Israeli Forces Demolish Commercial Buildings in Husan, West of Bethlehem

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Arrest Wave Targets 23 Palestinians in West Bank

 01.12.11 - 19:51

PNN

The Israeli army conducted a widespread arrest campaign on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, resulting in the arrests of 23 Palestinians aged between 15 to 67.

Israeli soldiers raid Qalandia refugee camp (Brendan Work, PNN).

Nine of the arrested Palesetinians were from Jenin. Secure sources told Palestinian government news wire Wafa that the soldiers arrested Ahmed Saleh Abu Mashhour, 67, Nasser Abdulafo Abu Aziz, 55, Abdullah Afif Zakarna, 44, Silah Abdullah Zoghaibi, 50, Samah Abdullah Zoghaibi, 45, Zaher Nafes Abu Sakha, 48, Zuhair Ra’oof Zoghaibi, 61, Fada’ Ra’oof Zoghaibi, 48, Alem Sami Masad, 44, and Mohammed Abu Sharar Abu al-Haija’, 36. 

In the northern West Bank city of Tubas, Israeli troops arrested 35-year-old Ashraf Muhye al-Deen Hamama during a midnight home raid, while in Bethlehem, two teens were arrested and taken to unknown locations: Zaid Mohammed Ali al-Hreimi , 17, and Mohammed Atef Abu Aker, 15. The house raids included a “huge military unit,” according to local sources reporting to the Palestinian government news wire Wafa.

An Israeli military raid in Beit Fourik, west of Nablus, ended with the arrests of Sajid Abdullatif Miletat, 40, Ayman Aref Haj Mohammed, 44, and Yousif Mohammed Yousif Abu Ghalmi, 38, while troops detained Munthir Mohammed Abu Atwan, age unknown, in the village of Dura near Hebron as well.

On Wednesday evening, Israeli soldiers arrested a 23-year-old girl, Ola Ahmed Hassan al-Rajoub of al-Koum village near Hebron, in front of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the Old City. Her brother Jaber said she was taken to the settlement of Kiryat Arba for interrogation, but no reason was given for her arrest.

http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10929&Itemid=56

More Israeli Raids and Arrests near Hebron, Farmers Given 45 Days to Uproot Own Trees

30.11.11 - 22:02

PNN

On Wednesday, Israeli forces raided Beit Omar village, northwest of Hebron, and arrested three citizens. Israel has increased its encroachments into Beit Omar, often targeting children. Out of the 16 people arrested in the village, 13 were children.

 

Palestinians tend their land near the southern West Bank village of Artas (Lo Yuk Fai, PNN).

Eyewitnesses told the official Palestinian news wire Wafa that Israeli forces raided and searched houses in the al-Bayadeh and Wadi al-Sheikh neighborhoods. The houses belonged to 17-year-old Rashid Mohamad Issa Awad, 22-year-old Mahamad Mahmoud Mahamad Ikhlil, and 17-year old Yasser Faiz Mohamad Abu Fanous. The three individuals were detained and taken to Etzion military detention center.

The soldiers arrested Rafeq Abdul Razaq Jaradat  and Umar al-Sheikh Bhis from the villages of Sa'eer and Yatta, respectively.

Israeli forces also arrested 32-year-old Marwan Ahmed Sakharneh from Beit Ola village west of Hebron. The soldiers confiscated his tractor while he was plowing the lands in the Enjasat area, near the Israeli separation wall.

The towns and villages of Arabeh, Kufur Ra’e, al-Zawyeh, Anzeh, and Fahmeh were also raided but no arrests were recorded.

Israeli forces handed out demolition notices to the residents of Sourif, a village near Hebron. Activist Yousef Abu Maria told Wafa that the Israelis gave notices to Jamal Mohamad al-Qadi and Ibrahim Abdul Hadi Hamedat, informing them that their irrigation well and dozens of olive and almond trees would be destroyed. The well and trees are located in a 12-dunum (3 acre) plot of land near the separation wall. The soldiers gave al-Qadi and Hamedat 45 days to uproot their trees before bulldozers demolish them.

http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10926&Itemid=64

I was arrested for hiring a Palestinian tour guide

Sunday, August 21 2011|Aziz Abu Sarah

After the police ineptitude and harassment experienced today, it is clear that in certain situations, Palestinians are simply guilty until proven innocent

Last week  my tour company, MEJDI, received a tour group from Washington DC. The group members are all part of the same Jewish congregation, and are here on a trip lead by their rabbi, who was inspired by our narratives-based approach to tourism. This morning we took the tour group to the Mount of Olives for a view of the Old City of Jerusalem, and spoke to them about the political and religious narratives of the city. While the tourists were wandering around and taking pictures, a policeman with another woman in civilian clothing approached our Palestinian tour guide, asked for his identity card and tourism license, and arrested him.

Each of our groups has two guides, one Palestinian and one Israeli. Almost all of our Palestinian guides come from East Jerusalem, because of the severe shortage of permits for Palestinian guides based in the West Bank.  This guide, who for security reasons will be called “HJ,” is a resident of Bethlehem, and is the first West Bank guide we hired to lead our groups in Israel, in tandem with an Israeli Jewish guide.

HJ is a good friend of mine and, apart from being a fully licensed tour guide, is also a dedicated peace activist, who has been interested in MEJDI’s alternative tourism initiative for a while. He called me last week to let me know he finally received a permit to work in Israel, and would therefore be able to work with MEJDI. Friendship aside, I double-checked HJ’s permit and legal status and then hired him for the current tour.

When the police saw HJ’s green identity card (ID’s issued by Israel are color-coded; Israeli citizens get blue IDs, Palestinians get green ones), they were visibly  overcome by excitement and a big smile appeared on their faces. They behaved like they made a big catch. They ignored the fact that HJ had a travel permit and a license to work in Israel. I actually heard them say:”Even if he can work in Israel, he couldn’t possibly be a licensed tour guide.” HJ’s tour guiding license was also disregarded.
I tried to explain to the officers that HJ was legal and can work in Israel according to my understanding of the permit. I even called HJ’s lawyer who assured me of the same. But by then, the officers were more interested in their next arrest: Myself.

The police officers decided to arrest me for hiring HJ. I was accused of employing an illegal alien. I tried to reason with the officers but I was speaking to deaf ears. There seemed to be no hope in explaining anything. We were both asked to turn off our phones and not to make any phone calls to anyone, including lawyers. We were also told to stop talking to each other.

Fortunately, because we have two tour guides for each tour, our group was able to continue their tour with the Israeli guide, without major disturbances.

We were promptly asked to sign a paper which indicates that we were not beaten up at the time of our arrest, and we were whisked away to the police station in East Jerusalem, where we waited for about an hour as they processed our arrest. Eventually they  took HJ to the interrogation room.  In less than five minutes the interrogator stormed  out of the interrogation room enraged and began yelling at the arresting officer: “He is legal, why did you arrest them? Release them now.” I was rather relived to have finally met an Israeli police officer who knew how to read a permit issued by the Israeli authorities.

Before leaving the police station, we were both given our IDs’  back, but HJ’s magnetic card was missing. Every West Bank Palestinian that wants to obtain a working permit must also apply for a magnetic ID card from the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank. When we asked the police officer about it, he said that he lost the card. He shrugged off our request for a statement stating that he lost the card so HJ can apply for a new one without major delays and interrogations. He told us to go away and not to cause any problems if we don’t want to get ourselves into trouble. We knew we had to leave.

This incident puts me in a difficult situation. What do I do next? Do I still hire HJ and possibly other West Bank guides despite the danger of police harassment? Or do I let this incident induce me to boycott Palestinian tour guides?

As a businessman, I cannot allow such situations to happen again to any of my tour groups. It affects the professionalism of my business. But at the same time I cannot let discriminatory police officers win this battle. Is lawful and respectful treatment of Palestinians too much to ask for? Are Palestinians guilty until proven innocent?

In our business, we refuse to let the conflict generate more hatred or propaganda by or against any side. That is why we have both Israelis and Palestinians accompany the group for the entirety of each trip. Our groups meet with Israeli and Palestinian politicians, activists, and artists alike. We hope these tours generate more supporters for peace. We will find ways to overcome the new challenges while keeping to a high professional level, and we will continue to implement this mission regardless of the hostile environment around us.

http://972mag.com/i-was-arrested-for-hiring-a-palestinian-tour-guide/

Aziz Abu Sarah is a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem who divides his time between Jerusalem and Washington D.C.

Aziz is a columnist with Al Quds newspaper and is the co-executive director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. Aziz runs alternative tours to the Middle East with a focus on Israel and the West-Bank through MEJDI a social enterprise he co-founded.

Israel arrests 120 Palestinians in WB

Sun Aug 21, 2011 9:59AM GMT

 

Israeli military forces raided the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), arresting at least 120 Palestinians on August 21, 2011. (File photo)

 

Israeli military forces have arrested at least 120 Palestinians, including members of the Islamic Hamas movement, in the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron).

At least 100 Israeli jeeps and military vehicles raided al-Khalil early on Sunday and launched a massive arrest operation, a Press TV correspondent reported on Sunday.

Most detainees belong to Hamas, including members of the Palestinian Legislative Council Mohammed Abu J'heisha and local leaders of Hamas' social committees.

The Israeli forces have closed all entrances to the city and have been stationed on the streets.

Israel launched an airstrike on the Gaza Strip on Thursday immediately after assaults targeted two Israeli buses and a military vehicle near the Red Sea resort of Eilat, killing eight Israeli forces.

Tel Aviv has accused Hamas of being behind the Thursday rocket attack on Israel.

Hamas, however, has strongly denied the allegations and warned against any act of aggression against the Gaza Strip.

AO/MYA/HRF

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194991.html