Updates

Settler Violence = State Violence

Settler violence continues in Hebron

Last weekend, B'Tselem filmed several settler assaults in Hebron, including minors throwing stones at Palestinian homes. The footage also shows soldiers standing by while a settler attacks a B'Tselem worker, breaking his camera.

7 August 2008

Area C

Civil Administration threatens to demolish most of al-'Aqabah village

The Civil Administration has issued orders to demolish most of the houses in the village of al-'Aqabah, which lies in the northern Jordan Valley, and many houses in other villages in the area. Israel's planning policy in the West Bank centers on preventing Palestinian construction and promoting expansion of settlements.

5 August 2008

Education

Israel severely infringes Gazans' right to education

Since Israel tightened the siege on Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians have been unable to attend their studies outside it. This denies individuals' right to education and impedes the development of Palestinian society as a whole.

24 July 2008

Detainees & Prisoners

Soldier fires 'rubber' bullet at Palestinian detainee

B'Tselem is publishing a video clip documenting a soldier firing a rubber coated steel bullet, from extremely close range, at a cuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainee. The shooting took place in the presence of a lieutenant colonel, who was holing the Palestinian's arm when the shot was fired.

20 July 2008

East Jerusalem

East Jerusalem neighborhood turned into garbage dump

The Jerusalem Municipality's gross neglect of East Jerusalem has led to the Dahiyat a-Salam neighborhood becoming a pirate garbage dump. The Municipality has not yet kept its promise to renovate the refuse site.

13 July 2008

Restrictions on Movement

Israel severs a-Nabi Samwil Village from rest of West Bank

The army recently severed the Palestinian village a-Nabi Samwil and its 220 residents from the rest of the West Bank, isolating it almost completely. The action is part of Israel's policy to separate Israeli and Palestinian traffic in the West Bank.

6 July 2008

Beating and Abuse

Interrogator beats 13 year-old

In late 2007, soldiers arrested Majed Jaradat after he threw stones at a demonstration. Jaradat told B'Tselem that soldiers beat and kicked him while he was detained, and a policeman beat him during a subsequent interrogation. He was then tried and held with adult prisoners for two months.

3 July 2008

Attacks on Israeli Civilians by Palestinians

Three Persons killed by a Palestinian in Jerusalem's center

B'Tselem severely condemns the Palestinian terror attack today in the center of Jerusalem, in which three Israeli civilians were killed and dozens injured. Intentional killing of civilians is a grave breach of international humanitarian law and is considered a war crime that can never be justified, whatever the circumstances may be.

2 July 2008

Water Crisis

Summer 2008: Water shortage in the West Bank worsens

B'Tselem warns against a severe water shortage this summer in the West Bank and its effects on the economic conditions and health of tens of thousands of Palestinians. The chronic water shortage results in large part from Israel's discriminatory water policy.

1 July 2008

Detainees & Prisoners

Video: Testimonies by Israeli and Palestinian victims of torture

B'Tselem and PCATI mark June 26, the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, with a new video. The right of every person not to be subjected to ill-treatment or torture (physical or mental) is one of the few human rights that are considered absolute. Therefore, it is forbidden to balance it against other rights and values, or suspend or restrict the right, even in the context of the struggle against terrorism.

26 June 2008

Beating and Abuse

Soldier assaults B'Tselem worker filming settler violence, takes the cassette

On the evening of Friday, 20 June 2008, three settlers assaulted Palestinian shepherds near the Susiya settlement in the Southern Hebron Hills. Nasser a-Nawaj'ah, a B'Tselem fieldworker, filmed the assault and the failure of soldiers on the scene to protect the shepherds. Although filming the incident was lawful, one of the soldiers hit a-Nawaj'ah and stole the video cassette.

22 June 2008

Restrictions on Movement

Petition to allow Palestinians access to the Dead Sea

On 10 June 2008, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice to order the army to cancel its prohibition on West Bank Palestinians' access to the northern beaches of the Dead Sea, which lie inside the West Bank.

17 June 2008

Settler Violence = State Violence

Police arrest suspects in videotaped assault

The Israeli police have arrested two settlers suspected of attacking Palestinians in Khirbet Susiya. On 8 June '08, four masked settlers with clubs severely beat three members of the a-Nawaj'ah family who were grazing their flock on private Palestinian land. A fourth member filmed part of the assault with a B'Tselem camera.

17 June 2008

Detainees & Prisoners

Petition: Allow Gazans to visit relatives imprisoned in Israel

Human rights organizations have petitioned the High Court of Justice to allow Gaza Strip residents to visit their relatives being held in prisons and in detention in Israel. The prohibition on visits, which has been in effect for the past year, infringes the fundamental right of relatives and prisoners to family life and breaches Israeli and international law.

16 June 2008

Settler Violence = State Violence

Settlers attack Palestinians in Southern Hebron Hills

On 8 June '08, four masked settlers clubbed three of members of the Nawaj'ah family, who were grazing their flock on private Palestinian lands south of the Susiya settlement. The victims suffered severe bruises and bleeding and required hospitalization. The family captured the beginning of the attack with a video camera handed out by B'Tselem's Camera distribution project.

15 June 2008

Beating and Abuse

Testimony: Soldiers help settlers attack Palestinian putting out a fire

Settlers tried to prevent residents of 'Asira al-Qibliya from putting out a fire in their fields. B'Tselem wrote to the police and the army demanding that they investigate the suspicion of arson and attacks perpetrated by soldiers and settlers throughout the incident.

12 June 2008