Peace Now activists held for questioning at the entrance of a settlement

Today eight Peace Now activists were detained for questioning at the entrance of the Nofei Nehemia settlement, east of the Ariel settlement. They were released after a short interrogation

End the suffering of the Palestinian petitioners

Judge Rayek Jarjoura with the Haifa District Court ended the brief of the ruling he issued in the case of a Palestinian who sued the state of Israel after being injured during an Israeli operation in the territories saying, "I think that the suffering of Palestinians who file suits against the state and are unable to attend the court hearings should be ended."

The army has discovered negligence and apathy

In a moment of truth and courage, Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon admitted that the field investigation into the close-range shooting of Palestinian Iman al-Hams ended in failure

IDF Spokeswoman accuses Ilana Dayan of fabricating tape

Today (December 13) a strongly worded public confrontation took place at the Herzliya Conference between journalist Ilana Dayan

Palestinians: Armed settlers uproot 117 olive trees in an area declared private property by the Civil Administration

Yesterday 117 olive trees were uprooted from a Palestinian-owned orchard in the Jayyus village near the Tzofin settlement next to Qalqaliya

Another attack on a candidate at the checkpoints

Today, the Palestinian presidential candidate for the popular party, Bassam al-Salhi, claimed that he was attacked by Border Guard soldiers at al-Ram checkpoint north of Jerusalem

The incident and subsequent action taken by HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual

Compelling a person to serve as a human shield and damaging property during a house search: a civil action for damages filed by HaMoked against the state for extensive damage caused to the house and personal property of residents of the Occupied Territories during a search by the military

Around 1,500 houses have been razed during the intifada and 15,000 civilians made homeless

According to statistics published by the United Nations, the IDF has demolished more than 1,500 homes in the Rafah are in four years of combat, leaving 15,000 homeless. Most of the demolitions took place in this area because the IDF wanted to expand the Philadelphia Corridor on the Israeli-Egyptian border to prevent the digging of tunnels for weapons smuggling and attacks on their forces along the border

Chief Justice Barak to State Prosecutor: entire world reads international reports about home demolitions in Rafah; for the sake of our history, I suggest you respond to the petition in detail

On October 26, 2004, the Supreme Court considered a petition filed in May 2004 by Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel on behalf of the Haqq Organization in Ramallah and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza

Palestinian ninja

Are Palestinian women ninja turtles? Yes, this is how they are described at the Hawara checkpoint on the outskirts of Nablus . I know this because I heard a soldier calling a group of women wearing black veils by this name

Eyewitnesses say that the settler fired unprovoked; the court releases him under house arrest

Today the prosecutor's office for central Israel will go before the Tel Aviv District Court to appeal the decision of the Kfar Saba Magistrates Court to release Yehoshua Elitzur and place him under house arrest after he shot Palestinian Sael Jabara the night before last

Naval special unit: We forced Palestinians to act as human shields for us

Fighters with a special naval force reported that they forced Palestinians to act as human shields for the soldiers, according to reports on Israeli Army Radio today

The IDF: 29 innocent Palestinians killed this year in the West Bank

Statistics released this afternoon by an official source from Central Command revealed that since the beginning of the current year, the IDF has killed 148 unarmed Palestinians in the West Bank

"We were monsters"

In the same week that Capt. R. was indicted for shooting a 13-year-old girl near Rafah after she approached an Israeli army outpost, reserve soldiers and officers belonging to the Breaking the Silence movement met to discuss their service in the territories

IDF investigates whether soldiers executed an injured suspect

Yesterday, Major General Moshe Kaplinsky, head of Central Command, formed an external investigative committee headed by a brigadier general to investigate an incident in which soldiers with a special naval unit killed a wanted man from Islamic Jihad near Jenin last Friday

IDF's chief educational officer: 20% of Israeli soldiers are not concerned about Arab lives

Today, Brigadier General Eliezer Stern, the IDF's Chief Educational Officer, said that around 20% of Israeli soldiers from various social classes believe that the life of an Arab is not equal to that of a Jew.

Charge: Attacking a Palestinian and shooting him at an IDF checkpoint

The assault on student Mohammed Kanaan at the Beit Iba checkpoint near Nablus has reached the military court: the central command prosecutor has charged a soldier from the Haruv Battalion with causing serious injury, illegally using his weapon, and assault

Children in the Eisawiya quarter are behind the wall and out of school

Jihad Abu Rajab, a ten-year old living in the Eisawiya quarter of East Jerusalem , did not start fourth grade this year

Should 250 cave dwellers interfere with the fence?

Last week, the High Court of Justice postponed for four months the state's request to destroy the structures and tents in Susiya, a village of caves in the southern part of the Hebron Hills

When you need a permit to sleep in your own home

The aroma of the coffee drew us to the Peace Minimarket, in D'hiyat el Salaam, the Peace neighborhood in the southwest corner of Anata

New J'lem master plan seeks to curb Old City overcrowding

Mayor Uri Lupolianksy, city engineer Uri Sheetrit, and the head of the planning team, former Jerusalem district planner, Moshe Cohen, presented the plan, which calls for "massive intervention" to prevent overcrowding in the Old City

Israeli soldiers beat me

"I slept under the carob tree all night. I was afraid of snakes and other animals, but more afraid of the soldiers. And I couldn't walk

Employees of the Shamir Food Company demand NIS830,000 from the company as compensation for wages less than minimum wage

Some 30 employees of the Shamir Food Company have filed a suit with the District Labor Court in Tel Aviv asking compensation for the difference in wages, severance pay, and other rights

One out of every nine

One out of every nine women gets breast cancer. There are doctors who say that statistic has worsened lately and now stands at one out of every eight

Jenin: soldiers shoot and kill a mentally retarded Palestinian

Palestinian sources in Jenin say that Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian this morning from the city's refugee camp

Soldiers killed a Palestinian and lied during the investigation

A few days after the Chief of Staff expressed his concern over the deterioration in IDF ethics and called on soldiers to break the silence

IDF General: Let this scum die of thirst

"As for me, I wish the scum would die of thirst." These words were spoken by a general with the IDF last night, referring to the residents of Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield, during a lecture he gave to reserve soldiers in Tzrifin

Squadron commander accused of confirming the kill indicted

Scoop: Capt. R., the commander of a Givati Brigade squadron accused of firing at close range to "confirm the kill" of a 14-year-old girl in Rafah, will be indicted

Yaalon describes photos with corpses as alarming

The Chief of Staff commented this morning on the desecration of corpses reported in Yediot Aharonot saying, "These are alarming practices

Taking photos with corpses

In another incident that happened shortly before this, we were sent to guard the brigade commander's headquarters in Harsina

Settlers attack olive-pickers and clash with the IDF

Around 70 settlers from the Itamar settlement arrived at olive orchards in the village of Awarta near Nablus this morning in an attempt to obstruct olive pickers

Israel asks PA donors to fund new, upgraded West Bank roads

Israel has asked countries that contribute funding to the Palestinian Authority to finance the construction of new roads and the upgrading of existing ones in the West Bank

Zeliger convicted for aiding a terrorist organization

The Jerusalem District Court convicted right-wing extremist Shahar Dvir Zeliger for membership in an underground organization, but he not yet been sentenced

The base of terror is here

Even before all the victims in last week's terrorist attack in Be'er Sheva were identified, Israeli security sources had identified those responsible for the attack-the Syrians

Supreme Court criticizes "prior warning order" allowing army to use Palestinian civilians during military operations

On 5 September 2004 , the Supreme Court of Israel held a hearing pursuant to a pending petition filed in May 2002, a motion for injunction submitted in April 2004

This time we've crossed the line

They will say that this is imposed by reality. They will say that we're not the ones who started it. They will say that this will stem terrorism

Terrorists are still being released due to overcrowding

Last night procedures began for the release of around 170 terrorists from Israeli prisons. The Prison Authority said that the prisoners being released were convicted of petty crimes or had almost completed their sentences

Soldiers take souvenir photos with terrorist's corpse

When a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Hamra checkpoint in the Jordan Valley , Y. was a junior commander of the Nahal Brigade

Settlers attack Palestinian children

MKs from the entire political spectrum condemned the use of violence by settlers from Havat Maon against Palestinian children

Palestinians miss school because of settler attacks

Testimonies collected by Physicians for Human Rights, Taayush, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, to be presented to the Knesset's Child Rights Committee tomorrow

ACRI calls for dismantling of barrier in Alfei Menashe enclave

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) submitted a petition to the Supreme Court this morning (31.8.04) against the Prime Minister, The Minister of Defense, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commander in the area of Judea and Samaria

Checkpoint behavior

Israel Defense Forces officers were among the first to understand the moral danger involved in checkpoints, way before the general public in Israel was prepared to hear about rude or even abusive behavior on the part of the soldiers

Court extends remand of soldiers suspected of murder

A military tribunal gave a three-day extension Sunday to the remand of two soldiers suspected of murdering an unarmed Palestinian last October

Fahima: They're disciplining me

"The objective of administrative detention is to remove me from existence," said Tali Fahima upon arriving at the Tel Aviv District Court today. "They want me to disappear. They're disciplining me."

165 Palestinians, including 50 civilians, killed in October

The Israel Defense Forces killed 165 Palestinians in the territories in October, including 159 in the Gaza Strip. October was the deadliest month for the Palestinians since operation Defensive Shield in April 2002.

A High Court of Justice petition to protect Palestinian olive-pickers from settlers

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Rabbis for Human Rights filed a petition with the High Court of Justice today asking that Palestinian farmers in the West Bank be allowed to reach their lands and that "they be protected from attacks by settlers living in the area

Yasser Arafat quickly buried in his headquarters; no speeches made due to crowds

This afternoon Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat was buried in a hasty ceremony in the mosque at his compound in Ramallah amidst a huge Palestinian crowd

About 200 Israelis attend Arafat's funeral; his death celebrated in Israel

About 200 Israeli crossed the Beituniya checkpoint today at the entrance to Ramallah to attend the funeral of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat

Israeli soldiers accused of killing Palestinian for the first time

Recently four Israeli soldiers-including two commanders-were arrested following a military police investigation into the death of a Palestinian from Rafah. One of the soldiers is accused of killing the Palestinian, who was unarmed when shot. His colleague is accused of being an accessory

The beginning of the start of the end

How long can the costume ball go on? How long can we pretend the spit in our faces is rain? There are now signs that it can't go on forever-it is not the beginning of the end, but it looks like the beginning of the start of the end of the occupation

Israel proposes turning a settlement into a Palestinian hospital

Israel proposed to delegates of the World Bank that a settlement in the Gush Katif bloc be made into a medical center for residents of the Palestinian Authority after the Prime Minister's plans are executed.

Gavriely on Arafat: I hope that dog dies

Verbal assaults by members of Knesset have reached a low. During a disagreement with MK Ahmad Tibi (Taal-Hadash) in a debate during a Knesset committee session

MK Zeev: Arafat will be buried like an ass; he has no place in Jerusalem

"I say about this man, this loathsome killer and blood-letter, as it is written in the book of Jeremiah [ 22:19 ]: 'He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem ,'" said MK Nissim Zeev about Arafat

The right declares: we will mobilize the troops to prevent Arafat's burial on the Temple Mount

After voices heard in the Palestinian street have raised fears that Palestinians will try to bury Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat on the Temple Mount , various elements on the right have begun working to thwart these intentions

UNRWA report on Operation Days of Penitence: the operation caused $3 million in damages

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) announced that during the Israeli army's Operation Days of Penitence in the Gaza Strip

From the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions

Don't say we didn't know

During the current intifada, Israel has demolished more than 4,500 Palestinian homes in the occupied territories

Torture lottery at the checkpoints

Another incident of the abuse of Palestinians at the checkpoints revealed: a group of Border Guard soldiers at the Abu Dis checkpoint are accused of sadistically abusing Samih Fawaghra, from Bethlehem

Urgent: the illegal confiscation of liquids and salt from the cells of prisoners on hunger strike

To:

Yaakov Ganot

Prison Commissioner

We ask that you issue an immediate order to all prisons in which prisoners have begun a hunger strike to return all liquids and salt confiscated from prisoners' cells, as is detailed below:

1. On August 15, 2004, 1,500 prisoners in the Nafha, Eshel, Ohalei Keder, and Hadarim prisons declared a hunger strike to protest their harsh imprisonment conditions in state prisons. Currently, 2,200 prisoners are on hunger strike. The striking prisoners clearly announced that in protest of their living conditions in prison, they would not eat, but at this point, the hunger strike does not include forgoing sweet or savory liquids

A mother of seven children is dying in Gaza and the IDF will not allow her to be transferred for treatment

The life of Mrs. Rida Helas, a 31-year-old mother of seven from Gaza , is in danger. If she is not moved to Israel or Egypt for treatment within a few days, doctors think she will die from colon cancer.

The cancer of the checkpoints

It was hot last Monday. At a checkpoint in the West Bank , in front of the concrete towers that make life bitter for both Palestinians and the soldiers standing inside, a long line of Palestinians stretched out

Monthly report for August 2004

At checkpoints around Nablus , solitary confinement cells have been built-narrow structures designed to pen one human being in solitary confinement, standing or crouched

Settlers detain ambulance and Palestinian youth dies before reaching hospital

Yesterday settlers prevented 17-year-old Salman al-Safadi from Oref from being moved. Al-Safadi was shot and killed by settler Boaz Albert, security deputy at the Yitzhar settlement, near an illegal settlement outpost close to Yitzhar

Palestinian shot and killed by settler near Yitzhar settlement

This afternoon a Palestinian was shot and killed by a settler from the Givat 725 settlement near Yitzhar, south of Nablus

The Palestinian killed yesterday in the West Bank did not break into the settler's home

Yesterday afternoon a Palestinian was killed by a settler in the Givat 725 settlement near Yitzhar, south of Nablus

UNRWA: 45 Palestinians lose their homes every day

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) issued a warning on the size and rate of IDF house demolitions in the West Bank in 2004

Abu Ala accuses the IDF of killing 140 Palestinians and razing their homes

The IDF completed its pull-out from villages in the northern Gaza Strip this evening. IDF forces withdrew from Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabaliya and are now stationed on hills overlooking these villages to enable a rapid response if the launching of Qassam rockets is resumed, according to IDF intelligence

Tali Fahima is also Israel

Are you angry at Tali Fahima, the woman described as a nationalist whore for the Arabs? If so, read the following lines. You may change your mind

Palestinian says soldier assaulted him for possessing poster of dead terrorist

An IDF soldier at a mobile checkpoint on Sunday hit a Palestinian man after finding a poster in his car displaying a man killed two weeks ago in an IDF operation

Condoleezza Rice warns: Israel must end the occupation

US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said today in a speech given at the Institute for Peace in Washington that the Bush Administration had asked Israel to clarify its plans for construction in the territories.

Physicians for Human Rights want to send a medical team to security prisoners

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), part of the Israeli left, sent a letter to Prison Commissioner Gen. Yaakov Ganot in which they offered to allocate an independent medical team to monitor the health of Palestinian security prisoners on hunger strike

Priority to construction and buying in the territories

The Israel Lands Administration (ILA) has allocated land to build 533 housing units in Judea and Samaria

Border Guard soldiers beat me and demanded money from my father

Today (October 19) Abu Abdullah-the father of Ala al-Shalash, 19, who was beaten by Border Guard soldiers at the Container checkpoint near Bethlehem -told Ynet, "My heart was breaking

The life of the settler who killed a Palestinian was not in danger

Police officers think that Yehoshua Elitzor, a resident of the Itamar settlement who shot and killed Palestinian driver Sael Jabara last month, shot him even though his life was not in danger

Contractor dumps waste on the land of a Palestinian village

An Israeli contractor working in the quarries of the Beitar Elit settlement dumped its waste in a valley used as agricultural land in the Nahalin village.

Report: Israel systematically violates international law

Human Rights Watch announced that Israel violates international law by systematically demolishing Palestinian homes in Rafah

Plan: the Israeli army will establish an archeological museum in Judea and Samaria

The Israeli army intends to establish a museum for archeological artifacts found or confiscated in Judea and Samaria since 1967

Shame, confusion, impotence

These are the feelings that overwhelmed Haggai Schickler after spending three weeks at the checkpoint in Halhoul

Government crimes and the peace movement

The political crisis grows worse day after day. The fault lays with the Israeli government-that is, the right and the religious camp with all its various factions

Security prisoners on hunger strike

Security prisoners went on hunger strike this morning at the Nafha and Eshel prisons in the south, and the Hadarim prison. In the coming days, security prisoners at other facilities are expected to join them

Police prevent leftist activist from helping with olive-picking

This morning the IDF and Israeli police prevented a group of 100 Israeli leftists from reaching the Palestinian village of al-Zawiya in the northern West Bank to help residents with olive-picking. The police acted fearing confrontations between the activists and settlers from the neighboring Eli settlement.

Since the beginning of Operation Days of Penitence: no treatment for Palestinian children in pain or requiring heart surgery

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) says that since the beginning of Operation Days of Penitence, due to IDF military operations in the Gaza Strip that began on the eve of Sukkot, treatment for Palestinian children in pain or requiring heart surgery has stopped

'Night of the broken truncheons' redux

Usually I am not really interested in who will be the mayor of Ariel. As far as I'm concerned, it is on the other side of the mountains of darkness

Following the revocation of an injunction preventing the army from demolishing ten houses in southern Rafah: Adalah files new request for an injunction (with photos attached) with the High Court of Justice

On July 27, 2004, Adalah (the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel ) asked the High Court of Justice to issue an injunction preventing the military authorities from demolishing several homes in southern Rafah on the grounds of "vital military necessity" pending a final ruling on a petition on the matter

If it were the reverse

What would happen if a Palestinian terrorist were to detonate a bomb at the entrance to an apartment building in Israel and cause the death of an elderly man in a wheelchair

Is the beating of Palestinians exceptional? It's routine

About two months ago, the Breaking the Silence exhibit closed. The exhibit contained testimony from Israeli soldiers regarding the abuse of Palestinians in Hebron

Three Palestinian miscarriages while waiting at the Rafah crossing

Rafah police report that three pregnant Palestinian women miscarried while waiting for the Rafah border crossing to reopen

That's the reason

What's the problem? Not a month has passed since the big holiday began and we can already observe its fruits in anger: beatings, theft, stabbings, and haircuts

The separation wall: between myth and reality

Violations of Palestinian human and social rights due to the construction of the wall

Israeli soldiers robbed Palestinian homes

Did Israeli soldiers steal property from the homes of Palestinian families in the West Bank ? Five families from the Beit Omer village south of Gush Etzion say that while seven soldiers searched their home, they stole money and jewelry and insulted them

Military police investigate death of 13-year-old Palestinian girl

Yesterday, Judge Advocate General Avi Mandelblit ordered the military police to launch an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of 13-year-old Eman al-Hams from Rafah

Chief of Staff: the squadron commander did not confirm the kill

Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon accepted yesterday the story of the squadron commander accused of shooting a 13-year-old girl in Rafah to confirm the kill

Israeli soldiers kill child on her way to school

Yesterday morning (October 6), 13-year-old Eman al-Hams was shot and killed near an Israeli army outpost in Rafah