader from visitation for six years spent in isolation Palestinian Information Center 8/10/2008 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli prisons authority has refused to allow visitors to call on Sheikh Jamal Abul Haija, one of the Hamas West Bank leaders, who is serving nine life sentences in addition to 80 years. Buthaina Dakmak, lawyer of the Mandela institution catering for Palestinian captives, said that even Abul Haija’s children are not allowed to visit him. The IPA is not content with isolating the detained Sheikh for the sixth consecutive year but has also deprived his three children and his wife and daughter from seeing him, she said. The lawyer noted that the Israeli military court recently allowed his children to visit him but after reaching jail following a tiresome trip and humiliating searches the visit was called and they were not allowed to see their father who has been held under inhuman incarceration conditions since June 2002. Prisoners’ ministry: IOA bears no goodwill toward prisoners Palestinian Information Center 8/10/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- The ministry of prisoners’ affairs in the Gaza Strip on Sunday said that the Israeli occupation authority did not bear any goodwill toward the Palestinian prisoners. Riyadh Al-Ashqar, the ministry’s spokesman, said in a press release that the reports about releasing 150 Palestinian prisoners were only meant to spread the illusion that the "useless" negotiations with the IOA did bear fruit. He said that the Israeli occupation forces kidnap 10 to 15 Palestinians on daily basis from various occupied West Bank and Jerusalem areas and the number of captives is on the rise. Hence, the reports about releasing 150 prisoners, all to be chosen according to IOA standards, out of 11,700 were a mere "deception" and an attempt to "market unsuccessful projects" that only entailed disastrous consequences on the Palestinian people, he elaborated. Israeli court turns down request for release of paralyzed Palestinian prisoner Palestinian Information Center 8/9/2008 NAZARETH, (PIC)-- An Israeli court on Friday turned down an appeal for the release of the Palestinian prisoner Rabee Harb who suffers from paraplegia and his condition is daily deteriorating. The court ruling disappointed the family of Harb, who expected his release in order to treat him abroad in view of the seriousness of his condition. The family said that Harb, who was hit with several bullets in his spine and in one of his kidneys at the hands of Israeli occupation forces on his arrest, was using a wheelchair and could not live a normal life. A medical report on his condition said that the bullet fragments shattered his spine and also penetrated his kidney and shattered his bowels. They asked legal and international organizations and the Red Cross to pressure the Israeli occupation authority to release Harb and allow his treatment abroad before it is too late. Water being denied Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails Ma’an News Agency 8/3/2008 Bethlehem - Ma’an - Stories of inhuman treatment emerge from Meggido, Shata and Nafha prisons. A lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Association, who for safety resons will remain unidendified, visited three Israeli prisons and reveald water is being witheld from prisoners within the institutions. Prisoners told the lawyer that the administration uses water supply as a way of torturing them. They said that the water is cut off for ten hours at a time. Guards, they say, claim that the action is due to a water shortage in Israel. Last friday, the prisoners reported that the water was turned on for two hours only, during which each prisoner was alowed to wash for prayers for two minutes. Report reveals violations against Palestinian children in Israeli jails Palestinian Information Center 8/3/2008 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Ahrar center of prisoner studies stated Sunday that a report issued by a legal committee in Israel last week revealed that the IOF troops and Israeli jailers exercise violence and arbitrary measures against Palestinian children either during kidnapping or in jails. The report unveiled that the jailers in the Ofek juvenile prison located in the Sharon area tie up Palestinian children, force them to sleep on the floor for long hours and beat them with batons in addition to many violations of their rights. Fouad Al-Khafsh, the director of the Ahrar center, recalled that the center had issued a report about the exposure of imprisoned Palestinian minors to sexual blackmail and harassment, as well as different kinds of extortions and maltreatment. Khafsh said that the humiliating practices against children starts from the moment of kidnapping them from. . . Detainee with cancer reaches critical condition due to medical negligence Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 8/4/2008 One of the lawyers of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) met with Palestinian political detainee Jamal Darabia, 35, from Gaza, imprisoned in Eshil Israel prison, who is suffering from cancer but not receiving the needed medical treatment. The negligence of the Israeli prison authorities has allowed a severe deterioration in his health condition. Darabia was kidnapped by the army in 2005 and was sentenced to one life term. He is suffering from pain in his back after he underwent four surgeries. The surgeries did not achieve the desired outcomeand stitches have opened, while his flesh underneath is dissolving and bleeding profusely. His lawyer said that he could see the bones on Darabia’s back, adding that Darabia is not receiving the urgent attention he needs. The detainee said that he needs surgery in his back and that he knows that this surgery could lead to paralysis or slow death, as he was informed by prison physicians. IOA extends detention of administrative detainee for sixth time Palestinian Information Center 8/3/2008 SALFIT, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority has extended the administration detention without trial or charge of Ibrahim Madi, director of the PLC office in Salfit, for the sixth consecutive time. The IOA court in Negev jail renewed the detention of Madi for four renewable months without giving any reason. The family of the detainee denounced the court ruling, and asked for his immediate release since no charges were leveled against him. Madi had previously served 13 years in occupation jails and was kidnapped in June 2006 and held in administrative detention since then. In a similar incident, the court in Ofer prison near Ramallah turned down a lawyer’s appeal against the detention of the Palestinian student Ahmed Qa’ud, who hails from Kufr Al-Dik west of Salift. The military court extended the detention of the Najah University student for four months for the fourth time running without any charge being leveled against him. Detained MPs ask for international monitoring of their incarceration conditions Palestinian Information Center 8/3/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Members of the Palestinian legislative council detained in Israeli occupation jails have called for international monitoring of their incarceration conditions after five of them were injured while being transported to court. The MPs issued a press release after the incident in which the driver of the prison van transporting them made several sudden stops by braking sharply causing the MPs, whose hands and feet were tied, to be thrown all about the van which has resulted in various injuries to the MPS. The statement noted that MPs Mohammed Abu Tir and Nayef Al-Rejoub were hospitalized in Ramle prison hospital after both were moderately injured in the incident. It added that three others were lightly injured and returned to prison after receiving first aid. The detained lawmakers charged that the international community’s silence was encouraging the Israeli occupation authority to commit more such crimes. B’Tselem summons Palestinian girl to testify against Israeli police officer Ma’an News Agency 8/3/2008 Ramallah – Ma’an – The Israeli humanitarian organization B’Tselemsummoned a Palestinian girl on Sunday to give testimony against an Israeli police officer. Sixteen-year-old Salam Kan’an filmed an Israeli officer shooting 27-year-old Ashraf Abu Rahma from Nil’in west of Ramallah at short range with a rubber coated steel bullet while he was hand-cuffed and masked. The video was filmed on Monday 17 July. Israeli forces arrested the girl’s father three weeks later and sentenced him to 100 days in prison. Kan’anat was summoned to the Beit El court in the illegal Israeli settlement of the same name north of Ramallah. [end] Israel frees prominent Hamas figure from prison Reuters, YNetNews 8/4/2008 Former Hamas finance minister Omar Abdel Razek arrested by Israel after Gilad Shalit’s abduction is released. ’Judge believed he period served was enough,’ says Hamas minister al-Shaer -Israel freed a formerHamas minister from prison on Sunday, an official from the Islamist group said. The official said that Omar Abdel Razek, who was finance minister when Israel seized him in June 2006, had been freed by an Israeli judge. "The judge believed it was enough, the period that he served in prison," Nasser al-Shaer, a former Hamas minister, told of Razek’s release. " They have released him and he is on his way home". Israeli officials could not immediately confirm the release. Some 40 Hamas officials, including former lawmakers, remain in Israel custody. Razek was one of half a dozen Hamas lawmakers and ministers arrested around the same. . . Released prisoner reports: Israel reducing food and medical services in jails Ma’an News Agency 8/2/2008 Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli prison services have deliberately reduced food and medical services for detained Palestinians said freed 21-year-old Abd Ar-Rahman Shaheen on Saturday. Shaheen reported that prison officials also deliberately provoke mothers and siblings when they come to visit by conducting humiliating inspections and forcing visitors to wait long hours under the sun. He also said that visitors are refused entry to the prisons under trivial pretexts. Shaheen spent two years in Israeli custody, charged with resisting the occupation. He was released a few days ago from Megeddo prison, a military institution near Hafia. [end] IFJ Condemns Torture of Journalists by Political Rivals in Palestine Palestine News Network 8/2/2008 The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is condemning the recent attacks on Palestinian journalists by both governments of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority which are locked in a political power struggle. The recent reports of torturing journalists in the Gaza Strip and West Bank is the culmination of an intimidation campaign against journalists and media which started during the violent confrontation between Hamas and PA security forces in June 2007 says the IFJ. At least eight journalists had been arrested in recent days, some of them, according to multiple reports, suffering torture while in detention before being released without charge. "Both Hamas and the Palestinian authority are responsible for these outrageous assaults," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "In the process these Palestinian governments are fundamentally damaging the Palestinian cause. Palestinian prisoner enters his 30th year in Israeli jails Ma’an News Agency 8/2/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Akram Mansuur from Qalqilia marked his thirtieth anniversary of detainment in Israeli prisons on Saturday 2 August according to the Ahrar Center for Detainees Studies and Human Rights. The group released a statement Saturday reporting the anniversary. The report says that Mansuur was arrested when he was 16-years-old, on 2 August 1979. He has been in Israeli custody ever since. Fu’ad Al-Khafash, director of Ahrar center says Mansuur comes fourth in the list of Palestinians serving longest jail terms. Today he joins the growing list of Palestinian prisoners who have served more than 30 years in Israeli prisons: Sa’id Al-Ataba, Na’il Barghouthi and Fakhri Barghouthi. Al-Khafash appealed to humanitarian organizations and the captors of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to include long-term prisoners in any prisoners swap deal that is being negotiated. Human rights organization condemns PA arrests of Hamas members in West Bank PCHR, Palestine News Network 7/31/2008 Gaza - Gaza City’s Palestinian Centre for Human Rights condemns the campaign of arrests by Palestinian security forces against Hamas supporters in the West Bank over the past several days. The Centre is concerned that these arrests are an act of reprisal in response to arrest campaignsas well as raids and closure of dozens of Fateh-affiliated NGO’s and sports clubs in the Gaza Strip. The Centre calls upon the governments in Ramallah and Gaza to put an end to all forms of arbitrary arrests, and to immediately release all political prisoners on both sides. The Centre’s preliminary investigation indicates that in the evening hours of Saturday, 26 July, a joint force of Palestinian security services embarked on an arrests campaign in several areas of the West Bank. Approximately 30 leaders, members, and supporters of Hamas were detained. Femle detainees suffering in Israeli prisons Ma’an News Agency 8/1/2008 Tulkarem – Ma’an – Freed Palestinian prisoner Seema A’nbas revealed Friday that her fellow prisoner 36-year-old Amal Jum’aa is suffering from uterine cancer. A’nbas heard the news about Jum’aa after the latter’s sister returned from a visit to the women’s prison. She said that the cancer was discovered two days ago after doctors conducted her regular checkup in the prison. Jum’aa is 36-years-old and a resident of Askar refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus and is serving an 11 year sentence. A’nbas called on prison authorities to provide medical care for Jum’aa and allow a specialist into the prison to conduct the required medical assessment. She added that the prison authorities should allow a doctor in to examine all women who suffer from illnesses, and give medicine to those who need it. She asked Human Rights organizations working in the Palestinian territories. . . Five PLC members injured in Israeli custody Ma’an News Agency 8/1/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli authorities deliberately injured five detained members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) causing two to be hospitalized, Dr Ahmad Shweidih, Minister of Detainee’s Affairs for the de facto government in Gaza, said on Friday. The minister said that the deputies had deliberately been injured to provoke and humiliate them while being transported in a prison truck. Dr Shweidih claimed that this is not a one-off incident, but a regular occurrence, particularly when imprisoned PLC deputies are concerned, because they are seen as symbols and representatives of the Palestinian resistance. He added that the injuries were sustained when the truck driver who was transporting the deputies to court intentionally braked hard several times so that the deputies, who were hand-cuffed, would be flung from their seats in the back of the vehicle. Five detained legislators wounded while being transferred to court Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 8/1/0200 Palestinian sources reported that five Hamas legislators, imprisoned by Israel, were wounded while being transferred to an Israeli court as the military truck driver kept stepping on the breaks without any warning, A letter that was sneaked from prison and was received on Thursday by the Palestine Information Center, which is run by Hamas, revealed that legislators Mohammad Abu Teir and Nayef Al Rajoub were moved to Al Ramlah hospital after suffering moderate injuries. Three other legislators, identified as Khaleel Al Rabee’ey, Azza Salhab, and Mahmoud Al Ramahy, sustained mild wounds. The legislators were handcuffed and their legs were tied so they were unable to protect themselves and their heads slammed into vehicles iron top. Female member of Nablus city council moved to administrative detention Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 8/1/0200 The Ahrar Center for Detainees’ Studies reported that the Israeli Authorities transferred Kholoud Al Masry, 42, member of Nablus City Council, to administrative detention after a decision from a judge at an Israeli Military court. Her daughter, Safa’, stated that the Israeli Security Services claimed that they have a "secret file" against Kholoud. In these cases, neither the detainee not the lawyer are allowed to see this file. Kholoud Al Masry is a mother of five children, aged 10 -- 20. Al Masry was kidnapped by the army on July 15, 2007, he husband is also imprisoned by Israel. Fuad Al Khoffash, head of the Ahrar Center For Detainees’ Studies, slammed the Israeli decision and Israel’s ongoing violations against the elected Palestinian officials and legislators. Palestinian serving 67 back-to-back life sentences beaten and abused Ma’an News Agency 8/1/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Abdullah Al- Barghouthi, who is serving 67 back to back life sentences in Israeli prisons, has sustained severe bruising after he was attacked in Ashkelon prison which is north of the Gaza Strip. Buthaina Duqmaq, lawyer and head of the Mandela Foundation announced the news on Friday after visiting Al-Barghouthi in prison. She said that Al-Barghouthi reported not feeling well after being the victim of a surprise attack by Israeli interrogators who broke into his cell the day of Lebanese prisoner Samir Quntar was released on July 16. Al-Barghouthi reported that he had been surprised while watching TV in his cell, when eight masked soldiers from "Metsada" entered and attacked him using fists and batons. According to Duqmaq soldiers continued to attack as he lay "on the ground helplessly. Ship sets sail to Gaza as Arab conference endorses solidarity day with Gaza Palestinian Information Center 7/31/2008 BEIRUT, (PIC)-- A grouping of Arab popular committees has declared that Friday 8/8/2008 would be dubbed "The Arab and international day to open the Rafah crossing and break the Gaza siege". The general coordinator of popular committees in Lebanon, Ma’en Bashur, briefed Hamas’s deputy political bureau chairman Dr. Mousa Abu Mazrouk in Cairo on the initiative. Bashur said that Palestinian national unity must be restored on the basis of national concord document, and added that an Arab, international campaign would be soon launched to demand the release of 12,000 Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Israeli occupation jails. He pointed out that efforts were underway to prepare for the Arab, international conference on the Palestinian right of return that is scheduled to be held in Damascus in mid November and would be attended by thousands from Arab and foreign countries to highlight RoR. Two detained PLC members now in Israeli prison hospitals Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2008 Hebron – Ma’an – Member of the Hamas bloc for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Basem Az-Z’areer denounced on Thursday the Israeli interrogators’ attack on imprisoned PLC members en route to Ofer, the Israeli military court. Az-Z’areer charged that integrators intentionally drove well beyond the speed limit, and would suddenly stop, causing injuries among several of the PLC members. After the drive, said Az-Z’areer, PLC members Mohammad Abu Tir and Nayef Ar- Rujub were moved to Ramleh prison hospital. Secretary General of the PLC Dr Mahmoud Ar-Ramahi, Mohamad At-Tal, Khaleel Ar-Rab’i and A’zam Salhab were injured. Az-Za’reer described what happened as "against all laws and morals of countries and governments," he wondered about the role of the human rights organizations in preventing these sorts of injustices. Ahrar: Four Palestinian women and their husbands imprisoned in Israeli jails Palestinian Information Center 7/31/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- The Ahrar center for prisoner studies reported Wednesday that four Palestinian women and their husbands are incarcerated in Israeli jails and banned from seeing each other or their children, and appealed to social institutions to highlight the suffering of these families and to support them. In a press statement received by the PIC, the center said that the four female detainees are not allowed to communicate with their detained husbands even on the phone and are not granted visitations. The statement underlined that the hardest distress the Palestinian families can experience is the detention of both parents and leaving their children without a breadwinner. Fuad Al-Khafsh, head of the center, stated that the IOF troops recently kidnapped the municipal member Kholoud Al Masry and her husband Ammar. Brigade commander rebuked for Naalin shooting Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/31/2008 Judea and Samaria Division Commander marks reprimand in Colonel Aviv Reshef’s personal record following incident in which rubber-coated bullet was fired towards bound Palestinian detainee. Regiment commander says in hearing he did not order soldier to shoot - Judea and Samaria Division Commander, Brigadier-General Noam Tibon, marked a reprimand against Binyamin Brigade commander, Colonel Aviv Reshef, in the latter’s personal record following the incident in the West Bank village of Naalin, in which a rubber-coated bullet was fired towards a bound Palestinian detainee. A hearing was held on Thursday for the regiment commander who ordered the soldier to shoot at the detainee. The officer’s attorneys said their client had not given any such order. The Military Prosecution will decide whether to indict him or not next week. Palestinians share stories about life in Israeli prisons PNN, Palestine News Network 7/30/2008 Ramallah -- The Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies held a symposium Tuesday evening to hear the stories of 12 Palestinians who have been released from Israeli prisons. Dr. Hassan Abdullah, a writer and scientist, directed the discussion and personal testimonies. Director of the Centre Dr. Iyad Barghouti stressed that the recent prisoner exchange gave special importance to the symposium. The Centre’s goal was to create an environment of tolerance, equality and recognition of others. Those who gave personal testimonies painted a picture of imprisonment since the late 60s. They unanimously agreed that their experience in Israeli prisons passed several stages. They all suffered from problems in the beginning, but their experience evolved and crystallized especially in the early 70s. They explained that the relative level of democracy differed from one stage to another and from one prison to another. Naalin commander ordered to go on 10-day leave Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 7/29/2008 Northern command chief suspends senior officer following shooting of bound Palestinian in during anti-fence rally, citing ’moral and authoritative failure’ -Northern Command Chief Major-General Gadi Eisenkot ordered Battalion 71 Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Omri to go on a 10-day leave of absence Tuesday following the incident in the West Bank Palestinian village of Naalin, in which a soldier under his command fired a rubber bullet at a bound Palestinian detainee during an anti-fence rally. Major-General Eisenkot noted that the incident indicated a severe lapse in judgment and a "moral and authoritative failure" on the commander’s part. The Lt. Col. continues to maintain that the soldier acted independently, however Ynet has learned that he recently failed the polygraph test he was subjected to. Israeli arrests of women on the rise Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 7/29/2008 Nablus -- Last night Israeli forces arrested 40 year old mother Suhaila Shellesh in Shuqba Village near Ramallah. The Ahrar Center for Prisoners’ Studies and Human Rights reported on Tuesday that Shellesh is the mother of six children and the director of an elementary school. She was also elected to serve on the Shuqba Village council. Director of the Ahrar Center, Fuad Al Khafash, said the abduction of municipal and village council members, especially women, has increased recently. Israeli forces arrested Nablus municipal council member Mrs. Khulud Masri earlier this month and stormed the house of Dr. Magda Fidah. The Israeli military court also extended Palestinian Legislative Council deputy Muna Mansour’s sentence by eight days. She was arrested as a member of the Change and Reform bloc, affiliated with the Hamas party, in the PLC. Palestinians ’use torture regularly’ Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem, The Independent 7/29/2008 Torture is used regularly on Palestinians detained by the Fatah-dominated security forces in the West Bank and by their Hamas counterparts in Gaza, two human rights reports say. Between 20 and 30 per cent of the people arbitrarily detained in Gaza and the West Bank have suffered severe beatings, whippings, been made to stand or sit in painful positions for hours, and other degrading punishments, according to the Palestinian human rights organisation Al Haq. It says that three people have died in Gaza and one in the West Bank during the detentions since the split that followed Hamas’s enforced takeover of the Gaza Strip 13 months ago. Each group has arbitarily detained about 1,000 people. Fatah security forces rounded up dozens of Hamas supporters in the West Bank yesterday in response to similar detentions of up to 200 Fatah adherents by Hamas in Gaza. Abuse reported in Palestinian jails Middle East Online 7/29/2008 RAMALLAH, West Bank - One detainee told of being beaten with pipes and having a screwdriver rammed into his back. Another said interrogators tied his hands behind his back then lifted him into the air by his bound wrists. Two human rights groups on Monday decried abuse of political opponents by Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah. The findings emerged as the two sides carried out fresh arrest sweeps in the West Bank and Gaza — highlighting deep tensions in the Palestinian territories after a flare-up in violence over the weekend. In the West Bank on Monday, the security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rounded up more than 50 suspected Hamas supporters, including mosque preachers and intellectuals, in retaliation for a similar sweep of Fatah loyalists in Gaza, set off by a bombing that killed five Hamas members Friday. Video nation George Rishmawi, International Middle East Media Center News 7/29/2008 B’Tselem, a Jerusalem-based NGO, released video footage this week of a handcuffed Palestinian detainee being shot in the leg by an Israeli soldier. The footage is part of a new trend to use video footage to document abuses against Palestinians by Israeli soldiers and settlers. On July 20, Jerusalem-based human rights group B’Tselem released video footage showing an Israeli soldier shooting a handcuffed Palestinian detainee in the knee with a rubber-coated steel bullet. A 14-year-old Palestinian girl, Salaam Kanan, shot the footage two weeks earlier in the West Bank village of Ni’lin, using nothing but her own cellphone camera. B’Tselem, also known as the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, decided to go public with the information after it had sent the footage to the Israeli army in early July to no effect. PA security rounds up 32 Hamas supporters Palestinian Information Center 7/29/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The PA security apparatuses under the command of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas launched a new wave of arrests in lines of Hamas supporters in the West Bank over the past 24 hours that included 32 persons. The arrest campaign, which is launched in retaliation to the Hamas-led government in Gaza’s detention of suspects in the Gaza beach bombing, is the biggest for a long period of time. Among the detainees are the municipal council chairman of Til village, Nablus district, Omar Eshtiye, along with former prisoners in Israeli occupation jails and PA prisons, imams of mosques and the director of the PLO office in Salfit, Sheikh Majed Al-Qadi, in addition to municipal council member Dr. Zuhair Sawalha in Kufr Ra’ee village. The arrests were made in the districts of Nablus, Qalqilia, Salfit, Ramallah, Jenin and Tobas. IOA extends detention of MP Mansour, kidnaps another female Palestinian Information Center 7/29/2008 NABLUS, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority has extended the detention of MP Mona Mansour for eight more days while its troops abducted municipal council member Suhaila Shalash on Monday evening. Fuad Al-Khafsh, the director of the Ahrar center for prisoners’ studies, denounced the recently growing detention of Palestinian women, describing it as a rising phenomenon. He said that in July the Israeli occupation forces kidnapped Khulud Al-Masri, Nablus municipality member, stormed the home of Dr. Majeda Fidda, another Nablus municipal member, in a bid to kidnap her, and now Suhaila Shalash, 40, of the Shakaba village municipal council on returning from Saudi Arabia where she performed Omra (minor pilgrimage). The same month also witnessed the detention of Mona Mansour, a Nablus MP for the Hamas Movement. He said that Mansour was moved to the Hasharon prison for women and was. . . Solidarity visit to family of prisoner entering 32nd year of incarceration Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2008 Nablus – Ma’an – The governor of Nablus, Jamal Muhaisin, headed a solidarity delegation visiting the family of Palestinian prisoner Sa’id Al-’Atabah on Tuesday. Al-’Atabah is believed to have spent the longest time in prison in recent history as he enters his 32nd year of incarceration. The governor delivered a short speech in which he confirmed that Al-’Atabah had entered the Guinness Book of Records for the longest period spent in detention and applauded his steadfastness in the face of such hardship, adding that it would not be an exaggeration to say that he had triumphed, simply by existing, over his prison guards. During the meeting Sa’id’s sister thanked the governor and all of the institutions that expressed their solidarity with her brother. She said it meant particularly much to her mother who is still hoping to see her son at his home with the family. IDF commander suspended after failing polygraph test Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post 7/29/2008 A battalion commander who allegedly ordered a soldier to fire a rubber bullet at point-blank range at a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian was temporarily suspended from active duty on Tuesday after a polygraph test cast doubt on his version of events. Polygraph casts doubt on officer’s storyLt. -Col. Omri Burbag, commander of Armored Battalion 71, appeared before OC Northern Command Maj. -Gen. Gadi Eizenkot on Tuesday for a hearing, after which he was ordered to take a 10-day leave of absence from his position. Eizenkot told Burbag the shooting of the Palestinian was against IDF values and demonstrated a breakdown in Burbag’s command. The suspension came a day after Burbag failed a polygraph test given by the Military Police. Last week, he took a private polygraph test and was found to be responding truthfully to questions of whether he had ordered the soldier to shoot the detainee. Ynet: Naalin commander ordered to go on 10-day leave Hanan Greenberg, International Solidarity Movement 7/29/2008 Ramallah Region - Northern command chief suspends senior officer following shooting of bound Palestinian in during anti-fence rally, citing ‘moral and authoritative failure’ - Northern Command Chief Major-General Gadi Eisenkot ordered Battalion 71 Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Omri to go on a 10-day leave of absence Tuesday following the incident in the West Bank Palestinian village of Naalin, in which a soldier under his command fired a rubber bullet at a bound Palestinian detainee during an anti-fence rally. Staff Sgt. filmed shooting rubber bullet towards bound Palestinian detainee found to have testified truthfully about in second lie detector test. But his commander, whom he accuses of ordering him to shoot, found to have lied Major-General Eisenkot noted that the incident indicated a severe lapse in judgment and a "moral and authoritative failure" on the commander’s part. Na’alin officer fails polygraph test Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 7/29/2008 Staff Sgt. filmed shooting rubber bullet towards bound Palestinian detainee found to have testified truthfully about in second lie detector test. But his commander, whom he accuses of ordering him to shoot, found to have lied - Staff Sgt. L, the soldier filmed firing a rubber bullet at a bound Palestinian detainee in Naalin, was found to have testified truthfully in his second lie-detector test. The Staff Sgt asserts that his regiment commander, identified as Lieutenant-Colonel Omri, ordered him to shoot towards Ashraf Abu Rahema. The Lt. Col. continues to maintain that the soldier acted independently, however Ynet has learned that he recently failed the polygraph test he was subjected to. The army may already choose to take measures against the Lt. Col. in the coming days. He is scheduled to meet on Tuesday with Northern Command chief, Maj. Al-Haq: Arbitrary detention and torture by Palestinian forces rife Ma’an News Agency 7/28/2008 Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights group, in a report released on Monday, claims that the instances of arbitrary arrests and acts of torture have increased since the internal political split between Fatah and Hamas began. The report, “Torturing Each Other: The Widespread Practices of Arbitrary Detention and Torture in the Palestinian Territory," claims that an increase in political infighting has sparked the growing use of torture and ill-treatment of detainees by both the security forces of the de facto government in Gaza and those of the caretaker government in Ramallah. Most of these cases are politically motivated and seen as a means of exacting revenge on political enemies. Al-Haq have carried out extensive investigations into the practices of the Palestinian security forces, through monitoring the situation in prisons and relying on the testimony of victims, eyewitnesses. . . Inhumane treatment on bus transporting Palestinians from Israeli prison to military court Ali Samoudi, Palestine News Network 7/28/2008 Jenin -- Political prisoner Major General Fuad Al Shobaki reports that he and other Palestinians being held in Nafha Prison were subject to "torment and punishment" on their trip to Ofar Military Court. "Ofar transport procedures are considered the most difficult with the prison administration practicing all forms of repression and punishment," attorney with the Mandela Institute, Buthaina Duqmaq, reported from the court’s waiting room this week. "Prisoners’ hands and feet are shackled and they are prohibited from speaking. "Shobaki said that he spent three days traveling with the rest of the political prisoners from one prison to another amid arbitrary, unlawful practices. First, he said, they spent two hours in chains while enduring severe temperatures. They were then taken to Al Naqab Prison in a deliberate attempt to make a detour on their way to the Ofar Military Court. Report: Torture widespread in Palestinian jails Associated Press, YNetNews 7/28/2008 Human rights groups publish report indicating Hamas, Fatah rivalry in Gaza Strip, West Bank manifests in brutal torture of detainees; more than 1,000 people reporedly detained by each side - Majdi Jabour was beaten to the point of passing out by the Fatah-allied interrogators in the West Bank who accused him of ties to rival Hamas. In Gaza, the same fate befell a Fatah supporter who was bloodied in a lockup by club-wielding Hamas security men. Two human rights groups on Monday decried widespread mistreatment and torture in Palestinian jails - an issue taking on fresh urgency with a flare-up of Hamas-Fatah violence over the weekend in the Gaza Strip. Detainees corroborated the reports in conversations with The , and a doctor confirmed Jabour’s account. The groups’ reports looked at human rights violations during the past year, since the Islamic militant. . . PCHR calls for release of all political prisoners Ma’an News Agency 7/28/2008 The Palestinian centre for Human Rights (PCHR) on sunday condemned the campaign of arrests by Palestinian security forces against Hamas supporters in the West Bank. The Centre is concerned that these arrests are an act of reprisal in response to the detention of dozens of Fatah supporters as well as NGO’s and sports clubs in the Gaza Strip affiliated to the movement. In a press release the centre called upon the governments in Ramallah and Gaza to put an end to all forms of arbitrary arrests, and to immediately release all political prisoners on both sides. The statement comes as a response to a campaign of arrests in several areas of the West Bank carried out by the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Saturday. Approximately 30 leaders, members, and supporters of Hamas were detained. The arrests include:Sheikh Ammar Badawi (Tulkarm Mufti),Dr. ’Torture widespread in PA, Hamas’ Associated Press, Jerusalem Post 7/28/2008 Two human rights groups on Monday decried widespread mistreatment and torture in Palestinian jails - an issue taking on fresh urgency with a flare-up of Hamas-Fatah violence over the weekend in the Gaza Strip. The groups’ reports looked at human rights violations during the past year, since Hamas wrested control of Gaza from the forces of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. In the past year, the security forces in both the West Bank and Gaza have carried out large-scale, arbitrary arrests of political opponents, the Palestinian human rights group Al Haq said in an 85-page report. More than 1,000 people were detained by each side, Al Haq estimated, even before a roundup of some 200 Fatah supporters in Gaza over the weekend, following a bombing that killed five Hamas members. Report: Worrisome findings at Israeli prisons Aviad Glickman, YNetNews 7/27/2008 Justice Ministry’s Department of Public Advocacy visits 33 detention facilities, revealing numerous cases of abuse, suicide attempts, etc. Israel Prison Service says in response improvements are underway - A closer look into Israeli prisons revealed, violence inflicted by wardens, severe punishment, bed-binding for hours, suicide attempts, lack of treatment and rehabilitation frameworks for the prisoners. These are just a few of the findings unleashed in the 2007 Justice Ministry’s Department of Public Advocacy report on the detainment and imprisonment conditions at the Prison Authority, police, and courts’ detention facilities. The advocacy’s report compiled the findings on official visits at 33 detention facilities around Israel. Eleven of the correction facilities were under the Prison Authority’s responsibility during the time of the visit,. . . As the situation between Hamas and Fateh worsens in Gaza the Israelis do not let up Kristen Ess, Palestine News Network 7/27/2008 Amjad Al Shawa lives in what is often described as the "world’s largest open air prison. "He is the Director of the Gaza City branch of the Palestine Network of NGOs. The PNGO attempts to serve the Strip’s 1. 5 million residents. "I think you have a good description for Gaza and the worsening conditions since the Israeli siege. Since January until now we are suffering from shortages of many items, the main being basic food, medicine and fuel. So the conditions here in Gaza are getting worse and worse even though we have the ’cease-fire’ between Hamas and the Israelis, still the Israelis continue the siege on the Gaza Strip. They prevent the entrance of many kinds of basic materials. " Mainly I’m talking about the issue of fuel of which we are receiving just small quantities. For example yesterday the Israelis decided to prevent the entrance of fuel for three days, starting yesterday [16 July]. Arab-Israeli prisoner demands conjugal visit ’like Yigal Amir’ Sharon Roffe-Ophir, YNetNews 7/27/2008 Petition filed on behalf of man serving life sentence for terror offenses says Arab prisoners discriminated against, denied private spousal visits. Defining inmate as security prisoner as excuse to deny legal rights, implies practice applied on Arab prisoners only,’ attorney says -Walid Dakah, an Israeli Arab who was sentenced to life imprisonment for security offenses, filed a first-of-its kind petition Sunday morning with the Nazareth District Court, asking that it grant him conjugal visitsin order to allow him and his wife to bring a child into the world. Dakah was sentenced to life in prison in 1986, after he was convicted of membership in a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror cell that murdered IDF soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984. Dakah was sent to prison at the age of 22, and the petition, which was filed on his behalf by Adalah. . . Former Al-Aqsa member announces hunger strike in PA prison Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2008 Nablus – Ma’an - An official from the Al-Aqsa Brigades said that 30-year-old Iyad Hamad Al-Inabousi, who is detained in the Palestinian military intelligence headquarters of Jneid prison, announced that he would begin a hunger strike on Saturday. Al-Inabousi told a Ma’an correspondent in Nablus that his strike would continue indefinitely in protest of the Israeli postponement of the hearing of his case, and the stalling of negotiations between the Palestinian National Authority and Israel. In a deal between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, Al-Inabousi along with a large number of other members of the Al-Aqsa Brigades was detained in the PA prison near Nablus. The mens weapons were confiscated and they were asked to renounce their affiliation with the Brigades before their release. Al-Inabousi, who says he has complied with all the conditions of his release, is now waiting for the "okay" from Israel so that he can leave the prison. Family appeals for release of Palestinian prisoner with brain stroke Palestinian Information Center 7/26/2008 SALFIT, (PIC)-- The family of a Palestinian prisoner has appealed for his release from Israeli occupation jails after his health condition gravely worsened after suffering a brain stroke that paralyzed the left part of his body. The family called for the immediate release of Zahran Abu Osba before further deterioration of his condition. The lawyer of the Palestinian prisoner’s club said that Zahran, who is serving a 14-year imprisonment term, was suffering from numbness in the head causing pressure on the eyes. He added that the pressure led to temporary blindness, and underlined that the Ramle prison doctor could not diagnose his case. Meanwhile, three Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli jails, all minors, have complained of the Israeli Nahshon unit’s maltreatment during their transport to court and back to jail. Palestinians in Israeli prisons celebrate release of Dalal Al-Mughrabi’s body Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an -Palestinian prisoners in Israel celebrate symbolic release of Dalal Al-Mughrabi’s body. Detainees in the Negev desert prison of An-Nakab from the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (affiliated with Fatah)celebrated on Friday the symbolic return of Dalal Al-Mughrabi’s body. The prisoners also honored released prisoner Samir Quntar. During the celebration they delivered speeches to honor the Hizbullah deeds and Hassan Nasrallah’s efforts in releasing prisoners and bringing back hope. They called on Abbas to continue his efforts to secure the release of all Palestinian prisoners. [end] Palestinian Prisoners Society meets to support prisoners Doris Norrito, International Middle East Media Center News 7/24/2008 About fifty members of the Palestinian Prisons Society met nearby the Red Cross headquarters in Bethlehem at 11 am on Thursday. The Society meets once or twice a month to show solidarity and give support for more than 11,000 detainees suffering under bad conditions in Israeli prisons. A poster displayed the faces of resisters sentenced to life terms by the Israeli court. About fifty children under the age of eighteen are presently in prison. Some are pressured to make them collaborate with the Israelis, a spokesperson said. Most of the men who came to the meeting said they had served terms in prison and were there to show solidarity in their support for the others still imprisoned. Mothers and relatives held pictures of detainees. Some such as Issa Abed Rrabbo and Marwan Barghouthi had been sentenced to life terms for resistance activities and have already spent twenty five years in prison. Soldier who killed peace activist denied appeal Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 7/24/2008 Taysir Hayb tells military committee hearing his appeal that he sent taped apology to family of British peace activist Tom Hurndall, whom Hayb killed while he was shielding Palestinian children from gunfire; however family denies receiving tape - A special IDF committee has denied an appeal by the soldier Taysir Hayb, who was convicted of killing British photographer and peace activist Tom Hurndall, for early release from prison. Hayb has served half of his sentence, and the committee determined that when he completes two-thirds his case will be reconsidered. Hurndall, 21, was shot in the head during a protest in Rafah, while acting as a human shield for Palestinian children that had been caught in the crossfire. He lost consciousness following the injury and eventually died from complications of the onset of pneumonia. IOF kidnap father of girl that filmed soldier shooting handcuffed detainee Palestinian Information Center 7/23/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- IOF troops on Wednesday kidnapped Jamal Omaira, the father of the girl whofilmed an IOF soldier while shooting at a handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian detainee in Na’lin village west of Ramallah city a few days ago. The soldier said that he was following orders of his commander who ordered him to shoot at the helpless detainee. In the meantime, large numbers of IOF troops stormed the city of Tulkarem and Qufin village searching for Islamic Jihad activist Fadi Kittana, who survived an assassination attempt on Tuesday night. The soldiers detained Ahmed Abu Abed from the same village after wreaking havoc in his home and other stormed homes in the village. In Qalqilia, a commercial strike was observed on Wednesday at the call of the national committee to break the Israeli siege. The committee said that the city has been under Israeli siege for a year. . . Polygraph ’confirms’ IDF officer didn’t order soldier to shoot cuffed Palestinian Yuval Azoulay and Shahar Ilan, Ha’aretz 7/24/2008 The Israel Defense Forces officer accused of ordering a soldier under his command to shoot a bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainee has passed a polygraph test verifying his testimony that he did not give the order to open fire. Lieutenant colonel Omri Fruberg, commanding officer of IDF regiment 71, took the polygraph on Tuesday in a private institute at the recommendation of his lawyers. The investigation began after the soldier, who was filmed shooting a Palestinian protester during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Na’alin, said he just been carrying out an order by Fruberg. In the video, Fruberg is shown holding the arm of the Palestinian, Ashraf Abu-Rahama, 27, while a soldier under his command opens fire at close range. Abu-Rahama sustained light wounds to his foot in the incident. Israel Probes ’Detainee Shooting’ BBC News, MIFTAH 7/23/2008 Israel says it has launched an inquiry after an Israeli human rights group released footage that appears to show a soldier shoot a Palestinian detainee. The video is blurred when the gun fires, but the Palestinian man says a rubber bullet hit his left big toe and he was treated by an army medic. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called the incident "grave" and in "direct contradiction" of the army’s values. Rights group B’Tselem said the incident occurred on 7 July in the West Bank. B’Tselem said the video clip showed a soldier firing a rubber-coated steel bullet, from close range, at a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainee. It said the shooting took place in the presence of a lieutenant colonel, who was holding the Palestinian man’s arm when the shot was fired. InvestigationA 14-year-old girl reportedly filmed the incident from the window of her home in the town of Nilin, which has been the scene of violent protests against Israel’s West Bank barrier. Israeli army invades three Palestinian areas, kidnap one civilian Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/23/2008 Israeli Army invaded a number of Palestinian cities Wednesday at dawn, and kidnapped one civilian in Tulkarem. Local sources reported that a number of Israeli military vehicles invaded the city of Nablus and drove through several neighborhoods for a couple of hours. The army withdrew without taking anyone prisoner. Nablus and the nearby villages and refugee camps, have been subject to frequent Israeli invasions in the past three weeks. During those three weeks dozens of civilians were kidnapped, homes were ransacked in addition to the closure and invasion of educational, social, commercial and religious facilities. Israeli troops also invaded the city of Jenin, its refugee camp and the nearby village of al-Yamoun in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Local sources reported that a number of Israeli vehicles invaded area and troops patrolled the city’s neighborhoods and shot intensive gun fire and sound bombs. Eight Palestinian prisoners in hospital after swallowing shampoo to protest continued detention Ma’an News Agency 7/22/2008 Nablus – Ma’an – Nablus governor Dr Jamal Muheisen said on Tuesday that eight Palestinian detainees were transferred from Al-Juneid prison in Nablus to hospital after swallowing shampoo as part of a protest at their continued detention. Al-Muheisen told Ma’an that the eight have spent seven months at Al-Juneid prison and are to stay under Palestinian Authority (PA) custody until the Israeli authorities allow their release. They are among the Palestinian activists who accepted the Israeli amnesty agreement, gave up their weapons, and voluntarily entered PA custody seven months ago. Although they were supposed to be released after three months to resume their lives as normal citizens, the Israelis have ignored pleas to set the men free and keep postponing their release date. As a protest at the Israeli delay, the detainees took the drastic action of swallowing shampoo. IOF kidnapped hundreds of Palestinians in W. Bank since Gaza truce started Palestinian Information Center 7/21/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- The ministry of prisoners and ex-prisoners’ affairs in the PA caretaker government under premier Ismael Haneyya has confirmed on Sunday that the IOA arrested 395 Palestinian citizens across the West Bank since the calm agreement in Gaza commenced a month ago. "The Israeli occupation government’s policy of arresting more Palestinian citizens was meant to impose more pressure on the Palestinian people, to break their will, and to force them bow to the occupation’s dictates, in addition to emptying the Palestinian street of national and Islamic action leaderships", asserted Riyadh Al-Ashkar of the ministry’s information department in a statement he issued Sunday. He also explained that the city of Nablus was the most affected city in this regard with more that 100 of its inhabitants, including Dr. Abdul Rahim Al-Hanbali, 66, the former head of the city’s Zakat committee, and city councilor Husam Al-Dein Kataloni. Israeli soldier shoots restrained Palestinian at close range Report, B'Tselem, Electronic Intifada 7/20/2008 Today, B’Tselem is publishing a video clip documenting a soldier firing a rubber coated steel bullet, from extremely close range, at a cuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainee. The shooting took place in the presence of a lieutenant colonel, who was holing the Palestinian’s arm when the shot was fired. The incident took place on 7 July, in Nil’in, a village in the West Bank. A Palestinian demonstrator, Ashraf Abu Rahma, 27, was stopped by soldiers, who cuffed and blindfolded him for about thirty minutes, during which time, according to Abu-Rahma, they beat him. Afterwards, a group of soldiers and border policemen led him to an army jeep. The video clip shows a soldier aim his weapon at the demonstrator’s legs, from about 1. 5 meters away, and fire a rubber coated steel bullet at him. Abu-Rahma stated that the bullet hit his left toe, received treatment from an army medic, and released by the soldiers. A Palestinian girl from Nil’in filmed the incident from her house in the village, and B’Tselem received it this morning. Masri: An honorable swap deal is near Palestinian Information Center 7/19/2008 GAZA, (PIC)-- MP Mushir Al-Masri has expressed conviction that an honorable prisoners’ exchange deal was the in the offing between Palestinian resistance factions capturing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and Israel. Masri, a member of Hamas affiliated bloc in the PLC, asked Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails to maintain patience and steadfastness, opining that it was only a matter of time before the swap deal was concluded. The MP, who was speaking at a rally organized by Hamas in Gaza city on Friday, said that his Movement was adamant on resistance as the "strategic" option to restore usurped rights and to liberate prisoners from occupation jails. The Israeli occupation government is the one delaying the prisoners’ swap deal, he said, and congratulated the Lebanese Hizbullah party on the swap deal that freed the Lebanese prisoners in occupation jails topped by the dean of Lebanese prisoners Samir Al-Kuntar. Change and Reform bloc denies that imprisoned PLC member Aziz Dweik received surgery Ma’an News Agency 7/19/2008 [Ma’anImages archive] Gaza – Ma’an – The Change and Reform legislative bloc on Saturday denied that Dr Aziz Dweik has received any surgical operation. Dweik is the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) speaker and a Change and Reform member who has been detained in Israeli jails for more than two years. It was reported earlier this week that Dweik would receive surgery to remove gallstones at Ramle prison. In a statement received by Ma’an, the bloc said that Dr Dweik desperately needs surgery, but Israeli authorities have refused to authorise the operation. The bloc said that the Israeli authorities are fully responsible for the life of the PLC speaker, and demanded that humanitarian organisations and the Red Cross intervene urgently in order to save Dr Dweik’s life. The bloc noted that Israeli doctors decided to peform the surgery following medical tests confirming. . . Thirteen detainees wounded in Majeddo prison Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/18/2008 In a letter that was leaked on Wednesday from the Majeddo Israeli prison, the detainees stated that Israeli soldiers broke into the prison and attacked them with batons and clubs. Thirteen detainees were wounded and suffered concussions and bruises. The detainees said that the soldiers broke into their rooms and violently attacked them without any explanation. They also stated that there were also attacked several days ago after the soldiers broke into section 9 of the detention facility and used water hoses, clubs and batons against the detainees after claiming that they refused to stand in front of the prison warden to be counted and searched. The administration placed five detainees in solitary confinement and imposed high fines on five other detainees after claiming that they violated the instructions of the prison administration. IOF troops cause loss of hearing to a Palestinian teenager Palestinian Information Center 7/18/2008 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Eighteen-year-old Abdullah Khalaf has lost, on Friday, his hearing when he was hit by a stun grenade fired by the IOF troops who raided the village of Eizaryyah to the east of occupied Jerusalem. The stun grenade hit the teenager in the face causing, in addition to permanent loss of hearing, burns to his face and hair. Munketh Abu Roumi, director of the press office of Asrana society in Jerusalem district, said that as Abdullah came out of his house to go to an outside toilet he was surprised by the bomb fired at him by the IOF troops. Abdallah was previously arrested by the IOF and sentenced to serve a prison term by the Ofer military court near Ramallah. Meanwhile, IOF troops arrested on Thursday evening and Friday morning arrested 13 young Palestinians from the villages Madma and Asira al-Qibeya near Nablus in the northern West Bank. Youth wounded near Jerusalem Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/18/2008 The Asrana (Our Detainees) Center reported on Thursday evening that an 18-year old youth was wounded in his head in addition to sustaining burns in the head and face after Israeli soldiers hurled a sound bomb at him. The youth, Abdullah Jamal Mubarak, also lost his hearing sense , apparently permanently, as the concussion grenade exploded near his ear also causing burns to his face and hair. Monqith Abu Roomy, head of the Media Office at Asrana Center in Jerusalem district, stated that Mubarak was heading towards an exterior toilet near his home when the soldiers hurled the concussion at him. The wounded youth is a former political detainee as he was earlier kidnapped and sentenced for membership with the Fateh movement. Detained PLC head facing a deteriorating health condition Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/18/2008 The presidency of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) expressed deep concern over the deteriorating health condition of the Legislative Council head, Dr. Aziz Dweik, who is imprisoned by Israel along with dozens of legislators and officials. In a press release, the PLC stated that Dr. Dweik underwent surgery at the Al Ramla Prison Hospital on Thursday, and is still in a bad health condition. His health started deteriorating three months ago. He was kept at the prison hospital which lacks the basic tools and equipment for more than two months as the Israeli Authorities are refusing to allow him to be hospitalized at a specialized hospital. The PLC stated that these acts violate the international law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions. Also, the PLC called on Amro Mousa, secretary-general of the Arab League, and UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, to intervene for the release. . . Conditions in Ramon prison may result in major unrest Ma’an News Agency 7/18/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Ibtisam Anati, a lawyer from the Al-Hurriyat center for human rights, said on Friday that the harshness of the conditions at Ramon prison in the south of Israel was threatening to result in major unrest. Prisoners have declared that they will go on strike if the situation does not change. The discontent in the facility comes as a reaction to the apparent, repeated assault of the inmates by prison guards, as well as the general conditions in the prison. Anatialso claims that some prisoners have been prevented from taking the university entrance exams, the Tawjihi, while others have been denied the books necessary to study. This has added to the mood of unrest in the jail. Ramon prison is part of the Nafha facility in the Negev desert that has been widely criticized for its human rights abuses. PLC Deputy Speaker concerned for health of imprisoned PLC speaker Ma’an News Agency 7/18/2008 Gaza – Ma’an - Deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Ahmad Bahar, on Friday expressed his deep concern over the health of imprisoned PLC speaker Dr Aziz Dweik. Dr Dweik has been held in Israeli custody since August 6 2006. His family said that Dr Aziz underwent an operation on Friday in the hospital at Ramle prison in Israel to remove gallstones and that his health had deteriorated since his detention. In a statement, Bahar criticised the decision of the Israeli administration of the prisons to transfer Dr Dweik to a prison hospital for treatment instead of allowing him to be treated in a civilian hospital. He called for the urgent intervention of the Secretary General of the Arab LeagueAmr Musa and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to secure Dweik’s release. Detained deputy PLC head tortured and barred from seeing his lawyer since 45 days Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/16/2008 Qbdul-Qaher Srour, deputy head of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) imprisoned by Israel along with several legislators including PLC head Dr. Aziz Dweik, has been under interrogation by Israel in Al Maskobiyya Interrogation facility since May 29 and was not allowed to see his lawyer. His wife voiced an appeal for his release and urged human rights groups to intervene especially since he is still under interrogation which started after he was kidnapped by the army on May 29. In an interview with the Ahrar Center for Detainees’ Studies, the detained legislator’s wife said that her husband is suffering from a bad health condition as he was supposed to conduct a heart surgery which was planned to be conducted in early June. Srour was kidnapped and imprisoned by Israel six times in addition to his current imprisonment. PLC Speaker Dweik to undergo surgery in Israeli prison Ma’an News Agency 7/16/2008 Hebron – Ma’an – The elected speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Aziz Dweik, is undergoing surgery to remove gallstones at Ramle prison in Israel. Attorney Samira Halayqa said that a team of doctors ordered the surgery after Dweik suffered severe pain throughout his imprisonment. A total of 45 Palestinian members of parliament are held in Israeli prisons. Israel abducted most of the deputies in 2006, and has linked their release to the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is held by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza. [end] Family of female prisoner appeals to physicians for human rights to intervene Palestinian Information Center 7/16/2008 RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The family of female prisoner Khulud Al-Masri, a member of the municipal council in Nablus, appealed to human rights organizations especially physicians for human rights to urgently intervene to provide their daughter with medication and to work to get her released as soon as possible for the sake of her five children. The family said that a center for the defense of human rights called HaMoked informed them that the Israeli prison authority transferred Khulud, 40, to the Beilinson hospital after the deterioration of her health, pointing out that their daughter suffers from weakness in her heart muscle. The wife of prisoner Abdelkader Sorour, the director of the PLC speaker’s office, appealed to humanitarian organizations to necessarily intervene to get her ill husband, 36, released from the Israeli Maskubia prison. Two prisoners at a P.A prison deny allegations they were tortured IMEMC & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/16/2008 The Maan News Agency reported on Wednesday that two prisoners detained by the Palestinian Military Police in Qalqilia District, in the northern part of the West Bank, denied allegation that they were tortured for membership with the Hamas movement. The two prisoners, Eyad Salmi and Basil Abu Suleiman, were interviewed by a Maan reporter and said that they are receiving proper treatment without any attacks or humiliation. Several weeks ago, the agency reported that the two prisoners voiced an appeal to President Mahmoud Abbas to intervene as they were being abused in prison. The two prisoners said they had no knowledge of what was published as they did not voice any appeal. The two prisoners seemed to be in a good health and no torture marks were present on their bodies. Head of the military police, representatives of the Public Relations Office of the Palestinian Security and the mothers of the two detainees also attended the interview. The Israeli Army kidnaps 8 civilians and confiscates an institution in Nablus Ghada Salsaa NEWS, International Middle East Media Center News 7/16/2008 The Israeli Army kidnaps 8 civilians from the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday at dawn. Palestinian sources reported that the Israeli Army invaded Nablus Mall and ransacked the office of the Solidarity Institutions for Human Rights, confiscating a number of computers, documents, and the files of the Palestinian detainees. The sources added that the kidnapped Palestinians are: Hamza Ghassan al-Jawhari, Bashar "˜Ali Kalbona, Kadri Shaheen, Mo’men al-Kayse, Karem Abu "˜Issa, Mos’ab "˜Ata Me’yari, Mos’ab Abu Salha, and Khalil Mohammad Nadi "˜Akra’. [end] 3350 Palestinian students take college entrance exam in Israeli prisons Ma’an News Agency 7/14/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Three thousand three hundred fifty Palestinians in Israeli jails began the Palestinian college entrance examination (the Tawjihi) on Monday after Palestinian and Israeli officials struck an agreement. The Palestinian Minister of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Ashraf Al-Ajrami, said he met with Israeli prison authorities and secured their cooperation, allowing young Palestinians in Israeli prisons to take the crucial test. Tens of thousands of Palestinian students take the Tawjihi at the end of their third year of secondary school. The exam plays a large role in determining whether Palestinians will be accepted by universities. Possible prisoner exchange leaves questions for thousands of families: who will make the list? Ali Samoudi, Palestine News Network 7/14/2008 Jenin - Riyad Abdullah Bani Hassan is the only member of his family still able to attempt to try to free his brother from Israeli prison. He has been running from agency to institute in an attempt to get 42 year old Othman Bani Hassan’s name on list for the prisoner exchange a Palestinian. The Jenin family has not seen Othman outside of prison for 25 years. Israeli forces arrested him as a 17 year old boy. Until 12 years ago family visits were possible, but since this stopped the Bani Hassan family lives under an ever darkening cloud of grief. They have no idea what his status is concerning the prisoner exchange, but say that every happy occasion becomes one of sadness due to the absence of Othman, including Riyad’s wedding. But still he fighting for the inclusion of Othman’s name in the next prisoner exchange. Israeli soldiers torture 10-year-old in his home Report, Defence for Children International-Palestine Section, Electronic Intifada 7/10/2008 A 10-year-old boy was subjected to physical abuse amounting to torture for 2. 5 hours by Israeli soldiers who stormed his family’s shop on 11 June, seeking information on the location of a handgun. The boy was repeatedly beaten, slapped and punched in the head and stomach, forced to hold a stress position for half and hour, and threatened. He was deeply shocked and lost two molar teeth as a result of the assault. On Wednesday 11 June 2008, at around 10:30am, 10-year-old Ezzat, his brother Makkawi (7) and sister Lara (8) were in their father’s shop selling animal feed and eggs in the village of Sanniriya, near the West Bank city of Qalqiliya. The children were suddenly startled to see two Israeli soldiers storm in to the shop. Interrogation and abuse in the shop One soldier wearing a black T-shirt started shouting in a loud, menacing voice in Arabic, "your father sent us to you to collect his gun. " Student Prisoners: The Right to Education Violated by Arrests Palestine Monitor, Palestine Monitor 7/10/2008 Fadi Hamad, the president of Student Council at Birzeit University, was arrested by the Israeli military on November 25th, 2007. Fadi was charged with "holding a position of responsibility" and for "belonging to an illegal organization", as well as with breaking probation from a previous arrest. The probation prevented Fadi from working with student groups for the next three years. Fadi was arrested in December of 2004, and spent ten months in prison because of his membership in the Islamic Bloc and for holding the office of president of the Student Council. According to Birzeit University’s Right to Education Campaign, Fadi "represented the interests of some 7,000 students before the university administration, and was responsible for welfare programmes for students, providing them with sports and cultural activities as well as help with registration, paying fees, [and] their studies. Israeli forces block South African delegation including a Justice of the Supreme Court, in WB Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, Palestine News Network 7/10/2008 Jeruslaem - Today, Wednesday, July 09, 2008, the Israel Police blocked a tour of The South African Human Rights Delegation to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the southern West Bank city of Hebron. The police declared the delegation’s visit to the city as an "illegal gathering", and arrested the three Israeli guides accompanying the delegation. As of 2:30 pm, the 25 members of the delegation were camped opposite the Hebron police station, demanding that the police releases the three detainees. Among the South Africans present at the event are a Justice of the South African Supreme Court, several members of Parliament, senior attorneys, journalists, and human rights activists. Nafha Association ordered to close; calls measure arbitrary and unjust Ma’an News Agency 7/10/2008 Bethlehem - Ma’an - "Yes for having strong and effective Palestinian civil society organizations…No to the Israeli arbitrary unjust measures," says a press release issued by the Nafha Association for Defending Human and Prisoners Rights. The Nablus Association was one of a number that were ordered shut down this week, during raids and property confiscation carried out by Israeli forces. The Nafha offices were attacked at dawn on Tuesday, and according to the press release, all property was confiscated. In addition, said the statement, the army has "issued a military order signed by the commander of the Israeli army forces for the West Bank, imposing the closure of the society for two years, based on the accusation that the association promotes terrorism. " The Nafha Association maintains that it is a "civil institution that provides legal, social. . . Detainee facing death as he heart conditions worsened Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/10/2008 Palestinian detainee Basheer Hashshash, 28, is currently facing a sharp deterioration in his health condition as he is suffering from a heart condition, high cholesterol and high blood pressure but is not receiving the needed medical treatment due to ongoing rejection by the Israeli Prison Administration. Secretary-general of the Palestinian Popular (Folk) Committees, Azmi Shiokhy, stated the four brothers of Basheer died due to the same conditions, and added that Basheer is now very weak and needs urgent medical attention. Shiokhy voiced n appeal to the international community and the Red Cross to intervene for the release of Basheer in order to enable him receive the needed medical attention. He slammed the ongoing Israeli violations against the detainees, and the lack of food and clothes. Shiokhy also said that all sick detainees have the right to receive medical treatment. . . IOF troops storm charitable societies in Nablus Palestinian Information Center 7/8/2008 NABLUS, (PIC)-- The IOF troops stormed at an early hour Tuesday a number of charitable societies including the Nafha society for the defence of human and prisoners’ rights and confiscated their contents and funds in the Nablus city. Palestinian local sources reported that the IOF troops handed closure notices to the raided societies at the pretext that they are affiliated with Hamas and support it financially. The invading troops broke into and ransacked the Islamic school for girls in the Rafidia area and confiscated all its contents as well as a number of buildings and a shopping mall in the same area. They also stormed a mosque in the Askar refugee camp and confiscated Qur’an books, according to the sources. In another context, the IOF troops broke into and ransacked on the same day the headquarters of Al-Bireh municipality, central West Bank, in addition to the offices of the Islamic labor union in Ramallah. Ahrar Center slams closure of Nafha Society for Defending Human rights Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/8/2008 The Ahrar Center for Detainees Studies issued a press release on Tuesday slamming the Israeli attacks against several institutions an societies in Nablus, and the Israeli orders of shutting down several societies including the Nafha Society for Defensing Detainees and Human Rights. The society, along with several other institutions in the northern West Bank city of Nablus were shut down by Israeli forces who invaded the city. The society defends Palestinian and Arab detainees imprisoned by Israel and is considered one of the leading human rights groups in Palestine. The Ahrar Center demanded Human Rights Groups and the International Community to intervene and stop the ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinian people and their institutions. Following the Israeli attack against the city and its institutions, several national and Islamic factions in Nablus called for a general strike in the city. Prisoners study centre condemns Israeli closure of Nafha society Ma’an News Agency 7/8/2008 Nablus - Ma’an - The Ahrar center for prisoners studies and human rights condemned Israeli army closure Nafha prisoners society in Nablus, on Tuesday morning. Ahrar center said in a statement, “The Nafha society is one of the strongest and best societies working in the Palestinian arena on Palestinian detainees’ affairs. This society has been able to prove itself in the affairs of Palestinian prisoners as well as amongst families of prisoners and detainees. ”Ahrar called on all human rights organizations, civil society institutions and prisoners societies to show solidarity with Nafha and to condemn Israeli atrocities against societies and institutions. The Nafha Society was among six Hamas-affilated associations in Nablus closed by the Israeli army on Tuesday, in a campaign against Islamic charities in the West Bank. Israeli army shuts down six Hamas-affiliated associations in Nablus Ma’an News Agency 7/8/2008 Nablus – Ma’an - Israeli army closed six Hamas-affilated associations in Nablus on Tuesday, confiscating documents and equipment as part of an Israeli crackdown on Islamic charities in the West Bank. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an’s correspondent that more than 120 Israeli military vehicles stormed Nablus on Monday night and raided a number of Palestinian associations in the city. Israel claims the six associations have been financing the activities of "terrorist" organizations over the past two years. They are the Nafha Association for Prisoners’ Affairs, the Islamic Union Association, The Scientific Medical Association, the Yazur Association in the Balata refugee camp and the Al-Basmah Association at the the ’Askar refugee camp, as well as storming the Al-Huda mosque in the ’Askar refugee camp. Eyewitnesses confirmed that the Israeli army also stormed the Nablus. . . Ahrar appeals for releasing paraplegic prisoner Palestinian Information Center 7/8/2008 SALFIT, (PIC)-- The Ahrar center for prisoner studies appealed to all human rights organizations to necessarily pressure the IOA to release a Palestinian prisoner called Rabia Harb, 27, who is suffering from paraplegia as a result of being shot in his spine by IOF troops. The center said that the IOF troops in the Ramla prison hospital deliberately neglect Harb, where the only medical treatment they provide him is one tablet of Aspirin and a glass of water which led to the deterioration of his health. The center pointed out that there are more than 30 Palestinian prisoners in the Ramla prison hospital in extremely difficult health conditions. The Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli Nafha prison appealed through a leaked letter to human rights organizations and the Red Cross to save prisoner Yusri Al-Masri from getting blind. Families of Palestinian prisoners duped by con artists Ma’an News Agency 7/8/2008 Tulkarem – Ma’an – A spate of fraud and attempted fraud cases against the families of Palestinian prisoners has broken out in the Tulkarem district of the northern West Bank. In several cases, families reported anonymous callers claiming to have information about their imprisoned loved ones. In one case, the caller told a family that their son was on the list for a prisoner exchange with Israel. "Keep your cell phone on," the caller said. The families of the 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails are hoping that that their relatives will be released as a part of an upcoming prisoner deal between Israel and the Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah. Another prisoner swap involving the Hamas movement in Gaza is still pending. In another case, a man visited the family of a prisoner from the Tulkarem district claiming that he was a former prisoner. Convicted terrorist released from jail due to declining health Jack Khoury, Ha’aretz 7/8/2008 Israeli authorities on Tuesday released a security prisoner who was sentenced 23 years ago for his role in committing and planning numerous attacks against Israeli targets in the Golan Heights. Haaretz has learned that the prisoner, Sitao Eluli, was released due to his deteriorating health. In recent years, he has suffered from a serious illness. Upon his release from the Gilboa prison, he was transferred to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. Eluli is expected to return to his home village of Majdel Shams in the Golan Heights on Wednesday. Villagers are said to be planning a rousing welcome for Eluli, who will also pay a visit to the nearby villages of Mas’ada and Bukata. Eluli’s attorney, Majd Abu Salah, told Haaretz that his client’s release was strictly due to health reasons, and is in no way connected to the recent prisoner swap with Hezbollah. Abbas security kidnaps husband of MP Samira Al-Halaika Palestinian Information Center 7/7/2008 AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- The PLC presidency has condemned PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s security apparatuses in the West Bank for abducting the husband of MP Samira Al-Halaika in Al-Khalil city on Sunday. The PLC chairmanship in a statement said that the security apparatuses in the West Bank were persisting in human rights violations and in breaching Palestinian traditions in a way that harmonized with the Israeli occupation authority’s methods. It noted that those security elements on Sunday morning detained Sheikh Mohammed Zaitun Al-Halaika, the husband of the lawmaker, along with other citizens in Al-Khalil who also included a mayor. The PLC chairmanship held the security apparatuses fully responsible for the life of Halaika and other detainees, denouncing the way the director of the preventive security apparatus replied to the MP when she asked about what were the reasons for detaining her husband. Hebron: Israeli army kidnaps a civilian and continues to impose closure on the city Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/7/2008 The Israeli army kidnapped on Monday a civilian and conducted a series of attacks in different parts of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Security sources reported that the Israeli army kidnapped 26 year old Muhammad Atallah after he was stopped a checkpoint at near the city. The Palestinian Prisoners Society in the city of Hebron reported that now the number of men kidnapped from Hebron by the army in the past seven days stands at 10. On the other hand, the Israeli army continued to force closure on Hebron, and erected more checkpoints at crossroads, surrounding the city and surrounding villages. [end] Prisoner released after spending a third of his life in prison; family was separated for 22 years Palestine News Network 7/7/2008 Nablus / Amin Abu Wardeh - After a collection of arrests that have caused Palestinian Samer Shirab to spend a third of his life in prison, he was released from an Israeli prison this week. His family’s joy was bittersweet, however, as his two brothers, Amjad and Majdi, were arrested two weeks ago by Israeli forces. The family has been separated now for 22 years. As the family prepared to welcome Samer home, their arrest came as a surprise. Samer’s release from prison followed a seven-year period in jail. He had previously spent five and a half years in prison after being arrested in 1996, adding to his total time in jail. Samer was arrested for the first time during the first Intifada. He was taken from his home during the night and sentenced to five years, which he spent in the Megiddo Prison. He was released in the first year and then rearrested after six months, interrupting. . . Official PA paper: Israel poisoning prisoners Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 7/7/2008 In bid to increase Palestinian public pressure, official newspaper for Palestinian Authority reports of ’medical experiments’ being conducted by Israel on Arab, Palestinian prisoners. ’The Israeli occupation is killing prisoners through slow deaths,’ claims director general of prisoner affairs center at Al-Quds University - Incitement in the Palestinian media is far from rare, but with Israel on the cusp of a prisoner exchange deal with Hizbullah and the fate of a similar deal for Palestinian prisoners still far from being finalized - the Palestinian Authority’s official newspaper is trying to ratchet up the pressure. In a series of reports published in the ’al-Hayat al-Jadida’ newspaper Israel is accused of poisoning Palestinian prisoners in its custody and conducting "medical experiments’ on them. In a special report issued on Monday by ’Palestinian Media Watch,’. . . Paralyzed detainee facing slow death Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/8/2008 The Ahrar Center For Detainees Studies and Human Rights reported on Monday that detainee Rabee’ Harb, 27, is facing slow death in Israeli prisons, and voiced an urgent appeal for his immediete release in order to receive the needed medical treatement. The Center reported tha Harb was shot and injured by the Israeli forces, the injury caused paralysis. He was shot in his spine before he was kindapped by the army, and is currently at the Al Ramla prison hospital which lacks the fundemental equipment. The Center also stated that the health condition of Harb is gradually deteriorating as bullet fragments shattered his spine and also penetrated his kidney and other bullet fragments shatterd his bowels. He is currenty isolated at the ospital as he also suffers from a viral infection. Fuad Al Khuffash, a researcher and the head of the Ahrar Center, stated that Harb is not receiivng. . . Detainee freed after speding more than one-third of his life in detention Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/8/2008 Palestinian detranee Samer Shirab, was release from an Israeli detentio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
