February 2016: Six Palestinian Martyr…continuing to detain the bodies of 9 Martyrs…demolishing 16 establishments…and arresting 158 Jerusalemites half of them children
Wadi Hilweh Information Center issued his monthly report in which the Israeli violations in the city of Jerusalem during February 2016 were monitored as the occupation authorities continued their assaults on Jerusalemites, their properties and sanctities. The center explained that 6 Palestinian Martyrs passed away in February in the area of Damascus Gate (one of the Old City’s Gates) while the occupation authorities continue to detain the bodies of 9 Jerusalemite Martyrs. The forces arrested last month 158 Palestinians from the city of Jerusalem in which half of them were under 18 years old. The occupation authorities demolished 16 establishments in several neighborhoods around the city of Jerusalem under the pretext of building without a permit. They also threatened to close and seize the houses of 4 Jerusalemite Martyrs. The occupation authorities closed again the main entrance of the village of Jabal Al-Mukabber with cement blocks, and prevented a cultural event from being held at Burj Al-Laqlaq in the Old City of Jerusalem under the pretext of being organized by the Palestinian Authority. The occupation authorities and various organizations continued to raid Jerusalemites neighborhoods and establish checkpoints in the streets; they also carried out continuous raids to commercial stores and randomly issued tickets and fines. 6 Palestinian Martyrs in Jerusalem The center explained that the occupation soldiers murdered six young men in February. According to eyewitnesses, the forces deliberately opened fire towards the young men despite being able to control and arrest them. The Information Center explained that three Martyrs were from the city of Jenin and passed away on the 3rd of February, they are: Ahmad Rajah Ismaeel Zakarneh, Mohammad Ahmad Hilmi Kamil and Ahmad Najeh Ibrahim Abu Al-Rub. The soldiers opened fire towards the three young men after they carried out a shooting attack and killed a female soldier and wounded another. The authorities claimed the young men had knives and locally manufactured explosive devices in addition to a “Carl Gustav” machine gun. On the 14th of February, 20-year old Omar Mohammad Amro and 20-year old Mansour Yaser Shawamreh from the village of Qbeibeh northwest of Jerusalem passed away in the area of Damascus Gate after an armed clash broke out between them and the occupation soldiers. On the 19th of February, 20-year old Mohammad Abu Khalaf passed away after being shot by the occupation soldiers in Damascus Gate under the pretext of carrying out a stabbing attack. Despite falling on the ground after being shot and not posing any threat to the soldiers, they kept on shooting him and hit him with dozens of bullets. Detaining the bodies of 9 Jerusalemite Martyrs The Israeli authorities continue to detain the bodies of 9 Jerusalemite Martyrs part of a collective punishment policy imposed on their families since the first moments of the Martyrdom of their sons. They are: Thaer Abu Ghazaleh (19), Hasan Khaled Manasra (15), Baha’ Mohammad Alayan (22), Ala’ Daoud Abu Jamal (32), Mutaz Ahmad Aweisat (16), Mohammad Abed Nimer (37), Omar Yaser Iskafi (21), Abdel Muhsen Hassouneh (21) and Mohammad Abu Khalaf (20). The Martyrs are from the Old City of Jerusalem, Jabal Al-Mukabber, Beit Hanina, Esawyeh and Kufor Aqab. Arresting 158 Palestinians; half of them children The occupation authorities continued their series of arrests in the city of Jerusalem and arrested 158 Palestinians during February 2016. Among the detainees were 5 women, 7 girls and 84 minors in which 9 of them were under the age of responsibility. The geographical distribution of arrests was the following: Esawyeh (43), Silwan (33), Old City of Jerusalem (15), Jabal Al-Mukabber and Al-Tur (10), Shu’fat (8), Qalandia (6), Sur Baher (4), two from each of Wad Al-Joz, Beit Hanina and Beit Safafa and several others arrested from other area. The Minister of Israeli Army issued last month a decision to transfer 4 Jerusalemites to administrative arrest in which two of them were minors; he also renewed the administrative arrest of a fifth young man. The occupation authorities also arrested a young man from the village of Esawyeh after he was shot in the thigh. Also, among the detainees was a student who was arrested while heading home from school. Punishing Jerusalemite prisoners and their families New procedures are being taken against Jerusalemite prisoners. The occupation authorities recently suspended the medical insurance of the 31-year old Jerusalemite prisoner Isra’ Ja’abees who is accused of attempting to kill a policeman by blowing up a propane gas cylinder last October. The family found out about the matter after following up with the medical center where she is registered. Prisoner Ja’abees needs medical treatment and continuous follow-up after suffering severe burns in her body and amputating eight of her fingers. The Commander of Internal Front in the occupation’s army issued decisions to close and confiscate the house of four Jerusalemite prisoners under the pretext of killing a settler last September after throwing stones at his vehicle. The prisoners are: 18-year old Mohammad Salah Abu Kaf, 17-year old Mohammad Jihad Tawil, 19-year old Walid Firas Atrash and 20-year old Abed Mahmoud Dwayyat. They are residents of the village of Sur Baher and were arrested last September and accused of killing and causing the murder of a settler “after throwing stones at his vehicle”. It is noteworthy that the residency “blue ID” of Abu Kaf, Atrash and Dwayyat was suspended. Twenty three individuals including 11 children live in the targeted houses and the decision was issued against the prisoner and their families before even convicting them; deliberations in Israeli courts are still ongoing. Demolishing 16 establishments The occupation authorities continued their police of demolishing residential, agricultural and commercial establishments in the city of Jerusalem under the pretext of building without a permit. Municipality crews also continued to raid Jerusalemite neighborhoods to randomly distribute administrative demolition orders. Wadi Hilweh Information center explained that the occupation authorities demolished in February 16 establishments (3 under-construction residential apartments, parts of a house, a residential room, two sheep pens, 4 barracks used for agriculture, 3 walls, a parking lot and a car-repair shop); 5 of the establishments were self-demolished in execution of the municipality’s orders. The geographical distribution of the demolitions was as follows: 9 in the village of Esawyeh, two in each of Silwan and Jabal Al-Mukabber, and one in each of Sur Baher, Beit Hanina and Sheikh Jarrah. The center also explained that the occupation authorities targeted last month the lands of the village of Esawyeh and damaged, swept and demolished agricultural lands and establishments that fall within the occupation’s project “National Park 11092 A”. The National Committee for Planning and Building decided in 2014 to freeze the project and conditioned the Jerusalem municipality and Nature and Parks authority to study the needs of the locals in terms of schools, kindergartens, homes and medical centers before proceeding with the project but the “Nature and Parks authority” neglected the decision and sweeps and damages the lands every now and then. Al-Aqsa Mosque… During February, 840 extremists broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque through Dung Gate under heavy protection by Special Forces who were deployed in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa. At the same time, a group of women and men listed in the so-called “black list” are still being banned from entering Al-Aqsa. The list now includes 50-60 names mostly women; lists are continuously updated and distributed at Al-Aqsa gates. Black lists were created in the last week of last August following an order from the Israeli Chief of Police in the Old City of Jerusalem, Avi Bayton, against those considered trouble makers who result in severe damages according to his claims. The occupation authorities isolated 5 Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque for durations between 15 days and 6 months; among the isolated was one woman. Eighteen families in Silwan at risk of being evacuated The threat of evacuation now faces 18 new families in the area of Batn Al-Hawa in Silwan (Rajabi family) after they received judicial reports from Ateerat Cohanim settlement organization asking them for the lands where their residential apartments are built. The buildings and houses of Rajabi family fall within the plan of Ateerat Cohanim to seize 5200 square meters from the area of “Batn Al-Hawa” under the pretext of being owned by Jews from Yemen since 1881. The area is into 6 sections numbered 73, 75, 88, 95, 96 and 97 and the settlement organization claims that the Israeli Supreme Court ratified the settlers’ ownership of the lands of Batn Al-Hawa. It is noteworthy that 126 individuals live in the targeted houses including 87 children. They are all owned by Rajabi family that has been living in the area for dozens of years.
