The unreporting of daily IDF brutality

[johnwhilley]

IOF willfully kill a child in Beit Hanoun Town, Northern Gaza

Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)

Date: 06 Sep 2009


On Friday afternoon, 4 September 2009, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed a 14-year-old child, Ghazi al-Za'anin, in Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip. IOF troops shot the child from close range, while he was walking with his family. This child was the second to be killed by IOF in less than a week.

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) investigations, and eye-witness testimony, indicates that, at approximately 13:40 on Friday, 4 September 2009, Maher Ghazi al-Za'anin drove his four children, including Ghazi, 14, to their farm, 500 meters away from the border with Israel, in the northeast of Beit Hanoun town. Before arriving at the farm, al-Za'anin and his children stepped down from the car and approached their land on foot. On their way to the farm, they were surprised by an Israeli military jeep that stopped opposite to them. Al-Za'anin and his children were frightened, and ran away. IOF soldiers who were inside the jeep immediately opened fire. Ghazi was wounded by a bullet to the head and fell to the ground. The father carried the child to their car, whereupon IOF soldiers fired at the car, hitting it with two bullets. The father drove to Beit Hanoun Hospital and the child was transferred to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City as he was in a critical condition. Ghazi was admitted to the intensive care unit, where he was pronounced dead on the following morning, Saturday, 5 September 2009.

PCHR has recently documented many cases in which IOF positioned along the border opened fired at agricultural areas and houses. It is believed that these attacks are intended to deny Palestinian farmers access to their agricultural land, some of which lie within the so-called 'buffer zone'.

PCHR strongly condemns the murder of a child by IOF, and:

1. Reiterates condemnation of this latest crime, which is part of a series of crimes committed by IOF in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

2. Calls upon the international community to promptly and urgently take action in order to stop such crimes, and renews its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligations and provide protection to Palestinian civilians in the OPT.

For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 - 2825893

PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/RMOI-7VMNPU?OpenDocument

[johnwhilley]

Israeli forces target Palestinian cameramen at Bil’in demonstration

September 25, 2009

Source : ISM

For Immediate Release

25 September 2009: Israeli forces target Palestinian cameramen at Bil’in demonstration.

Around 1pm, Israeli forces arrested 2 Israeli solidarity activists and a Palestinian cameraman, Haitham al-Khatib (33 years old) during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil’in.

Witnesses say that Israeli soldiers ran in and arrested the 3 demonstrators. Haitham al-Khatib was filming the demonstration near the Wall when he was taken.

Haitham has been filming the ongoing Israeli arrest campaign in Bil’in. One of his videos was recently used by several news sources, including the Israeli news, YNet, to showcase the violence and intimidation used by the army against Bil’in residents. Thousands of viewers worldwide have been following the night raids in Bil’in through Haitham’s videos on Youtube.

Haitham was previously detained by Israeli forces on 24 July 2009 when he arrived at Ofer prison to wait for the release of another Bil’in resident. He was held for several hours and interrogated.

Coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, Abdedallah abu Rahme, stated, “Soldiers coming to arrest Palestinians from Bil’in in the night is only part of intimidation campaign, the Israeli authorities are also targeting our supporters and journalists. They want us to stop our non-violent demonstrations, but as long as our land is being stolen, we cannot stop.”

http://www.bilin-village.org/english/articles/testimonies/Israeli-forces-target-Palestinian-cameramen-at-Bilin-demonstration

-----------

John

[johnwhilley]

Palestinian youth murdered by Israeli army:

http://www.bilin-ffj.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=199&Itemid=1

John

[johnwhilley]

As Hillary Clinton backs Israel's refusal to freeze settlement expansion, two more houses, homes to over 20 Palestinians, are demolished in Jerusalem:

Jerusalem – Ma'an – Israeli bulldozers demolished two Palestinian houses in the Ath-Thuri neighborhood of Jerusalem on Monday morning, according to a statement from the Al-Quds Center for Social and Economic Rights.

The center's research and documentation department reported that a third house was damaged in the event of the demolitions, and that some 20 people were displaced.

A 70-square-meter house belonging to the elderly Siham Ahmad Ash-Shuweiki, where he lived along with 14 other members of his family, was the first to be torn down, the report said.

Ash-Shukeiki reportedly fainted twice during the demolition, and was hospitalized shortly thereafter.

Beforehand, a large contingent of Israeli police and municipality workers evicted the family and their belongings, tossing furniture outside.

Forces also evicted the owner of a second 80-square-meter house, Haron Al-Qawasmi, where he lived along with 10 other relatives.

A third home, owned by Nasser Ash-Shuweiki, Haron's cousin, was damaged during the two demolitions as they were adjacent to each other.

An upsurge in Israeli home demolitions has been a concern to the international community in recent months. Monday's demolitions were the second and third in under 24 hours, according to the center.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hesitantly reitarted her opposition during a news conference on Saturday night, following a question from New York Times reporter Mark Landler, who asked if she still stood by her condemnation of the ongoing Israeli policy.

"I have nothing to add to my statement," Clinton responded. "I continue to stand by what I said then."

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=236712

See also:

http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=56988

John