AUGUST 2001
Thursday August 30, 2001
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Four Palestinians were killed yesterday and bullets of Israeli troops and settlers injured more than one hundred others. Bethlehem and Bet Jala towns were shelled yesterday by two ground-to-ground missiles. Residential areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were also shelled by heavy machine guns. Israeli troops invaded regions under the PNA control in various parts while the city of Rafah was totally isolated from the rest of Gaza districts. Regions in Bet Jala remained under occupation until last night. The four martyrs are: Mohammed Salim al-Hamrani, 24, from Rafah; Imad Salim Hazahzeh, 19, from Far'on village in Tulkarem; Haidar Jadou' Kan'an al-Khatib, 26, from Hizma village in Jerusalem; lieutenant in Force17 Aboud Ahmad Dababseh, 30, from Yatta village. Al- Hamrani died in an armed clash with Israeli troops at Soufa Crossing. Meanwhile, the Israeli troops resumed around midnight yesterday shelling all residential areas in the city of Hebron; Fatah Movement announced in a statement last night a general mourning today for the martyrdom of Aboud Dababseh.
Wednesday August 29, 2001
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Thousands of Palestinian masses marched yesterday in the funeral of the Palestinian leader martyr Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Abu Ali Mustafa who was laid to rest in al-Bireh Cemetery. The Israeli authorities prevented the sons of the martyr from participating in the funeral and allowed only his wife, his daughter, his sister, and his brother out of 11 brothers to attend the funeral. Meanwhile, the Arab, Islamic and international reactions continued condemning the assassination of the leader Abu Ali Mustafa. In Damascus, the ten Palestinian resistance factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad Movement, vowed to avenge the martyr. The statement issued by the factions said the blood of the martyr will not go wasted and that the crime proves that the Palestinian people have no option but follow the path of resistance and struggle in all forms away from the illusions of settlement and negotiations. An official in the PFLP threatened to target US and Israeli interests in the world. Abu Ali Talal, member in the PFLP Central Committee, who resides in Ein Hilwe Camp in South Lebanon, said: Our retaliation will be severe and will reach US and Israeli contacts everywhere. The Islamic Conference Organization said the crime is an escalation step that drags the region into more killing and destruction. Iraq, Libya, Bahrain, Iran, Pakistan, China, and Cuba condemned the assassination crime. The Finnish Foreign Minister accused Israel of oppressing, insulting, and besieging the Palestinian people. The Finnish Minister compared between what the Israelis are exercising in terms of policy of oppression and discrimination against the Palestinians and what was exercised against them in 1930.
A settlers car opened fire around 6:00 am this morning at a Palestinian car, resulting in the killing of Haidar Jadou' Kan'an al-Khatib, 26, from Hizma, and the injury of his father and brother near Atanot Camp near Anata Camp, north east of Jerusalem.
The Israeli troops occupied yesterday morning the buildings of the Lutheran Anglican Church in Bet Jala; the buildings also house the headquarters of the Church and an orphanage center, which takes care of 50 children from different religions. A statement issued by the Church and signed by Bishop Munib Younan demanded from Israel to evacuate the buildings, expressing strong condemnation to the Israeli army, which occupied the buildings of the Church. The statement said that Israeli soldiers occupied the roof of the building, which also includes an orphanage. The curfew imposed by the Israeli army on Bet Jala region resulted in the isolation of the children in the building, which makes it difficult for the church to secure enough food for them. A spokesperson to the Israeli army denied this information. Bishop Riyah Abul Asal, Bishop of Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East said the breaking into the buildings and institutions of the Church in Bet Jala by the Israeli troops is rejected. He said he would exert all efforts to resist this Israeli measure and will hold contacts with the Christian world, especially the World Council of Churches, and inform them about the matter so that they could respond appropriately. The Bishop added that occupying a Church or a school will not assist in moving forward in the peace process and will not help in building bridges of confidence between the Palestinians and Israelis. He described the Israeli measures as irresponsible acts, such as the assassination of Abu Ali Mustafa. He continued: Such measures do not achieve security but increases the level of tension in the Holy Lands. Bishop Abul Asal denounced the Israeli troops act of seizing the orphan children as human shields, stressing that they must not use our children as human shields and that occupying an orphanage school violates all international and humanitarian laws. He described the conditions as tragic, demanding the international community to work on ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian cities and the need to achieve peace, which is based on righteousness and justice. Meanwhile, the Israeli troops occupied the main mosque in the town of Bet Jala. Citizens said the Israeli troops and a group of snipers went up to the minaret of the mosque and used it as a monitoring tower. Sheikh Yousef Jum'a, Undersecretary of Islamic Waqf and Religious Affairs Ministry, denounced the occupation of the mosque.
Meanwhile, the occupation troops continued their aggressions and re-occupied regions in Bet Jala and Ayda Camp in Bethlehem. The troops also invaded regions in Khursa village, south of Doura town in Hebron, and in lands near Soufa Crossing in Rafah. Palestinian policeman Mohammed Marzouq Sammour, 26, died during the invasion of the occupation army into Bet Jala and Ayda Camp. In Hebron, Lieutenant Riyad Abu Zeineh, 30, died yesterday while four others were injured when Palestinians confronted an attempt by the occupation troops to break into Khursa village in Doura. Medical sources in al-Shifa' Hospital in Gaza announced the martyrdom of Tamer Riyad Zurob, 17, who received a bullet by soldiers who were stationed at Salah Eddin Gate in Rafah.
The occupation troops committed this morning an ugly crime against the family of Hazahzeh in the village of Far'on in Tulkarem, when the occupation troops attacked a farm belonging to the family and opened fire at the members of the family and killed one of them. The father of the martyr Imad Salem Hazahzeh, 20, said the soldiers attack the house and opened fire at his children, killing his son Imad and injuring his second son Rami.
In a clear proof on the failure of the occupation army to provide protection and security to settlers on the roads leading to their settlements in the occupied territories and for the first time since the start of the Intifada, the Israeli army issued an order yesterday morning banning settlers from leaving their settlements as of yesterday and until further notice.
Tuesday August 28, 2001
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Minister Abed Rabbo Condemns the Assassination of PFLP Secretary General
August 27, 2001
Palestine Media Center-PMC
Targeting Abu Ali Mustafa proves that the Israeli government, headed by Ariel Sharon, have decided to push the conflict into an unprecedented and dangerous realm
Following the criminal assassination of Mustafa Al-Zibri (Abu Ali Mustafa), Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) earlier this morning, Mr. Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Palestinian minister of Culture and Information issued the following statement:
In its assassination of Abu Ali Mustafa, the Israeli government has broken all barriers and crossed all the red lines.
This murder targeted a prominent political leader of the Palestinian national movement and the Palestine Liberation Organization. It is one of the most hideous crimes that the Israeli government of murder and terror has committed since it initiated its aggression against the Palestinian People eleven months ago.
Targeting Abu Ali Mustafa proves that the Israeli government, headed by Ariel Sharon, have decided to push the conflict into a new and dangerous realm. This murder shall turn the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory into a minefield that shall explode in anger and resistance against the brutal and criminal Israeli occupation.
Targeting the political leaders of the Palestinian national movement and other acts of murder and assassination grants the Palestinian People the right to exercise its legitimate right in protecting itself, its land, and leadership.
Kofi Annan: "The Israelis have raised tensions in the region to levels we have not seen in many years"
Austria Aug. 27th. Wafa.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday that Israel's assassination of Abu Ali Mustafa had exacerbated the Middle East crisis. He called for international action before violence spread to neighboring countries.
"The Israelis have raised tensions in the region to levels we have not seen in many years," Annan told reporters during an official visit to Austria.
Annan urged the international community to help bring the parties together for a new peace talks. "I am worried that if we do not contain the crisis it will spread," he added. "We have innocent people suffering and I think the international community has an obligation to do whatever it can to bring an end to this misery."
"The killing underscores the urgency of getting them together," Annan added. "I have spoken to [German] Foreign Minister Fischer who is trying to see what can be done to organize such a meeting... but no date has yet been fixed."
Sunday August 26, 2001
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Ala' Abu Bakra, a member in the National Security Forces, died following the violent shelling at several security posts on the eastern road that separates Rafah from Khan Yunis. Another Palestinian baby Shams Ibrahim Ata Bsharat, one year old, from Jaba' village north east of Jerusalem, died when occupation soldiers stationed at a military checkpoint prevented the parents from crossing the checkpoint to take her to the medical center in al-Ram for medical treatment. Shams received serious injuries when she fell off her bed at home and when her parents traveled to reach the medical center in al-Ram, the soldiers at the checkpoint prevented them from crossing for a long period of time. Medical sources at the center said the baby arrived to the center dead.
Israeli occupation forces destroyed two positions of Palestinian Border Forces, east Gaza. Israeli F 16 war jets rocketed two police headquarters locating in Gaza and Rafah.
In Salfeet, Israeli F 16 war jets rocketed Police Directorate, which locate at the city center. The building was completely damaged. Eight Palestinians including two children were injured. Several Palestinian houses were damaged in the Israeli air raids.
Early this morning Israeli occupation forces imposed a curfew on Azoun, east Qalqilia on allegations that shootings were directed against an Israeli car near the village.
Five Palestinians were injured in Hebron in the Israeli shelling by tanks and heavy machine guns against several neighborhoods in the city.
Muhammad al-Shamali of al-Fawar Refugee Camp was injured by a bullet in the leg during the Israeli raid to the camp. Ibrahim Abu Tuhfeh, was injured seriously in the chest when an Israeli settler shot him.
The National and Islamic Forces called for comprehensive move next Saturday by the students and teachers and the ministries of Education and Public Works, through heading towards schools and breaking the checkpoints that the occupation troops try to keep to impede the educational process of the Palestinian people.
The occupation court in Bet Eil issued a shocking sentence against a Palestinian old man from Urtas village in Bethlehem. The court sentenced Khalil Issa As'ad, 70, for 15 months imprisonment and a fine reaching $1,300 on charges of offering services to the PFLP - General Command; Khalil was arrested ten months ago as he was crossing the Bridge coming from Jordan.
Three Israeli soldiers were killed yesterday inside an occupation army camp in one of the settlements south of Gaza by two members of the Military Wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine; seven soldiers were injured. The two martyrs who executed the operation Amin Abu Hatab and Hisham Abu Jamous were able to break into the military camp in Gan Or Settlement in the Gosh Qateef Settlements between Rafah and Khan Yunis, and engage in armed clash with the occupation soldier face to face which led to the killing of three soldiers, including one major, and the injury of seven others. As usual, Israeli officials blamed the PNA for the operation. The Israeli Army Ministry formed an investigation committee to look into the details of the operation, which rocked the military circles in Tel Aviv. The "Palestinian Resistance Brigades" the military wing of the Democratic Front claimed responsibility for the operation and issued a statement saying the operation came in retaliation to the aggression war launched by the government of criminal Sharon against our people and to respond to the policy of assassinations and invasion of Palestinian cities. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine announced yesterday that the Israeli army killed one of the Palestinians who executed the attack at the camp after arresting him alive but wounded. Qays Abdul Kareem, Deputy Secretary-General of the Front, said the occupation troops assassinated martyr Hisham Abu Jamous after they arrested him when a bullet in the leg injured him. He added that the occupation troops interrogated Abu Jamous and tortured him to extract information but failed and later they shot him in the head.
Meanwhile, three Israelis were killed and two others were injured in a second operation near Ramallah, according to the Israeli military radio. The source added that Palestinians opened fire towards the car, which carried settlers who were traveling on a road near west Ramallah. The radio said the Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Saturday August 25, 2001
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Thursday August 23, 2001
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At the time when Sharon's government is talking about a breakthrough in peace process, the occupation troops committed yesterday a new ugly massacre in Nablus resulting in the martyrdom of four Palestinians near Bet Eiba Village west of Nablus. The martyrs are Ahed Mahmoud Fares, 20; Hakam Jamal Shehadeh, 22; Fadi Ibrahim Abu Eideh, 20 and Zaher Abdul Ghani Ismail, 30. The occupation troops abducted the bodies of the four martyrs who were believed to have been alive and that they were killed after they were abducted and they mutilated the upper parts of their bodies and smashed their heads with axes and later they three the bodies at the side road of the settlement road between Bet Eiba and Zawata villages. Nablus Governor Mahmoud Aloul described the crime as an ugly massacre. Meanwhile, child Mahmoud al-Ajouz, 15, died when the occupation shelled Khalat al-Amud Quarter in the city of Nablus. The masses in Nablus marched in the funerals of the five martyrs, threatened with fast retaliation, and avenging the blood of the martyrs.
Meanwhile, in Gaza youth Bilal Yahia al-Ghoul, 18, one of the activists in resistance and an officer in the Preventive Security Apparatus in Gaza, died when Apache helicopters fired rockets at the car of the martyr; the operation came as part of an assassination attempt against leading figures in Qassam Brigades. In Rafah, citizen Mahmoud Omar Ali Jaser, 23, a member in the police force, died when occupation troops opened fire at him when he was performing his national duty near Salam Quarter in Rafah Quarter. Seven members of the police force were injured, including four critical injuries, when occupation troops fired ground-to-ground missiles at the police station.
Large number of Israeli police forces and border guard units continued yesterday implementing the decisions of the security committee regarding reinforcing Israel's control over Jerusalem and isolating totally the city from the rest of West Bank. The Israeli troops dug trenches along the checkpoints erected on the entrances of the Holy City to prevent cars and trucks from passing into the city.
Palestinian policeman Mahmoud Said Jaser was martyred when Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire against him while he was heading with a group of his colleagues to dismantle explosive, which were planted in one of the buildings in Rafah.
In al-Bireh Israeli occupation forces destroyed a position of National Security, which locates near al-Hashimia School. In Araba, Israeli occupation forces destroyed a position of National Security. In Hebron, four Palestinians were injured in the Israeli shelling against residential areas.
Monday August 20, 2001
Main Headlin
The government of Sharon committed yesterday a new bloody massacre, which resulted in six martyrs, including three children, in Rafah and Nablus. The occupation troops also shelled residential areas and posts of national security forces in Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, and Ramallah. The occupation troops continued its war against Khan Yunis for the third day in a row. The occupation troops launched two ground-to-ground missiles at a house in Rafah and killed three members of the same family: the father Samir Suleiman Abu Zeid, 32, and his son Suleiman, 7, and his daughter Inas, 5. The bodies of the three members of the same family arrived to the hospital totally burnt. Medical sources in the hospital said 9 other citizens were injured, including critical injuries. According to informed sources in Rafah, martyr Abu Zeid was an activist in the popular resistance committees, which vowed to avenge the martyrs very soon.
Meanwhile, an occupation sniper opened fire at children who were playing in front of their home in Barazil Quarter, causing the martyrdom of child Mohammed Sobhi Abu Arar, 13, after he received a bullet in the chest. In Nablus, Mu'in Sobhi Saeed Abu Lawi, 38, died after he received a bullet in the neck shot by the occupation troops; Abu Lawi was returning through a side road between Tal and Bourin villages south of Nablus, carrying school stationery for his children. Palestinian citizen Saleh Saeed Zeidan, 32, from Balatah Camp, when occupation troops shelled the homes of citizens in Balatah Camp; the martyr received a fatal bullet as he was standing in front of his home.
Thursday August 16, 2001
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Wednesday August 15, 2001
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Friday August 10, 2001
Main Headlin
From LAW: (The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights & the Environment)
Israeli seizure of Palestinian organisations in Jerusalem; F16 shelling of Palestinian targets; tanks trespass PA-controlled areas
Following a suicide attack by a Palestinian on the ground floor of a two-story pizzeria in West Jerusalem at 2pm on Thursday 9 August 2001 that killed 17 Israelis and wounded more than 100 other customers and passers-by, Israel in the past 20 hours has committed a number of military attacks on Palestinian organisations. Among these have been the seizure of Orient House and other Palestinian institutions in occupied Jerusalem, and the military escalation represented in the F16 and American Apache helicopter shelling attacks on Palestinian targets. In addition, Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles trespassed into several PA-controlled areas where they destroyed outposts.
According to LAW's documentation, at around 2am on Friday 10 August 2001, about 150 Israeli special forces, accompanied by police dogs, border guards, police and a helicopter hovering overhead, blocked the streets leading to the Orient House and Al Nuzha building in the middle of occupied Jerusalem. They removed the building's outside doors, badly assaulted two guards and broke into the Orient House before spreading within the building and replacing the Palestinian flag flying overhead with an Israeli one.
57-year-old Ishaq Ahmad Budeiri from Jerusalem, Director General of the Arab Studies Society inside the Orient House, stated that the Israeli forces carried out a thorough search of the Orient House and Arab Studies Society offices, confiscating many important files, documents and maps relating to Jerusalem and its citizens, as well as some office equipment.
Eyewitnesses living in the Orient House area stated that the Israeli troops loaded large boxes full of the confiscated items into military vans and took them away.
The Orient House's attorney requested the Israeli officers present to show him a warrant for their inspection of Orient House and other institutions. However, they prevented anyone from accessing the area. At around 3am, during the search, one of the officers produced an order, issued by Israeli Interior Security minister Uzi Landau, for the closure until further notice of Orient House and all its Jerusalem offices. When the attorney requested a list of confiscated items and to be able to witness the search, they showed him an Israeli magistrate court decision permitting them to inspect the buildings and confiscate their contents without the presence of any Orient House representatives. Both the Security Minister's order and the court judge's decision were signed on Friday 10 August 2001 and stated that the owners of the closed institutions could contact the Interior Security minister's legal consultant within seven days should they wish to prosecute.
The following branches of
Orient House have been affected:
|
The soldiers also arrested
the Orient House security guards present at the time, all
of whom are from Jerusalem:
|
The guards were taken to the Russian Compound detention centre in West Jerusalem, where they were informed that they would be detained for 20 days.
The soldiers also forced the three Palestinian families living there to evacuate the house at gunpoint, holding them on the road outside the building until 4am. The families of Taher Husseini, his sister Ruwayda and Abdil Salam Husseini own the Orient House building.
Israeli forces also broke into Hind Husseini College, Dar Attifel Al Arabi, a charitable educational institute with an intermediate girls' orphanage and school, and forced around 100 boarding students and their supervisors to gather in a room in the building's yard until 4am.
In addition, Israeli troops besieged the 5-storey Al Nuzha building at the entrance to Al Nuzha Street (leading to the Orient House). The building contains the offices of six Palestinian non-governmental organisations, including the LAW Society's Children's Unit, the Arab Studies Society's Land Research Centre, Al Qasabeh Theatre and Al Nuzha Theatre, as well as the British Council and more than 40 professional and commercial offices, including the office of Israeli attorney Li'a Tseimel, who is known for her support for the Palestinian cause.
At the same time, Israeli troops also closed the Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce building and the Palestinian Prisoner's Club in Wadi Al Joz.
Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce director Mr. Azzam Abu Al Su'uod stated that around 10:30 am on Friday 10 August he attempted to enter his office but was prevented from doing so by Israeli security men surrounding the building. On the door was hanging a closure order signed by Uzi Landau, which claimed that the Chamber of Commerce has 'political involvement'. This is the first time that the chamber has been closed since its establishment in 1936. It has 10 employees and the Orient House has 62 employees.
At around 2:15am, Israeli troops entered the east Jerusalem districts of Bethany and Abu Deiss, took over the Jerusalem governorate building in Abu Deiss, replaced its Palestinian flag with an Israeli one, occupied the Ministry of Religious Endowments and Palestinian Religious Affairs in Bethany, imposed curfew on both districts and randomly arrested a number of civilians. LAW was unable to record their number as the Israeli authorities have made all communication with them impossible.
According to information gathered by LAW from the Palestinian Civil Liaison, the Jerusalem governorate building in Abu Deiss contains offices belonging to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, the Preventative Security and the Palestinian police and intelligence. In conformity with the agreement signed between the Palestinian Civil Affairs Ministry and the Israeli Civil Administration, the Jerusalem governorate building is considered 'Area A,' which Israel cannot transgress.
At noon, demonstrators including Palestinian and Israeli peace activists, as well as International Solidarity Campaign members, convened at the entrances to Al Nuzha Street protesting at the Israeli action against the Palestinian institutions. However, Israeli forces hindered their demonstration, arresting six and taking them to Al Qashleh police station. They were:
In the early hours of Friday 10 August, Israeli F-16 fighter jets fired four air-to-surface missiles at the police headquarters in the Al Tireh suburb of Ramallah, destroying it completely. Eyewitnesses stated that two missiles hit the Abu Ja'far housing complex near the police headquarters, causing severe damage and fire in a number of apartments.
In the early hours of Friday morning in the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops destroyed a Palestinian national security force post, east Gaza. According to information gathered by LAW, Israeli forces with tanks and bulldozers trespassed 2,000m into the city to the hills of Al Shuja'iyeh quarter, shelling the post before an armoured bulldozer levelled its ruins to the ground. On their way back, the bulldozers demolished a cattle farm belonging to Iyada Bakroun north of the post.
Palestinian security sources reported that a large number of Israeli soldiers in tanks and armoured cars broke into the area from two directions, before breaking into a juice factory east of Martyrs' Cemetery, and settling at the eastern route west of the factory.
LAW Society is firmly against the taking of civilian life as happened yesterday in Jerusalem, because the right to life is a fundamental universal human right. However, it is clear that Israel, especially Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and War Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer, is totally responsible for the escalating tension in the region due to its repeated and sustained assault on Palestinian life and property over the past eleven months.
Thursday August 9, 2001
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Wednesday August 8, 2001
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Monday August 6, 2001
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