Israeli forces target children with live ammunition to quash protests

Ramallah, March 23, 2015—At least 30 children across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, sustained gunshot wounds when Israeli forces used live ammunition to quash protests during the first three months of 2015.

While none of the incidents resulted in death, the live bullets left several children in a critical condition. On March 6, Israeli forces shot Moaaz Mahmoud Ramahy, 15, in the chest while confronting Palestinian youth at the entrance of Jalazun refugee camp, north of the West Bank city of Ramallah. The medical report obtained by Defense for Children International Palestine stated that the bullet caused severe internal bleeding, shattered two rib bones, and damaged his right lung. In the same incident, Israeli soldiers also injured Mohammad Rajae Issa Humidat, 16, in the face with live ammunition. Seven other children from Jalazun refugee camp sustained injuries from live fire since January.

All but one of the injuries documented by DCIP occurred at the hands of Israeli soldiers. The exception took place in East Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhood of Silwan on February 2 when an unprovoked Israeli settler shot Mohammad Burqan, 17, in the right leg.

“The high rate of incidents involving live ammunition against children amounts to a de facto policy that permits Israeli forces to use lethal force on civilians,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, DCIP’s Accountability Program director. “Soldiers operate with the knowledge that their brutal actions will go unchecked whatever the result.”

In December 2014, Israeli news site NRG published a recording of Brig. Gen. Tamir Yadai telling Israeli settlers from the West Bank settlement of Halamish that Israeli soldiers adopted a “tougher approach” of using live ammunition against Palestinian protesters. “In places where we used to fire tear-gas or rubber [coated metal bullets], we now fire Ruger bullets and sometimes live bullets,” Yadai said. “We’re at around 25 people hit here in the last three weeks. That’s a relatively high figure on any scale.”

The statement contradicts the Israeli military’s own regulations, which permit the use of live ammunition only when a direct, mortal threat exists. DCIP found no evidence that any of the children injured in 2015 posed such a threat to Israeli troops or settlers.

Over the past 12 weeks, Israeli forces injured 258 Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Between March 10 and 16 alone, Israeli forces shot 18 Palestinians, including nine children, with live ammunition, the UN agency reported.

On March 10, sporadic clashes erupted between Israeli forces and residents of Kufr Aqab, an Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem cut off from the rest of the city by Israel’s separation barrier and Qalandia checkpoint. At least nine civilians sustained injuries from live fire, including seven children, during protests against demolition notices served by Israeli authorities in order to expand a closed military zone, according to media reports and DCIP research.

In 2014, Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinian children with live ammunition in the occupied West Bank. Only one incident resulted in both an investigation and an indictment. Israeli prosecutors brought manslaughter charges against the border police officer allegedly responsible for the death of Nadeem Nawara during May 15 protests commemorating the Palestinian Nakba—or 1948 “catastrophe.”

Since 2000, Israeli security forces have killed over 8,896 Palestinians. At least 1,900 of those have been children, according to DCIP documentation.

Source : http://www.dci-palestine.org/documents/israeli-forces-target-children-live-ammunition-quash-protests

Over 100 Palestinian child prisoners inside Israeli jails

Over 100 Palestinian children are currently detained in Israeli jails, according to head of the Palestinian Prisoner's Club legal unit Jawad Boulos, of whom 26 were arrested in last month.

33 Palestinian child prisoners are currently serving actual prison sentences for various lengths of time.

Boulos affirmed that based on the affidavits of minor prisoners, most of the arrests were made during the late night hours, where children are taken from homes and subjected to interrogation without the presence of a legal guardian according to Israeli laws.

In 2014, approximately one thousand Palestinian children were arrested by Israeli forces, often for no reason.  Their arrest include  systematic abuse, including physical assault and forced confessions.

At least 480 Palestinian children were killed by Israel during its summer attack on the Gaza Strip, while 11 Palestinian kids were killed by live ammunition in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Source : http://ufreeonline.net/index.php/site/index/news/549/3

UN: Palestinian death toll in 2014 highest since 1967

More than 550 children, 240 women were killed only in the 51-day Israeli war on Gaza in 2014 

In the Gaza Strip, 1.8 million Palestinians endured the worst escalation of aggressions since 1967: over 2,260 Palestinians were killed, more than 11,000 injured, some 100,000 remain displaced.

Days of Palestine, New York –The continuous Israeli aggression against Palestinians claimed lives of more Palestinians in 2014 than any year since 1967, United Nations’ report said on Thursday.

In 2014, the Israeli occupation waged a devastating war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that killed nearly 2,260 people, while intense violence in occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank killed dozens of Palestinians.

OCHA said: “Palestinian civilians continue to be subject to threats to their life, physical safety and liberty, with 2014 witnessing the highest civilian death toll since 1967.”

It continued: “In the Gaza Strip, 1.8 million Palestinians endured the worst escalation of aggression since 1967: over 1,500 Palestinian civilians were killed, more than 11,000 injured and some 100,000 remain displaced.”

More than 550 children were among the dead, it added.

In addition to the casualties among Palestinians, 73 died on the Israeli side, including only four non-combatants and a child.

Meanwhile, OCHA said: “A record number of 1,215 Palestinians were displaced due to home demolitions in the occupied Jerusalem and West Bank.”

It added: “Settlement and settler activities continued, in contravention of international law, and contributed to humanitarian vulnerability of affected Palestinian communities.”

- See more at: http://www.daysofpalestine.com/features/un-palestinian-death-toll-2014-highest-since-1967/#sthash.M9mM08i1.dpuf

Human rights group: Evidence points to Israeli war crimes in Gaza

Ben White

The Israeli military likely commissioned war crimes and crimes against humanity during 2014's 'Operation Protective Edge', a leading international human rights NGO has concluded.

The report by FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), a Paris-based body representing 178 global human rights organisations, comes shortly before Palestine's ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which goes into effect tomorrow.

"Trapped and Punished: The Gaza Civilian Population under Operation Protective Edge" is based on evidence collected by a FIDH fact-finding delegation to Gaza, composed of the Legal Advisor for the Belgian League for Human Rights and FIDH's Permanent Representative to the EU.

According to FIDH, "the report compiles examples of indiscriminate and direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects, disproportionate to any concrete military advantage, as well as deliberate attacks targeting medical services, among other potential crimes."

The delegation also investigated other violations of international law by Israel's armed force, including "the refusal of access to humanitarian relief", and "the targeting of...operational healthcare facilities and transport" as well as "life-sustaining civilian infrastructure."

FIDH notes that Israeli "attacks on densely populated residential areas killed an exceptional number of civilians." Around 60 percent of confirmed Palestinian fatalities "were a direct consequence of large-scale, deliberate and systematic military attacks against family homes", states the report.

The report also tackles head on a number of the justifications or explanations offered by the Israeli military for the Palestinian civilian death toll, and finds them wanting. In particular, the Israeli policy of issuing 'warnings', either to an entire neighbourhood, or to a specific building, is condemned as both inadequate and itself criminal.

This report submits that Israel's warning policy in Gaza during the summer of 2014 was not only ineffectively implemented, but was also conceived and applied so inconsistently that instead of protecting civilians, it was used to spread confusion and terror among the civilian population.

The FIDH delegation heard harrowing stories of relatives left behind "in the panic", while those "with mobility difficulties found themselves simply having to sit and await death as those around them fled." The 'warnings', therefore

failed to evidence a credible attempt to achieve the legitimate aim of civilian protection; rather, they suggest an intentional policy on the part of the Israeli State to forcibly displace and/or justify subsequent civilian death.

FIDH's report comes as Palestine formally ratifies the Rome Statute of the ICC on 1 April. With that in mind, the human rights group has submitted the report to the ICC, and intentionally interpreted the evidence "through the framework of the Rome Statute."

Thus "potential crimes" identified by FIDH are "qualified under ICC legal norms for individual criminal responsibility."

FIDH makes it clear that last year's assault is not even the whole story, noting how "attacks on goods and assets essential for the survival of the population and Gaza's economy exhibit a systematic character and were perpetrated by Israel in full knowledge, forming part of state policy before Operation Protective Edge and reinforced thereafter."

Commenting on the report, FIDH vice-president Shawan Jabbarin, urged the ICC to "move from a mere preliminary examination of the conflict to a full investigation." The group's president Karim Lahidji, meanwhile, said "impunity" would simply be "an invitation to commit further such crimes."

It's time for international justice to prevail over an unwilling national justice system.

Link to full report here.

Source : https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/politics/17809-human-rights-group-evidence-points-to-israeli-war-crimes-in-gaza

Palestinian Authority officially joins ICC today

Days of Palestine, The Hague –The Palestinian Authority (PA) officially joins ICC at the Hague on Wednesday, a step means starting probes into Israeli crimes.

By joining the ICC, the Palestinians seek to sue they Israeli occupaiton for “war crimes,” despite potential backlash from the Israeli occupation and the US.

On January 1, the PA signed the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC. The UN announced that it would accept the “State of Palestine” as a member of the high court and implement its membership three months later.

In 2009, the PA applied to join the ICC but was rejected since it did not have state status. However, in November 2012, the UN granted the PA non-member state status, paving the way for the Palestinians to renew their ICC bid and join other international organisations.

Senior PA official Saeb Erekat said on Monday that the ICC has already launched a preliminary investigation into Israeli war crimes during last summer’s war in Gaza.

“The legal and technical committees have been extensively working on finalising the two files,” Erekat said. “We will conduct all practical moves directly after Palestine is officially declared an ICC member on Wednesday.”

The PA has made clear it would attempt to prosecute the Israeli occupation for crimes against humanity directed at the Palestinians and “illegal settlements” in occupied Jerusalem and West Bank.

- See more at: http://www.daysofpalestine.com/news/palestinian-authority-officially-joins-icc-today/#sthash.yIaDWxHn.dpuf

HISTORY OF ISRAEL

Israeli bulldozers destroy EU-funded shelters in East Jerusalem

Israeli authorities regularly demolish structures inhabited by the Bedouin in the West Bank, and have tried to move communities into housing planned by the state (MEE/Rich Wiles) 

Israeli authorities on Tuesday demolished EU-funded shelters in occupied East Jerusalem, the European Union said, denouncing the move.

"We condemn today's demolition of temporary shelters funded by the European Union ... as part of its response to the needs of the affected communities," an EU statement said.

EU funds have helped to pay for some 200 temporary buildings used as shelters in villages inhabited by Bedouin communities in the West Bank, just outside East Jerusalem.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

The structures demolished on Tuesday were small metal constructions put up on the outskirts of the Palestinian neighbourhood of Issawiya, an AFP correspondent said.

The area was empty of residents following the demolition by bulldozer.

The Jerusalem municipality said the process was initiated by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. 

A spokeswoman for the authority told AFP the structures were in a national park within the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem municipality, which had been informed of the violation and demolished the structures.

A spokesman for Regavim, a rightwing lobby group, said the move was unusual.

"This doesn't happen every day, and it certainly doesn't happen to EU buildings," the spokesman told AFP.

Israeli authorities regularly demolish structures inhabited by the Bedouin in the West Bank, and have tried to move communities into housing planned by the state.

Critics say Israel is deliberately displacing the Bedouin in order to build settlements in the area of the West Bank just outside East Jerusalem.

The effective annexation of a corridor running through the middle of the West Bank would make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state impossible.

Palestinian land levelled near Bethlehem

Meanwhile, Ma’an News Agency reported that Israeli forces levelled private Palestinian land near the village of Kisan southeast of Bethlehem.

The mayor of the village, Hussein Ghazal, told Ma’an that Israeli bulldozers razed 18 acres of land belonging to the Ubayyat family.

Khalid Qaddura, the director of Bethlehem's District Civil Liaison office, said that Israeli authorities had informed his office that they planned to establish a 150-acre industrial zone on Kisan’s land.

Large swathes of the village’s land have already been confiscated by Israel for the Maale Amos and Mizpe Shalem settlements, in addition to the illegal outpost of Eibi Hankhal, according to Ma’an.

Over 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements accross the occupied West Bank, despite such settlements being considered illegal under international law.

Source : http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-bulldozers-destroy-eu-funded-shelters-east-jerusalem-184605262