On the night of 13-14 October 2003, a unit of Israeli army soldiers opened fire near the Jewish settlement of Negohot in the West Bank (Hebron Region), killing Mr. Meteb al-Nebari, a 31-year-old Palestinian Bedouin citizen of Israel from Tel el-Sabe (Tel Sheva). Mr. al-Nebari was unarmed and did not constitute any threat to the soldiers, and, according to the General Security Services (GSS), had no record of prior security offenses. Read more about Israeli Soldiers who Shot Unarmed Palestinian in Back not Indicted by Chief Military Prosecutor
Some of the children and a pregnant woman being held in an immigration jail in Texas are Palestinian refugees whose families came to the USA with visas, says a Dallas lawyer. Immigration attorney John Wheat Gibson represents two families that include a pregnant woman and children ages 2, 3, 5, 12, 14, and 17. The families have been incarcerated since their midnight arrests in early November by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “The children, imprisoned with their mothers, have never been accused of any wrongdoing. Neither have their mothers,” says Gibson. Read more about Palestinian Refugees and Children Held in Hutto, Texas Jail
A Palestinian civilian died from a previous wound in the Gaza Strip. 4 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded by IOF. IOF conducted 22 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 37 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children. IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world. IOF razed areas of Palestinian land in Um Salamouna village, south of Bethlehem, and 4 demonstrators protesting the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah, sustained bruises when IOF soldiers beat them. Read more about Weekly Report of Human Rights Violations
This past year, we witnessed a deterioration in the human rights situation in the Occupied Territories, particularly in the increase in civilians killed and the destruction of houses and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, there was an improvement regarding violations of the right to life of Israeli civilians. According to B’Tselem’s research, from January to December 27, 2006, Israeli security forces killed 660 Palestinians in the West Bank and in Israel. This includes 141 minors. At least 322 of those killed did not take part in the hostilities at the time they were killed. Read more about 683 people killed in the conflict in 2006
The High Court of Justice accepted the petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel on behalf of Palestinians from the southern Hebron hills to remove a concrete barricade that Israeli security forces had built. The forty-one-kilometer barricade runs from the Tene settlement in the west to the Carmel settlement in the east. The eighty-two centimeter high barricade makes it impossible for vehicles to cross. Read more about High Court orders dismantling of concrete barricade in the southern Hebron hills
The number of Palestinians stuck on the Iraq-Syria border after fleeing violence in Baghdad has risen to 80, with more reported on the way. Last weekend, an additional 39 Palestinians left Baghdad for the border with Syria, where an earlier group of 41, including 19 children, has been stuck just inside Iraq since Dec. 16. UNHCR received reports over the weekend that the security situation for Palestinians in Baghdad had grown worse over the past week and that more were on the way to the border. Members of the Mahdi army were reported in Palestinian areas in eastern Baghdad, attempting to take over apartments to assert control in the mainly Shia area. Read more about Increasing numbers of Palestinians leaving Baghdad
At approximately 08:00 on Saturday, 23 December 2006, two masked gunmen opened fire at Captain Hasan Imsa’il Jarbou’, 33, of the Preventive Security Service, when he was near the Star Square in al-Shaboura neighborhood in Rafah. Jarbou’ was seriously wounded by 3 live bullets to the chest and the abdomen. In addition, two bystanders, including a child, were wounded: Amal Eyad Jaber, 9, wounded by a number of live bullet to the hands; and Ahmed Ra’fat Mansour, 20, wounded by a number of live bullets and shrapnel to the abdomen and the left thigh. Read more about One killed, several injured in continued factional fighting
On Thursday, 14 December, at around 10:45 in the morning, an Israeli soldier shot to death Wahib a-Dik, a twenty-eight-year-old Palestinian laborer, and father of four. The IDF Spokesperson issued no statement on the incident. The press quoted anonymous military sources who said that a-Dik was shot by a Paratrooper Unit that entered a courtyard in a-Dik Village while chasing youths who had thrown stones. According to these sources, “the company commander saw a-Dik about to throw a brick at soldiers from the top of a flight of stairs. The commander fired two shots at the man, killing him.” Read more about Soldier shoots and kills construction worker in Kufr A-Dik village
Israel has shut down another internationally mandated investigation of its military actions. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and his high-level fact-finding mission, authorized by the UN’s Human Rights Council, have been refused entry by Israel for so long that they have been forced to call off the visit. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev disingenuously claimed that Israel had not denied entry, but simply not yet reached a decision. The families of the 19 Palestinian civilians slain at Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on 8 November 2006 will apparently not see even an approximation of justice at this time. Read more about Israel blocks another UN fact-finding mission
On 13 November 2006, Adalah submitted a pre-petition to the Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, demanding the cancellation of his order declaring Ansar Al-Sajeen (The Prisoners’ Friends Association) to be an illegal organization. Adalah Attorney Abeer Baker filed the pre-petition on behalf of Ansar Al-Sajeen. On 13 November 2006, Adalah submitted a pre-petition to the Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, demanding the cancellation of his order declaring Ansar Al-Sajeen (The Prisoners’ Friends Association) to be an illegal organization. Adalah Attorney Abeer Baker filed the pre-petition on behalf of Ansar Al-Sajeen. Read more about Adalah: Rescind order declaring Ansar al-Sajeen illegal
