Month: June 2005

Soldiers on Thursday afternoon prevented reporters from entering the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip while the army removed settlers and right-wing activists from their hotel headquarters. The…

Israeli soldiers invaded the villages of Atteel and Allar in the northern West Bank on Thursday, conducting military searches of homes and arresting three residents.   A local source in…

Lawyer of the Palestinian Supporters Society, Sana’ Harbawi, said that female detainees in Israeli prisons are facing inhuman treatment, humiliation and abuse. “The detainees are repeatedly searched by the soldiers…

Solitary confinement in one of the main violations carried out by Israeli prison authorities against Palestinian detainees, according to Ahmad Bikawi, head of the media department at the Prisoners Supporters…

The central committee for the Fatah ruling party will meet in Amman on Thursday to discuss internal Fatah leadership problems and the Arab and international relations of the Palestinian Authority,…

Contrary to Ariel Sharon’s promise to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting last week, Israeli will not transfer control over Qalqilia to the Palestinian Authority this week. Israel claims…

This week, the country was shocked by a terrifying train accident. A heavy truck was crossing the tracks as a train approached at high speed. The locomotive driver saw the…

The government must take ‘every measure’ necessary to end acts of violence and road blocking by right-wing extremists, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Wednesday night. ‘The battle now…

An Israel soldier was killed and three others were lightly wounded Wednesday in an exchange of fire with Hezbollah in the Sheba Farms area along the Israel-Lebanon border. At least…

Meeting with Israeli President Moshe Katsav, Israeli Labor Party Chairman Shimon Peres said that, ‘Unjustified terror presents a huge problem for the Palestinians. We have reached a decision to pull…

Following the death of Palestinian veteran leader Yasser Arafat, most world leaders are pointing to a window of opportunity in the Palestinian-Israeli crisis. Some believe that lifting the ban imposed…

Israeli Security officials were meeting Wednesday night to decide on a proposal to close Gaza starting Thursday morning. Such move will have to be approved by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel…

Wednesday evening, Israeli policemen evacuated the Tal Yam outpost, which is an abandoned Palestinian building in al-Mawassi area in Khan Younis, after extremist settlers of the far-right seized it, and…

The Israeli police reported that right-wing activists apposed to the Disengagement plan blocked on Wednesday afternoon all main junctions across Israel, as part of their wide protests against Gaza withdrawal.…

A soldier who refused to participate in demolishing abandoned homes in a Gaza Strip settlement was sentenced Tuesday to 56 days’ imprisonment. Corporal Avi Bieber, 19, an American-born Israeli, was…

A Palestinian resistance fighter was killed Tuesday night in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Israeli soldiers shot the fighter as he approached the settlement of Morag, according to…

Tuesday night, a Palestinian resistance fighter was shot killed near the Morag settlement, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, another fighter fled the scene. An Israeli military source…

Two 15-year-old Palestinians were beaten Tuesday – one of them critically – by a crowd of almost 200 Israelis. The youths, residents of the West Bank city of Nablus, had…

As part of the preparations for the implementation of the intended pullout, and to encourage settlers to sign up for the Nitzanim plan, the Israeli government will issue an announcement…

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned the settlers who appose his disengagement plan that if they use violence they will be considered as threatening the security of Israel. Also, the…

Israeli soldiers installed roadblocks around the West Bank city of Jenin Tuesday morning, closing several junctions and conducting military searches. A local source in Jenin reported that soldiers closed the…

Israeli soldiers broke into dozens of Hebron homes early Tuesday morning, conducting searches and arresting three residents, including a child. The Hebron office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society reported that…

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society appealed today to local and international humanitarian organizations to pressure Israeli authorities to release a sick detainee in Israel’s al-Damoun Prison.   The society reported that…

Only a few thousand right-wing activists turned out for Monday’s demonstrations against the Gaza disengagement plan – far short of the 100,000 predicted by the Settlers Council, organizer of the protests.…

Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Mohammed Dahlan said Monday the Palestinian Authority would not assume responsibility for clearing rubble left by the demolition of settler homes after Israel withdraws from the…

Leaders of Israel’s social-democratic Yahad party have decided to retitle it Meretz-Yahad, reclaiming the name the group had before its current leader, Yossi Beilin, took over. The move reflected displeasure…

Leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian factions based abroad are planning to move to the Gaza Strip after the Israeli withdrawal, a senior Palestinian source reported on Monday. Senior officials at…

Settlers leader are planning huge protests against settlement evacuation, calling on motorists all over Israel to stop their vehicles at the side of the road for 15 minutes on Monday.…

Leaders of the Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip are about to give up their boycott of the Disengagement Administration (Sela), the government agency in charge of coordinating the evacuation of the…

Monday morning, Israeli soldiers uncovered a tunnel leading from a town in the Gaza Strip to a nearby Israeli settlement. The recently dug tunnel, said to be 20 meters long,…

The Labor party’s convention approved on Sunday a proposal to delay the party’s leadership primaries until disputed party membership records are investigated in full. The decision to postpone the elections indefinitely means…

An Israeli military court on Monday found Israeli soldier Taysir Al-Heib guilty of the manslaughter of British peace Activist Tom Hurndall in Gaza Strip in April 2003. The court also…

Sunday afternoon, two Palestinian residents of the old city of Hebron were attacked by an extremist settlers group, while they where doing maintenance for some old homes in Hebron. A…

An Israeli military source reported that settlers and far-right activists clashed with the soldiers as the army was preparing to raze abandoned beachfront cottages in Gush Katif settlement, in the…

Settlers living in the Maoz Yam Hotel in the southern Gaza Strip settlement of Neveh Dekalim agreed to turn over suspects to police for questioning. Some 20 residents of the Hotel…

In a bid to end the crisis with the United States over arms exports, Israel has decided to comply with all of Washington’s demands regarding the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)…

Senior figure of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said that the group will strike Tel Aviv if the Israeli army resumes its operations and wide scaled arrests carried out in the West…

Israeli soldiers imposed restrictions on the movements of Palestinian residents in Hebron, south of the West Bank. An Israeli military source reported on Saturday that the army closed several streets…

A medical source at al-Ahli hospital in Hebron reported that one child was admitted to surgery suffering from serious wounds after settlers hurled a bomb at her family’s home in…

Israeli disengagement Authority registered Friday its first achievement as 40 Gaza settler families from the Gaza settlements of Nisanit and Ele Sinai signed for voluntary evacuation. By the end of…

The Palestinian Prisoners Society published Friday a report, saying that 90% of the Palestinian prisoners were tortured in Israeli prisons, and that interrogators are using “New and inhuman methods” against them. June 26th…

Israeli military handed Friday residents of Sabastia, a village north of the West Bank city of Nablus, military orders informing them that the army intends to lay hand on 2012 Dunams of farmlands,…

Saturday morning, Israeli soldiers arrested ten residents, including two women, after invading four villages near Hebron, and al-Fawwar refugee camp. The WAFA news agency reported that soldiers, supported by armored…

Palestinian and Israeli sources reported on Saturday that the two sides agreed to close the Rafah Border Crossing in the Gaza Strip for departures and keep it opened to arrivals.…

Israeli newspaper Yodout Ahranot revealed Friday information about a plan to expand settlements in the Joirdan Valley area. The plan will be submitted to the government for approval next week.…

The Anglican Consultative Council, A leading body for Anglican Christians, unanimously passed a resolution to put pressure on firms that support Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. Meeting in the central…

Palestinian Interior Ministry announced Friday night that security forces has arrested 9 militants, suspected to have taken part in the attack on a police station in the West Bank city of…

The democratic transformation of Latin America and Eastern Europe came about when the ruling elites of those countries found it impossible to perpetuate their rule through the usual means and…

In spite of his pain, after sustaining a gunshot injury in his leg, resident Nasser Wafi, from Khan Younis and his family, felt happy that he is still alive, and among…

Friday afternoon, Israeli soldiers attacked a peaceful procession against the Separation Wall in the village of Bel’in, west of Ramallah. A local source in the Ramallah reported that soldiers attacked…

An Israeli military source reported on Friday night that the same gunmen, who shot at settlers near Beit Haggai, continued to the Adorai’m junction, near Dura, where they opened fire on…

A senior Palestinian aide said on Thursday that the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has demanded the Minister of Justice, Farid Al-Jallad to cancel rulings against Palestinians convicted of being spies…

Israeli army invading the village of Atteel since one week occupied another home on Friday, raising the number of homes taken over by the military to five homes. Mohammad Abdul-Qader…

The Islamic Jihad movement said that the military activities against the movement and its fighters will lead to retaliation against the Israeli army and settlers. The movement threatened that these…

Collaborators with the Israeli security, living in “al-Daheena” area, residential development built by the Israeli government in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, demanded the Israeli government to evacuate…

Israeli police is considering asking the public to stay home during the intended pullout from the Gaza Strip, a step to be taken if disengagement foes succeed in extensively disrupt…

Thursday night, Israeli soldiers supported by armored jeeps and vehicles invaded the villages of Ithna and al-Sammoa’, near Hebron, conducted military searches of homes, and arrested six residents, one British…

The Labor Party leadership primaries will be delayed due to irregularities in the registration of party members, the party’s secretary general said Thursday Earlier, Labor chairman Shimon Peres said he…

According to the settlement council, Some 80,000 pullout opponents have agreed to join a campaign to attempt reaching settlements slated for evacuation after the army closes them off to non-residents.…

Even as the Israeli security establishment has announced it was decided to raid the Maoz Yam Hotel in the Gaza Strip settlement of Neveh Dekalim, police have temporarily frozen any…

The Islamic Jihad movement released a statement on Thursday saying that the Israeli army arrested 300 members of the movement over the last two months. The movement called on its…

An Israeli source reported that the Israeli Minister of Defense ordered the army to prepare for a possible handover of security responsibilities over Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority, next week.…

Thursday evening, Israeli soldiers fired at a group of residents who protested who protested against the bulldozing of their farmlands in order to erect the Separation Wall, on the village…

The Quartet called Thursday Israel to allow Palestinians freedom of movement in the territories prior to the disengagement from Gaza, Israel Radio reported. ‘Israel must take immediate steps to ensure…

An Israeli military source reported that soldiers started evacuating military posts soldiers used in Palestinian institutions after controlling them, in the West Bank city of Hebron. According to the source,…

Thursday morning, American diplomats were allowed to drive in West Bank areas after the US State Department changed its warning, but the officials were warned of violent settlers. The diplomats…

Thursday at dawn, detainee Aref Bani Odeh, 26, from Jenin, was found dead in Gilboa detention, Circumstances of his death are still unknown. The Palestinian Prisoners Society reported that the…

Abdul-Fattah Hamayel, head of the Deportees and Wanted Fighters Committee, denied a report that a deal was struck to disarm the fighters and absorb them in the Palestinian security devices.…

U.S. diplomats visit the Gaza Strip breaking 18-month-boycott following the killing of three U.S. gecurity Guards in October 2003 by a roadside bomb near the Erez military crossing.  USAID donated…

Israel and Egypt are close to agreeing on the deployment of 800 Egyptian policemen along the western side of the Philadelphi route on the Gaza-Egypt border. Such deployment is meant…

The Quartet’s envoy on the disengagement James Wolfensohn noted Wednesday a significant progress in Israeli-Palestinian talks on economic and civil aspects of the disengagement, especially in relation to establishing an…

Wednesday afternoon, Israeli soldiers leveled seven homes near al-Jiftlik area, in the central plain, north of the West Bank. A local source in Tubas reported that soldiers, supported by armored…

Israel threatened to severely bomb Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip should the Palestinian Authority fail to act against the resistance attacks during the disengagement, Israeli sources reported on Wednesday.…

For the third day, Israeli soldiers resumed the attacks and military searches in al-sha’rawiyya area, and several surrounding villages, north of the West Bank city of Tulkarem. A local source…

The Israeli army distributed leaflets at roadblocks stating that the Palestinian residents are paying the price as a result of the military attacks carried out by the Islamic Jihad against…

Israeli soldiers detained 6 Israeli and international peace activists, and one Palestinian, in the village of Bel’in, west of the West Bank city of Ramallah, during a procession against the…

Lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Fahmi Shqeirat, reported that detainee Salama Mohammad Rashaida, 30, from Bethlehem, lost his sight as a result of torture in Asqalan detention. Shqeirat stated…

The Israeli army decided to grab more farmlands lands near the village of Ya’bod, west of Jenin in order to use them for ‘military purposes’, and to install a military…

Israeli ‘Home Front’ soldiers and officers who take part in the evacuation of settlers from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank will be granted extra pay. The bonuses…

Palestinian sources said on Wednesday that shooting and an explosion were heard in Balata refugee camp during a visit by the Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei. The Associated Press reported…

Today I went to Abu Tor and I’m going to tell you about it for two selfish reasons; one because I find writing therapeutic, and two, because my writing is…

Seven people were killed and 195 were injured Tuesday afternoon when a passenger train collided with a truck near Kibbutz Revadim in the northern Negev. 15 of the wounded are…

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel will transfer security control over Bethlehem and Qalqilia to the Palestinian Authority within two weeks, according to Israeli radio. Sharon made the comment…

Tuesday afternoon, Israeli soldiers attacked a peaceful procession against the Wall in the village of Marda, near the West Bank city of Salfit. A local source in the village reported…

Retired Israeli Supreme Court Justice Theodore Or accused the state of Israel of ignoring the findings of the probe into the killing of 13 Arab citizens of Israel by the…

For the first time, the Israeli state prosecution argued on Tuesday that the Israeli decision to construct the Separation Wall in Jerusalem area stems from political considerations, in addition to…

Tuesday morning, Israeli soldiers arrested 25 residents in the West Bank city of Hebron and several surrounding villages and al-Fawwar refugee camp. A local source in Hebron reported that soldiers,…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is ‘furious and disappointed’ after a summit meeting in which Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected Palestinian demands for an easing of restrictions in the occupied territories,…

Tuesday at dawn, Israeli soldiers, supported by 35 military vehicles and jeeps, invaded Bethlehem and several surrounding areas, and arrested three residents. A local source in Bethlehem reported that soldiers…

Hundreds of settler families slated for evacuation from the Gaza Strip expressed willingness to join the 430 families who have agreed to relocate to Nitzanim. The Gaza Coast Regional Council of…

The Israeli Security Services (Shabak) and the army announced the arrest of a resistance fighter in Jenin suspected of developing Qassam homemade shells and testing their range against Israeli settlements in…

In what could be the beginning of an expanded crackdown on the Islamic Jihad, Israeli soldiers on Tuesday arrested 50 members of the resistance organization in early-morning raids in several…

Israeli soldiers on Monday arrested a 21-year-old Palestinian woman at the Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, claiming she was planning to set off a suicide bomb inside Israel. According to…

The former chief rabbi of Israel, Mordechai Eliyahu, has advised Israeli soldiers not to carry out orders to take part in the evacuation of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories,…

Monday morning, Israeli soldiers shot and killed one child, seriously injured another, near al-Wista district, in the central Gaza Strip. A Palestinian security source said that the two children were…

One Israeli settler was killed and another injured Monday morning, after a Palestinian resistance group fired at their vehicle in the northern West Bank. A 30-year-old settler who apparently was driving…

In his meeting with the Israeli vice Premier, Shimon Peres on Sunday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said if the disengagement plan is not back up by progress toward …

Was the visit of U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice a total failure? Or would the reported agreement on coordinating the pullout and cooperating in destroying settlers’ homes between Israel…

Sunday afternoon, an Israeli military source reported that soldiers arrested a Palestinian teen on Huwwara checkpoint, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The army claims that Khalil Mohammed…