Syria should immediately reopen its border to Iraqi Palestinian refugees fleeing deadly attacks against their community, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the international community, and the United States in particular, to provide financial assistance to Syria to help it host the Palestinian refugees, and to share the burden of this refugee problem by offering third-country resettlement opportunities to Palestinian refugees in Syria.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s government, Palestinian refugees in Iraq have increasingly become targets of violence and persecution, with abductions of scores of Palestinian men in the past week. Read more about HRW calls on Syria to open border to Palestinian refugees fleeing Iraq
On 31 January 2007, the Ministry of Finance announced its agreement to include four Arab villages in the north of Israel in the list of ‘border towns’ for the purposes of compensation for indirect damages incurred during the Second Lebanon War. The Ministry submitted this agreement in response to a petition filed by Adalah demanding that it grant these four villages ‘border town’ status. It is Adalah’s position that this change of status should have been made many years ago, and that there was no justification for the prior discrimination against the Arab towns. Unfortunately, the filing of the petition was what led to this change. Read more about Adalah: Arab villages granted "border town" status
PCHR strongly condemns the bloody events over the past three days, the worst of their kind. These tragic events left 29 dead, including 7 civilians (incl. 3 women and 3 children), and more than 200 injured, half of them innocent civilians. The Centre welcomes reaching another ceasefire between Hamas and Fatah under Egyptian sponsorship Saturday evening. However, there is concern over the continued state of tension, military deployment, sporadic gunfire, and roadblocks in Gaza City. Since the afternoon of Thursday, 1 February 2007, armed clashes resumed between Fatah and Hamas militias and security forces split in allegiance to both parties. Read more about Along the Lines of the Bloodiest Israeli Incursions
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have escalated their war crimes in the West Bank over the past two days, killing six Palestinians in four separate crimes. Two were killed resisting an IOF incursion into Nablus. A third was killed in an extra-judicial execution in Tulkarm. A child was killed due to excessive use of force in Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem. And two Preventive Security operatives were killed in Beitunia, west of Ramallah. In addition, two children and an Islamic Jihad activist were injured in these crimes. Read more about Israeli Forces Kill Six West Bank Palestinians in Two Days
On 28 January 2007, Adalah sent a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, demanding the cancellation of “Negev 2015: The National Strategic Plan for the Development of the Negev (Naqab)” on the grounds that it discriminates against Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel and is based on illegal and invalid governmental decisions. Adalah also demanded that a new development plan be prepared that sets as one of its main goals the development of the Arab Bedouin community in the Naqab, based on the principles of equality and justice in resource allocation, and fulfills the needs of this community in all fields. Read more about Adalah: Cancel Government's Plan for Naqab
On 23 January 2007, the Supreme Court of Israel approved a settlement reached between the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Adalah, according to which the MOE will establish a high school in the unrecognized Arab Bedouin village of Abu-Tulul - El-Shihabi in the Naqab (Negev). This will be the first high school to be established: to date, no high schools exist in any of the unrecognized villages in the Naqab. Under the settlement, the state is obliged to begin the school’s construction in 2008, and to open and operate it from 1 September 2009. It was also agreed that if the school is not opened for any reason, the petitioners retain the right to approach the Supreme Court again in order to secure its opening. Read more about Adalah: First High School to open in Unrecognized Villages
During the reporting period, IOF killed a Palestinian child in the northern West Bank town of Tulkarm. They fired one bullet at him when he attempted to escape. They left him bleeding to death. The victim was not armed. According to the child’s family, the child attempted to escape as IOF had repeatedly raided his family home searching for him. During the reporting period, 9 Palestinian civilians and a British journalist were wounded by IOF. On 26 January 2007, two Palestinian civilians and a British journalist were wounded when IOF used force against a peaceful demonstration organized in Bal’ein village in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall. Read more about Weekly Report of Human Rights Violations
For three painful months while his brother’s family was imprisoned by USA immigration authorities, Ahmad Ibrahim, a United States citizen of Palestinian heritage, kept his faith that “the people of America are good people.” But Ahmad did not know that the one good American who would finally orchestrate the dramatic release of the family had himself been exiled by USA immigration authorities to China. So Ahmad’s faith in America had to hold strong from the beginning of November through the sacred Eid al-Adha season of early January, until the exiled American could return. Read more about Faith of Ibrahim Redeemed: Texas Family Released from Hutto Prison
The clashes between the rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, continued in the Gaza Strip on Thursday night and into Friday. In these clashes, Palestinian sources said that at least 22 Palestinians were killed and approximately 220 injured. Palestinian sources said that the clashes were fiercest in Gaza City and the shooting spread to Beit Lahiya and Jabalia in the north of the Strip. In addition, sources reported that the presidential security forces and other members of the national security forces, “in addition to other security forces”, broke into the Islamic University in Gaza City on Thursday night. Read more about Bloody fighting between Hamas and Fatah continues in Gaza
The ceasefire between Palestinian factions announced by Palestinian Foreign Minister, Mohammed al Zahar in the early hours of this morning is holding. The ceasefire follows the heaviest loss of life from inter- factional fighting recorded by OCHA with at least 34 deaths and 133 injuries vbetween the evening of 25 January and the evening of 29 January. Three Palestinians, including a 17 year-old boy, were killed and 15 injured by the IDF in January. The majority of casualties occurred in the northern Gaza Strip. Overall, Palestinian access in and out of the Gaza Strip remains severally restricted. The extent of the power outages during the 2006- 2007 winter period is unprecedented. Read more about OCHA: Gaza Situation Report
