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| Human Rights |
| courtesy The Electronic Intifada |
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Vermonters
for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel |
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The
Treatment of Prisoners and Detainees by Israel and Others |
Prisoners Archive - November 2006
Actors at an Israeli court demonstrate Israel’s torture methods used against Palestinian detainees as described by witnesses. Source: Miftah
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Army takes four prisoners from two villages near Rammallah International Middle East Media Center 11/29/2006 Israeli forces stormed the villages of Dir Ghassanah and Beit Liqia, searched scores of residents’ houses and took prisoner four residents on Wednesday. In Dir Ghassanah, more than 14 army jeeps stormed the village, attacked residents houses and took Mamdouh Al Bargothi, a teacher at the local school, prisoner and moved him to an unknown destination. Soldiers also fired rounds of live ammunition and tear gas at the school children who were on their way to school. The army claimed that soldiers were searching for what they calle "wanted Palestinians". In the nearby village of Beit Liqia, troops stormed the village from several directions, attacked and searched scores of houses before taking three residents prisoners. [end] Suleiman expects a prisoner swap deal within the coming weeks International Middle East Media Center 11/30/2006 Egypt’s Intelligence Chief, Omar Suleiman, expressed optimism that a prisoner swap deal between Israel and the Palestinians will be reached within the coming weeks before the end of the year. Israeli officials also said a deal is soon. Earlier on Wednesday, Suleiman met with Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, and held talks on a possible swap deal that would see the release of the captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, in exchange of releasing Palestinian detainees. Suleiman also met with Israeli’s Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and held talks on the truce and prisoner exchange, in addition to separate meetings with the Israeli Minister for “Strategic Affairs” Avigdor Lieberman, and National Infrastructure Minister, Benyamin Ben-Eliezer. Prisoners’ families appeal for release of confiscated funds Ma’an News Agency 11/29/2006 Gaza - Prisoners’ families in the Gaza Strip have demanded Israel return the private money belonging to their sons, held as prisoners in Israeli jails, after they were confiscated from their personal accounts by the prison administration. The call came in a letter from the families of the prisoners to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday. The director of the Red Cross mission promised to work to find a solution to this crisis, so as to lighten the suffering of both the prisoners and their families. [end] Palestinian minister of prisoners’ affairs updates the prisoners in Israeli jails Ma’an News Agency 11/29/2006 Nablus - The Palestinian minister of prisoners’ affairs has assured in letters to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails that the reforms of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) will start immediately after new government is formed. The Palestinian factions have agreed that PLO should represent the whole Palestinian political spectrum, including the ruling Hamas party. The minister, Wasfi Qabha, informed the prisoners of this and other developments in letters sent to the prisoners through his ministry’s lawyer. The lawyer’s visit to the prisoners came as part of efforts to improve the liaison between the Palestinian government and the Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The lawyer visited a number of Palestinian political leaders... Jailed Hamas minister Zidan released weeks after arrest Ha’aretz 11/30/2006 Israel on Wednesday released one of the Hamas government ministers it detained after gunmen from the Gaza Strip abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in June. It was not immediately clear whether the release of Palestinian Public Works and Housing Minister Abdel-Rahman Zidan of Hamas was linked to a possible prisoner exchange deal following a ceasef-ire agreement in the Gaza Strip over the weekend. A spokeswoman at the Prime Minister’s office said the release was ordered by a military court. She offered no other details. The release of Zidan coincided with a visit to Israel by Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman... Zidan said he had been interrogated about his role in the Palestinian government and had been detained in uncomfortable conditions. Detained wife of a detainee receives extended remand International Middle East Media Center 11/30/2006 Palestinian sources reported on Wednesday that Israeli Prison Authorities extended the remand of detainee Wadha Al Foqaha, the wife of detainee Yousef Al Foqaha. Yousef is one of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad movement. His wife was taken prisoner on August 22, and on Wednesday her remand was extended until December 21. [end] Troops abduct two youth near Jenin International Middle East Media Center 11/30/2006 Palestinian sources reported on Wednesday evening that Israeli soldiers invaded Ya’bod town, near Jenin in the northern part of the West Bank and abducted two youth. The two were identified as Miflih Ahmad Miflih, and Basil Ghasan Reehan. The two were attacked and punched by the soldiers before they were taken prisoner, local sources reported. [end] Army takes prisoner from Dar Salah village east of Bethlehem International Middle East Media Center 11/29/2006 The Israeli forces took prisoner one resident from the village of Dar Salah east of the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Wednesday morning. Yousif Al Aref, 38, was taken prisoner as he was crossing one of the miliatry checkpionts setup on the main route between teh north and the south of the West Bank, known as "Al Container" checkpoint. Eyewitnesses said he was stopped at the checkpoint, soldiers confiscated his identity card then interrogated him for some time before he was hand-cuffed, blindfolded and taken to unknown location. [end] Haniyya kicks off first foreign tour by outlining vague vision of statehood Daily Star 11/30/2006 PM refuses to say whether 1967 borders would be temporary or final -- Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyya on Wednesday set the tone for his first foreign tour since taking office by promoting a Palestinian initiative based on an independent state on land outside Israel’s 1967 borders. On another front, Egypt’s intelligence chief held talks in Israel on Wednesday on a possible prisoner exchange between Israel and Palestinian militants. After talks in Cairo with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Haniyya said that a timeframe for the creation of a state needs to be defined but did not insist on the six-month deadline put forward by Khaled Meshaal, Hamas’ political leader. Haniyya told a news conference it was time governments in the Middle East and around the world put pressure on Israel to recognize such an independent Palestinian state. Haniyeh meets with Egyptian foreign minister Ma’an News Agency 11/29/2006 Cairo - Palestinian Prime Minister Isma’il Haniyeh and his delegation have, on Wednesday, met in Cairo with the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmad Abul-Gheit at the At-Tahrir ("liberation") palace. Haniyeh updated the Egyptian minister with news of the deteriorated situation in the Palestinian territories, as a result of the Israeli assaults and economic siege. The talks also tackled the Egyptian mediation to accomplish a prisoners’ exchange with Israel, in order to push the peace process forward. The Palestinian delegation accompanying the prime minister comprises the director of the prime minister’s office, Muhammad Al-Madhoon, the spokesperson of the government, Dr Ghazi Hamad, and the Palestinian ambassador to Egypt, Munthir Dajani. Impasse between Israel, Palestinians regarding the number of prisoners to be released Ma’an News Agency 11/29/2006 Bethlehem - The deal for a prisoners’ exchange between Israel and the Palestinians has been delayed because of differences between the two sides in regard to the number of Palestinian prisoners to be release, the. Israeli daily ’Haaretz’ has reported. The paper added that there is a huge gap between the number of prisoners to be released that Israel offers and what Hamas is demanding. ’Haaretz’ added that the Hamas political chief, Khalid Mash’al, is calling for at least 1,000 Palestinian prisoners to be released, while Israel has said that it is ready to release just 300 prisoners. [end] Peretz: Egyptian presence contributes to regional stability YNetNews 11/29/2006 At start of his meeting with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman, defense minister says, ’Suleiman greatly contributes to stability in the Middle East and to promotion of relationship between moderate forces in region. ’ In light of concern over arms smuggling from Egypt to Gaza, officials discuss deal for release of Gilad Shalit and Palestinian prisoners -- Defense Minister Amir Peretz met Wednesday afternoon with Egyptian Intelligence Chief General Omar Suleiman, and the two discussed the deal for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit and Palestinian prisoners, combined with a diplomatic move. At the start of the meeting, Minister Peretz said that "there is no doubt that Suleiman has made many contributions to the stability in the Middle East and to the promotion of the relationship between the moderate forces in the region." Undercover Israeli forces seize an Al-Aqsa Brigades’ member in Qabatiya Ma’an News Agency 11/28/2006 Jenin - A contingent of undercover Israeli Special Forces entered the West Bank town of Qabatiya on Tuesday and took three men prisoner, including an activist from the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the main military group affiliated with Fatah. Local sources said that four Israelis dressed in civilian clothes entered the town in a white Mercedes car. They stopped in front of a carpentry workshop and entered, claiming they were Palestinian citizens from inside Israel. They then seized Ahmad Hanaiysha under threat of armed force. They reportedly took another two men with them, but these men were not identified. Many Israeli military vehicles then participated in an incursion of the town from all directions. The Israeli troops launched a search campaign in many houses, especially in the western neighborhood. [end] Olmert: Israel agrees to the formation of a contiguous Palestinian state free of settlements Ma’an News Agency 11/28/2006 Bethlehem - Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, announced yesterday that Israel has made a deal with Hamas in which Israel accepts the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, even those sentenced to long-term imprisonment, according to a report aired on Israeli television Channel Two last night. Channel Two added that, with the approval of Olmert, a secret channel was opened with the imprisoned Fatah leader, Marwan Al-Barghouthi, to discuss the details of the Israeli plan, aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state. Channel Two described Olmert’s speech as "reconciliatory" in which he promised the Palestinians to establish a state with continuous borders and free of settlements. Olmert’s plan brought harsh criticism from the extreme right. 90 detainees transferred from Ofer prison to solitary in Ayalon International Middle East Media Center 11/29/2006 Tuesday night, dozens of Israeli soldiers and the Israeli Prison Authorities broke into Ofer Israeli detention facility, attacked dozens of detainees, and transferred 90 to solitary confinement in Ayalon prison in Al Ramleh. The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees reported that hundreds of soldiers of the Nahshon division broke into section seven at the Ofer detention facility, sprayed gas at the detainees and attacked them with batons; several detainees were injured. Ninety detainees were forced out of their rooms and were placed in military buses after they were handcuffed. The buses transferred the detainees from Ofer, near Ramallah city in the northern part of the West Bank, to Ayalon prison without allowing them to take their personal belongings. Palestinian children forced to go the long way home International Solidarity Movement 11/25/2006 ISM Hebron -- At 11:50am: several HRWs (human rights workers) left the apartment to begin monitoring the return of Palestinian school children. The children left school with no problems. The HRWs stayed on Al Shuhada St. and monitored the area for an extended period of time in case children wanted to play. At approx. 1pm a group of soldiers stopped in their jeep pretending they had a prisoner in the back that was screaming, the driver attempted to create friendly banter and drove away after a few minutes. At 1:30pm on Tel Rumeida St. a settler woman came down and began to throw rocks at the children, hit two HRWs with her coat and was restrained by a male settler and soldier while a HRW escorted the remaining children away up the street. -- See also: Soccer Showdown Shakes Shuhada Street Sides work on extending cease-fire to West Bank Jerusalem Post 11/28/2006 Confidants of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are in "constant contact" trying to reach an agreement to expand the cease-fire in Gaza to include the West Bank, senior government sources said Monday evening. The comments came hours after Olmert, in a speech at David Ben-Gurion’s grave in Sde Boker marking the 33rd anniversary of his death, defined the concessions Israel would be willing to make were the Palestinians to end terrorism, give up demands for a right of refugee return and free captive soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit.... Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office said Olmert’s decision to directly address the Palestinian people and say he would release numerous Palestinian prisoners, "including ones who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms," was meant to go over Mashaal’s head... Islamic Jihad members taken prisoner near Jenin International Middle East Media Center 11/27/2006 Israeli sources reported on Monday that the army took prisoner several members of the Al Quds brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad in Qabatia town, near the West Bank city of Jenin. The offensive was carried out by under-cover units of the Israeli army, and regular military units. The attack, according to an Israeli army spokesperson, was carried out to counter the activities of the Islamic Jihad. The invasion was carried out on Monday at dawn and lasted for several hours. Troops took several members of the Brigades prisoner and claimed uncovering combat tools, weapons and explosives. Meanwhile, Palestinian sources reported that four members were taken prisoner after the army surrounded a building for more than four hours. Three residents taken prisoner by the army in Nablus International Middle East Media Center 11/27/2006 The Israeli army invaded the West Bank city of Nablus, attacked residents’ homes, then took prisoner three residents on Monday at dawn. Troops attackled scores of houses in several neighborhoods in the city and ransacked and searched residents’ belongings before taking Hashem Abu Zalat, 19, Mohamed Hashem, 18, and Rami Abu Ja’sa, 19, to unknown locations. Residents reported that troops attacked locals who were in the streets with live rounds and sound bombs during the invasion, and one army bulldozer intentionally damaged some streets. In the meantime, another army force invaded the nearby Huwwara town and imposed a curfew. Residents were not allowed to leave their houses, which caused school kids to miss classes today. Residents said that the town is still under curfew. [end] Three residents taken prisoner from Hebron International Middle East Media Center 11/27/2006 Israeli forces attacked Palestinian residents of the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday morning at took prisoner three residents. Troops have been conducting a search campaign since the early hours of Monday morning. Residents reported that troops attacked and ransacked their belongs before leaving the residents homes. Soldiers took two residents to unknown locations; no names have been issued at the time of this report. In the meantime, another force surrounded the house of Abd Al Aziz Al Ja’bari, located near the illegal settlement of Qiriat Arba’, east of Hebron. Soldiers called the man out of his home then took him away, his brother reported. [end] Army takes four prisoners from Nahalen village near Bethlehem International Middle East Media Center 11/27/2006 The Israeli army invaded the village of Nahalen village, west of Bethlehem City, south of the West Bank and took prisoner four residents on Monday morning. Army vehicles and soldiers attacked the village, searched and ransacked residents’ homes and took Sadi Shakarnah, 19, his brother Saleh, 20, Nassif Shakarnah, 20, and Mahir Ghaiath, 18, to unknown locations, their families reported. [end] Army invades Bethlehem, takes one prisoner International Middle East Media Center 11/27/2006 An Israeli army convoy invaded the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, surrounded a house and took prisoner one resident on Monday morning. Army vehicles invaded Wad Saheen neighborhood in the city center, fired tier gas and sound bombs at the residents, no injuries were reported. Also, troops surrounded the house of Mustafa Suboh, and took son, Temer prisoner. [end] Army takes prisoner three residents from Qalqilia International Middle East Media Center 11/27/2006 Israeli forces invaded the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia and took prisoner three residents on Monday at dawn. Troops stormed and searched several houses and took Lu’ai Furij, 32, Ahmad Kharuf, 22, and Nimir Hindi, 40, to unknown locations, eyewitnesses reported. [end] Army takes prisoner three residents form Beit Ola near Hebron International Middle East Media Center 11/27/2006 Israeli troops took prisoner three residents of Beit Ola village, north west of Hebron city in the southern part of the West Bank, on Saturday morning. Troops invaded the village attacked and searched several houses before taking Jamal Al A’dam, 34, and Salamah Al A’kel, 35, to unknown location. Resident Abdul-Rahman Al A’dam, 33, was taken prisoner at a military checkpoint near the village. [end] Olmert offers prisoner swaps AlJazeera 11/27/2006 Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, has said Israel is ready to "withdraw from considerable territory", free Palestinian prisoners and release funds to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for the return of a soldier seized in June. He also said a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was possible if peace talks were begun. It is the first time Olmert has offered to exchange prisoners for Gilad Shalit, whose capture in a cross-border raid by Palestinian militants triggered an Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip. Olmert’s speech came after a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Sunday morning. Olmert said: "With Gilad Shalit’s release and his return safe and sound to his family, the Israeli government will be willing to release many Palestinian prisoners, even those who have been sentenced to lengthy terms." Abu Rdainah responds to Olmert: Deeds are preferable to words Ma’an News Agency 11/27/2006 Gaza - In the first official response to the declarations of the Israeli prime minister, the spokesperson of the Palestinian presidency, Nabil Abu Rdainah stated "What is needed is deeds, not words". He also stated the necessity of restarting negotiations in order to start serious talks, based on the resolutions of the international community and the implementation of the Road Map plan, including the Arab peace initiative, particularly the issue of the right of repatriation of refugees. The Israeli prime minister stated earlier on Monday, that Israel would be willing to evacuate large territories, including some settlements, in exchange for "real peace" and the Palestinians abandoning of the right of repatriation. In addition, Olmert stated that Israel will release a large number of Palestinian prisoners... Hamas chief warns of new intifada BBC Online 11/25/2006 The exiled political leader of the Palestinian radical group Hamas has warned of another uprising (intifada) by Palestinians. Khaled Meshaal said it would happen unless there was international agreement on a Palestinian state within six months. Mr Meshaal said Israel would have to withdraw to its pre-1967 borders. He was speaking in Cairo amid talks with Egyptian mediators on forming a Palestinian national unity government. Also on the agenda was a possible prisoner exchange with Israel. Mr Meshaal said Hamas would be prepared to co-operate on a ceasefire - including an end to missile attacks on Israel - if there was an Israeli commitment to withdraw to the borders that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. ’Seize this opportunity’ -- "We give the international community six months for real political horizons..." Nonviolent Palestinian protest in Israeli prison: hunger strike in Jalameh Palestine News Network 11/26/2006 Since Friday Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli Jalameh Prison have been hunger-striking in protest of inhumane treatment. The Jenin area prison is accused of acting in contravention to international laws and norms. A letter leaked from prisoners indicates that they have begun steps to up the protest. Among the issues the collective action intends to change is that the prison administration ignores their demands and continues to keep Palestinians in the interrogation facilities instead of transferring them to the public prisons. Additional complaints range from cruel and degrading treatment to daily provocations by guards and cruel interrogations. The Palestinians on nonviolent hunger strike report that conditions in solitary confinement are dirty and extremely cold. Israeli forces detain at least eight West Bankers, including seven in Jenin, besiege a Tulkarem farm Ma’an News Agency 11/24/2006 Israeli jeep in Tulkarem (Maans)West Bank - The Israeli forces took at least eight Palestinians prisoner in various parts of the occupied West Bank on Friday morning, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources. Our Tulkarem correspondent added that the Israeli army besieged many areas of Tulkarem late on Thursday, including a farm, amid heavy gunfire. The Israeli sources said that three of the arrests were Fatah members and a fourth was a Hamas member, without giving further details. On the other hand, the sources said that the Israeli forces were attacked in the northern city of Nablus by an explosive devise, but said that there were no casualties amongst the soldiers. In another incident, the Israeli sources said that Israeli soldiers were attacked by Palestinian armed men in the city of Tulkarem but no casualties occurred. Israel: No end to Gaza offensive until Palestinians halt rocket fire Ha’aretz 11/25/2006 Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Meshal said in an interview published Friday in the saudi Al-Watan daily that if Israel adopts serious measures to release teenage and female prisoners, he will see it as proof of its good intentionsMeshal met on Thursday in Cairo with the Head of Egyptian Intelligence Omar Suleiman, and discussed the status of Gilad Shalit and the current crisis in Palestinian politics. At the meetings end, representatives from both sides said that they held a "positive discussion". Meshal arrived in Cairo as head of an envoy of senior members from the Hamas Damascus branch, including Imad al-Alami, head of the Damascus bureau and Mohammad Nasser, a member of the Hamas Policy Bureau. His visit was planned for the end of last October, but was postponed for unknown reasons. MP Qaraqa’: Israeli government lives in a political vacuum as it tries to block European conference Palestine News Network 11/25/2006 Member of Parliament Issa Qaraqa’ told the Women’s Committee for Social Action that the Israeli government lives in a political vacuum and crisis. He cited Israeli official attempts to block an international conference initiated by the French, Spanish, and Italians. Palestinian Legislative Council member and former Director of the Palestinian Prisoner Society Qaraqa’ said that the international peace conference initiative includes a call for protection for the Palestinian people. He said that the Israeli government has been “racing against time to close the path to the Europeans. ”Qaraqa’ pointed out that since the end of the war in Lebanon, the Israeli government began a bid to return to the rejected version of the Road Map. It was deemed unacceptable last year after the Israelis changed 14 major points... Islamic Jihad: A one-sided truce is not acceptable Ma’an News Agency 11/24/2006 Gaza - Any talk about truce with the Israeli occupation in the shadow of Israel’s aggression is unacceptable, according to the media spokesman of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad. Abu Ahmad said in a statement issued Friday, "the resistance will not accept any free-of-charge truce with the enemy, as this enemy still continues to strike houses, assassinate the ’mujahideen’ [fighters] and escalate their aggressions against the Palestinians". The statement also said, "Islamic Jihad rejects any truce presented without the other side’s acceptance of the conditions of the resistance, and that includes stopping the assaults, opening the crossings, lifting the siege, and exchanging and releasing prisoners." In regards to the projectile-launching, Abu Ahmad said, "the projectile-launching is part of the natural retaliation..." Israel sending Hamas cease-fire signals Jerusalem Post 11/24/2006 Recognizing that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is incapable of halting the Kassam rocket fire from Gaza, Israel reportedly is conveying messages indirectly to Hamas to try and secure a cease-fire. While insisting that Israel was not maintaining a continuous, indirect dialogue with Hamas, a government official on Thursday night acknowledged that messages were "getting through." The government appeared to be seeking a "de facto" hudna arrangement that would include the release of kidnapped soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit in an exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a halt to targeted killings of terrorists in Gaza and an end to the Kassam attacks out of Gaza, former National Security Council chief Giora Eiland said Thursday. EU official: FMs should discuss initiative for Middle East peace Ha’aretz 11/23/2006 European Union Foreign Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on Thursday that the initiative for Middle East peace presented by Spain, Italy and France needed to be discussed with all EU member states. She recommended that the matter be taken up ahead of the next EU meeting of foreign ministers on December 11-12. Ferrero-Waldner said that while the peace initiative is positive, the EU should speak with a single voice on foreign policy matters. Spain, Italy and France agreed last week to work on a joint Middle East plan which includes a ceasefire, a Palestinian government of national unity, an exchange of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners, and possibly international observers. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi later said the initiative should be extended to other European partners, starting with Germany and Great Britain. Free AIC Member Ahmad Abu Hannya from Administrative Detention! International Solidarity Movement/Alternative Information Centre 11/23/2006 November 21 -- An Israeli military court extended the administration detention of Alternative Information Center (AIC) member Ahmad Abu Hannya until 30 November to allow the Israeli authorities opportunity to interrogate him. Ahmad’s attorney, Sahar Francis of the Palestinian human rights organization Addameer, fears that on 30 November Israel will issue an administrative detention order against Ahmad for an additional six months. Ahmad, coordinator of the AIC youth group in Bethlehem, was detained at a checkpoint on his way to work on May 18 2005 and placed in administrative detention, which is imprisonment without trial or charges. As all of the approximately 600 Palestinian administrative detainees currently being held by Israel, Ahmad and his attorney are not even permitted to know the evidence against him. Palestinian sentenced to over 8 years imprisonment for "resisting Israeli occupation" Ma’an News Agency 11/23/2006 Hebron - The Israeli military court of ’Ofer has sentenced the Palestinian detainee, Tayseer Mahmoud ’Umran, known as "As-Soos", to 8 and a half years imprisonment on the charge of "resisting Israeli occupation". According to his family, the prisoner was arrested two and a half years ago, after being chased for two years. [end] Prisoners’ families call for international assistance to end the prisoners’ oppression Ma’an News Agency 11/23/2006 Tulkarem - The committee representing the families of Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank city of Tulkarem have called upon human rights organisations, international humanitarian agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to take immediate action to pressurize Israel into stopping its policy of oppression against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. In a statement issued Thursday, the committee said that they consider Israel’s measures against prisoners as dangerous, especially the prevention of wives and children from visiting them. The statement accused the Israeli authorities of violating the international agreements and the Fourth Geneva Conventions that relate to human rights and prisoners’ rights. [end] Prison repression on the rise: 7 Palestinians prepare for transfer but instead are put in solitary Palestine News Network 11/23/2006 Seven Palestinian political prisoners believed they were being transferred to another prison, but instead were put in solitary confinement in Al Naqab Prison. PNN was able to speak via cell phone with prisoner representatives to obtain the story. The Israeli administration at the desert prison told the seven men that they were to prepare their belongings for transfer. The Palestinians were instead put in solitary confinement. It soon became clear however that the scenario was created as a ruse to prevent effective nonviolent protest such as hunger strikes or demonstrations. The belongings of Jamal Farag from Bethlehem, Zahran Abu Rabitta and Mohammad Aab from Gaza, Ghassan Abu Syuul from Hebron, Ayman Mabruk from Nablus, Yousef Abu Gholmeh from Beit Fourik, and Moyiuddin Nassarah were left in a corridor. Palestinian sources: Saudis have severed ties with Hamas Ha’aretz 11/23/2006 Palestinian sources have claimed that Saudi Arabia has severed relations with Hamas in recent weeks, and the Saudi government is consequently refusing to meet with senior Hamas officials. Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud a-Zahar, who visited the kingdom recently, did not meet with a single senior Saudi official during his stay, sources said. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has reached an agreement with Hamas on a diplomatic platform for a Palestinian unity government, Abbas said in a interview with the London-based paper Al-Hayat yesterday. What remains to be resolved, he said, are the issues of a cease-fire and a prisoner exchange for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Senior Hamas officials have said recently they would be willing to declare a temporary cease-fire with Israel. Israeli forces arrest two Palestinians, and release a third, in Ramallah Ma’an News Agency 11/22/2006 Ramallah - Israeli forces have, on Wednesday morning, arrested Abdallah Al-Bakri, 34, and Ayman Qur’an, 40, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Al-Bakri had been released from prison only 40 days ago. At the same time, the female detainee Abeer Barakt, from the suburb of Um Ash-Sharayit in southern Al-Bireh city has been released. Abeer had been arrested a month ago. She is a mother of 6 children, 2 of which had been killed by Israeli soldiers. [end] Palestinian Finance Minister appears before Salem Military Court in chains Palestine News Network 11/21/2006 When elected Palestinian officials were taken from Israeli prisons to military court yesterday for trials that were again postponed, the Palestinian Finance Minister was able to lodge a complaint. Omar Abdel Razeq spoke through his attorney, Osama Al Sa’adi. During visits and moves, and within the confines of the military court, the Palestinian officials are kept bound. While sitting bound in a wooden cage in the courtroom, Abdel Razeq listened to the response after he complained that he should not be in shackles during a trial. The Israeli guard said that he would “keep all Palestinians in chains under all circumstances as a matter of security. ”“We apply the orders without any interference from the court or anyone else,” the Israeli guard said, indicating a lack of oversight in the prison system. University students targeted for arrest in northern West Bank Palestine News Network 11/21/2006 My son was arrested without reason and has lost his academic future,” Salah Tawfiq Zaid said of his son. Israeli forces detained the western Jenin village university student on 14 November. He explained on Tuesday that Israeli forces have recently stepped up the campaign against students in the northern West Bank, subjecting them to detention, beatings, and interrogation. Sources in the Palestinian Prisoner Society reported today that Israeli forces arrested 20 university students in November. They were taken to the Israeli military installation in the northern West Bank’s Salem without disclosing a reason for the arrests. Nineteen year old Zaid was arrested at the Zatara Checkpoint without cause, reports his father. In the presence of eyewitnesses Israeli forces took the Ramallah Teacher’s College student. Israeli military court again postpones trials of elected Palestinian officials Palestine News Network 11/20/2006 After months of postponing due to lack of evidence, the Israeli Salem Military Court once again put off the trials of elected Palestinian officials this afternoon. The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Detainees and Ex Detainees Affairs announced that the Israelis did not allow the press into the court room, gave no comment and offered no reason for postponing the trials until January. The first Palestinian official statements to the press described the illegitimacy of the Israeli court and trial, explaining those on trial are the democratically elected representatives of the Palestinian people and were arrested for being such. The trials were postponed in the past when the judge granted prosecutors more time to come up with charges against the Palestinians. A general call went out to the international community to uphold its responsibilities... Palestinian and Israeli committees discuss the conditions facing prisoners Ma’an News Agency 11/20/2006 Ramallah - Ma’an- The higher committee for prisoners’ affairs, and the Israeli committee for Palestinian prisoners have convened on Monday in Ramallah, to discuss the conditions and daily suffering faced by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The conveners also tackled the issues surrounding those prisoners who are considered medical patients, and family visits. They also dealt with the probable prisoner exchange between Palestinian factions and the Israeli authorities, stating that the current Israeli government is using this exchange to achieve domestic political gains. The Israeli delegation, which included academics, journalists and lawyers, expressed their condemnation of the Beit Hanoun massacre. [end] Palestinian gov’t unity may be delayed Jerusalem Post 11/18/2006 Palestinian negotiators said Friday a hoped-for deal this week on a unity government could be delayed by difficulties in working out a parallel prisoner swap with Israel. The Palestinian president and premier, heading the rival Fatah and Hamas factions, have been trying to wrap up the deal in an effort to end the economic sanctions and pave the way for a resumption of long-frozen talks with Israel. The negotiations have been dragging on for months. President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, a moderate, has been pushing Hamas to enter a coalition with Fatah in hopes of ending the sanctions. He hopes the government to endorse a softer position to Israel that will enable him to resume peace talks. The concept is to replace the Cabinet of Hamas ministers with independent experts linked to, but not members of, the two movements. Tulkarem man gets 30 months’ imprisonment for being a member of Islamic Jihad Ma’an News Agency 11/20/2006 Tulkarem - The Israeli military court of Salem has sentenced the Palestinian prisoner, Shadi Mahmoud Fawaz’ah, 26, from the northern West Bank refugee camp of Tulkarem for 30 months’ imprisonment and a fine of 2,000 NIS (~$463) on charges of being a member of the Islamic Jihad movement. [end] Analysis of previous prisoner exchanges: 5,772 Palestinian detainees released in swaps since 1968 Ma’an News Agency 11/17/2006 Hebron - While the arguments and discussions over a prisoners’ exchange between the Palestinian factions and the Israeli authorities witness various ups and downs due to disagreements over numbers, timing, and the ’type’ of prisoners to be freed, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Association has reviewed how past prisoner swaps have unfolded. In a statement sent to Ma’an, the Prisoners’ Association reviewed that:On 16 July 1968, the first swap took place between the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the Israeli government after the PLO’s fighters hijacked an Israeli plane carrying 112 passengers. The deal was supervised by the Red Cross and the passengers of the plane were exchanged with 20 long-term Palestinian prisoners. The second swap came in 1971... Israeli army arrests 15-year-old boy in Deheisheh refugee camp Ma’an News Agency 11/13/2006 West Bank - The Israeli army seized a fifteen-year-old teenage boy, Mo’ath ’Atef Abu ’Eker, from Deheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Sunday. The Israeli army also broke into the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Nablus, and a number of villages, carrying out a number of arrest raids. An Israeli security source reported that an Israeli force of five vehicles broke into Ad-Doha, southwest of Bethlehem, amid intense shooting and besieged a house by Deheisheh refugee camp. They soldiers then took Abu ’Eker prisoner. In the same context, Palestinian sources in Ramallah said that the Israeli army arrested an activist of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the main military wing of Fatah, on Sunday evening in the West Bank city of Ramallah without disclosing his identity. Palestinian government determined to unmask the causes of Arafat’s death International Middle East Media Center 11/11/2006 On the second anniversary of the death of the late Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian Authority headed by Hamas has affirmed that it is determined to solve the mystery of Arafat’s death and “unmask the identity of his killers”,The Palestinian government issued a statement on Saturday commemorating the second anniversary of Arafat, and said that he lost his life while defending the Palestinian people in their national interests. The statement stressed that the Palestinian people will not abandon their national and legal rights, including the establishment of a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital. The statement also stressed that the Palestinian will not abandon the Right of Return of all Palestinian refugees and the rights of the detainees to be freed from all Israeli prisons. Army invades Bethlehem city for the second time in less than 12 hours and takes six prisoners International Middle East Media Center 11/13/2006 The Israeli army invaded Al Doha Village on the western side of the West Bank city of Bethlehem and took prisoner six residents on Monday at noon. Several army vehicles stormed the village and surrounded a car repair workshop, searched and ransacked it, then took all residents who were inside to unknown locations. Among the prisoners were: Firass Nawaura, Fares Nawaura, Hassan Nawaura, and Hanni Zawahra; the remaining two are have not been identified at the time of this report. Eyewitnesses said that troops forced the six into an army jeep and took them away. Late Sunday night, less than 12 hours ago, troops invaded a nearby area of the city, surrounded a building and took a child prisoner after searching ad ransacking residents’ homes. [end] Army takes two prisoners from Nablus and nearby refugee camp International Middle East Media Center 11/13/2006 The Israeli army invaded Ein Beit Al Ma’ refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus and took prisoner two residents on Monday at dawn. Troops and army vehicles stormed the camp and fired sound bombs and tear gas at residents’ houses, soldiers searched a number of houses and ransacked them before taking Abu Ihab Al Khatawi and Mohamed Maraka, 17, to unknown locations. Moreover, Israeli troops searched houses on the eastern side of the city of Nablus and the nearby Askar refugee camp. No arrests were reported, according to local sources. [end] Egyptian Consul visits hunger strikers in Israeli prison, working for release International Middle East Media Center 11/11/2006 Egyptians detainees continue their hunger strike in Israeli prison in protest of being held without a legal cause or trial. On Saturday the Egyptian Consul in the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv visited seven Egyptians being held in Israeli Negev detention facility. The hunger strike has been ongoing for 13 days to little avail. The Egyptian Consul told the men languishing in prison that their case is of significant importance to the Egyptian authorities who are in contact with the Israelis to garner their release. The Egyptian Consul did ask that the hunger strike end out of fear of serious repercussions to the health of the prisoners. Hamid Salem is among the prisoners who told PNN via telephone Saturday that the visit had a great impact on the hearts of the hunger strikers. After being imprisoned in Pakistani, US, Jordanian, and Israeli prisons, detainee finally freed International Middle East Media Center 11/13/2006 Israeli authorities released on November 6, 2006, detainee Marwan Ali Jabbour from Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. He was taken prisoner by Israel on the Jordan-Israeli border on September 18, 2006. Jabbour was born in Jordan, his parents are both Palestinians, and he lived with his family in Saudi Arabia; when he became 18 he travelled to Pakistan to study Computer Engineering. On May 14, 2004, he was arrested by the Pakistani Intelligence and was tortured and interrogated for 15 days. He got married to a Pakistani woman; his wife was also interrogated and tortured by Pakistani interrogators while her husband was imprisoned by Pakistani forces. The couple have three children. In an affidavit to the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Jabbour stated that he was severely tortured in Pakistan... Northern Israel residents feel let down, as Lebanese villages are rebuilt, while Israeli towns are still crumbling Ma’an News Agency 11/12/2006 Bethlehem - Residents of the northern areas of Israel have expressed their envy of the way Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have treated the people of south Lebanon, following the Israeli war against Lebanon. When they compared that treatment with the way that the Israeli government has dealt with their suffering due to the same war, they raged at the seeming unfairness of the property tax. Civic leaders of the northern towns said in a session on Sunday, "Hezbollah tortured us for one month, while our own government has been torturing us now for the third month. While Hezbollah has rebuilt and restored the ruined villages in southern Lebanon, the Israeli government has ignored our ruins." The Israeli settlers threatened to ask the Lebanese government for support unless the Israeli government supports them appropriately. [end] Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip lead to Israeli restrictions on West Bank Palestine News Network 11/10/2006 After the major Israeli attack on the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli government has approved a state of full alert among Israeli forces in the West Bank and cities inside Israeli boundaries through tomorrow evening. Along with restrictions outside, Israeli prison administrators prevented Friday prayers for Palestinian political prisoners. A Palestinian political prisoner who has been moved throughout the Israeli prison system for years spoke with PNN. “When I heard what was done by the prisons department Friday morning to impose strict measures on prisoners, especially in the Friday sermon, I was puzzled. The Israelis already will not allow what they refer to as ’inflammatory words’ to be used in any sermon, so when they said that no ’inflammatory words’ could be used today, why? There is already a permanent ban." Nonviolent marches throughout Palestine condemn Israeli massacre of civilians in Beit Hanoun International Middle East Media Center 11/10/2006 In response to the Israeli military assault on the town of Beit Hanoun that left over 75 Palestinians dead in one week, including 18 civilians killed in an artillery strike Wednesday, Palestinian people throughout the West Bank and Gaza have responded with large non-violent protests and marches demanding an end to the violence, and a pullout of Israeli troops. Yesterday in Beit Hanoun, a mass funeral for the victims of Wednesday’s attack became a political rally, in which many of the thousands of attendees chanted slogans vowing revenge against Israel for their ongoing killing of Palestinian civilians. Marches also took place in Gaza City, Rafah, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus and Jerusalem. The Jerusalem protest was repressed by the Israeli border police, who beat a number of protesters and took several as prisoners. Landmark’s battle scars take on new meaning Daily Star 11/11/2006 Interview -- BEIRUT: Marwan Rechmaoui’s most recent work, entitled "Spectre," is an exact, sculptural replica of a building that spreads across two blocs in the neighborhood of Ras Beirut. As an artist, Rechmaoui has nurtured an enduring interest in acts of mapping and deconstructing city life. "A Monument for the Living," from 2002, dealt with the history of Bourj al-Murr, the concrete tower in Kantari that continues to define the Beirut skyline despite its uselessness (never finished, can’t be used, can’t be knocked down, can’t be imploded, can’t shake a reputation as Civil War-era sniper nest and torture center). "Beirut Caoutchouc," from 2003, re-created a map of the capital in tough, interlocking black rubber. For "Spectre," he tells The Daily Star, "I wanted to take a cross-section of Lebanese society..." Imprisoned leftist leader’s lawyer says he is being tried as a representative of all Palestinians Palestine News Network 11/9/2006 From his Israeli prison cell General Secretary of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ahmed Sa’adat placed responsibility for the Israeli attack on Beit Hanoun on Arab silence and international complicity. From Ofer Prison Sa’adat was able to speak through his lawyer Thursday, stressing that the national response to the attack must be increased unity, forming a coalition government based on the National Accord Document and continued resistance. He emphasized that no matter how much of a massacre the Israelis may commit, the want and will of the Palestinian people will not be impaired. An Israeli military court was slated to sentence Sa’adat today after postponing the trial during the Gaza attack, but then postponed it once again until 14 January. Army takes one prisoner at a checkpoint near Nablus International Middle East Media Center 11/9/2006 The Israeli troops stationed at a military checkpoint south of the West Bank city of Nablus took prisoner one resident after stopping and hitting him on Thursday morning. Eyewitnesses said that two soldiers stopped a service taxi which the young man was in took the man out of the car searched him and attacked him with their rifles, the young man was bleeding form his mouth and nose, residents called an ambulance but soldiers refused to let the ambulance take the man to get medical care, then an army jeep took him to unknown location, his name remains unknown until the time of this report. [end] PFLP leader Sa’adat has Israeli military hearing; says the occupation should be in the dock Ma’an News Agency 11/9/2006 Ramallah - The leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Ahmad Sa’adat, was presented before an Israeli military court hearing on Thursday. During the hearing, he stressed that the retaliation for the Israeli massacre in Beit Hanoun should be the formation of a unity government and the enhancement of national unity. Sa’adat, who was escorted to Ofer military court on Thursday, stressed that continuing the resistance is necessary, but, he added that this should be backed with national unity and a national unity government should be formed according to the National Accord Document. He called for the factions who captured the Israeli soldier last June to keep him until the last minute and to complete a prisoners’ deal with Palestinian conditions and terms, not Israeli terms. Abbas calls on Hamas to give him custody of Gilad Shalit Ha’aretz 11/7/2006 Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in an interview published Tuesday in the Saudi daily Asharq Al Awsat, requested that Hamas release Gilad Shalit to his custody, so that he can begin negotiations with Israel over his release. Head of Hamas political bureau Khaled Meshaal on Tuesday stated that Hamas will continue to kidnap Israeli soldiers until all Palestinian prisoners are released. Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas are expected to meet Wednesday in a fresh bid to iron out differences over the formation of a unity government. Abbas and Haniyeh failed to reach an agreement during a Monday meeting in the Gaza Strip described as a "decisive" discussion on the creation of a Palestinian government of national unity and the identity of the man who will lead it. Attorney General receives 40 torture complaints in past year, investigates none By Nir Hasson, Ha’aretz 11/8/2006 Twenty-four hours before the abduction of Corporal Gilad Shalit, Israel Defense Forces soldiers broke into the home of Mustafa Abu Ma’amar in Rafah. Special forces soldiers arrested him and his brother in their respective homes. A few weeks later, Abu Ma’amar told an attorney for the Public Committee Against Torture: "One or two days later (I discovered afterward that it was the same morning the soldier had been kidnapped), three interrogators came to where I was held at 6 A. M. [approx. one hour after the abduction - N. H. ]. They didn’t ask me anything, just started kicking and hitting me while an interrogator named Moti grabbed me by the neck and throttled me until I thought I was going to die. The other two grabbed me and forcibly removed me." The interrogators later used the "exercise technique," as Abu Ma’amar calls it. Palestinian woman in Israeli prison: They told us we will die and no one will hear Palestine News Network 11/6/2006 At leat six Palestinian women are suffering from unusually harsh conditions in the already difficult Israeli Telmond Prison. Despite hunger strikes and calls from human rights organizations, the Israeli prison administration continues to refuse to lift the solitary confinement imposed on several Palestinian women since 13 September 2006. According to recent reports the women are “persecuted, harassed, and are being deprived of their simplest rights. ”Israeli prison administrators claimed to find tunnels under the prison in Jalameh months ago, leading to what what was described to PNN as the “crushing of the most basic human rights. ”In an exclusive interview with PNN, a political prisoner said, “Since our transfer, the Prisons Department has completely denied contact with our families, ’until further notice. ’” Palestinian political prisoners report on Egyptian hunger strikers in Israeli jails Palestine News Network 11/6/2006 Human rights sources told PNN on Monday that the Egyptians detained by Israeli authorities in Al Naqab (Negev) Prison are on hunger strike for the thirteenth day. Seven Egyptians are protesting being imprisoned without legal justification. Reports as to their deteriorating state of health are coming in from Palestinian political prisoners being held in the same tents in Al Naqab Prison. While the Egyptians are suffering from severe weight loss and weakness, even fainting has not brought medical attention. When taken to the prison clinic the only treatment was a nurse telling the hunger strikers to drink water. The detainees have demanded that the Egyptian Ambassador to Israel work to garner their release, but to no avail. TRC: Israel is Committing Genocide WAFA - Palestine News Agency 11/6/2006 RAMALLAH, November 6, 2006 (WAFA) - Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture (TRC) using the most advanced weapons and military machinery, Israel is committing genocide against innocent civilians in Beit Hanoun, in the Gaza Strip. In a press release, the Center said Israel has killed more than 55 people, and injured more than 250 civilians of which over 100 are in critical condition. Furthermore, say the press release, Israel is executing a number of other punitive measures such as demolishing homes, bulldozing agricultural land, and other inhumane crimes specifically designed to destroy any traces of Palestinian existence." The crimes that have been committed in Beit Hanoun today, in view of the whole world, can only be defined as genocide and violate the most basic of human rights," it reads on. Lieberman, Peretz denounce Palestinian threats to kill Shalit Ha’aretz 11/7/2006 If anything happens to abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, "we will have to add Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Palestinian Interior Minister Said Siyam to the list of martyrs," new minister Avigdor Lieberman said at yesterday’s cabinet meeting. Lieberman was responding to Palestinian threats that the ongoing Israel Defense Forces operation in Beit Hanun was liable to lead to Shalit’s death. Defense Minister Amir Peretz said the operation in Beit Hanun was being carried out for purely operational reasons, in order to fight terror, "and we will not accept any linkage between Shalit and this issue." Meanwhile, Shalit’s father, Noam, said yesterday that he has decided to maintain media silence over the next few days, as "chatter at this time will not advance the efforts" to arrange a prisoner exchange for his son... Palestinian FM in Cairo: PM Haniyeh will visit Egypt soon on first leg of Middle East tour Ma’an News Agency 11/3/2006 Gaza - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh wishes to visit Egypt on the first leg of his proposed Middle East tour, the Palestinian foreign minister, Dr Mahmoud Az-Zahhar, told Egyptian officials during a meeting in Cairo on Thursday. Haniyeh is expected to soon embark on a tour of a number of Arab and Islamic countries including Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar, Iran and Lebanon. Az-Zahhar told the Middle East News Agency that, during his visit to Cairo, he discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and "the means to stop the Israeli aggression and to lift the siege of the Palestinian people." He added that he also discussed with the Egyptians the prisoners’ exchange. He stressed to the Egyptians that the whole Palestinian people agree on the need to release Palestinian prisoners... Israeli forces invade Tulkarem Ma’an News Agency 11/2/2006 Tulkarem - Israeli troops entered the city of Tulkarem in the north of the West Bank on Thursday and detained four Palestinian men. Israeli Special Forces broke into the eastern neighbourhood of the city around 3pm Thursday to target a group of armed Palestinians. The Israeli forces were backed up with armoured vehicles. They broke into the Abu Safaqa house, ransacked it and took four Palestinian men prisoner: Walid Shqair, Mohammad Abdulatif, Walid Nasasra and Abu Safaqa. [end] Army takes prisoner one resident from Kufer Saba neighborhood in Qalqilia International Middle East Media Center 11/2/2006 Israeli troops invaded Kufer Saba neighborhood in the West Bank city of Qalqilia on Thursday at dawn and took prisoner one resident. Mohamed Jaber, 24, was taken to an unknown location when troops stormed his home and neighboring houses. [end] Army takes two prisoners from Bethlehem International Middle East Media Center 11/2/2006 An Israeli army force invaded the village of Rakhmah, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Thursday at dawn and took two prisoners. Soldiers and jeeps deployed around the village and troops searched and ransacked scores of houses in the before taking Ayman Ali, 31, and Issam Al Sha’er, 32, to and unknown location, local sources reported. [end] Army takes prisoners three residents prisoner from Nablus International Middle East Media Center 11/2/2006 Israeli forces invaded the West Bank city of Nablus and Balata refugee camp on Thursday morning and took prisoner three residents. Palestinian security sources in Nablus reported that troops and army vehicles stormed Nablus and Balata refugee camp and searched and ransacked scores of houses before taking Ala Abu Mussalam, 25, Mohamed Khalil, 22 and Maher Al Badawi, 40, to unknown locations. [end] Army invades Al Far’a village and refugee camp near Tubass, takes one prisoner International Middle East Media Center 11/2/2006 The Israeli army took prisoner one resident during an invasion to Al Far’a village and refugee camp, south of the West Bank city of Tubass on Thursday morning. Mohamed Daraghmah was taken prisoner when seven Israeli army jeeps invaded AL Far’a refugee camp and searched his house. Another force invaded the village of Al Far’a near the refugee camp and searched a number of houses. Troops left the village and took Daraghmah to an unknown location, eyewitnesses reported. [end] Army invades Al Jalazun refugee camp near Rammallah International Middle East Media Center 11/2/2006 The Israeli army invaded Al Jalazun refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Rammallah and attacked residents’ houses on Thursday at dawn. Local sources said that a number of army vehicles invaded the camp and opened fire randomly at residents’ houses. Currently soldiers are surrounding several houses and condecting a wide scale house-to-house search campaign there. Residents reported that soldiers were seen taking prisoners but no names or numbers have been issued at the time of this report. [end] Army invades Nablus and takes eight prisoners International Middle East Media Center 11/1/2006 Israeli forces invaded the city of Nablus, north of the West Bank and took eight residents prisoner on Wednesday morning. The invasion targeted residents’ houses in the old town area of the city and some homes in Balata and Askar refugee camps. Troops attacked residents’ houses and searched and ransacked them before taking the eight to unknown location. Local sources said that the eight are known as Abd Al Majeed AL Khndakji, and his brother Taymor, Jihad Al Sa’eh, Tha’er Joda, Imad Hannon, Ramzi Al Saka and Hussin Makhluf. All are from Nablus city. Troops also took Nidal Abu Issa, the general Fatah secretary, from his home in Askar refugee camp. Residents said that army bulldozers and Hummers damaged some of the civilian cars parked on the stree and some front doors of shops... Israeli Army invades Tulkarem refugee camp, injures four civilians and takes three prisoners International Middle East Media Center 11/1/2006 Israeli forces invaded the West Bank city of Tulkarem and its refugee camp on Wednesday morning, ransacked residents’ homes, injured four residents and took three as prisoners. Soldiers and army vehicles entered the city in the early dawn hours, then proceeded to the refugee camp, where they remained for the rest of the morning. Soldiers attacked residents’ houses, searched and ransacked them, destroying property. During the invasion the army opened fire at people in the street, and injured Abd Al Aziz Al Jab’e, 16, in the head, Awad Al Dush, 15, in his right leg, Wa’el Jubali, 15, in the shoulder, and Omer Ramadan in the head, medical sources reported. Residents said that troops also took Abd Al Fatah Yousif, Mohamed Baraka, and Yousif Abu Tahoun as prisoners. Army takes two children prisoner at Tayasser checkpoint near Tubass International Middle East Media Center 11/1/2006 The Israeli army took two children prisoner at Tayasser military checkpoint near the West Bank city of Tubass on Wednesday afternoon. Palestinian sources reported that Yasser Abu Mihesen and Kamal Abu Mihesen, both 16 yeas old, were taken prisoner after soldiers stationed at the checkpoints stopped them, handcuffed them and took them to the nearby military base. In a related incident, the Israeli army has installed a new checkpoint on Wednesday morning, south of Tubass city. Soldiers stopped farmer’s trucks and civilian cars, searched them and checked ID cards, local residents reported. [end] The Israeli army invades Jenin district and takes 9 residents prisoner International Middle East Media Center 11/1/2006 The Israeli army invaded the West Bank city of Jenin and the nearby villages of Kufer Dan and Yabod on Wednesday morning and took prisoner nine residents. In the village of Yabod, west of Jenin city, troops stormed residents’ houses and searched and ransacked scores of them. According to eyewitnesses, soldiers forced families out before searching their homes. Local sources reported that troops took seven residents prisoner before leaving the village. Hassep Masharka and two of his brothers, Yousif and Manssour were among them. Moreover, in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp, troops attacked residents’ homes and searched them. The campaign happened mostly in the east side of the city and in the refugee camp.... another Israeli force entered the village of Kufer Dan, west of Jenin on Wednesday morning... George Habash calls on Palestinians to show solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat Ma’an News Agency 11/1/2006 Ramallah - The founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), George Habash, has on Wednesday called on the Palestinian public to show solidarity with the detained Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmad Sa’adat, in an attempt to free him from Israeli jail. Habash applauded Sa’adat, saying, "Ahmad Sa’adat has been steadfast while his soul was tied to a tiny string. He was challenging close to the line of martyrdom, so he deserves a wide campaign of solidarity." For their part, the campaign for solidarity with the prisoners who were abducted from Jericho called on Palestinians to take part in the public sit-in strike in front of Ofer detention center, near Ramallah, on Sunday 5th November 2006 at 10:00 am. [end] Hamas: Gaza raid will have ’negative influence’ on Shalit deal Ha’aretz 11/1/2006 Hamas said Wednesday that the Israel Defense Forces operation in northern Gaza would have a "negative influence" on negotiations being brokered by Egypt to try to arrange an exchange of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel for the release of captured IDF Corporal Shalit. A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian officials on the deal that would see the release of Shalit, captured in June by Gaza-based Palestinian militants." The release of the Israeli soldier will only come after the enemy fulfils the conditions set by the captors," said Ismail Rudwan, a Hamas spokesman, referring to demands to free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Meanwhile, Israeli Arab lawmaker Ahmed Tibi (Ra’am-Ta’al) said Wednesday that there were still substantial differences between Israel and Hamas on the terms of the deal for Shalit’s release. Army takes one prisoner from Ithna village near Hebron International Middle East Media Center 11/1/2006 Israeli troops took one resident prisoner from the village of Ithna located west of the city of Hebron and south of the West Bank on Wednesday morning. Troops and army jeeps surrounded the house of Jebril Al Jibawi, 45, who works as a teacher, searched and ransacked it, then took him to an unknown location. Local sources said that Al Jibawi’s sons Hamza, 23, and Hazim, 22, were taken prisoner by the Israeli army earlier this year. [end] |
Dragons of Lebanon’s past emerge for Gemayel funeral By Robert Fisk, The Independent 11/24/2006 Amin Gemayel wept and swooned in front of us. The tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims burst into applause before the improvised stage. Gemayel - a foppish man with little charisma when he was President of Lebanon - held up his right hand and suddenly became a symbol of nobility, still swaying on his feet, his left arm supported by the tall, far younger figure of Saad Hariri. Only two days earlier, Gemayel’s MP son, Pierre, had been blasted to death by gunmen in Beirut; his body still lay in the Cathedral of St George a few metres from where we were standing. But nothing became Gemayel like his courage yesterday as he told the vast mass of Lebanese in front of him that, yes, there would be a second revolution in this country which would end only when the pro-Syrian President had been removed. The knightly St George gave his name to the great Italianate basilica - yes, he is supposed to have slain the dragon in Beirut - but Amin Gemayel’s bravery was one of the few moments of humanity on this brightly sunny, politically overcast, disturbing day. For alas, the dragons that move through the dark underworld of Lebanon’s politics are still alive. One of them, the gaunt and murderous old militia leader Samir Geagea - he spent 14 years in an underground prison for blowing up a church - talked ominously of Lebanon’s enemies, international and domestic. "They wanted a confrontation - so be it," he shouted. The terrible pain of Lebanon’s body politic was all too evident in the figures silhouetted in the evening light alongside the bullet-proof box from which Gemayel spoke. Gemayel himself had lost his son and, in 1982, his president-elect brother Bashir, whose baby daughter was slaughtered in a bomb explosion during the civil war.
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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 In Hebrew - 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 Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel. Boycott Israeli Medical Association UK: The Medical Committee for Boycott of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) will document the systematic torture of Palestinian people by agents of Israel. It will publicise the practice in order to bring world opinion to bear on Israel. And it will challenge the Israeli Medical Association which has repeatedly failed to issue advice to doctors who are involved in any way with torture. 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. Palestinian Center 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. Physicians for Human Rights - Israel Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHR-Israel) was established in 1988 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, dedicated to promoting and protecting the medical human rights of all residents of Israel and the Occupied Territories. Public Committee Against Torture in Israel - PCATI An independent human rights organization founded that monitors the implementation conditions in detention centers and continues the struggle against the use of torture in interrogation in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine The main collection contains the texts of current and historical United Nations material concerning the question of Palestine and other issues related to the Middle East situation and the search for peace. World Organisation Against Torture OMCT is today the largest international coalition of NGOs fighting against torture,summary executions, forced disappearances and all other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in order to preserve Human Rights. It has at its disposal a network, SOS Torture, consisting of some 240 non-governmental organisations which act as sources of information. |
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