Israel - Palestine Conflict Discussion Thread 2.0

[lego 44,165]

Benjamin Netanyahu goes too far, again: This has become a war on Palestinian children

 

Last Monday, as tensions escalated throughout the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Abdel-Rahman Shadi Khalil Obeidallah, 13, from Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem became one of the latest Palestinian children shot and killed by Israeli forces in circumstances that suggest a deliberate unlawful killing. While grave violations against Palestinian children by Israeli forces are a cornerstone of Israel’s seemingly permanent military occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, recent policy changes combined with systemic impunity will inevitably amplify an already dire situation for Palestinian children.

Recently the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, promised a “harsh offensive” in response to the latest protests against Israel’s occupation and violence. During the first week of October, suspected Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli settlers near the West Bank village of Beit Furik. On Oct. 3, Israeli police gunned down Muhannad Halabi, a 19-year-old Palestinian law student, after he stabbed to death an off-duty Israeli soldier and a rabbi in Jerusalem’s Old City, according to news reports. Hours later, police shot dead Fadi Alloun, 18, near the Old City’s Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem for allegedly stabbing a 15-year-old Israeli boy. Video of the shooting depicts Israeli police officers opening fire on Alloun as a crowd of onlookers urges them on. On the evening of Oct. 4, Israeli forces killed Huthayfa Othman Suleiman, 18, during clashes near the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Palestinian media reported. And the list goes on.

Netanyahu’s pledge comes after Israeli authorities relaxed live-fire rules providing Israeli police a green light to use live ammunition against Palestinian stone throwers in Jerusalem whenever they decide a “threat to life” exists. This is a significant change as live ammunition was previously only justified when an individual posed a direct, mortal threat to an officer’s own life.

While international law requires that intentional lethal force be used only when absolutely unavoidable, investigations by Defense for Children International Palestine(DCIP) regularly find that children posed no direct, mortal threat to the life of any police officer or soldier at the time they were killed.

For example, on May 15, 2014, two Palestinian teenagers, Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Salameh Abu Daher, 16, were shot and killed by Israeli forces near Israel’s Ofer military prison in the West Bank. Nadeem sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest, and Mohammad was shot in the back about an hour later in nearly the same spot. CCTV cameras, fixed on the building where the boys were shot, captured the fatal shootings, and reaffirmed that neither boy posed any lethal or imminent threat to Israeli forces at the time they were killed.

Recent changes to live-fire rules must be seen against the broader context of prolonged Israeli military occupation of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Jerusalem, where Palestinian children have endured heightened levels of violence in recent years as Israeli soldiers and police increasingly use excessive force to quash protests. Since 2014, at least 16 Palestinian children have died there at the hands of Israeli forces, all except one with live ammunition, according to evidence collected by DCIP. Only one incident resulted in both an investigation and indictment.

In a context where violent crimes against Palestinians by Israeli forces go unpunished and are often completely ignored by Israeli authorities, the relaxation of live-fire rules provide the Israeli military and police with tacit approval to inflict maximum harm.

At least 48 Palestinian children were injured in the first week of October, based on DCIP’s initial data. On Sunday, Israeli forces killed 14-year-old Ahmad Sharaka with live ammunition during demonstrations near the Jewish-only settlement of Beit El outside Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. He was the twenty-fourth Palestinian to be killed in October.

Even before the live-fire standard was lowered, the misuse of sponge-tipped plastic bullets by Israeli border police during clashes with Palestinian youth in East Jerusalem resulted in serious injuries to three children in September, according to documentation by DCIP. None of the children injured participated in the confrontations. These injuries followed the death of Mohammad Sunukrut, 16, in September 2014.

This past September marked fifteen years since the outbreak of the second intifada. During that time, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,997 Palestinian children, while survivors have had their futures stifled and suppressed by systemic discrimination, constant settlement expansion, and prolonged military occupation.

Children now represent 46.2 percent of the 4.68 million Palestinians living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Israeli leadership seems more intent than ever to rely on the use of excessive force to manage an unjust, oppressive, and entirely unsustainable military occupation. The need for justice and accountability is urgent, yet unlikely to occur any time soon. Israeli officials must prohibit the use of excessive force against unarmed Palestinians, and ensure that Israeli forces at all times act in accordance with international law.

 

Brad Parker is an attorney and international advocacy officer with Defense for Children International Palestine, an independent, local Palestinian child rights organization based in Ramallah dedicated to defending and promoting the rights of children living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/13/benjamin_netanyahu_goes_too_far_again_this_has_become_a_war_on_palestinian_children/

 

...

 

[Woolfsmck 2,763]

Hezbollah chief backs Palestinian 'intifada'

"Nasrallah said the Palestinians were responding to "provocations by Israelis" and were seeking to prevent the "Judaisation of Al-Aqsa mosque".

 

http://news.yahoo.com/hezbollah-chief-backs-palestinian-intifada-195057719.html

 

Continued settlement construction is only part of the problem.  Religious underpinnings are the root cause as stated by leaders.

[Woolfsmck 2,763]

 http://video.foxnews.com/v/4555219946001/three-israelis-killed-in-jerusalem-and-tel-aviv/?intcmp=obnetwork#sp=show-clips

Pretty graphic video of a Palestinian man raming his car into pedestrians then jumping out with a meat cleaver, one of the dead was a 80 year old woman....

[Melech 9,900]

"Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Arab media have been claiming since Monday that 13-year-old Ahmed Manasra, who was documented committing a terror attack in Pisgat Ze'ev this week, has been "executed" by Israel.

Except that Dr. Asher Salmon, the deputy director of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Karem, said Thursday that the boy is alive, and is in light-to-moderate condition. 

"I want to report on the situation of the Palestinian teen who was involved in the stabbing in Pisgat Ze'ev," Dr. Salmon said. "He's being properly treated. Medically, I believe we could discharge him in the next few days."

 

source: YNET

[Melech 9,900]

I think the thread should renamed to Israel-Palestine conflict since this go wider than just West Bank.

 

"Palestinain politician calls upon European Muslims to kill 'Zionists'

In an October 8, 2015 address aired by the Al-Jazeera Network, Khalel Abu Hilal, leader of the Palestinian Freedom Movement, called to attack Zionist embassies abroad with Molotov cocktails and stones. "Why not run over this Zionist in Germany, in Tunisia, in Egypt, or in Jordan?" he asked. "Why not stab him in his heart?"

Following is an excerpt:

Khaled Abu Hilal: We want [Palestinians abroad] to launch a holy march on all the Zionist embassies, in all the Arab and Muslim countries, as well as in Europe and America. All these embassies must be stoned with holy stones, like Satan is stoned. These embassies should be attacked with Molotov cocktails. Why not target every infidel Zionist, who spreads corruption and depravity throughout the Arab and Islamic land? Why not stab this plundering settler? Why not run over this Zionist in Germany, in Tunisia, in Egypt, or in Jordan? Why not throw stones and Molotov cocktails at him? Why not stab him in his heart?"

http://antisemitism-europe.blogspot.de/2015/10/palestinain-politician-calls-upon.html

[Luiz 4,253]

nnot sure if this is AP or not

 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201932#.Vh-sb36rSUl

Police on Wednesday were able to stop a potential terrorist attack after they tracked down an Arab girl whose family had reported her missing.

According to family members, the 15-year-old sent out a message on social media that she would “soon be famous” and her name would be mentioned in the media.

The girl, who snuck into Israel from Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, was staying with relatives in Beersheva.

After she went missing, the family in Beersheva called police, who quickly opened an investigation as to her whereabouts.

Using “intelligence and technological methodologies,” police said in a statement, they were able to track down the missing girl, tracing her to a Beersheva train station.

She was detained and questioned, and told police that she was on her way to Jerusalem to join up with acquaintances there and “stab Jews.”

She was placed under arrest and will remain in custody until the investigation against her is completed, police said.

In a statement, police said that “the department's southern region was prepared to deal with any threat with additional manpower, and will provide an immediate response to any unusual or suspicious activity.”

[lego 44,165]

"Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Arab media have been claiming since Monday that 13-year-old Ahmed Manasra, who was documented committing a terror attack in Pisgat Ze'ev this week, has been "executed" by Israel.

Except that Dr. Asher Salmon, the deputy director of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Karem, said Thursday that the boy is alive, and is in light-to-moderate condition. 

"I want to report on the situation of the Palestinian teen who was involved in the stabbing in Pisgat Ze'ev," Dr. Salmon said. "He's being properly treated. Medically, I believe we could discharge him in the next few days."

 

source: YNET

 

Yeah he survived and he's going to prison right after. I have seen tweets about him being still alive.

Still doesn't justify that horrible video where his begging for help. 

 

[Melech 9,900]

 

Yeah he survived and he's going to prison right after. I have seen tweets about him being still alive.

Still doesn't justify that horrible video where his begging for help. 

 

why I not agree with the things said to him I can't feel sympathy to him. He tried to kill someone (the 13 year old he tried to kill is still critical).

[lego 44,165]

why I not agree with the things said to him I can't feel sympathy to him. He tried to kill someone (the 13 year old he tried to kill is still critical).

 

That is so weird tbh, they are both kids. No one should be treated that way. He wouldn't be shot in first place if he'd be a Jewish stabber, like it happened in previous cases. 

 

[Melech 9,900]

 

That is so weird tbh, they are both kids. No one should be treated that way. He wouldn't be shot in first place if he'd be a Jewish stabber, like it happened in previous cases. 

 

I don't care if he were Jewish,Palestinian, Ethnicity XY. Humanity got lost in that case. I really hope we find out what his motivations where and why he got so cold-hearted. No 13 year old kid should stab or try to kill anyone. 

[lego 44,165]

I don't care if he were Jewish,Palestinian, Ethnicity XY. Humanity got lost in that case. I really hope we find out what his motivations where and why he got so cold-hearted. No 13 year old kid should stab or try to kill anyone. 

You maybe don't, but IDF cares.

That's why those who shoot in cold blood when they are not in danger, from obvious revenge, are no better than the attacker.

He could claim revenge too. Eye for an eye. We shouldn't be like that. 

 

[Melech 9,900]

You maybe don't, but IDF cares.

That's why those who shoot in cold blood when they are not in danger, from obvious revenge, are no better than the attacker.

He could claim revenge too. Eye for an eye. We shouldn't be like that. 

 

But isn't violence against IDF (when they don't attack) wrong too then? 

[lego 44,165]

But isn't violence against IDF (when they don't attack) wrong too then? 

IDF is terrorizing them constantly. For example, Israeli army often does night raids, they wake up all the children in the house and take photos of them and scare them, just to show who's the boss. Not to mention physical abuse and arresting of minors. They use excessive force on unarmed demonstrators. Many times when you read about "peace" or "calm" it just means on Jewish side, in Israel. That peace is never really peace on other side of the wall. One of them gets shot "in clashes" or "by accident"; next day on funeral another one gets killed. It became a norm.

 

[lego 44,165]

Stabbed Israeli Jew mistaken for Arab criticises violence

‘We are all equal,’ says Uri Rezken, wounded in vigilante attack, and it is a hate crime regardless of whether an Arab or a Jew stabs him

 

An Israeli Jew stabbed by a Jewish man who believed he was an Arab has criticised the recent violence from his hospital bed.

Uri Rezken was stacking shelves in a Haifa suburb on Tuesday when he was stabbed in the back, the latest in a series of suspected vigilante attacks. 

“We are all human beings, we are all equal,” the supermarket worker told Israeli TV. “It does not matter if an Arab stabbed me or a Jew stabbed me, a religious, orthodox or secular person. I have no words to describe this hate crime.”

Israeli police said the stabbing was intended to “avenge a recent wave of attacks on Jews”.

Rezken said he was working with an Arab colleague when he was stabbed. “I felt four stabs and I heard someone say: ‘You deserve it, you deserve it. You are bastard Arabs.’ ”

Rezen tried to protect himself with a shopping trolley. “I screamed at him: ‘I am a Jew, I am a Jew’ – he didn’t stop … he tried to stab me again so I fought him again with my trolley.”

The 36-year-old attacker, who is known to police, was shot by a security guard as he tried to flee. He was granted anonymity by a magistrates’ court in Haifa since he may now become a target of a vigilante attack. The court also agreed to his lawyer’s request for a psychological examination to see if he was fit to stand trial.

In the past month, eight Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks and 31 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, 14 identified by Israel as attackers.

The attack is the third time in just over a week that Israeli Jews have sought to attack Palestinians. On Friday, a 17-year-old from Dimona stabbed four Palestinians. His lawyer claimed his client had psychological problems and was not competent to stand trial.

Abdel al-Kader Jamal, an Israeli citizen of Kalansua, was beaten and chased by about 30 Jewish men in the coastal city of Netanya on Thursday last week. A Jewish Israeli, Mimon Himy, threw himself on Jamal to protect him from the mob and said he believes the man would have died had he not intervened.

The fear of attack is very real on both sides: Jews fear being stabbed; Palestinians fear being shot as a suspected attacker or becoming the victim of a vigilante attack.

In some cases where Palestinians have been shot as they were allegedly carrying out, or about to carry out attacks, suspicion has been raised over whether this was the case. Arab leaders have criticised Israeli police for being too quick to shoot stabbers instead of arresting them.

The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, accsued the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, of “incitement and lies” after he said in a speech in Ramallah on Wednesday that Israel engaged in the “execution of our children in cold blood” and waved a photograph of 13-year-old Ahmed Mansara bent double with a pool of blood at his head.

Mansara and a 17-year-old friend allegedly stabbed two people, leaving one in a serious condition and one critically wounded. Palestinians were enraged by footage showing the wounded Ahmed lying on the ground after the attack, as bystanders yell at him: “Die!”. He is being treated at Hadassah hospital, in Jerusalem.

Palestinian leadership claim that he is innocent and was shot in an attempt to kill him.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/15/stabbed-israeli-mistaken-arab-lashes-out-escalating-violence

 

[lego 44,165]

Physicians for Human Rights blasts images of hospitalized Palestinian teen

“The fact that it is a photo of a minor in custody who was photographed without his parents’ permission” is a violation of juvenile law and privacy laws, the organization said. In addition, the picture was taken at a medical facility “apparently with the approval of its management,” the organization claimed, adding that this would be a violation of medical ethics requiring maintenance of the confidentiality of medical information and respect for the patient.

“Even more disturbing, is that reportedly the instructions [to publish the photo] came directly from the office of the health minister [Yaakov Litzman] and that the picture itself was distributed by the Prime Minister’s Office,” they said.

“In addition, Physicians for Human Rights takes a grave view of the fact that the public has been briefed with details of [Mansara’s] condition while his parents are prevented from visiting him and have not been provided medical information on the condition of their son. Furthermore, one can see from the picture that Ahmed is bound to his bed, in violation of juvenile law, which bars [such] constraints on a minor,” the organization stated.

The group alleged that this was done with the cooperation of medical staff “either through their consent or their silence.” It warned against a “dangerous erosion of the rules of professionalism and medical ethics” and said, particularly during times of confrontation, it would be expected that the heads of the medical system would withstand political and public pressures in this regard.

http://www.haaretz.com/wwwMobileSite/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.680696?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&v=6FF7A594292AD68A168FD623D34270C3