Palestinian Council for Justice and Peace
A Periodical - Deals With The Israeli Violations - Issued by The PalestinianCouncil for Justice and Peace
September 2001
"We are the last of colonial powers. There are regimes that kill and oppress its citizens, yet nowhere in this world where one people dominates another by means of massive military power as we Israelis do", ShulamitAloni.
Would the international community procrastinate further and continue to watch the hopes for peace fade away as Israeli crimes go on undeterred against the Palestinian people?
Israeli systematic policy of unlawful assassination of Palestinian leaders would eliminate, if allowed to succeed, the political survival of the Palestinian people or to “Transfer what remains to the other side of the borders”. (Theodore Hertzel). The extremist policies of the present Israeli government are only geared to provoke fundamentalism on the other side. If successful, it will have detrimental consequences for both peoples.
Facing this escalating spiral of violence there is a desperate need for intervention to protect Palestinians under the Israeli occupation. Such intervention must not be linked to Israeli acquiescence. Israel, as the occupying power, had always rejected any international intervention alleging the conflict is an internal one.
Israeli refusal to implement United Nations’ resolutions and rejection of the applicability of the 4th Geneva Convention alongside persisting violations of international law constitute the core reason for the deteriorating current situation.
Subjugation of one people by another would not lead to a just peace. Both peoples must recognize the legitimate rights of each other and agree to coexist in freedom and harmony.
The United Nations and the international community bear the responsibility for creating Israel on Arab Palestinian land. The United States and Europe bear added responsibility for supplying Israel with sophisticated conventional weapons in addition to weapons of mass destruction including biological, chemical and nuclear ones. Accordingly, these parties must –ethically- bear the responsibility to curb Israeli aggression, pressure Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian Territories it occupied in June 1967 and dismantle all settlements built since then.
In the meantime, we call upon the international community to devise an effective mean to provide international protection for the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation.
Israeli Violations of Palestinian Rights During August 2001, the 11th Month of Al-Aqsa Intifada (An Uprising Towards National Independence)
Israeli occupation forces escalated its aggression against the Palestinian people during August 2001 using its massive arsenal including American-made F15-E strategic bombers and Apache helicopter gun ships. Israeli forces also occupied the Orient House in Occupied East Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Governrate in Abu-Dis and closed off several Palestinian institutions and NGOs in the Holy City. Israeli occupation forces continued with its systematic policies of extra-judicial killing using Apache Helicopters and Special Death Squads to eliminate Palestinian political leaders. Israeli settlers continued, undeterred, their attacks on Palestinians and their properties throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories especially in Hebron.
Israel is the only state in the world that condones and uses terrorism through its official institutions. Israeli cabinet declared, on 1 August 2001, its intention to expand operations to eliminate Palestinian political leaders and activists. Israeli Apache Helicopters fired two missiles at the office of Abu-Ali Mustafa in Ramallah. The 62-year old leader is the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). He is a member of the Executive Committee of the PLO. With Mustafa, the total of Palestinian leaders killed rose to 69. Fifty-four Palestinians were killed during August including 11 that were assassinated. This brought the total number of Palestinian martyrs to 644 since the beginning of al-Aqsa Intifada on 28 September 2000.
a.. On 27 August 2001, two Israeli helicopters fired two missiles killing Abu-Ali Mustafa, the General-Secretary of the PFLP. Israeli occupation forces using artillery, missiles and/or Special Death Squads assassinated: ‘Amer Hudairi from Tulqarem; 18-year old Bilal al-Ghoul from Rafah; and 23-year old Mahdi Mezyed from ‘Anabta in Tulqarem District. Eyewitnesses affirmed Israeli soldiers had captured Mezyed alive. Apparently, Mezyed was killed in the custody of Israeli soldiers.
b.. In yet another case of extra-judicial killing, Israeli troops killed Ali Joulani after when he attacked a group of soldiers in front of the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv. Eyewitnesses confirmed Joulani was injured but was alive when Israeli police took him in custody. TV footage proved the same. Joulani was killed while in custody of Israeli police.
c.. Members of Israeli Special Forces Unit (Death Squads) assassinated 21-year old Nasser Abu-Zaid in Qalandia, a refugee camp north of occupied Jerusalem, and 25-year old Imad Abu-Snaynah from Hebron.
d.. Encouraging Israeli state terrorism, American Vice-President Dick Cheny said: “There are certain justifications for Israel’s policies to eliminate potential Palestinian terrorists”.
e.. Israeli Special Units (Death Squads) murdered four Palestinians in the village of Bet Eba near Nablus. Israeli soldiers used axes to hack parts of the bodies before throwing them on a side road.
f.. Israeli troops shelled a Palestinian home in Rafah, in southern Gaza Strip, killing 37-year old Samir Abu-Zaid and his two children. The family was sound asleep when the shelling took place.
g.. Israeli occupation forces failed to assassinate Marwan Barghouthi, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, but injured one of his bodyguards. Qais Abdel-Karim, Deputy Secretary General of Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DPFLP) escaped an assassination attempt when Israeli agents detonated an explosive device set near his apartment in Ramallah. Also, Ahmad Bsharat, a Palestinian activist, escaped another assassination attempt in northern West Bank city of Jenin.
a.. Israeli occupation troops killed 180 Palestinian children since the beginning of al-Aqsa Intifada on 28 September 2000.
b.. Israeli artillery shells killed 5-year old Sulaiman Abu-Zaid and his 7-year old sister Inass in Rafah. Soldiers shot and killed 13-year old Mohammad Subhi ‘Arrar in the same neighborhood and 11-year old Mohammad Jaber Zu’rob in Khna Younis and 17-year old Tamer Zu’rob in Rafah Refugee Camp. Israeli soldiers also shot and killed 7-year old Sabrin Abu-Snaynah in Hebron.
c.. Israeli soldiers shot and wounded several children including 6-months old Nour-Eddine ‘Qdeh in the hip while in his mother’s lap near an Israeli roadblock near Nablus. Soldiers also shot and seriously wounded 4-year old Majd Amjad Jallad near Tulqarem. Additionally, 3-months old Faris Abu-Mukhaimar was hit in the head by shrapnel near Gaza.
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b.. Several Palestinians died when Israeli soldiers restricted their transfer to hospitals through Israeli roadblocks throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Azhar Abu-Shallouf, a 2-year old from Rafah, died at a roadblock near al-Mawassi. Israeli troops restricted an ambulance carrying Abdullah ‘Attatrah, a 3-year old from Jenin, to hospital. The child died as the ambulance waited for permission to cross the roadblock. Shams Ibrahim Bsharat, a year old from Jaba’ near occupied Jerusalem, died in the same circumstances. Nihad Abdel-Jaber Jaber, a 64-year old from Hebron, died when Israeli soldiers refused to allow her transfer to hospital. Israeli soldiers, manning a roadblock southwest of Nablus, fired their machine guns at Palestinian pedestrians using a dirt road to bypass the roadblock. 38-year Mo’in Abu-Lafi died and several others were injured.
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d.. Israeli settlers threw rocks at a Palestinian vehicle traveling on Nablus-Ramallah highway. The driver lost control and died instantly. A group of Israeli settlers shot and killed Haidar Kana’an while driving north of occupied Jerusalem. A Jewish terrorist group claimed responsibility for the crime. e.. Four hundred and twenty Palestinians were injured in confrontations with Israeli occupation troops during August 2001. A Greek-Orthodox nun was injured in Bet Sahour east of Bethlehem. Najah Abu-Shawish, a 34-year old woman from Rafah, was seriously injured. The woman was eight months pregnant. The number of Palestinians injured since the beginning of al-Aqsa Intifada rose over 30,000 including 2800 left with permanent disabilities.
a.. Israeli occupation authorities continued to usurp Palestinian land setting up additional illegal settlements for Israeli settlers.
b.. During August, Israeli army did set up a post north of Khan Younis, a military base near the Egyptian borders and expanded a military base near Dura/Hebron in addition to six surveillance towers around the illegal settlements of Gush Qatif in Gaza Strip.
c.. Settlers of Nahal Nigahot, an illegal Israeli settlement built near Fqaiqis in Hebron District, added 8 mobile houses to the settlement, while settlers built a new illegal settlement near the village of Yanoun near Nablus.
a.. Israeli troops and settlers uprooted 800 mature olive trees in Nablus and Qalqilia Districts and 20 mature palm trees near Dair Balah in Gaza Strip.
b.. Israelis have destroyed over 300,000 trees since the beginning of al-Aqsa Intifada on 28 September 2001.
a.. Israeli troops stormed into the city of Jenin in northern West Bank. The large armored force reached as far the Governor’s offices north of the city. The force destroyed dozens of Palestinian homes and the electrical and water networks. They also bulldozed the headquarters of the Palestinian Police Special Units an area of 4 square dunums.
b.. On 28 August 2001, Israeli large force re-occupied Bet Jala and surrounding refugee camps. Soldiers occupied residences and used Palestinian civilians, including children, as human shields. In Rafah, Israeli troops destroyed a post for the Palestinian National Security and set up an Israeli post on the site.
c.. During August 2001, Israeli occupation authorities demolished a total of 49 Palestinian homes in Bet Hanina, a neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem, Bet Jala, Hebron, Dair al-Balah, Qarrara and Rafah, using bulldozers, artillery and anti-tank rockets. Israeli soldiers seized 8 homes in Bet Jala and Hebron turning it to military posts. Israeli police and troops re-occupied the Orient House along with 9 Palestinian offices (NGOs) in occupied Jerusalem and neighboring Abu-Dis. Israeli settlers set fire to 3 Palestinian homes in Hebron.
d.. Israeli officials handed 47 demolition notices to Palestinian homeowners in Bet Hanina, alleging their homes were built without construction permits.
e.. Israeli occupation authorities had destroyed over 5000 Palestinian homes since the beginning of al-Aqsa Intifada on 28 September 2000.
a.. Israeli occupation authorities imposed curfews on Abu-Dis near Jerusalem; Balata and Salem near Nablus; the old quarters of Hebron, Upper and Lower Bet ‘Ur near Ramallah and raided several areas throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Israeli troops arrested 170 Palestinian civilians on roadblocks and border crossings.
b.. Israeli occupation army set up a total of 263 checkpoints and roadblocks dismembering the Occupied Palestinian Territories into 64 remote sectors.
A report by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club affirmed 90% of Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails suffer ailments such as Diabetes, Cardiac Disorders, Tumors and Renal Disorders. The report asserted Israeli pharmaceutical companies are using Palestinian prisoners as guinea pigs for lab testing of new drugs. The scandal was revealed as early as 1997. The tests, contrary to international law and norms, endanger the prisoners’ lives.
a.. An Israeli court sentenced Khalil Issa Assa’ad, a 70-year old Palestinian from the village of Artass near Bethlehem, to 15 months prison term and $300 for resisting Israeli occupation.
b.. Prison guards at the Israeli Neve Trista Prison assaulted Amenah Muna, a Palestinian female political prisoner, held along with 11 Palestinian females in sub-human conditions.
a.. Israeli troops detained 16 paramedics from the Palestinian Medical Relief Committees at the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque prohibiting them for aiding wounded Palestinians. Israeli soldiers shot and killed Dr. Moussa Qdaimat while performing first aid to a wounded Palestinian youth in Hebron.
a.. Israeli soldiers brutally assaulted an Egyptian TV team at the roadblock near Qalandia Refugee Camp north of occupied Jerusalem. The team were covering Israeli re-occupation of Bet Jala the twin sister city of Bethlehem. The team members were hospitalized for cuts and bruises.
b.. The Israeli Governmental Press Office impounded press cards and permits from Palestinian journalists working with Arab, Palestinian and international news agencies. Palestinian journalists could no longer cover the news.
c.. Sources with the Palestinian Ministry of Education affirmed Israeli occupation authorities are hampering the Ministry’s efforts to deliver books and supplies to schools throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories at the beginning of the new school year.
d.. Israeli troops raided a school in the village of Tayseer in Jenin District and vandalized the property.
e.. Israeli occupation forces shelled 95 schools, raided 23 and disrupted activities in 66 schools since the beginning of al-Aqsa Intifada.
f.. Israeli occupation authorities deprived over 200,000 Palestinians living in 218 villages from fresh water supplies. These villages lack water networks. Inhabitants use primitive means, such as donkeys, to carry water tanks from nearby springs. Often, Israeli soldiers shoot at Palestinians alleging they are breaking the siege.
g.. Israeli soldiers prohibited Moslem worshipers from attending Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque during August 2001. They also closed off al-Hara al-Ibrahimi in Hebron to Palestinians while allowing Jewish settlers unrestricted access to the Moslem shrine.
h.. During the military onslaught on Bet Jala, Israeli soldiers seized the city’s church and mosque and turned them into military posts. Soldiers also took 45 Palestinian orphans hostage and used them as “Human Shields”.
i.. Israeli settlers from Itamar, an illegal Israeli settlement near Nablus, killed 123 heads of sheep by injecting the animals with poisonous substance. Another group of settlers did the same with 15 heads in the village of Rahkma near Bethlehem.
a.. “Israel continues to make the same mistakes it had made for over thirty years of its occupation portraying the Palestinian people as a “Terrorist group” unified under one strong man and ignoring that the occupation is the very reason for Palestinian resistance”. ‘Amira Hass, Ha’aretz 1 August 2001.
b.. “It is always the same with Sharon. His deeds speak louder than his words. One must close his ears and open his eyes wide in order to understand Sharon’s methodology. Sharon’s tactic is to fight for the whole land of Israel. Sharon strives to eliminate Palestinian nationalism and to redraw the borders of Israel”. Meir Shtigleitz, Yedi’ot 8 August 2001.
c.. “The very existence of the settlements impedes turning the Green Line unto real defensible borders for Israel. The difficulty to defend the settlements and the roads connecting them, have led to a serious deterioration in the army’s capabilities to prevent friction with the Palestinians. The settlements constitute, in the eyes of the world, a symbol of occupation and an obstacle towards peace”. Ravi Mann, Ma’ariv 8 August 2001.
d.. “As long as the army’s goal is to defend the settlers –this should be the goal as they continue to live in their settlements- we should expect more attacks and more insults. The army is a Jewish one dedicated to insult, oppress and persecute the Palestinians in order to defend the settlers living amongst them”. Nir Bir’am, Ma’ariv 5 August 2001.
e.. “Israel brags about its tactical accomplishments but yet forgets the “Territories” are turning into a “Palestinian quagmire” for us. The solution must come from political courage and nothing else”. Tsevi Bar El, Ha’aretz 5 August 2001.
f.. “Sharon did not the peace he promised during the election campaign. Peace is far fetched even more. The deteriorating security situation has harmed the economy and changed Israeli patterns of behavior and augmented feelings of frustration and depression”. Joel Markus, Ha’aretz, 14 August 2001.
g.. “Unilateral drawing of borders without Palestinian agreement or economic cooperation would lead us into self-interdiction. Instead of open borders, we would find ourselves in a Ghetto with 1 million Arabs amongst us and surrounded by a hostile perimeter. In this situation we live in nowadays there is no unilateral solution. We are in their midst as well as they are in ours. Nothing would stabilize without dialogue, understanding and agreements between two neighbors destined to live side by side”. Joel Markus, Ha’aretz 21 August 2001.
h.. “Only those without chronological knowledge and political awareness would expect and hope the Palestinian state would crumble under the strikes by Israeli helicopter gun-ships. Everyone who believes the Palestinians would capitulate and come to the negotiation table would be making a grave error. Israelis must sit with the Palestinians and hammer an historical accord that ends the conflict”. Joseph Ghourny, Ha’aretz 13 August 2001.
i.. “Ariel Sharon has an irrepressible instinct for occupation. He tends to take controversial steps to provoke incitement particularly in Jerusalem, a fragile and sensitive city. As he had done ten months ago when he visited al-Aqsa Mosque triggering violence now he arrives to the Orient House. Hopefully, an inferno does not break out”. Youssi Sarid, Yedi’ot 12 August 2001.
j.. “Official Israel had declared war on the Orient House ever since it became a national Palestinian institution. Last week, driven by anger, Israel re-occupied the Orient House thinking it can kill the Palestinian spirit and is able to usurp their heritage in order to obliterate their presence from Jerusalem. Only fools and senseless people believe this is possible. The Israeli flag that was raised over the Orient House at dawn was taken down by sunset. This is an indication of what might come”. Haim Hanegby, Ma’ariv 16 August 2001.
k.. “The Prime Minister of Israel does not seem to learn the lesson. He insists he can turn history back with his owns hands. The perpetual truth proves no power can destroy a steadfast nation holding strong to their national, economic and religious institutions”. Miron Benvenesti, Ha’aretz 16 August 2001.
l.. “There is a noticeable increase in feelings of hatred and racism towards Arabs. About 50% of Israelis empathize with settlers who kill Palestinians including children. They forget that we the Jews had a similar experience during the Nazi era”. Ya’El Paz-Milmed, Ma’ariv 5 August 2001.
m.. “Sharon does not have the slightest part of a political plan. He believes this conflict can only be solved militarily and then may be he would have something to talk about”. Ya’El Paz-Milmed, Ma’ariv 16 August 2001.
n.. “The problematic roadblock near Qalandia is useless from a security perspective. This roadblock is only there to torment [Palestinian] people and to sow hatred in their hearts”. Gedeon Levi, Ha’aretz 19 August 2001.
o.. “I believe a Palestinian state is in the best interest of Israel. The Palestinians have a vested interest to reach a permanent solution. Yet, Sharon is not interested to resume the peace process with the Palestinians”. Youssi Beilin.
p.. “Israel must adopt a comprehensive offensive against the Palestinian Authority, expel or even annihilate its leaders, devastate its infra-structure and encourage an alternative leadership that can live with Israeli policies”. Ishaq Klein.
q.. Quoting a high-ranked security official, Radio Israel reported on 9 August “The Jewish people march blindly behind Sharon’s policies that aim to abort the negotiation process with the Palestinians. The government of Israel blames the Palestinians while it plays a greater role in causing the situation to deteriorate”.
a.. Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmad Maher said: “The government of Israel is nothing but a gang killing people”.
b.. Arab League Secretary-General, ‘Amro Moussa said: “Israel practices state terrorism against the Palestinian people”.
c.. The American administration affirmed: “Israel’s use of American weapons to kill Palestinians contravenes American laws regulating arms export that clearly provides American weapons should only be used in defensive measures”.
d.. The BBC fell for the Israeli propaganda when its Chief Editor Malcolm Downing issued a memo forbidding BBC correspondents from using “Assassination” and replace it with the Israeli term “Precision Kill” to justify assassination of Palestinian political activists and leaders.
e.. The European Union expressed grave concern regarding Israeli escalation of violence particularly in the aftermath of the Nablus massacre.
f.. Considering “Settlements the principal reason for violence in the ME, the World Council of Churches called for boycotting Israeli goods produced in the settlements.
g.. The Final Communiqué by the NGOs meeting in Geneva condemned Israeli practices against the Palestinian people and demanded Israel cease its policies of racial discrimination against its citizens of Arab origin. The Communiqué called for protection of economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people.
h.. The Final Communiqué issued by the 15th Youth Festival, held in Algiers, called upon Israel to end its occupation of Arab Territories and implement resolutions of international legitimacy. The Communiqué asserted the Palestinians Right to Self-Determination.
i.. The International Congress and the International Women Committee for Freedom and Peace demanded prompt cessation of “State Terrorism” perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people.
j.. In its final communiqué issued in Budapest, the International Federation of Democratic Youths expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people struggle for independence and to end the occupation.
Israeli occupation forces augmented its roadblocks around Palestinian urban centers and on major and secondary roads in an effort to tighten its siege of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. During August, Israeli troops excessively restricted the movement of Palestinians forcing commuters to use dirt roads on foot to bypass Israeli roadblocks. Phantom patrols by Israeli soldiers often open fire on helpless Palestinians.
k.. A Palestinian family from Jerusalem and another from Hebron conducted engagement ceremony over mobile phone. The families stood on opposite sides of the Israeli block.
l.. Israeli soldiers forced Abdel-Ma’ati Falah, a 75-year old Palestinian, to stand for several hours in the scorching sun of August. The old man described those hours as “The most difficult in his entire life”, especially when the soldiers made fun of him when he asked for a drink of water.
m.. An Israeli soldier tried to force “Munjed”, a 30-year old Palestinian, to take off his pants telling him he would look more respectable without it. When the young man refused, the soldier pushed the man’s face against the car’s hood that was very hot. The man was forced to stand for hours in the scorching hat of summer with second- degree burns on his face.
n.. Israeli soldiers detained about 70 persons from the village of Bet Rima, including children, women and elders with frail health, to stand for eight hours in the blazing August sun at a roadblock on the Nablus-Ramallah highway.
o.. Israeli soldiers, manning a roadblock on Wadi-Annar highway between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, forced a group of students to strip nude and run for a long distance.
p.. Hajj Abu-Hussein, a Palestinian elder from Kafr-Eddik, had to travel 100 kilometers in seven hours to reach Nablus. The 30-kilometers distance normally takes about half an hour. Abu-Hussein had to travel about 13 kilometers on foot using treacherous mountain terrain to bypass Israeli roadblocks.
q.. Sabreen Abu-Sanainah, a 7-year old princess from Hebron, combed her hair and put on a beautiful dress. Her mother asked her to go up the roof and fetch her 3-year old brother who was playing up there. Sabreen reached the roof as Israeli soldiers, on a nearby roof, began shooting indiscriminately at Palestinian homes. One of their bullets penetrated the tiny head. Her brother shouted: “They shot my sister”. Hearing the screams of the little boy, the 60-year old Grandmother had a heart attack and died.
r.. Mohammad Subhi Abu-‘Arrar, a 14-year old Palestinian, lives in al-Salam neighborhood in Rafah. His Mother said: “He was a clever student. Someone donated a new school bag and uniform for Mohammad. He was getting ready to go back to school when an Israeli bullet pierced his chest. We had built hopes around Mohammad to grow up, graduate and get us out of the poverty we have lived in. The occupation bullets kidnapped Mohammad and we will not see him ever”.
s.. Israeli soldiers shot and killed Firas Abdel-Haq, a 23-year old from Nablus, only two months after they had shot his older brother. The Mother commented: “The two enjoyed a strong relationship. They ate together, played together and were inseparable. Firas changed dramatically when his brother died. Every day he used to visit his grave and dream about avenging his death”.
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