The Israeli military has fostered a climate of impunity in its ranks by failing to thoroughly investigate whether soldiers have killed and injured Palestinian civilians unlawfully or failed to protect them from harm, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Since the current Palestinian uprising began in 2000, Israeli forces have killed or seriously injured thousands of Palestinians who were not taking part in the hostilities. However, the Israeli authorities have investigated fewer than five percent of the fatal incidents to determine whether soldiers were responsible for using force unlawfully. The investigations they did conduct fell far short of international standards for independent and impartial inquiries. Read more about Failure to Probe Civilian Casualties Fuels Impunity
Haifa has attracted many Palestinians from the North, in addition to the residents that remained in Haifa after 1948. But, a considerable number of Haifa’s Palestinian residents had lived in Haifa for decades without having been defined as legal residents of Haifa in the population registry. The unofficial estimation of the Palestinian population in Haifa is around 30,000, leaving around 6,000 Palestinians officially unrecognised. Around 121,000 Palestinians were dispossessed from Haifa and from 58 surrounding villages. Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker visited Haifa and give voice to those who remained and those dispossessed. Read more about Haifa, peaceful town with a silent pain
On June 4, dozens of attorneys refused to show up to courtrooms in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in what they called a “one-day warning strike”. In a statement released by the Palestinian Bar Association, the lawyers said they were protesting assaults on what they described as “the three arms of justice”: the judges, public prosecuting attorneys, and defense lawyers. The statement decried legal professionals’ “unsafe working environment” blamed on increased vigilantism and the failure of the Palestinian Authority’s legislative and executive branches to protect the judicial system. Read more about Warning bells are ringing
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is gravely concerned at the continued deterioration in internal security as a consequence of the escalation in the misuse of weapons and security chaos. Seven Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed in less than one week of internal fighting in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR reiterates its calls for the Palestinian National Authority to restore law and order and respect human rights. The latest of these incidents took place on Tuesday, 14 June 2005, when four persons, including a father and his two sons, were killed in an exchange of fire during a family dispute. Read more about Palestinian Authority must restore rule of law and respect human rights
In the occupied Palestinian territories, a collaborator is understood as any Palestinian who cooperates with the Israeli security forces. Recruiting Palestinians as collaborators is perceived in the OPT as part of Israel’s policy to maintain control over the territory and the Palestinian people. Most cases of collaboration are found in interrogation centers and prisons where detainees are put under extreme physical and mental pressure to collaborate. Palestinian children often find themselves under such pressure. The Israeli intelligence services continually seek to recruit children as informants. Read more about Israel recruits Palestinian children to collaborate
The Palestinian Authority has carried out four death sentences this morning in Gaza City. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is gravely concerned about this development, the first executions since 2002, and reiterates that the death penalty constitutes a violation of the right to life. It is a cruel and inhumane punishment that does not serve to deter crimes. The rights group calls upon President Abbas again not to convert death sentences and the Palestinian Legislative Council to repeal legislation related to the death penalty. The PA carried out the death sentences handed down against four prisoners convicted of murder and other crimes between 1995 and 2000. Read more about Palestinian rights group critical of Abbas' support for death penalty
This morning, 7 June 2005, Israeli forces extra-judicially killed Muraweh Khaled Ekmayel, 30, from Qabatya village southeast of Jenin. The victim was hit by several live bullets throughout the body after which the IOF bulldozed the house where he hid over him. Israeli forces also killed an innocent bystander while they were shelling the house. According to eyewitnesses, he was killed while he was painting walls of a house near the Abu al-Rub’s home that had been surrounded by the Israeli army. Israeli forces wounded three civilians, including a child. They were all hit by live ammunition. Extra-judicial killings constitute a war crime. Read more about Israel resumes assassination of Palestinians
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights stated today that the postponement of the parliamentary elections without the announcement of a new date causes damage to the democratic process in Palestine. According to a presidential decree issued on 8 January 2005, one day before the Palestinian presidential elections, by then interim President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Rawhi Fattouh, the elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) would be held on 17 July 2005. However, holding the PLC elections was postponed after a new decree was issued by the elected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on 3 June 2005. Read more about Rights group blasts delay parliamentary elections
On May 31, Eitan Bronstein gave a presentation at the Tel Aviv University conference on “Zionism: Ideology versus Reality”. The Zochrot organization is devoted to introducing the Palestinian Nakba into the discourse of Jews in Israel, in order to achieve accountability for the tragedy of 1948. This accountability is a necessary condition of reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Through its activities, Zochrot is trying to create contact, a meeting, between Palestinian internal refugees from a particular village and the Jews who live on the land of the same village. The Palestinian refugee is a threatening figure for the Israeli Jews, since he awakens the demon of the original sin through which the Jewish state was established. Read more about They are afraid: Israeli Jews and Palestinian refugees
The Municipality of Jerusalem intends to demolish an entire East Jerusalem neighborhood. Eighty eight homes housing 1000 residents in the el Bustan area of Silwan village in East Jerusalem close to the walls of the Old City. The reason, (according to the city engineer Uri Shitreet, who issued the orders) is that this area is an important cultural and historical site for the Jewish nation because it stands on the site where King David established his kingdom. The aim, says Shitreet, is to return this “densely populated Palestinian part of the city” to its landscape. Read more about The process of transfer continues: The Jerusalem Municipality plans to demolish 88 houses in Silwan, East Jerusalem
