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| Palestine Diaries |
| courtesy The Electronic Intifada |
| Human Rights |
| courtesy The Electronic Intifada |
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Vermonters
for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel |
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| Prisoners index page |
The
Treatment of Prisoners and Detainees by Israel and Others
Prisoners Archive - June 2005
Actors
at an Israeli court demonstrate Israel’s torture methods used against Palestinian
detainees as described by witnesses. Source: Miftah
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IOF Sentences 11 to Prison, Destroys 3 Houses in Hebron WAFA 6/30/2005 HEBRON, June 30, 2005 (WAFA)- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) sentenced 11 citizens to varied imprisonment terms and demolished three houses in the West Bank, security sources said. The Salem Israeli military court sentenced 11 citizens from the West Bank to imprisonment terms ranging between 5 to 32 months in prison as well as inflated fines. Meanwhile, IOF bulldozers knocked down three houses in the Hebron City, witnesses said. They revealed that Israeli bulldozers, escorted by IOF, stormed several key neighbourhoods in the city and destroyed three houses with their furniture inside. Female detainees, abuse and humiliation International Middle East Media Center 6/30/2005 Lawyer of the Palestinian Supporters Society, Sana’ Harbawi, said that female detainees in Israeli prisons are facing inhuman treatment, humiliation and abuse. “The detainees are repeatedly searched by the soldiers in provocative ways, and deprived of their visitation rights, yet are facing very tough living conditions”, Harbawi said. Female detainees in Hasharon detention are facing the worst conditions, Harabwi stated, and added that they are suffering from bad health conditions, reflecting negative effects on their physiological health. Harbawi met with detainees Ekram al-Tawil, Hiba Yaghmour, Amna Mona, Qahira al-Sa’adi, Amal Jom’a, Taghreed al-Sa’adi, and Manal Ghanim. Campaign in Solidarity with Manal and Nour Addameer 6/30/2005 Addameer association along with the family of Manal and Nour Ghanem have launched a campaign to demand the Israeli government immediately release Manal Naji Mahmoud Ghanem (29) and her son Nour (1.5) who were arrested on the 17th of April, 2003, and are currently being held in Tilmond Central Prison. Manal (who suffers from thalassemia) and her son, Nour, who was born away from his family, need special medical treatment not provided by the Israeli Prison Services. While she was pregnant, Manal received no special medical treatment during her arrest and interrogation. After delivering Nour, both were sent immediately to the prison...Nour is given no special exceptions to other prisoners. His outside breaks are not extended, and toys and other items for children are not allowed into the prison when his family attempts to deliver them. Solitary confinement; one of the main violations against the detainees International Middle East Media Center 6/30/2005 Solitary confinement in one of the main violations carried out by Israeli prison authorities against Palestinian detainees, according to Ahmad Bikawi, head of the media department at the Prisoners Supporters Society. Ever since the Israeli army occupied the Palestinian territories in1967, Bikawi said, it has used arrests as a means of collective punishment and maintaining control over the people and the land. Altogether, he said, Israel has arrested more than half a million residents. Thousands of them spent more than ten years in detention, and some have been in detention more than twenty or twenty-five years. Most of the cells in which Palestinian prisoners are confined measure only 2 by 1.5 meters, he said. Egypt defendant withdraws claims BBC 6/30/2005 A co-defendant in the trial of Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour has withdrawn his testimony, saying his confession had been forced out of him. Ayman Ismail said security agents had threatened to harm his family if he did not testify against the politician. Mr Nour denies forging signatures to register his party and says the charges are politically motivated. He wants to challenge incumbent Hosni Mubarak in the first multi-candidate presidential elections, in September. If convicted, he would lose his right to take part and could face up to 15 years in prison. Hussam Khaddar to Defend Himself in Salem Military Court International Press Center 6/29/2005 Palestine. June 29, 2005 (IPC) --- Since he was arrested on March 17, 2003, Hussam Khader, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Parliament (PLC), he will be allowed today to defend himself in the Israeli Military Court of Salem for the first time after already held 14 trial hearings. On his turn Tayseer Nasrallah, coordinator of the Popular Committee In Solidarity With PLC Member Hussam Khader and Palestinian Prisoners, said today that Hussam Khaddar fiercely rejects all charges raised by court against him affirming that they are meant only to silence him and to alienate him from the Palestinian people at this critical stage of its history. Prisoners in Beer Shiva Prison Suffer Cruel Conditions WAFA 6/29/2005 RAMALLAH, June 29, 2005 (WAFA)- Ministry of Prisoners'' Affairs (MPA) said the 456 prisoners in Beer Shiva prison live very cruel prison conditions. MPA''s advocate, Sherine Esawi, who visited the prison, said there is a grave medical negligence which may endanger the lives of the prisoners. She added that prisoners are prevented from performing their religious rituals, adding that the jail authority rarely allows the prisoners to perform collective prayers. Mazuz: No privileges for pullout prisoners Ha''aretz 6/29/2005 Anti-disengagement protesters will no longer enjoy privileged conditions when arrested, but will be treated like every other detainee, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decided Wednesday. Until now, right-wing activists arrested for blocking roads have enjoyed special conditions at Ma''asiyahu Prison, including the right to talk on their cell phones and six hours of outdoor exercise rather than the usual one. But the Prisons Service asked Mazuz for permission to treat the demonstrators just like other detainees, and he agreed. Mazuz announced the decision at a meeting with leaders of the Yesha Council of settlements Wednesday night. Six detainees receive high consecutive terms International Middle East Media Center 6/29/2005 Ofer Israeli military court sentenced six detainees from Hebron to consecutive terms. The WAFA news agency reported that the court sentenced Anas Kamal Masalma, Waleed Masalma, and Mahmoud Maslama to one life term each. Also, the court sentenced Rateb abdul-Latif Al-Hreibat, And Mohammad Jebril abu Saleh, to 22 consecutive years each; the five residents were arrested three years ago. Detainee Sidqi Hamid al-Zour, 45, was sentenced to 30 consecutive years. [end] Report: 90% of Palestinian detainees were Tortured International Middle East Media Center 6/25/2005 The Palestinian Prisoners Society published Friday a report, saying that 90% of the Palestinian prisoners were tortured in Israeli prisons, and that interrogators are using “New and inhuman methods” against them. June 26th marks the International Day Against Torture, yet it passes while the Palestinian people undergo wide-scaled arrests, and continuous violations in Israeli prisons, and in the Palestinian territories. “Army violence against the Palestinian detainees is not new or unique to the current Intifada.What is unique though is the increase in the numbers and forms of abuse.Torture has exceeded being limited to severe treatment, physical and psychological pressure in interrogation cells, to threats of rape to force the detainees to admit the charges against them or to provide information about residents”, the PPS reported. Owdedh''s Family Requests an Inquiry to Fathom the Puzzling Death of their Son International Press Center 6/28/2005 GAZA, Palestine, June28,2005 (IPC+WAFA)---The family of the detainee Aref Bani Owdeh, 26, from Tobass province of the West Bank requested to interrogate the death of their son, who was found dead in Galboa detention Thursday dawn, in mysterious circumstances. In a statement circulated by the El Asara Information Center asserted that their son was in good health and has no physical problems. The family said that Owdeh had been with his cronies in the prison at 12:00 PM before he was going to sleep and nearly at 4:00 am the detainees woke up for dawn prayers and attempted to wake Owdeh up to attend the prayers, but found him unmoving and not breathing. PPS appeals for release of sick detainee International Middle East Media Center 6/28/2005 The Palestinian Prisoners'' Society appealed today to local and international humanitarian organizations to pressure Israeli authorities to release a sick detainee in Israel''s al-Damoun Prison. The society reported that detainee Mohammad Mustafa Suleiman Jarrar suffers from continuous headaches and repeatedly loses consciousness, and that his condition is deteriorating. Prison administrators have refused to provide him with medical care. The society also asked the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders to visit al-Damoun Prison to examine Jarrar and several other ailing detainees who have been denied treatment and medication. Israel says sorry over spying case The Guardian 6/27/2005 Full diplomatic relations have been restored between New Zealand and Israel after Israel apologised over the activities of two alleged spies. Two men said by New Zealand to be Israeli agents were sentenced last year to six months in prison after pleading guilty to attempting to obtain a New Zealand passport illegally. They were released and deported after serving about two months. New Zealand''s prime minister, Helen Clark, demanded a public apology from Israel and a commitment to prevent another such breach of her country''s laws. She also imposed diplomatic sanctions on Israel from July 2004, including halting the approval of a new Israeli ambassador. Palestinian Government, Non-Government Institutions Call to Abolish all Forms of Torture International Press Center 6/26/2005 GAZA, Palestine, June 26, 2005 (IPC) - - Several Palestinian government institutions and civil society associations joined efforts and declared a campaign on all forms of torture, in a workshop marking the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, which coincides June 26 of each year. Organized by the Ministry of Prisoners and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Prisoners and Ex-Detainees Association (Hossam), several Palestinian psychological, legal and security professionals gathered to discuss the achievements made in rehabilitating victims of torture. Haaretz daily: Israeli integrators entertain Torturing Palestinian detainees International Press Center 6/27/2005 GAZA, Palestine, June 27,205 (IPC+Agencies) -- The Israelis daily disclosed Saturday 178 Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails were tortured in various means leading to their fatal death. "Each Palestinian is an enemy and the causes of such inhume behaviors with the prisoners stem from a feeling of the warder and the interrogator he will not be held accountable for his wrongdoings and he will be backed by his comrades and superiors," the daily reported. The report asserted that the Israeli military and security establishment ruled down the live of the Palestinian prisoners at the lowest level, to the extent that some soldiers said that their cats of humiliating and callous repression against the prisoners is just only for entertainment. Palestinian Civil Retrials Said to Be ‘Insufficient’ Palestine Media Center 6/26/2005 Attorneys and Judges Launch Protests, Seek Protection -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday ordered civil retrials for 35 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to death by state security courts, in a step that was welcomed but criticized as “insufficient” by human rights watchdogs, amid calls for abolishing the death penalty and growing demands for judiciary reforms. Abbas ordered the retrials in a letter sent to Justice Minister Farid al-Jallad so that Palestinian prisoners put on death row by the former military-style courts are granted “fair and transparent” trials, Abbas’ office said....The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) welcomed the decision, but called “for removing the death penalty, which is a cruel inhumane punishment that violates the right to life, from Palestinian legislation.” Palestinian teen jailed for 8 years over attempted suicide mission Ha''aretz 6/28/2005 Hussam Abdu, the Palestinian youth who was captured while wearing an explosives belt at a military checkpoint more than a year ago, was sentenced to 8 and a half years in prison yesterday. He also received an 18-month suspended sentence. Abdu, who was 16 at the time of his arrest, was sent by Fatah''s military wing to carry out a suicide bombing at the Hawara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, his hometown. He aroused the suspicion of soldiers at the checkpoint, who captured him before he could detonate the explosives. Annan pledges to fight violence and torture Daily Star 6/27/2005 Amnesty lashes out at U.S. government''s ''war on terror'' -- BEIRUT: On the occasion of the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, which falls on June 26, UN chief Kofi Annan pledged to fight violence and torture and to exert all necessary efforts in order to promote justice and equality in the world. In a statement, Annan said: "On this day, we stress our willingness and determination to save our world from torture." "Eradicating violence and torture is considered as the United Nations'' major target," he added. Peru Probing Israeli Prisoner''s Release Forward 6/24/2005 LIMA, Peru — A congressional committee here has begun investigating the reason that the government recently granted early release to the daughter of a prominent Israeli diplomat, less than two years after she was caught trying to smuggle cocaine from Peru to Holland. Alcides Chamorro, chairman of the Justice Committee, told the Forward on Tuesday that he wants to determine whether political favoritism prompted the government to free 20-year-old Lee Heifetz in April, before she had completed even half of her prison sentence. Chamorro''s committee will hear testimony next Monday from the justice minister and the five members of the parole board who recommended Heifetz''s release. President Alejandro Toledo, who is often accused of being too close to Israel, gave final approval. [See related article.] Italy orders arrests over CIA-linked abduction of Egyptian imam Daily Star 6/25/2005 ROME: An Italian judge has ordered the arrests of 13 people in the purported CIA abduction from Milan of an imam who was sent to Egypt, the Milan prosecutor''s office said. The imam was believed to have been taken as part of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. The 13 are suspected of seizing Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, known as Abu Omar, from a Milan street on February 17, 2003, and sending him to Egypt where he was reportedly tortured, said Milan prosecutor Manlio Claudio Minale. The U.S. Embassy in Rome and the CIA in Washington declined to comment. Vanunu Appeals to Have Letters Returned San Francisco Chronicle 6/23/2005 Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu asked the Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday to order the country''s Shin Bet security service to return confiscated letters he wrote in prison. The letters contain only descriptions of prison life and his philosophical musings, Vanunu told reporters outside the courtroom. Vanunu was released from prison last year after serving an 18-year term for treason after spilling Israel''s nuclear secrets in a 1986 interview with a British newspaper. Vanunu is a former technician at the country''s nuclear research site in the southern desert town of Dimona. IBA Criticizes Israeli Policy against Palestinian Prisoners WAFA 6/23/2005 KUFR KANNA, June 23, 2005, (WAFA)- The Israel Bar Association (IBA) affirmed the suffer of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails. In an unprecedented official report the Association defeats the IBA official lies and claims on the well deal with Palestinian prisoners. The report revealed that the Palestinian prisoners in 43 Israeli prisons live in inhuman conditions. It talks about, for instance, Al-Maskobia prison, each 8 prisoners live in one room among rats and insects. It affirms that the prisoners are provided with rotten food and suffer lack of water, soap. Quartet Meets in London; Erakat Urges it to Compel Israel to Fulfill its Obligations International Press Center 6/23/2005 PALESTINE, June 23, 2005 (IPC+Agencies) ---On the eve of the Quartet meeting, Dr. Saa''b Erakat, the chief Negotiator urged the Quartet to press on Israel to implement its commitments particularly the release of the political prisoners in the Israeli jails. Erekat said he demanded the Quartet representatives at the Palestinian National Authority in a meeting in Jericho "a swift intervention to bow Israeli government to fulfill its obligations regarding the release of the prisoners aside of any criteria." The Middle East Quartet (Russia, the EU, U.S., and the UN), cosponsor the Road Map peace plan, will gather today Thursday in the British capital to assess US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice tour in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. A prisoner Dies and Another blinded due to Torture in Israeli Jails International Press Center 6/23/2005 GAZA, Palestine, June 23, 2005 (IPC) ---Brutal torture of the Palestinian political prisoners in the Israeli jails resulted in killing of a detainee while another lost his sight. The detainee Aref Bani Owdeh, 26, from Jenin, was found dead in Galboa detention Thursday dawn, in mysterious Circumstances. The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) reported that the detainees woke up for dawn prayers at 5:00 am, and attempted to wake Odeh up to attend the prayers, but found him unmoving and not breathing. Medics at the detention were called and announced him dead. Mazuz urged to forgo Omri Sharon plea deal Ha''aretz 6/24/2005 The Movement for Quality Government in Israel has called on Attorney General Menachem Mazuz not to enter into a plea bargain with MK Omri Sharon (Likud), in which the serious charges would be expunged from the indictment. At a hearing on Wednesday, Sharon''s lawyer, Dan Sheinman, proposed to Mazuz that the government drop the fraud charges, which carry a prison sentence of up to seven years, and make do with the lesser charges against the Parties Law, which carry monetary fines. US ''stalling UN Guantanamo visit'' BBC 6/23/2005 Investigators from the United Nations have accused the US of stalling over their repeated requests to visit detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The UN says it has evidence that torture has taken at the prison amid reports that 520 inmates have had mental breakdowns. The UN said for over a year there had been no response to its requests to check on the condition of detainees. The Department of Defense told BBC News the UN request is being considered. "As for the request to visit with detainees, the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] already performs this important role," a statement said. Detainees to go on hunger strike June 21 International Middle East Media Center 6/18/2005 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons decided to conduct an open ended hunger strike on Tuesday June 21 which is the date of the scheduled Sharon-Abbas meeting. The detainees demand considering their release as an important part of any political solution, without postponing or labeling it, as the Israeli government is trying to force its own labels on thisissue. The Palestinian Prisoners Society, PPS, reported that the detainees demand a timetable for their release, and that Israel should start releasing the detainees who were arrested prior 1994, child detainees, women, sick, and female detainees. Also, the detainees called for nationwide activities in solidarity with them to demand the PA negotiators to prioritize their cause. Detainee blinded during interrogation International Middle East Media Center 6/22/2005 Lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Fahmi Shqeirat, reported that detainee Salama Mohammad Rashaida, 30, from Bethlehem, lost his sight as a result of torture in Asqalan detention. Shqeirat stated that the detainee was recently repeatedly interrogated for 40 hours each time, until he body collapsed and lost his sight. In spite of his shouts and screams that he lost his sight, soldiers accused him of lying and placed him in a small dark cell. So far, prison administration is rejecting to enable a doctor examine Rashaida. Rashaida was arrested on May 7, 2005, when soldiers broke into his home after firing rounds of live ammunition at it, causing damage. Dashed hopes at Jerusalem summit BBC 6/22/2005 The first talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in over four months were high on security. Jerusalem''s streets were brought to a standstill, as the roads were cleared for the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas....The Palestinians told the Israelis that they want freedom of movement in and out of Gaza. They want air and sea ports re-opened. They also want Israel to release their prisoners. And they want key Palestinian towns handed back to their control. Israel said that was fine, but first all Palestinian attacks against Israel must stop. And the devil is in that little word "all". Many analysts will tell you that Israel is placing unrealistic conditions on the Palestinian leadership. Abbas-Sharon Summit Marred by Arrests, Hunger Strike Islam Online 6/21/2005 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, June 21, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon met in West Jerusalem on Tuesday, June 21, against a backdrop of massive Israeli arrests of Islamic Jihad members and a hunger strike by thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails....To bring their ordeal to the limelight, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails went on hunger strike Tuesday. The largest Palestinian detainees'' rights group, the Prisoners Club, said practically all 8,000 Palestinian detainees were following the order to refuse food. “This strike is intended to remind Abu Mazen (Abbas) of the prisoners'' cause and ask him to insist on a clear timetable for their release,” said Issa Qaraqaeh, director of the Bethlehem-based Prisoners Club. Mayor''s Administrative Detention in Israeli Prisons Renewed WAFA 6/22/2005 KHANYOUNIS, June 22, 2005, (WAFA)- Head Union of Palestinian Local Municipalities, Usama al-Farra condemned the renewal of administrative detention against Mayor of Qalqiliya for the seventh time running. In a statement on Tuesday, al-Farra said that the renewal detention of the mayor,Wajeeh Qawwas is a clear message to the world institutions and bodies to reveal that detention will continue even if the prisoner is an official and officially elected. The political level in Israel is concerned in foiling the democratically process of the Palestinian people and undermine the efforts of the state of calm that is based on releasing all prisoners", al-Farra concluded. Blind Prisoner Turns Israeli Prison into School and Struggle Domain WAFA 6/21/2005 NEGEV, June 21, 2005, (WAFA) - The prisoner Ezz el-Din Amarna, 33, a citizen from Ya''bad town of the West Bank city of Jenin, starts his early morning in "Majedo" Israeli prison with some physical practices shortly before assuming his mission of teaching History and Arabic to other prisoners. Amarna is blind since birth and married with five children, yet his blindness did not deter him from fiercely resisting the Israeli occupation. Amarna has been arrested since 2001 where his skills sparkled to the extent that he got to be a spokesman for the other prisoners. Majedo authority feared such a sight which is mingled with education, sweet voice and a charisma. Far right anti-pullout plot foiled YNetNews 6/21/2005 Nine youngsters who planned to sabotage phone, bank infrastructure in southern town of Be’er Sheva detained; meanwhile, activists resort to original protest in Tel Aviv -- TEL AVIV – Anti-pullout efforts go up a notch: Nine young far right activists were detained early Tuesday in the southern town of Be’er Sheva on suspicion of planning to sabotage phone, bank, and government office infrastructure in the city. Most of those arrested are settlers from Gaza and the southern West Bank. However, one detainee is a 14-year-old boy from the Golan Heights. The activists were arrested in possession of anti-disengagement propaganda materials. US Moral Authority in ''Free Fall,'' Senators Warn Antiwar.com 6/21/2005 As Amnesty International urged the George W. Bush administration to "close Guantánamo and disclose the situation in the USA''s shadowy network of detention centers around the globe," a subsidiary of Halliburton, the oil services group once led by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, won a $30 million contract to help build a new permanent prison for terror suspects at the U.S. Navy''s controversial detention center in Cuba....Several senators said U.S. detention policies are undermining the nation''s moral authority and inflaming the Islamic world. The situation "is an international embarrassment to our nation and to our ideals, and it remains a festering threat to our security," said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the Judiciary Committee''s top Democrat. Two die in fresh Mid-East clashes BBC 6/20/2005 Israel says Palestinian gunmen have shot dead an Israeli and wounded another in the West Bank. Hours later, Palestinian sources said Israeli troops killed an unarmed teenager in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said a Palestinian woman carrying hidden explosives on her body attempted to blow up Gaza''s main crossing point. It comes a day before the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are due to meet to discuss Israel''s withdrawal from Gaza. An Israeli army spokesman said the Israelis were in a car that was ambushed near the Jewish settlement of Hermesh in the West Bank. The militant Islamic Jihad group said it carried out the attack to retaliate for what it called the desecration of the Koran at a prison in Israel. Two die in fresh Mid-East clashes BBC 6/20/2005 Israel says Palestinian gunmen have shot dead an Israeli and wounded another in the West Bank. Hours later, Palestinian sources said Israeli troops killed an unarmed teenager in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said a Palestinian woman carrying hidden explosives on her body attempted to blow up Gaza''s main crossing point. It comes a day before the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are due to meet to discuss Israel''s withdrawal from Gaza. An Israeli army spokesman said the Israelis were in a car that was ambushed near the Jewish settlement of Hermesh in the West Bank. The militant Islamic Jihad group said it carried out the attack to retaliate for what it called the desecration of the Koran at a prison in Israel. Israel carries out West Bank arrests AlJazeera 6/21/2005 Israel has arrested more than 50 Palestinians in an apparent turnaround on its pledge to show restraint during the ceasefire. The arrests of the 52 Islamic Jihad activists clouded an already troubled meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem on Tuesday. The detainees include teachers, shopkeepers, workers and students with most of them having no connection to the resistance arm of the group, known as Saraya al-Quds (Jerusalem Bands). Nearly half of the arrests were carried out on Monday night and Tuesday morning in the Hebron and Bethlehem regions. The Israeli army described the move as a fresh crackdown in response to the recent deaths of two Israelis, a soldier and a settler, for which Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. Israel carries out West Bank arrests AlJazeera 6/21/2005 Israel has arrested more than 50 Palestinians in an apparent turnaround on its pledge to show restraint during the ceasefire. The arrests of the 52 Islamic Jihad activists clouded an already troubled meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem on Tuesday. The detainees include teachers, shopkeepers, workers and students with most of them having no connection to the resistance arm of the group, known as Saraya al-Quds (Jerusalem Bands). Nearly half of the arrests were carried out on Monday night and Tuesday morning in the Hebron and Bethlehem regions. The Israeli army described the move as a fresh crackdown in response to the recent deaths of two Israelis, a soldier and a settler, for which Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. Free Adnan Abdallah! Electronic Intifada 6/19/2005 I am writing to share with you the story of my friend Adnan, who has not been released from his administrative detention in Ketziot. Only a few of the 420 Palestinian prisoners recently released (mandated by the recent Sharm al Sheikh agreement between Mahmoud Abbas and Ariel Sharon) numbered among the nearly 700 prisoners currently serving administrative detention orders. Adnan Na’im ‘Abdallah, age 31, is married without children and has been held in detention without charge or trial by the Israeli army for two and a half years....Adnan was detained because a collaborator with the Israeli Security Forces claimed that Adnan gave him "military training." Adnan denies any involvement in this kind of activity and asks for a fair trial. Free Adnan Abdallah! Electronic Intifada 6/19/2005 I am writing to share with you the story of my friend Adnan, who has not been released from his administrative detention in Ketziot. Only a few of the 420 Palestinian prisoners recently released (mandated by the recent Sharm al Sheikh agreement between Mahmoud Abbas and Ariel Sharon) numbered among the nearly 700 prisoners currently serving administrative detention orders. Adnan Na’im ‘Abdallah, age 31, is married without children and has been held in detention without charge or trial by the Israeli army for two and a half years....Adnan was detained because a collaborator with the Israeli Security Forces claimed that Adnan gave him "military training." Adnan denies any involvement in this kind of activity and asks for a fair trial. Sharon and Abbas summit fails to make progress Daily Star 6/22/2005 Gloom descends as Jerusalem meeting leaves major issues unresolved -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas failed to make progress at a summit toward resolving issues crucial to a smooth Israeli pullout from Gaza and peacemaking. "We agreed during the meeting on full coordination of our departure from Gaza. A coordinated move will ensure a peaceful exit, something that is best for both sides," Sharon said....Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qorei, who also attended the talks at Sharon''s Jerusalem residence, said: "It was a difficult meeting and it did not meet our expectations." Speaking to reporters, he said: "There were no positive answers to the issues we raised," Qorei said, mentioning the reopening of Gaza''s airport, further releases of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank. PAS: Prisoners in Ashkelon Live in Bad Conditions WAFA 6/16/2005 RAMALLAH, June 16,2005, (WAFA)- Prisoners'' Advocate Society(PAS) affirmed today that Prisoners in Ashkelon Israeli prison live in bad conditions. In a statement, PAS revealed that Israeli prison administration continues its organized policy against prisoners, it assaults and prevents them from the basic needs and medical care. PAS added that 405 female prisoners in different Israeli jails, are suffering daily ill-treatment. Prisoners'' lawer, Sana Jarbawi said that the conditions of the prisoners is entirely deteriorated and the prison''s administration procrastinates providing medical care for the sick, though they are abused and harassed. [end] PAHC Calls for Activities in Support of Palestinian Prisoners WAFA 6/15/2005 RAMALLAH, June 15, 2005, (WAFA)- Prisoners'' Affairs High Committee (PAHC) said that public rallies and activities will be launched on coming Monday, in support and solidarity with prisoners in Israeli prisons. PAHC revealed that the activities due to start from al-Manara square in Ramallah where by a sit in tent erected until Tuesday. The purpose of these activities is to reactivate the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and a strong call for unconditionally releasing them and not just for an"Israeli gesture" and "criteria", PAHC said. [end] MPA: 8200 Prisoners in Israeli Prisons WAFA 6/15/2005 GAZA, June 15, 2005 (WAFA)- Ministry of Prisoners'' Affairs (MPA) revealed Wednesday that a total of 8200 prisoners are behind israeli jail bars. In a statistical report, the Ministry said that 615 prisoners were arrestd before al-Aqsa Intifada, adding that more than 350 female prisoners were arrested during the current Intifada, of whom 123 are in jail. The report revealed that 57 female prisoners were arrested during the last year, while 8 female prisoners were arretsed this year. At Gitmo, still no day in court Newsday 6/15/2005 How feds avoid hearings for terror suspects — despite Supreme Court ruling-- One year ago, the Supreme Court told the Bush administration that in America, even detainees swept up in the war on terror and held at the military''s Guantanamo Bay prison camp were entitled to a day in court to contest their imprisonment. Faruq Ali Ahmed is still waiting. A young Yemeni picked up in Pakistan in 2001, he has been held since then despite his insistence that he was doing nothing but teaching the Quran to children when war broke out. He is detained in part on the basis of accusations from a camp snitch who a military officer has denounced as a liar. Daughter of Israeli ambassador to U.K. freed from Peruvian jail after 18 months Ha''aretz 6/16/2005 Lee Heifetz, daughter of Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdon Zvi Heifetz, was released last month from a Peruvian jail, where she was serving time after being convicted on drug smuggling charges. n total, Heifetz served 18 months out of a sentence of six years and eight months. Her sentence was commuted by Peru''s president Alejandro Toledo, with the approval of the prison parole board....When Lee was first arrested, her father asked Haaretz to refrain from publicizing the fact, saying it would disrupt his efforts to secure her release. The paper in fact sat on the story for several months, and it was during this period that Heifetz was named ambassador to London. Detainee tells a horrific story of torture International Middle East Media Center 6/13/2005 Detainee Riyadh Dakh-Allah al-Omour, from Bethlehem, told lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Fawwaz al-Shalloudy, details of extreme torture he was subjected to in Bir Shiva prison, in spite of his bad medical condition. Al-Omour suffers from heart problems, and went through a medical operation before his arrest; doctors implanted a device in his heart to organize his heartbeats. The day of arrest: On 7/5/2002, al-Amour was arrested and transferred to Atzion detention, near Bethlehem. After his arrest on May 7, 2002, he was badly beaten in Gush Etzion facility –South of Bethlehem, as a result, according to the testimony one of the wires of the device came out of his body. This did not stop the soldiers... Israel Releases 2 Jewish Killers WAFA 6/13/2005 GAZA, June 13, 2005, (WAFA)-Israeli government released yesterday two Jewish killers who tried to blast a car close to an elementary school in al-Tor neighbourhood in Jerusalem in 2003. The daily al-Hayat al-Jadida reported today that the two released of the "Road Defense Committee Organization", Yitshak Baz and Metti Shavo, "whose hands are spoiled with Palestinian bloods", served only 2 years in prison. The two killers were arrested in April, 2003 when they tried to blow up a car before an elementary schoolboys in Jerusalem. P.A source: “Army rearrested dozens of freed detainees” International Middle East Media Center 6/14/2005 A senior Palestinian source reported on Tuesday that the Israeli army rearrested dozens of freed detainees, and placed them an Al-Maskobiyya, and Betah Tikva detentions. The source stated that the arrested residents were freed after Israel and the P.A arrived to the Sharm al-Sheikh understandings in February 8, 2005. The Israeli security reopened the files of the freed detainees, and detained dozens of them in order to prosecute them in military courts or transfer them to administrative detention without trial, the source added. The Palestinian minister of interior, Nassr Yousef, said that the P.A discussed this issue with the Israel side, and demanded Israel to be committed to its obligations and the arrived agreements. Bishop Younan Decries Heinous Israeli Violation against Holy Quran WAFA 6/14/2005 JERUSALEM, June 14, 2005, (WAFA) - Bishop Muneeb Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem decried Monday the heinous violations committed against copies of the holy Quran in US prison of Gwantanamo and Israeli prisons of Majeddo and Nafha. WAFA quoted Younan as saying "I have to respect all religions, holy books and places as a red line that has not to be surpassed. We, as a Palestinian church, completely denounce such an atrocious act". Younan also called on the official authorities to take the deterring measures against those who violate the religion. Israeli-Palestinian committee on Gaza meets for first time ReliefWeb 6/14/2005 JERUSALEM, June 14 (AFP) - A joint Israeli-Palestinian committee set up to coordinate Israel''s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip met for the first time Tuesday, Israel television reported. Israel''s army deputy chief of staff Moshe Kaplinsky and Palestinian deputy interior minister Jamal Abu Zeid were to discuss implementation of the plan to withdraw all Israeli troops and over 8,000 Jewish settlers from Gaza starting in mid-August. "The Palestinians will make every effort to limit (anti-Israeli) firing," Palestinian prisoners minister Sufian Abu Zaydeh told public television, referring to Israeli fears that militant groups will launch attacks during the pullout. Boim: PM should mull delaying Abbas summit over Jihad men Ha''aretz 6/12/2005 Deputy Defense Minister Ze''ev Boim, voicing strong Israeli opposition to the release of Islamic Jihad prisoners by the Palestinian Authority, said Sunday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should consider suspending his scheduled June 21 Jerusalem summit with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Over the weekend, the PA released four Islamic Jihad activists involved in the February 25 suicide bombing at Tel Aviv''s Stage nightclub. Five people were killed and about 50 wounded in the terror attack, which was the first since the February 8 Sharm el-Sheikh summit in which Israel and the PA called an end to violence. Police chief orders probe into death of Palestinian detainee in north Ha''aretz 6/15/2005 A police chief in the north has ordered an internal investigation into the death of a Palestinian detainee at a Rosh Pina police station four days ago, Israel Radio reported late Tuesday. According to the report, Brigadier General Danny Hadad has appointed an officer to investigate the Palestinian''s death. Police said border policemen had brought the man, Ali Abu-Rob, to the station for interrogation. After a few hours, policemen found his body hanging from a tattered blanket. The officers say they believe Abu-Rob committed suicide. U.S. judge gives Lebanese man four years for aiding Hezbollah Ha''aretz 6/15/2005 DETROIT - A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced an illegal immigrant from Lebanon to four years and six months in prison for conspiring to raise money for a Hezbollah, a leading Lebanese Shi''ite Muslim group the U.S. government classifies as a terrorist organization. Mahmoud Youssef Kourani, 34, pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to support a terrorist organization. He faced up to 15 years in prison but a plea deal called for him to receive no more than five years. Kourani was accused of hosting Hezbollah fund-raising meetings at his home in Dearborn during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in 2002, at which a Hezbollah representative spoke. Deprived even from Sunlight International Middle East Media Center 6/8/2005 Palestinian detainees are facing deteriorating conditions and harsh treatment by Israeli soldiers in detention camps and prisons, which became a policy prison administration is using to humiliate them. Lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Raed Mahameed, said that female detainees in Israeli prisons and detention facilities are facing deteriorating conditions, repeated incidents of humiliation and abuse. Detainee Majeda Fidda, an administrative detainee from the northern West Bank city of Nablus, said that prison administration and soldiers in Telmond detention for women have been implementing ‘laws’ which aim to humiliate and abuse them under different claims and categories. Deprived even from Sunlight International Middle East Media Center 6/8/2005 Palestinian detainees are facing deteriorating conditions and harsh treatment by Israeli soldiers in detention camps and prisons, which became a policy prison administration is using to humiliate them. Lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Raed Mahameed, said that female detainees in Israeli prisons and detention facilities are facing deteriorating conditions, repeated incidents of humiliation and abuse. Detainee Majeda Fidda, an administrative detainee from the northern West Bank city of Nablus, said that prison administration and soldiers in Telmond detention for women have been implementing ‘laws’ which aim to humiliate and abuse them under different claims and categories. PA frees two Jihad men jailed over TA bombing Ha''aretz 6/11/2005 The Palestinian Authority has freed two of nine Islamic Jihad militants jailed over February''s suicide bombing at the Stage nightclub in Tel Aviv, security sources said Friday. Sadiq Odeh and Jasser Kob were released from a prison in Jericho on Thursday and two more were expected to be let out Saturday, based on a deal that they remain within the West Bank city, the sources said. A Palestinian security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the men were released after a committee formed by Interior Minister Nasser Yousef reviewed their files and decided they had not been involved in the attack. The committee might release more of the prisoners in the coming days, the official said. PA frees two Jihad men jailed over TA bombing Ha''aretz 6/11/2005 The Palestinian Authority has freed two of nine Islamic Jihad militants jailed over February''s suicide bombing at the Stage nightclub in Tel Aviv, security sources said Friday. Sadiq Odeh and Jasser Kob were released from a prison in Jericho on Thursday and two more were expected to be let out Saturday, based on a deal that they remain within the West Bank city, the sources said. A Palestinian security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the men were released after a committee formed by Interior Minister Nasser Yousef reviewed their files and decided they had not been involved in the attack. The committee might release more of the prisoners in the coming days, the official said. Jerusalem mufti condemns Israeli ''abuse of Koran'' Daily Star 6/11/2005 The mufti of Jerusalem added his voice to allegations that copies of the Koran had been abused in an Israeli prison as hundreds of Palestinians staged protests in the Occupied Territories and Lebanon. "The occupation authorities have followed the American example in profaning the holy Koran," Sheikh Ekremah Sabri told worshippers attending the weekly prayers at Jerusalem''s flash point Al-Aqsa Mosque. "The media have reported the abuse committed by the jailers and the police who tore up copies of the Koran in front of the heroic detainees at Meggido prison to provoke and humiliate them, and we have corroborated this information," he added. Jerusalem mufti condemns Israeli ''abuse of Koran'' Daily Star 6/11/2005 The mufti of Jerusalem added his voice to allegations that copies of the Koran had been abused in an Israeli prison as hundreds of Palestinians staged protests in the Occupied Territories and Lebanon. "The occupation authorities have followed the American example in profaning the holy Koran," Sheikh Ekremah Sabri told worshippers attending the weekly prayers at Jerusalem''s flash point Al-Aqsa Mosque. "The media have reported the abuse committed by the jailers and the police who tore up copies of the Koran in front of the heroic detainees at Meggido prison to provoke and humiliate them, and we have corroborated this information," he added. Prison service chief says Koran abuse was unintentional Ha''aretz 6/9/2005 Israel Prison Service Commissioner Lieutenant General Ya''akov Ganot on Thursday rejected accusations that earlier this week Megiddo prison guards had torn pages of the Koran during a search, adding that none of the jailers had were involved. According to the commissioner a member of the security forces on visit to the jail had caused damage to the Islamic holy book, but it was not done malvelonetly. Ganot made the comments when meeting with the deputy head of the Islamic Movement Sheik Camal Hatab outside the Megiddo Prison during a protest organized by the movement. The allegations sparked fury among Palestinians, and nearly 900 prisoners at the jail were refusing food after calling a day-long fast to protest. Amidst Angry Reactions: "Majeddo" Prisoners on Hunger Strike Following Desecration of Holy Quran International Press Center 6/8/2005 GAZA, June 8, 2005 (IPC + WAFA) - - The prisoners of the Israeli "Majeddo" jail declared that they would go on an open hunger strike to protest the desecration of copies of the holy Quran by Israeli wardens on Tuesday, in addition tosub-human treatment they receive. In a phone call with El Asra Media Center, the prisoners of Majeddo said that a group of Israeli wardens raided their cells and tore up some copies of the Quran, before stepping on it with their boots, which created tensions among the prisoners, who were outraged at this grave religious violation. The prisoners warned that they will take several escalatory measures, and demanded international and human rights groups to intervene and prevent Israeli wardens from raiding and vandalizing their cells, calling on Arab and Muslim states to condemn this outrageous crime. Islamic Jihad shows pictures of allegedly desecrated Koran Ha''aretz 6/9/2005 The militant Islamic Jihad presented pictures of torn Koran holy books, claimed they were taken inside an Israeli prison and that soldiers were responsible for the desecration. Israel denied the charge and claimed the pictures were staged. The Islamic Jihad transferred the pictures Wednesday by e-mail to a reporter in the West Bank. They show two Koran books with torn pages. The militants said prisoners took the pictures with cellular telephones and transmitted them to militant leaders. The militants said Wednesday that soldiers desecrated six or seven Korans as they searched Palestinian prisoners'' cells at the Megiddo jail in northern Israel early Tuesday. The prisoners were outside the cells at the time but could see what was going on, the Islamic Jihad militants said. Syrian activists call for reform BBC 6/8/2005 Political activists in Syria have urged the country''s rulers to free political prisoners and move away from using force against its critics. Over 200 opposition figures and intellectuals signed a letter calling for a new impetus towards reform. Among their demands were the release of several activists detained in 2001, and moves towards political openness.The call came on the third day of the Baath party congress in Damascus, which is expected to approve limited reforms. On Tuesday, Vice-President Abdul Halim Khaddam, described as a veteran hardliner and architect of Syria''s influenceover Lebanon, announced his resignation. Shin Bet nabs stabbing suspects YNetNews 6/8/2005 Three Palestinians arrested on suspicions of attacking 70-year-old Jerusalem resident some five months ago -- JERUSALEM - The Shin Bet, along with Jerusalem District Police and IDF forces have arrested over the past few weeks three Palestinians suspected of stabbing a 70-year-old Jewish man five-and-a-half months ago. It was cleared for publication on Wednesday. Pinchas Rosenfeld was stabbed outside his Jerusalem home and sustained moderate injuries to his back. The three detainees, who are all members of the People’s Front terror organization, admitted to the act during interrogation, saying they wanted to kill a Jewish person because they were unemployed. 30 PFLP members arrested last month International Middle East Media Center 6/7/2005 The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, PFLP, said that Israeli soldiers arrested thirty of its members in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron, over the last month. A senior PFLP source reported that the detainees are imprisoned in al-Maskobiyya detention in Jerusalem, facing harsh conditions and barred from meeting their lawyers, and deprived from their daily needs. The detainees were tied to chairs, blindfolded for several hours and not provided with main meals, or even drinking water. From Guantanamo to Majeddo International Middle East Media Center 6/7/2005 Palestinian detainees in Majeddo detention announced hunger strike starting Wednesday morning in protest to desecrating the Holy Koran by Israeli soldiers who raided the rooms of the detainees, on Tuesday morning. Prison commander tried to talk the detainees out of their strike claiming that he conducted an investigation with the commander of prisons in the northern area; the commander claims that the ripped pages “are bigger than the pages of the Koran, and does not belong to it”. Prisoners in Majeddo said that they will go on with their hunger strike, and will refuse to receive visitors. The prisoners said that the incident took place approximately at 10:00 A.M. on Tuesday, when soldiers raided the prison and ripped pages out of the Islamic holy book, and stepped on them in many instances. Israeli troops accused of Quran abuse AlJazeera 6/8/2005 An Israeli Arab member of parliament has accused Israeli soldiers of desecrating the Quran, the Islamic holy book, while searching Palestinian prisoners. Ahmed Tibi, who represents an Israeli Arab political party, said he received complaints from prisoners at the Megiddo prison that soldiers tore and stepped on three copies of the Quran while searching Palestinians and their possessions on Tuesday morning. "This is vulgar, primitive behaviour that cannot be allowed to happen," he said, calling for a special session of parliament to discuss the affair. Tibi said he called Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra to complain, and added that prisoners would go on a hunger strike on Wednesday to protest. Collaborators must not be killed: Israel The Australian 6/7/2005 ISRAEL has warned that the future release of Palestinian prisoners will be in jeopardy if the Palestinian Authority executes any of the 50 Palestinians sentenced to death for collaborating with Israel. Israel has not admitted that the 50 prisoners were actually working for its intelligence services, but it said it would not tolerate their execution whether they had been collaborators or not. An elaborate network of collaborators within the Palestinian territories apparently played a key role in Israel''s success in coping with terrorists and guerillas during the 4 1/2-year Palestinian intifada and the Palestinian security services have made uncovering the moles a high priority. Tibi demands Knesset hearing over alleged Koran desecration Ha''aretz 6/7/2005 MK Ahmed Tibi (Hadash-Ta''al) submitted a request to Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin for an urgent parliamentary session following reports Tuesday of alleged desecration of the Koran at Megiddo prison. Prisoners claim that at approximately 10:00 A.M., security forces who raided the prison in order to disperse a riot entered the prisoner cells, where they ripped pages out of the Islamic holy book and, in some instances, stepping on them. Palestinian security prisoners told Tibi that they have launched a hunger strike and that they will refuse to see visitors in protest to the alleged desecration. From Gitmo to Megido YNetNews 6/7/2005 Three Qurans damaged during contraband search of Palestinian prisoners; Prisons Service says some pages fell out when holy books were shaken -- The now-discredited [sic] tale of Qurans being destroyed at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, enraged the Muslim world. Will similar stories from Israel’s Megido Prison reignite the firestorm? Megido Prison weathered criticism Tuesday following a report about damaged holy books. Palestinian prisoners told Ynetnews that after a morning count of the inmates, some 260 guards swamped the prison’s tents and cells. The inmates said their clothes, food, and cooking oil were spilled on the floor by the guards, and some prisoners were placed in solitary confinement. Mentally disabled detainee attempts suicide International Middle East Media Center 6/4/2005 Lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Mohannad al-Kharraz, said that detainee Mohammad Yasser al-Ja’bary, from Nablus, attempted suicide by trying to burn himself and the room he is held in. Al-Ja’bary, currently held at Salem prison, north of the West Bank city of Nablus, is suffering from mental illness, and attempted to burn himself by setting fire in the mattresses he has in his room. "He does not control his actions, he burnt three mattresses, and the detainees saved his life at the right moment”, al-Kharraz said. Lawyer al-Kharraz added that al-Ja’bary is suffering from a seriously deteriorating mental condition, in addition to several health problems, and that he has never been examined by the physician of the detention. Parents of detainees complain of humiliation during visitation International Middle East Media Center 6/4/2005 Parents of detainees imprisoned in Nafha detention complained that soldiers are humiliating them while they are trying to visit their detained family members, in addition to forcing them to wait under the sun for several hours until they are allowed into the prison compound. The Bethlehem office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society reported that soldiers are barring the parents from brining clothes to their detained family members, in addition to searching them in a provocative way. Terror aid trial opens in Florida BBC 6/6/2005 A Palestinian former university professor has gone on trial in Florida on charges of raising money for Palestinian suicide bombers. Sami al-Arian, who denies involvement, is being tried in Tampa with three other men of Palestinian descent. The four were arrested in 2003 on charges of providing funds for Islamic Jihad, which is on the US terror list. Observers say this is one of the most high-profile terror prosecutions in the US since the 9/11 attacks. The four defendants face life in prison if convicted of the charges. The US says Islamic Jihad is responsible for the deaths of over 100 people in the Middle East, including American citizens. Another five people have been charged in connection with the case, but are either at large or abroad. Israel pressures Palestinian Authority to stay execution of alleged collaborators Ha''aretz 6/6/2005 The Israeli government has been exerting strong diplomatic pressure to prevent the Palestinian Authority from executing some 50 Palestinians who were convicted of collaborating with Israel and sentenced by a military court to execution. The American ambassador to Israel, Dan Kurtzer, has been among those who have appealed to senior PA officials. Israel has also clarified to the PA that the continuation of the process of freeing Palestinian prisoners held in Israel is contingent on the decision to refrain from carrying out the executions. Some 400 Palestinian prisoners were released last week only after the PA assured Israel that there was no intention of putting the sentences into effect. US senator: Shut down Guantanamo AlJazeera 6/6/2005 A leading Senate Democrat has said the United States needs to move toward shutting down the military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "This has become the greatest propaganda tool that exists for recruiting of terrorists around the world. And it is unnecessary to be in that position," said Senator Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat. A Pentagon report released Friday detailed incidents in which US guards at Guantanamo desecrated the Quran. Last month, Amnesty International called the detention center for alleged terrorists "the gulag of our time," a charge Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed as "reprehensible". Anti-pullout soldier''s sentence annulled YNetNews 6/6/2005 Navy non-commissioned officer sent to prison for requesting early termination of military service due to upcoming disengagement plan -- TEL AVIV - The IDF has decided Sunday to annul a military court''s decision to send navy officer Edan Troinovsky to 28 days in prison for insubordination. A military court sentenced Sergeant-Major Troinovsky, a non-commissioned officer, to 28 days in prison after he requested to shorten his army service to avoid taking part in an upcoming withdrawal of Jewish settlers from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. He also refused to participate in a recent military exercise that was held in preparation for the planned pullout. PPS: Israeli Military Court Sentences Female Prisoner to Three and Half years WAFA 6/3/2005 RAMALLAH, June 3, 2005 (WAFA)-Palestinian Prisoners'' Society (PPS) said Yesterday that an Israeli military court sentenced a female prisoner, in the West Bank, to three and half years in prison. In a faxed statement on Thursday, PPS revealed that Irena Sarahna 28, of Ukrainian origin and from Dheisha refugee camp in Bethlehem was arrested with her husband Ibrahim Sarahna in May 23, 2002. The prisoner Irena has two children and now in Tilmond Israeli prison. [end] Detainee facing deteriorating health condition International Middle East Media Center 6/3/2005 The Tulkarem office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society reported that detainee Mousa Hasan al-Khawaly, 22, from Tulkarem refugee camp, is facing critical health conditions and deprived from his medication rights. Haleema Rmeilat, head of the Tulkarem branch of the society reported that al-Khawaly, who is imprisoned in Galboa detention siHaleema Rmeilat, head of the Tulkarem branch of the society reported that al-Khawaly, who is imprisoned in Galboa detention since last year, is suffering from sight problems, renal stones, and skin disease in addition to sinuses which causes faintness. Pentagon confirms Quran desecration AlJazeera 6/4/2005 The Pentagon confirmed for the first time on Friday that a US soldier deliberately kicked a Guantanamo Bay prisoner''s Muslim holy book in violation of the military''s rules for handling the Quran. In other confirmed incidents, prison guards threw water balloons into a cell block to cause an unspecified number of Qurans to get wet; a guard''s urine splashed on a detainee and his Quran; an interrogator stepped on a Quran during an interrogation; and a two-word obscenity was written in English on the inside cover of a Quran. 15 residents arrested in Hebron International Middle East Media Center 6/2/2005 Only a few hours before the Israeli army announced the release of 85 Palestinian detainees from Hebron area, soldiers arrested at least 15 residents after invading Ithna, al-Thaheriyya, and al-Fawwar refugee camp in Hebron. A Palestinian security source in Hebron reported on Thursday, that soldiers arrested six residents in the village of Ithna, after invading it and breaking into dozens of homes....In the village of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, Israeli soldiers arrested Imad Hamdi abu Rayya, 24, after breaking into his home and searching it....In al-Thaheriyya village near Hebron, soldiers arrested four residents after breaking into their homes in the center and south of the village. Feature: Freed Palestinian prisoners greeted with joys and tears ReliefWeb 6/2/2005 EREZ CROSSING, Gaza Strip, Jun 2, 2005 (Xinhua via COMTEX) - For Sheikh Shehad al-Bahri, minutes dragged as if they were years as he was waiting at the Erez Crossing for his son Bashir who was earlier released with some 400 Palestinian prisoners Thursday. Finally the 26-year-old Bashir showed up. Sheikh al-Bahri hugged his son with tears trickling down the cheeks. Bashir, from the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, was sentenced by an Israeli army court to four years'' imprisonment for being a member of the armed offshoot of the Fatah movement and possession of arms. He had already served two years in jail. "Although I''m happy because my son was released from jail, this happiness is not complete," said the 52-year-old Sheikh al-Bahri. Another son of his has been held in an Israeli jail for three years, serving a 12-year term. Chronology-Palestinian prisoners released by Israel ReliefWeb 6/2/2005 JERUSALEM, June 2 (Reuters) - Israel freed 400 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday in what it called a move to boost moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after he engineered a ceasefire ahead of a planned Israeli pullout from Gaza. In February, Israel let go 500 prisoners, the largest release in a decade, fulfilling a pledge to Abbas who has vowed to secure a release of some 8,000 prisoners in Israeli jails. Following is a chronology of Palestinian prisoner releases carried out by Israel in the last decade... MPA: Expected Released Prisoners Include no Patients or Pre-Oslo Accord Prisoners WAFA 6/2/2005 GAZA, June 2, 2005, (WAFA) - Ministry of Prisoners'' Affairs(MPA) said Wednesday that the list of the prisoners, the Israeli government intends to release, does not include any of the prisoners who suffer chronic diseases or those were arrested before Oslo Accords. In a statistical report issued yesterday, the ministry pointed out that "the second released prisoners, declared by the Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon, is to include 900 prisoners". "The list of the would-be released prisoners was prepared only by the Israeli side without coordination with the ministerial committee that follows up the prisoners'' affairs ", according to the report. IOF Arrests 3 Citizens in Bethlehem, Thrusts into Nablus WAFA 6/2/2005 BETHLEHEM, June 2, 2005, (WAFA) - Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested early Thursday a citizen in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, witnesses said. The IOF, backed by a number of military vehicles, broke into Salmona village, stationed at its main entrances and besieged the house of Ibrahim Taqatqa shortly before than arresting his son Samy. Earlier on Wednesday, two others, Ali 28, and Hamza Burayjya 27 were arrested in the village of al-Ma''sara, Palestinian security sources said. In another incident, an Israeli military court sentenced Thursday a female prisoner from of al-Duhesha refugee camp, Ernya Sarahna, to three and a half year imprisonment. In Nablus, IOF rolled into the city and a number of its neighbourhoods, witnesses said. They told WAFA that a number of Israeli military jeeps broke into the city and rolled into the vicinity of Joseph tomb located eastern the city. Dead Syrian cleric ''was tortured'' BBC 6/2/2005 The human rights group says Sheikh Muhammad al-Khaznawi was detained by Syrian military intelligence at an unknown location and died on 30 May. He was found dead in eastern Syria three weeks after he went missing in the capital, Damascus. His body was handed over to his family by the authorities on 1 June. The sheikh''s body was taken back to Qameshli, the town where he practised as an imam, in the predominantly Kurdish north-eastern area of Syria, to be buried on Wednesday evening, Amnesty says. Amnesty says the 48-year-old sheikh is at least the sixth Syrian Kurd to have died as a result of torture and ill-treatment in custody since March 2004. Israel releases Palestinian prisoners AlJazeera 6/2/2005 The first of about 400 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel have climbed off buses from their prison camp and arrived in the West Bank city of Tulkarim. Earlier on Thursday the prisoners boarded buses at a prison in southern Israel on their way to freedom, the last phase of an Israeli pledge to release 900 prisoners as part of a ceasefire deal. As the prisoners got off the buses, some began kissing the ground on their release. The men then boarded Palestinian buses, which took them about 100 metres to their cheering relatives. Young girls threw candy on the prisoners as they were reunited with their families. Israel releases 400 prisoners but Palestinians say gesture insufficient Daily Star 6/3/2005 Israel freed nearly 400 Palestinian prisoners in a long-delayed gesture that fulfilled a cease-fire pledge to President Mahmoud Abbas, but Palestinians said the release did not go far enough. The gesture came a day after the 70-year-old Abbas underwent "routine" medical tests in Amman, including a heart examination, at the end of an exhausting overseas tour. "I am in good health," he told reporters. Doctors said Abbas, 70, underwent a coronary angiogram - a common procedure to ensure that the arteries are not clogged. Palestinian officials said Abbas'' June 21 summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remained on schedule. Prisons and parties Electronic Intifada 6/2/2005 Hannah writing from Nablus, occupied Palestine -- On May 18, after four weeks in prison, Jaber Dalany (the Palestinian man with meningitis who was arrested at Huwara checkpoint), was finally presented with charges. As expected, the charges are preposterous, not to mention the fact that they all refer to incidents that supposedly happened more than 2 years ago. The first two relate to membership in Hamas (which he and his family deny) and providing food, shelter, and cell phones to "wanted" men (his brother stayed at his house shortly before being arrested a couple years ago). The third charge is both the most serious and the most ridiculous, stating that Jaber and two others had "planned to introduce an explosive vehicle into the settlement of Ariel, near its movie theater. Kuwaiti accuses U.S. of torture Daily Star 6/2/2005 KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait''s first Guantanamo returnee, who was wounded during the U.S.-led war on the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan, claimed Wednesday he was subjected to psychological torture at the U.S. detention camp in Cuba. "It was more of a psychological than physical torture. In the beginning, they prevented us from sleeping. They gave us little food and they charged me with being a member of Al-Qaeda," Nasser Najr al-Mutairi told AFP outside a Kuwaiti court. Looking frail and weak, Mutairi still has his left foot and ankle in bandage because of wounds he received during U.S. raids on northern Afghanistan in late 2001. Syria blames ''criminals'' for Kurdish sheikh''s murder Daily Star 6/2/2005 DAMASCUS: Syria''s Interior Ministry has blamed the murder of an outspoken Kurdish Muslim religious leader on criminals, while Kurdish parties charged he was tortured and killed by the authorities. Tens of thousands of mourners, meanwhile, turned out for the funeral of Sheikh Mohammad Maashuq al-Khaznawi near Qamishli in northeast Syria, Kurdish officials said. The sheikh had gone missing on May 10 and was believed to have been detained by Syrian police, according to Kurdish parties. Israel to free 400 prisoners on Thursday ''in attempt to boost Abbas'' Ha''aretz 6/2/2005 Israel will free 400 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday in what Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called an attempt to boost moderate Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas ahead of a Gaza withdrawal. The Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday the mass release, to be carried out in cooperation with the Israel Prison Service and the PA, stemmed from approval granted earlier this week by the cabinet and reflected "ongoing cooperation with the Palestinian Authority." The prisoners, residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, will include some members of the Islamic movements but the majority will be Fatah activists. |
Palestinian Women: Reproductive Health and Human Rights By Laila Baker, Bridges Magazine 6/1/2005 Women’s health has been an area of interest and programatic development especially since the latter part of the 20th century. International conferences during the last two decades and subsequent support of women’s health programs have raised awareness for the need to encourage the development of an appropriate agenda based on sustainability and equality inclusive of women. In particular, the International Conference on Population and Development (1994), as well as the Fourth International Conference on Women (1995) and the more recent Millennium Development Summit in 2000, have all contributed to the evolution of family planning and population reduction strategies towards a rights-based approach, including reproductive rights. The focus of this paper is reproductive health and rights within the context of a broader based human rights agenda as related to the emergency situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). It includes breaches of these rights as a result of Israeli policies of closure on towns and expropriation of occupied Palestinian land. Reproductive health is a complex and multi-faceted issue that encompasses a number of components from a human rights perspective. Although ten key human rights have been identified, this paper will focus on four, namely: The Right to Life, Liberty and Security The Right to Health, Reproductive Health and Family Planning The Right to be Free from Discrimination on Specified Grounds The Right to Not be Subjected to Torture or Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
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Adalah Adalah (Justice in Arabic) is the first non-profit, non-sectarian Palestinian-run legal center in Israel. The main goal of Adalah’s work is to achieve equal rights and minority rights protections for Palestinian citizens of Israel. Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Organization: Addameer (conscience) is a Palestinian non-governmental, civil institution which focuses on human rights issues. Supports Palestinian prisoners, advocates for rights of political prisoners, works to end torture. Amnesty International Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. AI’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. Amnesty International USA Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. AI’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. Arab Association for Human Rights - HRA The HRA was founded in 1988 to promote and protect the political, civil, economic, and cultural rights of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel and to further the domestic implementation of international human rights principles. It is an independent non-governmental organisation registered in Israel. Association for Civil Rights in Israel - ACRI The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) was founded in 1972 as a non-political and independent body, with the goal of protecting human and civil rights in Israel and in the territories under Israeli control. B’tselem The Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. Occupation Prisoners News stories and reports about Palestinian prisoners from International Press Center, of the Palestinian National Authority’s State Information Service. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is an independent legal body based in Gaza City dedicated to protecting human rights, promoting the rule of law, and upholding democratic principles in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Palestinian Prisoners Society The Palestinian Prisoner Society is a social and human institution and its members are prisoners inside prisons and released prisoners. Membership is open to every Palestinian prisoner inside and outside prisons who meets the conditions of membership. |