Haredi accused of sexually harassing soldier files appeal

Shlomo Fuchs, 44, accused of sexually harassing female soldier on public bus, files appeal with J'lem court. 'Unpleasant remarks are heard every day, most of them sexual,' he claims
 

Aviad Glickman

 

Published:  12.30.11, 12:07 / Israel News

Is it sexual harassment to call someone a slut ? Jerusalem resident Shlomo Fuchs, 44, accused of sexually harassing Doron Matalon, a female soldier on a public bus, calling her a "slut," has filed an appeal with the city's Magistrate's Court on Friday.

"Unpleasant remarks are heard every day in Israel, including some which may be considered humiliating, and most of them are based on a person's sexuality. Those who curse are never put on trial," Fuchs claimed in the appeal.
Police officials said Fuchs' behavior was unruly, and that he sexually harassed Matalon by humiliating her and making sexual remarks.

The court partially accepted Fuchs' appeal, ordering him to pay NIS 5,000 ($1,310) instead of NIS 20,000 ($5,242) in bail. He is scheduled to be released from jail on Friday.


The soldier, Doron Matalon (Photo: Atta Awisat)


Fuchs also claimed that even if cursing a woman "is deserving of moral obloquy, it does not constitute a criminal offense of sexual harassment." He further stated that the decision to put him on trial is based on an unfounded perception, claiming "there is no reasonable ground to suppose that the court… will not acquit the claimant."

Even if the expression he used was unpleasant to hear, the appeal stated, Fuchs should not be arrested for it, adding he's not considered a threat to the public.

'Not a sexual offender'

"I am not a sexual offender," Fuchs, father of 12, told his attorney on Thursday. "If anything – she harassed me. I wanted to move away and she kept moving closer."

Fuchs' attorney claimed this was not a criminal offense. "We live in a free country. We're allowed to curse, its part of the freedom of expression," he explained.

If the court does decide this is a sexual harassment case, said the attorney, then any man who calls a woman a "bitch" or other curse words would be considered a sexual offender.
According to the appeal, the Jerusalem court has no foundation to determine whether this is a growing phenomenon. Fuchs attorneys believe that the police was likely influenced by the current atmosphere. "Fuchs has nothing to do with Beit Shemesh."


The indictment against Fuchs follows a warning issued by Israeli authorities saying they would not tolerate the exclusion of women from the public sphere or any acts of violence towards women. State Prosecutor Moshe Lador stressed that "the prosecution will work with the police to bring this radical phenomenon of haredi extremism to an end."


http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4169011,00.html

Campaign launched against French purchase of Israeli drones as senators demand deal be abandoned

Submitted by Ali Abunimah on Fri, 12/30/2011 - 21:52

 

French boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigners have called on their government to abandon a €318 million deal to buy Heron TP drones from Israel Aircraft Industries. Meanwhile, senior members of France’s Senate have called publicly for the country to abandon the purchase on grounds that the Israeli drones are unsuited to the needs of the armed forces.

Campaign against Israeli drones

 

A petition launched by Campagne BDS France urging the government to end the deal and calling for an immediate military embargo on Israel has already garnered more than 1300 signatures. The text states:

No to the purchase by France of 318 million euros worth of Israeli drones!
An immediate military embargo against Israel!

On 20 July the French Ministry of Defence took the scandalous decision to buy from Israel more than 318 million euros worth of war weapons.  When this outlaw state is guilty, day after day, of grave violations of international law, when there is a climate of austerity, when there are calls for demilitarization and for sanctions against Israel’s impunity, we are outraged by the disgraceful choice made by the Ministry of Defence.

Israel has a well established record of violations of international law and human rights, on display in its various military operations and aggressive attacks, incursions and occupations of Palestinian territories and other Arab countries, in its abusive and indiscriminate use of force and in the deliberate targeting of civilians and infrastructure. All of which result in a ceaseless repetition of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The BDS French Campaign joins the Palestinian BNC in calling for an immediate military embargo against Israel, similar to that imposed upon South Africa in the past.  We demand the immediate cancellation of the contract to purchase drones from Israel.

Decision to buy Israeli drones “surprises” French Senate

 

Earlier this month, the vice-chairs of the foreign affairs and defence and armed forces committees of the French Senate wrote an open letter in Le Monde strongly opposing the decision. The four senators, two from President Nicholas Sarkozy’s UMP party and two from the Socialist opposition, wrote (my translation):

On July 20, the Minister of Defence, Gérard Longuet, chose to equip our forces with the Heron TP, manufactured by the Israeli company IAI [Israel Aircraft Industries] and imported by Dassault. This decision caused surprise in the Senate. When a state undertakes to equip its forces it must be done impartially, in a rational, that is to say, measurable manner: at what price, what specifications, and what industrial sovereignty? If possible it must reconcile all these objectives, otherwise it must prioritize the security of its soldiers and the effectiveness of its armed forces.

The senators added that the Israeli drone was unsuited to French needs. The Heron TP, they wrote, is “big, slow and vulnerable in degraded weather conditions.” They advocated purchasing the US-made Reaper drone instead.

Their support for the Reaper underscores that the senators, while strongly opposing the Israeli drone, did not raise any ethical concerns about the purchase. Their opposition – according to their words – is strictly on technical merit.

Nonetheless, with a significant core of opposition to buying from Israel already in place it may well be easier for BDS campaigners to bring more public pressure to abandon the deal.

French campaign follows in Finland’s footsteps

 

The campaign in France echoes a long-standing citizens’ initiative in Finland to get that country to abandon a possible deal to buy Israeli drones.

The Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja had already gone on record, while in opposition, against purchasing the Israeli weapons on ethical grounds and recently condemned Israeli “apartheid.”.

Last July, the European Network Against Arms Trade (ENAAT) came out publicly in support of an arms embargo on Israel and called for an end to “all military-related training and consultancies with the Israeli army, military companies and academic research institutions.”

http://electronicintifada.net/blog/ali-abunimah/campaign-launched-against-french-purchase-israeli-drones-senators-demand-deal-be

Exposed: UK university student claiming bias works for project of Israel pressure group

Asa Winstanley

 

The Electronic Intifada

 

London

 

30 December 2011

 

Nicola Pratt (photo courtesy of University of Warwick)

A worker at an Israeli media pressure group used her low dissertation mark as a post-graduate student at University of Warwick to smear a professor involved in Palestine solidarity activism this month.

Smadar Bakovic claimed that Professor Nicola Pratt had unfairly graded her dissertation. She told a pro-Israel journalist that the same dissertation was passed with a distinction after being re-marked by a second professor. But the paper running the story failed to mention that Bakovic works for MediaCentral in Jerusalem, an agency affiliated with pro-Israel media pressure group HonestReporting.

The article appeared in The Jewish Chronicle (a pro-Israel paper), first published on their website on 22 December. It drew heavily on Bakovic as its source, but portrayed her merely as an Israeli student, without mentioning her MediaCentral affiliation. A university spokesperson told The Electronic Intifada that the article contained multiple inaccuracies, which he had alerted the paper to but they still ran their version (“Anti-Zionist professor’s low marks for Israeli - now a distinction,” 22 December 2011).

University spokesperson Peter Dunn said Bakovic’s claims were false. It is “not true that she made repeated requests for a supervisor change,” he said. She asked to change supervisors only once, and, despite that, said she was happy with Pratt’s supervision. It was only when she received her low mark that she asked the university to change.

Nicola Pratt is associate professor of international politics of the Middle East at the University of Warwick in the midlands of the UK. She is reportedly active in Palestine solidarity campaigns, including the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

“I did it for Israel”

 

The Electronic Intifada contacted Professor Pratt who referred us to Dunn. He said the Jewish Chronicle journalist had also told him Bakovic admitted to being happy with Pratt’s supervision. Dunn said Bakovic had to resubmit her dissertation to the second professor with “substantial changes” for the higher mark. Dunn said he had confirmed with her new supervisor that Bakovic’s claim this second version was only “tweaked” was untrue. In order to protect Bakovic’s privacy, Dunn could not name the second professor.

The Electronic Intifada wrote to Bakovic to ask her to reveal the name of the second professor in order to verify this, but she declined to respond. “I did it for Israel,” she told The Jewish Chronicle, referring to her year-long campaign to be allowed to redo her dissertation. The Jewish Chronicle claimed it had seen emails (presumably from Bakovic) showing the second dissertation contained “no major changes” from the one marked by Pratt.

Dunn said he had not been shown these emails, and the journalist was making an unjustified inference, probably based on an early stage in the process. Dunn said: “the first mark was also matched by an external examiner as well as Nicola. The university stands by both marks for both pieces of work and the complaints panel found Nicola’s supervision to be exemplary.” The Electronic Intifada asked Bakovic to prove the second version was not substantially different, but she failed to reply.

University’s disappointment

 

Bakovic is listed as the media services coordinator on the website of MediaCentral. Based in Jerusalem, the group says it is a “free or low-cost” fixer agency that immerses foreign journalists in Israeli perspectives.
The group is a project of HonestReporting, which once described itself on its website as “an organization dedicated to defending Israel against prejudice in the media” (“Our Mission”).

Its managing editor, Simon Plosker, is a reservist soldier in the Israeli army’s press office. He previously worked for the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) and NGO Monitor, another Israel lobby group (“Meet the editors”).

Asked to comment on Bakovic’s membership of MediaCentral, Dunn said he knew nothing about her beyond the academic issues, and that the university’s concern was only to defend its academic reputation. It was unusual for the university to allow a student to redo her dissertation in this way and they had thought Bakovic would be grateful, and were disappointed to be depicted like this, he added.

The Electronic Intifada put Dunn’s claims to Bakovic via email, and asked whether or not she had informed The Jewish Chronicle she works for MediaCentral. She declined to reply.

Bakovic told The Jewish Chronicle that she monitored the university’s Palestine solidarity movement: “I knew Prof Pratt because whenever there was an anti-Israel event at the university I went along and she was often there,” she stated.

Professor Pratt was one of many academic signatories to a seminal letter in The Guardian during the 2008-09 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which asserted that “if we affirm the right to resist military aggression and colonial occupation, then we are obliged to take sides … against Israel, and with the people of Gaza and the West Bank” (“Growing outrage at the killing in Gaza,” 15 January 2009).

In the Reut Institute’s now-infamous 2010 report on how to counter the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, the influential think tank advised Israel to “sabotage” the movement of solidarity with Palestine.
One of the many examples it gave of possible counter-strategies was “Mobilizing and training civil society partners … for example students and faculty in academia” (“The Delegitimization Challenge: Creating a Political Firewall, March 2010, p. 71).

If this was another attempt to “sabotage” the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, it was an especially clumsy one.

Asa Winstanley is an investigative journalist who writes about Palestine. www.winstanleys.org.

http://electronicintifada.net/content/exposed-uk-university-student-claiming-bias-works-project-israel-pressure-group/10759

Aussie Dave Exposed ~ by Richard Silverstein (including update)

Dec 28, 2011 | Richard Silverstein | Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place


For those who have a long memory here, one of my earliest prolonged blogging battles was with a far-right wing Islamophobic Australian-Israeli blogger who used the pseudonym, Aussie Dave and wrote an especially putrid blog, Israellycool. Originally, I went head to head with him over his Jewish blogging contest which he organized under the sponsorship of the Jerusalem Post. In taking him to task for the far right wing nature of the vast majority of the blogs nominated, I earned his eternal enmity. He’s now organizing a new version of the contest, the Pro-Israel Blog-Off, for only the farthest right of pro-Israel blogs.  To ensure the Zionist ideological kashrut of the project, the judges include the CEO of the pro-Israel media advocacy group, Honest Reporting (“Honest” should be in square quotes) and “the Embassy of Israel in Dublin.”  Don’t ask how an entire embassy can judge a blogging contest.  The nominees are a very veritable hate-fest of the right-wing Anglo-Israeli blog world including CIF Watch, Elders of Ziyon, My Right Word, etc.

Ever since the days of his first contest, he’s taken every chance he could to attempt (invariably unsuccessfully) to shame, embarrass, humiliate or insult me. I won’t go into the specifics since they’re so puerile and sophomoric.  Davey has threatened to sue me and warned me that he was a lawyer. But somehow, being the bully he is, he talked a good game never following through. I’ve always wondered why he refused to reveal his real identity, especially since he’d published my home address, phone number and my wife’s employer name and work phone at his blog. It seemed especially hypocritical under the circumstances.

David Loeb’s Facebook profile

David “Aussie” Loeb at the blackjack table

Now, due to a sloppy error on his part (thanks to an Israeli who finds him as repellant as I, who caught it), Aussie Dave has exposed his real identity. And since I believe that hypocrites deserve their comeuppance and that their dark secrets deserve to see the light, I’m exposing him for what and who he is: David Loeb, 23 Rashi Street Beit-Shemesh, Israel. In his Facebook profile he notes some sort of affiliation with Virgin Megastores, which may mean he works there. If anyone knows, I’d like to find out. Loeb’s FB photo indicates he likes to gamble as it shows him at what appears to be a casino blackjack table.

The last straw that determined my decision to expose him was his feeble attempt to link me to a couple from my home city sharing my last name, who were charged with welfare fraud. Loeb hoped at the very least that the cheat might be my brother or some other close relative. It’s bad enough when they implicate me personally in their scummy revenge fantasies. But when they attempt to ensnare innocent family members, that goes too far.

So Dave, I’m throwing you the coming out party you so richly deserve. Enjoy your moment the sun. Now that you’ve been outed you won’t have any more protection than the rest of us, who blog under our own name, have. I daren’t believe it will make you any more responsible or any less bilious. You and leopards, after all, cannot change your spots.

NOTE ABOUT CHANGES TO COMMENTING: I’ve been innundated by spam lately and disappointed that the Akismet anti-spam plugin, which had been doing a great job, began to perform so shoddily.  I’ve implemented a new system that requires commenters to check boxes before their comment is sent to the queue.  I didn’t want to implement a Captcha plugin because I thought that was too intrusive.  I hope this is a reasonable compromise.

Source and more at  Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place.

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Dec 29, 2011 | Richard Silverstein | Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place

The Sad Case of Aussie Dave

Yesterday, I reported in a post that I believed I had exposed the real identity of Aussie Dave, author of the Israellycool blog.  It appears that he invented a fake identity in order to perpetrate a hoax on me.  It boggles the mind that he went to the immense amount of trouble he did to perpetrate this hoax.  It tells you how much free time he has on his hands to engage in all the subterfuge that was necessary to fool me.  It tells you precious little about me, but quite a lot about him.

Dave thinks he’s a genius because I fooled me.  What he doesn’t realize is that in his blog post, he proudly admits that he created a hoax Facebook account for a non-existent person using the photo of a real person, a clear violation of Facebook rules.  Here’s how he bragged about it:

David Loeb is a fake name. The photo in the Facebook profile I set up is of basketballer Jordan Farmar…I used his photo deliberately…

I included in the profile my supposed address (Beit Shemesh)…as well as the URL of this blog to connect David Loeb to it.

I’ve reported him to Facebook for doing this.  I hope there will be repercussions and that he doesn’t have a real Facebook account.  If he does, perhaps Facebook will express its displeasure with idiots like him exploiting company for his own tomfoolish purposes.

Dave moans in his post that I not only violated his privacy by posting what he wanted me to believe was his home address, but that I potentially endangered him.  Which is funny because he doesn’t mention that he not only published my home address and phone number, but my wife’s employer and her work phone.

He and his allies are trying to embarrass Jillian York, a staffer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who correctly warned me that his Facebook account appeared to be fake.  They’re claiming that I exposed the private details of an individual in violation of EFF guidelines and that York is somehow guilty of violating her employer’s mission statement in protecting the privacy of bloggers.  This is yet more nonsense since Aussie Dave created a publicly accessible Facebook account to which anyone had access and which displayed his alleged address for anyone to see.  Not only that, but the account is fake as is virtually all the information in it.
Dave of course doesn’t mention the recent incident when he hoaxed himself, seeking to believe that my brother had been arrested for being a welfare cheat.  The only truth to his fantasy was that someone with my extremely common last name had been arrested for such a crime.  He created an entire post in which he gleefully and hopefully speculated that the perpetrator might be my brother.  He even searched through my online photo galleries finding a photo of my brother-in-law and speculating that because he had the same first name as the welfare cheat that he might be the same person.  He wasn’t.  Not a word from Dave about this violation of the privacy of my brother-in-law, a totally innocent party in his charade.

There’s a larger point here as far as I’m concerned.  It’s that doing what I do is complicated because I have to trust my sources and go with my gut about their credibility.  Yes, I can do some elementary research to determine their credibility.  But in the end, you have to decide whether or not to take a jump.  Usually, the times when I’ve been hoaxed are when I decide to trust people I’ve never dealt with before and whose bona fides aren’t clear.  That’s what happened in this case.

I’ve said before that I’ve made mistakes in trusting a few hoaxsters (luckily only two as far as I know).  Luckily those mistakes have been few.  Now we can add this one to the previous ones.  When you report stories that I do, there is always the chance that you will make mistakes.  Some will involve discrete points in an overall story.  Others will be larger and more serious errors.  I’ve never claimed to be perfect.  In fact, I think conceding mistakes shows readers that you are human and have nothing to hide.

Dave wrote in his post that he believed I would take down my earlier post exposing him.  I certainly won’t.  Both because I want readers to know that I’m transparent; and because I want people to see what he has done and judge him for it.  I want people to understand the pains that the pro-Israel Islamophobic blog world takes to smear its opponents.  And the nastiness of their methods and outcomes.

Source and more at Tikun Olam


http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/aussie-dave-exposed-by-richard-silverstein/

PCHR Weekly Report: One Palestinian killed, 11 wounded by Israeli forces this week

Friday December 30, 2011 11:41 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

In its Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for the week of 22- 28 December 2011, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) found that a Palestinian resistance fighter was killed and 5 others were wounded in two extra-judicial execution attempts by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. 6 additional Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded by Israeli forces.

Israeli Occupation Forces demolish agricultural facilities in Ethna village, west of Hebron

Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip:

The 27th of December marks the third anniversary of the commencement of Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s 27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009 offensive on the Gaza Strip. The PCHR believes that Israeli forces committed serious violations of IHL and IHRL over the course of the offensive. Violations entailing individual criminal responsibility include – but are not limited to – the crimes of willful killing, the extensive destruction of civilian property, the direct targeting of civilians and civilian objects, the use of human shields, and the launching of indiscriminate attacks.

The PCHR calls upon the UN Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, to refer the situation in Israel and Palestine to the International Criminal Court. The PCHR also reminds States, as High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention, of their pressing legal obligation, to search for and prosecute all those suspected of committing war crimes, regardless of their nationality.

During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian resistance fighter and wounded 10 Palestinians, including two children in the Gaza Strip.

On 27 December 2011, Israeli forces extra-judicially executed a Palestinian resistance fighter and wounded another one and 3 civilian bystanders, including a child. An Israeli drone fired a missile at two fighters of a Salafist group who were traveling on a motorcycle opposite to Concorde Gallery near Abu Sharekh Square in the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya. As a result, one of the fighters was killed, and the other one was wounded by shrapnel to the chest. Additionally, 3 civilian bystanders, including a child, were wounded. Two houses and 4 shops were also damaged, and a civilian car was completely destroyed.

On the same day, an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a civilian vehicle, in which 4 Palestinian resistance fighters were traveling, in al-Jalaa’ Street in the north of Gaza City. As a result, the four fighters were wounded, one of them sustained a serious wound. Additionally, a civilian bystander was lightly wounded.

Also on the same day, a Palestinian child was wounded by Israeli gunfire in the central Gaza Strip.

On 23 December 2011, Israeli forces fired 3 artillery shells at agricultural areas to the east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis. No casualties were reported.

Israeli attacks in the West Bank:

During the last week, Israeli forces conducted 32 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they abducted 28 Palestinians, including 4 children and a university professor.

In addition, Israeli soldiers abducted two Palestinian civilians at various checkpoints in the West Bank.

In an example of this week’s invasions, on Thursday, 22 December, at approximately 02:00, Israeli forces moved into Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to Wajeeh Hmaid Abu Maria, and abducted his two sons: Ahmed, 18; and Mohammed, 17. At the same time, Israeli forces raided a house belonging to the family of Mohammed Saqer Abu Maria, 20, to abduct him but he was not there. Israeli soldiers attempted to hold his sister as a hostage to force to him to surrender, but the family intervened and prevented them. So, Israeli soldiers confiscated the ID card of his brother, Napoleon, 25.

On the same night, at approximately 02:00, Israeli forces moved into Jenin refugee camp. They raided and searched a number of houses and abducted 8 Palestinian civilians to question them in regard to the death of a Palestinian theatre director who held Israeli citizenship, Juliano Mir Khamis, who was shot dead on 04 April 2011. The detainees were released a few hours later.

These are just two examples of this week’s 32 invasions by Israeli forces into West Bank towns and villages, most of which occurred in the early hours of the morning while people were sleeping.

Israeli settlement activities:

Israeli forces have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.

On 28 December 2011, the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem approved the construction of 130 settlement units in “Gilo” settlement, south of Jerusalem. It also approved the establishment of a large tourist project in Silwan village to the south of the old town of Jerusalem. On Tuesday, 27 December 2011, the Israeli daily Maariv reported about a planned settlement project in Silwan village to the south of the old town of Jerusalem. This project is planned by the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem and “Elad” settlement association. The Israeli newspaper reported that “the large tourist project” is a joint project planned by the settlement association, the municipality of Jerusalem and “Nature and Gardens Authority.” It includes the establishment of archaeological centers, pools and basins. According to the newspaper, the local committee of planning and construction of the municipality of Jerusalem is expected to approve presenting the plan for any possible objections. The project is planned on a 5,400-square-meter area of land. According to “Elad” association, a car park absorbing about 250 cars will be established.

During the reporting period, Israeli forces demolished a house and destroyed 5 wells, 4 water tabks and 4 agricultural rooms in Ethna village, west of Hebron, claiming that they were established without licenses. They also confiscated some agricultural equipment.

Israeli forces also destroyed a well and 9 agricultural pools in Dura village, southwest of Hebron. They also confiscated some agricultural equipment.

Israeli Annexation Wall:

During the reporting period, Israeli forces used force against peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to the construction of the Wall and settlement activities in the West Bank, and in protest to the establishment of a buffer zone in the Gaza Strip. As a result, a Palestinian civilian was wounded. Additionally, dozens of Palestinian civilians and human rights defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation. Israeli forces also abducted a Palestinian civilian.

Following the Friday Prayer on 23 December 2011, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in Bil'ein village, west of Ramallah, in protest to the construction of the annexation wall and support for efforts to achieve national reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah movements. They raised the Palestinian flag and called for ending political division. They then moved towards areas of Palestinian land, which the Israeli High Court ordered to be returned to their Palestinian owners. Israeli soldiers stationed in the area fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, a number of civilians suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Also following the Friday prayer on 23 December 2011, dozens of Palestinian civilians and Israeli and international human rights defenders gathered in the center of al-Nabi Saleh village, northwest of Ramallah, to start the weekly peaceful protest against the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities. The protesters walked towards the gate erected by Israeli forces near the entrance of the village and leading to Palestinian lands that Israeli settlers from the nearby "Halmish" settlement are trying to seize. Israeli soldiers who had been extensively deployed in the area and near all the entrances of the village since the morning, began to confront the protesters who wanted to walk towards the affected lands. Israeli soldiers fired live and rubber-coated bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at the protesters. As a result, Waleed Yousef al-Barghouthi, 22, was wounded by a bullet to the foot, and dozens of civilians suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Also following the Friday Prayer on 23 December 2011, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in Ne'lin village, west of Ramallah, in protest against the construction of the annexation wall. They clashed with Israeli troops positioned near the annexation wall. Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at demonstrators. As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Recommendations to the international community:

Due to the number and severity of Israeli human rights violations this week, the PCHR made several recommendations to the international community. Among these was a recommendation that the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention comply with their legal obligations detailed in Article 146 of the Convention to search for and prosecute those responsible for grave breaches, namely war crimes.

In addition, the PCHR called for the immediate implementation of the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which considers the construction of the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank illegal.

The PCHR recommends that international civil society organizations, including human rights organizations, bar associations and NGOs, participate in the process of exposing those accused of grave breaches of international law and urge their governments to bring the perpetrators to justice.

For the full text of the report, click on the link below:

palestine | human rights | news report saed at imemc dot org

Related Link(s): http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_...d=183

http://www.imemc.org/article/62750