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Weekly report on human rights violations

15 April 2005


This week, Israeli forces killed three Palestinian children. Israeli forces wounded 16 Palestinian civilians, mostly children. Israel continues to build the illegal Separation Barrier in the West Bank. Israel confiscated large areas of Palestinian land in Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah. Israeli forces conducted 23 incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank, the largest one was into Nablus. Israeli forces arrested at least 40 Palestinians. Israeli forces turned two Palestinian homes into military outposts. Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the West Bank and more areas of Palestinian land were confiscated in Hebron and Jenin for the purpose of settlement expansion. The total siege imposed on the OPT remained in force. 

Assassination of resistance fighter in Nablus

Ray Smith Nablus, Palestine 14 April 2005


Today, Thursday afternoon an Israeli undercover commando killed Ibrahim Smeri, 24, a fighter of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, right outside the Balata refugee camp on the outskirts of Nablus. Around 2pm today, two private cars with undercover units dressed in women’s clothes approached Ibrahim Mohammad Mahmoud Smeri Hashash, as he left from Al-Quds street walking towards the southern end of Balata Camp. After being shot, his body was taken by the IOF forces. 

Bridging Differences: The German-Israeli-Palestinian Trialogue "Youth for Understanding" 2005

Victor Kattan 18 April 2005


In April 2005, almost 15 years since German reunification and some 60 years after the Second World War, 21 young journalists of German, Israeli and Palestinian origin, including myself, were invited to take part in a trialogue organised by the German Federal Government, the Goethe Institut and the Herbert-Quandt-Stiftung Foundation (the charitable arm of BMW). The purpose of the trip was to bring aspiring journalists together to produce a newspaper called “The Bridge”, to visit cultural institutions and to meet with government officials. 

Gandhi comes to West Bank, Palestinians miss opportunity

Khaled Al Sabawi 18 April 2005


During the first week of April, the Occupied Palestinian Territories emerged, yet again, as haven for high profile receptions and media frenzies. Palestinians were honoured with the arrival of more Americans public figures. This time the visitors were not merely American politicians — rather they held more influential positions in contemporary American society — they were Hollywood actors. Unfortunately, yet again, the Palestinian people were unable to seize the opportunity and effectively influence the visiting Americans. 

New Activist Center in Southeast Asia to Work for Palestinian Independence

Terry Walz 18 April 2005


Malaysia, a South East Asian Muslim state with a booming economy and a successful and peaceful multicultural, multireligious society, may soon establish a new center to spearhead and rejuvenate the global movement for Palestinian independence. This falls exactly fifty years after the birth in Bandung of the once-powerful anti-colonial bloc of non-aligned states that yielded a powerful influence on the international stage for many years. Under the sponsorship of Peace Malaysia, over 500 participants from 34 countries met March 28-30 in Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia, and unanimously adopted an action plan that called for the creation of a new International Center for Palestine Civil Societies in the South. 

The Nativity Church Deportees' Right to Return

Sami Abu Salem Gaza Strip 11 April 2005


GAZA, 11 April 2005, (WAFA) — Happiness and fear, hope and despair, eagerness and oppression, dreaming and deep thinking marked the chat between a group of deportees from the Nativity Church seige who were closely watching the TV in their flat, near the Presidential office in Gaza City. Some of them sat on a sofa, others on chairs and the ground, the ringing of mobile phones does not stop. As one of them speaks via mobile, the others stare at him, waiting for new information. “I have not slept for four days. I am thinking of returning home and hugging my mother. I have not seen her for three years,” said Issa Abu Ahoor, 39, from Bethlehem. 

An Interview with Israeli Activist Jonathan Pollak

Patrick O'Connor 18 April 2005


Jonathan Pollak is an Israeli activist who grew up in Tel Aviv and lives in Jaffa. He has been involved in nonviolent direct action in the West Bank for the last two-and-a-half years, participating in more than 200 protests with Palestinians in the West Bank with the Israeli nonviolent direct action group Anarchists Against the Wall and with the International Solidarity Movement. On April 3, 2005 an Israeli soldier shot Jonathan in the head with a teargas canister from an M-16 from a distance of approximately thirty meters at a peaceful protest against the Wall in the West Bank village of Bil’in. Bil’in is one of tens of West Bank Palestinian villages losing land because of Israel’s wall construction. Pat O’Connor interviewed Jonathan Pollak by telephone on 7 April 2005. 

The Case Against Alan Dershowitz: The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel vs. Alan Dershowitz

Regan Boychuk 18 April 2005


Alan Dershowitz is a well-known lawyer and professor at Harvard Law School, a prolific author, and makes regular appearances in the media. When it comes to Israel, he is particularly outspoken and taken quite seriously within certain segments of the North American mainstream. Whether he deserves to be taken seriously is another issue altogether. In a recent talk at York University in Toronto, Canada, Professor Dershowitz repeated many of the controversial claims of his recent book, The Case for Israel, but one claim struck me as — even by his standards — exceptionally far-reaching. 

Horsemanship in Gaza: Palestinian dreams and Israeli obstacles

Sami Abu Salem Gaza Strip 18 April 2005


GAZA, 14 April 2005, (WAFA) — The neighing of horses and the chirping of sparrows break the silence covering the Palestine Horsemanship Club (PHC) along the Gaza shore. Broken tiles cover the roof of the winter hall while cracks mark the walls. Silence and gloom have replaced the cheers of the crowds that used to be heard during the local competitive horse riding championships. Sami Abu Salem reports for WAFA from occupied Gaza. 

Palestinian parliamentary elections may be delayed

Khalid Amayreh 17 April 2005


The Palestinian Authority is likely to postpone elections, due on 17 July, in a move that Hamas says would be political meddling by its rival, the ruling Fatah party. Fatah Minister of Parliament Hatim Abd al-Qadir said the postponement was expected to be announced in a few days and that it had more to do with procedural matters than other considerations. The Palestinian cabinet is responsible for the postponement. The opposition parties reacted strongly to the possibility of a delay. Parliament is expected to vote on Sunday on a modified election law.