news about Palestine and West Bank

Subject: B�Tselem Email Update - 02/06/2005
Date: 02 Jun 2005
From:
"B'Tselem Update"
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif]�

Suspicion of assassinations under guise of attempted arrests [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�

Last week, B'Tselem published a report on the fatal shooting of Palestinians during what Israel categorizes as arrest operations in the West Bank. The report, "Take No Prisoners", raises the grave suspicion that over the past twelve months, Israel has been using such operations as a guise for assassinations.

According to B�Tselem�s figures, since the beginning of 2004, Israel's security forces have killed eighty-nine Palestinians during operations that the defense establishment refers to as arrest operations. At least
seventeen of the persons killed were not wanted by Israel, but were civilians who were not suspected by Israel of having committed any offense. In addition, at least forty-three of those killed were unarmed, or were not attempting to use their arms against Israeli security forces at the time theyy were killed. None of these cases were investigated by
the Military Police investigation unit.

"Take No Prisoners" presents four cases investigated by B�Tselem in which Palestinians were killed during these so-called arrest operations. Two of the cases relate to incidents in which IDF soldiers besieged a house in which Israel claimed that a wanted person was present, and then fired at another occupant of the house when he opened the door, without prior warning and without offering them a chance to surrender. In the other two cases, the security forces disarmed the wanted persons, but then shot and killed them. In all these cases, the security forces acted as if they were carrying out an assassination and not an arrest, in flagrant breach of international humanitarian law. Based on the report�s findings, there
is a grave suspicion that the execution of Palestinians has become a norm among the security forces.

In the conclusion of the report, B�Tselem urges Israel to prohibit
security forces from opening fire when their lives are not in danger and
to provide all security forces with written open-fire regulations that
state clearly and unequivocally the circumstances in which they are
prohibited, or permitted, to use their firearms. B'Tselem also calls on
Israel to thoroughly investigate all cases in which Palestinian civilians
not involved in hostilities were shot and injured by Israeli forces and,
where appropryiate, prosecute the persons responsible. It is important to
investigate cases in which Palestinian citizens who took part in
hostilities were shot and injured, if there is reason to suspect that the
shooting contravened international humanitarian law.

[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/20050602_Shoot.jpg ]IDF
soldier in training
IDF soldier in training. Photo: Reuters [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�

[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif
]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]� [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/200505_Take_No_Prisoners.asp
]Summary [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/Download/200505_Take_No_Prisoners_Eng.doc ]Full
report (DOC) [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]
�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/Download/200505_Take_No_Prisoners_Eng.pdf ]Full
report (PDF) [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]
�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/eng_r11_c1.jpg ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif
]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif
]�
Israeli government proposes blocking compensation suits [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�

The Israeli government has proposed an amendment to the Civil Wrongs Law
intended to exempt Israel from paying compensation to Palestinians injured
by the security forces. The amendment applies to "residents of a conflict
area" and "subjects of enemy states." The Government has clearly stated
its intention to apply the new law to Palestinians in the Occupied
Territories.

Today, Palestinians are not able to sue the state for damages caused by
combatant activity, broadly defined as, "�any action of combating terror,
hostile actions, or insurrection, and action intended to prevent terror
and hostile acts and insurrection committed in circumstances of danger to
life or limb." If the Knesset passes the new amendment, it will almost
completely block the ability of Palestinians to file for compensation,
even for damage caused by illegal shooting, looting, negligence on
training gyrounds, abuse and degrading treatment at checkpoints, or
physical violence.

The law is blatantly discriminatory in that it denies the right to sue for
compensation based on the identity of the victim, rather than the
substance of the claim. B'Tselem joined together with the Association for
Civil Rights in Israel, HaMoked, the Public Committee against Torture in
Israel, Adallah and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel to warn against the
grave implications of passing such a law. The organizations calls on the
government to remove this amendment from the Knesset docket, thereby
prevenyting a stain upon its law books.

Urgent Action: The amendment has passed its first reading in the Knesset
plenary and is now under discussion in the Knesset Law Committee. The
Committee held its first discussion of the amendment on May 31, and is
expected to reconvene to continue discussion shortly. Write to the
committee chairman, MK Michael Eitan, calling on him to act to prevent
passage of Amendment 5 to the Civil Wrongs Law. Fax: +972-2-6496404 or
meitan@knesset.gov.il.

Contact Knesset Law Committee chair, MK Michael Eitan, and call on him to
act to prevent passage of the amendment denying compensation to
Palestinians injured by Israeli security forces. [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�

[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif
]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif
]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]�
[
http://www.btselem.org/english/Special/20050601_Compensation_Sample_Letter.asp
]Urgent Action: Sample Letter [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]
�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]�
[ http://www.hamoked.org.il/news_main_en.asp?id=146 ]Position paper of
Israeli human rights organizations on the amendment to the law [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]
�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/eng_r11_c1.jpg ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif
]�
Hebron settlers abuse the Abu 'Ayesha family [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�

The following are excerpts from the testimony of Raja'a Abu 'Ayesha, a
17-year-old youth from Hebron, on the abuse her family suffered at the
hands of settlers:

"Our house is like a cage. It is completely fenced in, including the
entrance. My grandfather set it up that way in 1996 to protect us, after
settlers broke all of our windows. Our house looks like an island
surrounded by a sea of soldiers, settlers and a violent atmosphere...

"Two months ago, settlers took over the house of al-Bakri family, and have
been living there ever since... We were left alone in the neighborhood
because my grandfather refuses to leave as the others did. He says that he
will die in the house he built, surrounded by all of his memories.

"We have difficulties getting out of the house to go to school and to come
back home. Almost every day, the settler children block the path for me
and my sister, Fida'a, age 14. They throw stones, water and leftover food
at us. We try to ignore them as much as possible. Sometimes we run away or
wait until they clear the path and cross only then. There are soldiers in
the area and sometimes they shout at the children and tell them to stop
throwing stones, but usually they don't listen. I have been injured byy
stones thrown at me more then once... Two weeks ago during the Jewish
holiday of Passover, my uncle Ibrahim, who is six years-old, broke his arm
when he fell from a window after settlers threw stones at him. We filed a
complaint against them...

"The settlers throw stones and leftover food at the house while we are
inside, and sometimes at night while we are sleeping. My brothers and I
wake up frightened, worried and scared. Sometimes I feel helpless and
depressed and I don�t know what to do... There is not one family member
that hasn�t been attacked by settlers - my grandfather, my parents and my
siblings. On Friday two weeks ago, they spilled hot tea on my father and
my brother Ashraf, on their way back from prayers...

"As I left school [on 23 April 2005], dozens of settlers threw stones at
us and beat us. More then fifteen students were injured. This was in the
presence of many soldiers and police officers."

In B'Tselem's previous email update, we reported on another incident in
Hebron in which settler children threw stones at Bahija Sharbati and
injured her. Last week, B'Tselem received a response from the Shai
District Police regarding the incident, which read "The soldiers did
intervene, but they did not succeed in preventing the stone throwing by
children who ignored the soldiers' request [to stop]."

[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/20050602_Hebron.jpg ]''Our
house is like a cage''
"Our house is like a cage. It is completely fenced in, including the
entrance. My grandfather set it up that way in 1996 to protect us, after
settlers broke all of our windows." Photo: B'Tselem [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�

[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif
]�

[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]� [
http://www.btselem.org/english/Testimonies/20050508_Settlers_Violence_in_Tel_Rumeida_al_Aisha_Family.asp
]Raja'a Abu 'Ayesha's Full Testimony [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]� [
http://www.btselem.org/english/Testimonies/index.asp?TF=01 ]Testimonies on
settler violence[
http://www.btselem.org/English/Photo_Archive/List.asp?x_Concatenate=10&z_Concatenate=LIKE,'%,%'
]http://www.btselem.org/English/Photo_Archive/List.asp?x_Concatenate=10&z_Concatenate=LIKE,'%,%'
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/english/Settler_Violence/ ]Background on settler
violence [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]
�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/eng_r11_c1.jpg ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif
]�
Civil Administration demolishes the home of Hakmeh al-Muher [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�

On 16 May 2005, the Civil Administration demolished a hut belonging to
Hakmeh al-Muher, 68, and four other huts near the Sallem checkpoint, in
the northern West Bank. Al-Muher lived in the hut and also used it as a
shed and to store food for the family�s sheep. The structure was made of
concrete and tin and was situated on land belonging to al-Muher and her
four sons. The Civil Administration rushed to demolish the hut, which was
constructed without first obtaining a building permit, although at that
very ymoment the High Court was hearing a petition for a temporary
injunction that the family had filed to prevent the demolition. By the
time al-Muher was informed that the justices ruled in her favor and issued
the temporary injunction, it was too late. The hut was already in ruins.

In her testimony to B'Tselem, al-Muher said: "The soldiers removed the
furniture and some of the mattresses, and then picked me up and removed me
from the hut... They leveled it completely... Some of the flock and
pigeons died under the ruins... After the hut was demolished, we put up a
tent that we received from the Red Cross. Now I live under the trees near
my land, because the tent is small and low... I cry all the time and don�t
know how I�ll get along."

In the almost forty years of occupation, Israel has restricted
Palestinians from building in the Occupied Territories, while allocating
wide expanses of land there for the construction and expansion of
settlements. Thousands of Palestinians are unable to obtain permits to
build on their land, and have no option but to build without a permit to
meet their housing needs. In the past decade, the Israeli authorities in
the West Bank have demolished more than 2,200 housing units, leaving move
than 13,000 Palestyinians homeless.

[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/20050602_Muhar.jpg ]Hakma
Muher
Hakmeh al-Muher. Photo: B'Tselem [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�

[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif
]�

[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]� [
http://www.btselem.org/english/Testimonies/20050516_Demolition_of_al_Mohar_Shack.asp
]The full testimony [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]� [
http://www.btselem.org/english/Testimonies/index.asp?TF=06 ]Testimonies on
house demolitions [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/arr.jpg ]�
[ http://www.btselem.org/english/Planning_and_Building/ ]Planning and
building [
http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]
�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/eng_r11_c1.jpg ]�

[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_update/index.html ]Previous
Editions
I
[ http://www.btselem.org/Hebrew/Email_Update/Subscription.html
]Unsubscribe
I
[ http://www.btselem.org/Hebrew/Email_Update/Subscription.html ]Subscribe
to Hebrew Version
I
[ mailto:update@btselem.org ] Send a Response
I
[ http://www.btselem.org/english/ ]www.btselem.org
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/spacer.gif ]
�
[ http://www.btselem.org/English/Email_Update/image_eng/eng_r11_c1.jpg ]�

3/6/2005