at least 21 murdered in the west bank since july 8, including 12 year old child

while the death toll in gaza last night was at 1959 martyrs since july 8 and aroudn 11000 injured according to the moh’s latest update, three palestinians were murdered in three separate incidents over last weekend and one palestinian was run over by a settler, bringing the death toll in the west bank to at least 21 since july 8.

yesterday, mohammad abu isleim (aroud 23 years old) was murdered by a settler colonist who ran him over with his car near salfit in the central west bank. settler colonists frequently run palestinians over in their cars, sometimes causing injuries, and sometimes murdering them. with utter impunity. after a video of a settler colonists running a palestinian child over in east jerusalem surfaced a few years ago, the incident was cynically used as an advertisement for the power of the car (read more about this specific case and the practise of running over palestinians in general here). this is how dehumanized israeli discourse is when it comes to palestinians (i could post daily images or videos of israelis asking for more murder, soldiers celebrating a specific murder, people wearing disgustingly genocidal t-shirts, etc.).

nader issa (40) was shot during heavy clashes in hebron on friday. my friend issa amro says that nader was just watching the clashes, not participating in any way (not that throwing stones at an invading army is reason enough to shoot someone dead). he succumbed to his wounds in hospital.

sunday, 12 year old khalil mohammad ahmad anati was shot dead in front of his home in al fawar refugee camp in the southern west bank. witnesses say he was playing in front of his home when a soldier shot him dead.

khalil anas anati, 12, shot dead in al fawar refugee camp in front of his house

khalil anas anati, 12, shot dead in al fawar refugee camp in front of his house

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sunday night, hisham al azaar (24) was murdered in a targetted assassination in nablus (targetted assassinations are illegal). during the operation that killed him, the neighboring apartment was attacked and Ishera al Azaar, her daughters manal (15) and nawal (7) and her son jalal (4) were injured as well.

17 others were shot dead in the west bank and east jerusalem before. see al haq’s report here.

several others were injured with either rubber coated steel bullets or life ammunition in various places over the weekend. settlers continue to attack and kill.

hundreds have been arrested over the past few weeks (i am not sure of numbers, but i read recently that the numbers of detainees doubled. i read every day of large numbers of arrests, so it is not difficult to imagine that several thousand might have been arrested in the past weeks). there are reports of even worse abuse than usual in the occupiers military prisons. in addition, an unknown number of palestinians from gaza were detained and illegally transported into prisons in 48/”israel”. it is still unclear how many from gaza were detained. recently, there was a report that 26 are to be charged, but some fear that several hundred might have been detained. there are reports of executions and of extreme abuse and torture.

up to 150 could have been detained from khoza'a during the massacre in july

up to 150 could have been detained from khoza’a during the massacre in july

it is absurd that it is generally assumed that the occupier largely (there are exceptions of attacks on gaza in the last few days) adheres to a ceasefire while it’s army and facist colonists continue to downright assassinate, shoot dead, and arrest palestinians in the rest of palestine (things in jerusalem are not better than in the west bank and although i have no information, i would imagine that arrests and repression of palestinians continue in 48/”israel” as well).

 

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eran efrati talked to three soldiers who witnessed the murder of salam shamaly in sheja’iya out of revenge

channel 4 published a video interview with eran efrati on the murder of salem shamaly in sheja’iya. three soldiers confirm that the murder was arbitrary, that it was an act of revenge, that the commander gave an order, that salem didn’t even pose a perceived threat:

they felt very guilty. they understood that they’re shooting on civilians. they understood (…) that that the man in the green shirt specifically was not any threat to their lives. and they understood that the officer let them shoot this guy as an outlet to their frustration, as a revenge attack in the middle of gaza.

efrati was recently arrested, interrogated, and apparently received death threats as well. he continues to investigate and will soon release a report on the use of illegal weapons.

 

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article: whistleblower erin efrati (exposed that sheja’iya massacre was committed out of revenge) arrested, threatened and questioned

here’s an article about the harassment, arrest and possible death threats against eran efrati last week. efrati exposed that the sheja’iya massacre was committed out of revenge. he was furthermore researching illegal weapons (watch videos on the actual site)

Israeli Army Whistle-Blower Gets Arrested After Posting ‘Israeli Troops Killed Gaza Civilians in Revenge’ on Facebook

Eran Efrati

Former combat soldier and company sergeant of the Israeli army turned whistle-blower Eran Efrati, aged 28, was arrested by the Israeli authorities and questioned concerning his research regarding the use of illegal weapons in Gaza.

On Tuesday, July 29, Efrati announced on Facebook that he received information from sources within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealing what he claims to be the real reason for the Shuja’iyya massacre which occurred nine days prior on July 20: namely that civilians were targeted and killed by Israeli soldiers as punishment for the death of soldiers in their units.

In recent weeks I was on the border of Gaza and getting reports from soldiers in the Gaza Strip who leak information out to me. I am in the process of publication of two big stories in major U.S. newspapers, but there are some things I can share with you right now: Soldiers in two different units inside Gaza leaked information about the murdering of Palestinians by sniper fire in Shuja’iyya neighborhood as punishment for the death of soldiers in their units. After the shooting on the Israeli armored personnel carriers, which killed seven soldiers of the Golani Brigade, the Israeli army carried out a massacre in Shuja’iyya neighborhood. A day after the massacre, many Palestinians came to search for their relatives and their families in the rubble. In one of the videos uploaded to YouTube, a young Palestinian man Salem Shammaly calls the names of his family and looking for them between the ruins when he is suddenly shot at in his chest and falls down. A few seconds after that, there are two additional shootings from snipers into his body, killing him instantly. Since the video was released, there was no official response from the IDF spokesperson. Today I can report that the official command that was handed down to the soldiers in Shujaiyya was to capture Palestinian homes as outposts. From these posts, the soldiers drew an imaginary red line, and amongst themselves decided to shoot to death anyone who crosses it. Anyone crossing the line was defined as a threat to their outposts, and was thus deemed a legitimate target. This was the official reasoning inside the units. I was told that the unofficial reason was to enable the soldiers to take out their frustrations and pain at losing their fellow soldiers (something that for years the IDF has not faced during its operations in Gaza and the West Bank), out on the Palestinian refugees in the neighborhood. Under the pretext of the so-called “security threat” soldiers were directed to carry out a pre-planned attack of revenge on Palestinian civilians. These stories join many other similar ones that Amira Hass and I investigated in Operation Cast Lead. The death toll that continues to rise is steadily reaching the numbers of the massacre of 2009.
More than 1,100 have been killed in Gaza, at least 80 percent of them civilians. Today it is cleared for publication that at least 4 soldiers were killed by a rocket in a gathering area outside of Gaza, and another soldier was killed in Gaza. They join 43 soldiers that have already been killed. We know that more acts of revenge will come soon and it is important that we not stay silent. This is the time to take to the streets and to social media. Demand from your representative wherever you are to stop supporting this massacre and to immediately boycott the state of Israel until the occupation ends, the blockade is lifted and Palestinians will be free. We all want to be in the right place at the right time when history knocks on our door, and history is knocking in Gaza right now. You need to decide on which side you want to go down in history.

In addition to being arrested and questioned, Efrati had both his Facebook and email accounts blocked and apparently received death threats aimed at keeping him silent. He wrote:

In recent days I was arrested by authorities and questioned about my research regarding the use of illegal weapons in Gaza, my mail and Facebook accounts were blocked, And I received strong hints that my life is at risk and I need to be silent and keep low. But I’m not going anywhere.
They may close my communication channels again,but that does not mean I’m not here, I’ll find a way to get the information out to you,and I trust you will echo it on, go down with it to the streets ,And demand your representatives, your government to stop funding the slaughter in your name,to boycott Israel and to stop the bloodshed in Gaza. The whole world is watching now, history is being made.
I’m counting on you.

The Shuja’iyya massacre took place during intense fighting between Hamas forces and the Israeli military. The killing resulted in the death of 72 Palestinians, among whom 17 were children. It also resulted in the death of 13 Israeli soldiers.

The video of the wounded Palestinian who was shot by a sniper was released by the International Solidarity Movement and can be viewed below. [Warning: The video is graphic, viewer’s discretion advised.]

The massacre was described by Amnesty International as tantamount to possible war crimes:

The continuing bombardment of civilian homes in several areas of the Gaza Strip, as well as the Israeli shelling of a hospital, add to the list of possible war crimes that demand an urgent independent international investigation, said Amnesty International.

[…]

The Israeli military said that Shuja’iyyeh, a densely populated area with some 92,000 residents east of Gaza City, had been targeted because it was a “fortress” housing rockets, tunnels and command centres. Israeli military and government officials have repeatedly said that civilians were warned to evacuate the area days before it was attacked.

However, many civilians in Shuja’iyyeh and other areas did not evacuate because they had nowhere to go. All the UNRWA schools and other facilities opened as shelters are overflowing. Issuing warnings to evacuate entire areas does not absolve Israeli forces of their obligations to protect civilians under international humanitarian law.

“The relentless bombardment of Shuja’iyyeh and other civilian areas in the Gaza Strip, as well as the continuing indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel, demand urgent international action to prevent further violations. The UN should impose an arms embargo on all sides, and all states should immediately suspend transfers of military equipment to Israel, Hamas, and other Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip,” said Philip Luther.

Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders accused Israel of indiscriminate bombing:

“While official claims that the objective of the ground offensive is to destroy tunnels into Israel, what we see on the ground is that bombing is indiscriminate and that those who die are civilians,” said Nicolas Palarus, MSF’s project coordinator in Gaza.

At the time of writing, Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” has claimed the lives of more than 1,650 and wounded nearly 9,000 Palestinians. Israel says the assault is targeting Hamas for firing hundreds of rockets across the border into Israel. Seventy-five percent of the Palestinians killed in this offensive have been civilians. Since the offensive started on June 8, 62 Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in Gaza, and three civilians killed and around 400 injured in rocket attacks in Israel.

Besides being a member of Anarchists Against the Wall and the pro-BDS Boycott from Within, Efrati was a member of Breaking The Silence*, an Israeli NGO comprised of former IDF soldiers whose aim is “to raise awareness amongst the public about the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories.”

Here’s a lecture he gave in Colorado as part of The Soldier and the Refusenik U.S. tour with Maya Wind a few months ago:

This is Israel’s third military operation in Gaza in 6 years. Israel has bombed residential neighborhoods, schools, a playground, hospitals, shelters and refugee camps. On July 28, Israel attacked the only power plant in Gaza, plunging the congested strip of 1.8 million people into darkness. UN shelters are struggling to accommodate more than 250,000 Gaza residents who are fleeing the violence or whose homes have been destroyed by bombings. Six UN shelters have come under attack by Israeli forces. Excessive restrictions from Israel in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank is why most of the world and the United Nations considers this territory “occupied” by Israel.

[*Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story said that Efrati is a member of Breaking The Silence. He is no longer involved in it and has not worked with this organisation for four years.]

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richard silverstein:”IDF-Embedded Reporter Says It Fired Guided Missile at UNWRA School, Killing 15 Civilians”

richard silverstein explains that a journalist embedded with the occupation army says that the ordered ” $100,000 Tamuz (aka Spike) heat-seeking anti-tank missile ” at the unrwa school in beit hanoun which was bombed on july 24, killing at least 15 people.

 

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update friday, 01.08. to tuesday, 05.08: ceasefire broken repeatedly, soldier “kidnapping” frenzy created to justify massive bombing of rafah in order to kill the soldier, people at unrwa shelter killed, repression in west bank and jerusalem

i don’t manage to update, although a lot has happened.

since yesterday, a ceasefire seems to finally be holding. occupation forces seem to have finally withdrawn from the gaza strip. palestinian factions are in cairo and apparently negotiating. (in this context, read the ceasefire proposal that was supposedly made by the US and rejected by the zionists earlier according to arab21 – reported by mee).as a according to pchr’s report from yesterday at 9am, the number of people murdered in gaza was 1938. 7920 were wounded. (according to the moh last night, the  numbers were at 1875 murdered and 9567 injured). numbers will have risen since yesterday morning and will continue to rise as people reach areas of previous fighting and recover bodies. 64 occupation soldiers were killed according to their military sources, in addition to an jewish citizen of 48, a bedouin and a thai worker. just before the ceasefire, a number of attacks were launched that killed more people. among those killed were at least 11 journalists (here 10 are reported) and 21 medical personal, while another 85 medical persons were reportedly injured according to the moh.

according to the unrwa, monday, almost 272,987 people were sheltered in 90 unrwa schools. yesterday morning, unrwa reported the number to have decreased to 267,970 internally displaced people. according to pchr’s report yesterday, at least 520,000 were displaced in total. during cast lead, 51,000 were displaced. see also this article on ei on the dispacement of a fourth of the entire population of the gaza strip. yesterday, un ocha released an urgent appeal asking for 367 $ million to allow them to respond to the immediate needs created by the massive damage of the past few weeks and artificially created humanitarian crisis.

monday, people once again began to return to their former homes. anne also visited the areas of former fighting and the images are terrible.

friday: occupation cried “kidnapping” when a soldier was ceased before the ceasefire, and then massively bombed rafah to kill him

as explained in my post here, friday, although another humanitarian ceasefire was announced, airstrikes and shelling continued massively in gaza and especially in rafah. the first strikes were reported 8 minutes after the ceasefire was supposed to have started. the zionists announced that hamas had captured (they used the word “kidnapped”) a soldier – indicating that they had captured the soldier during the ceasefire and that their massive bombing of rafah was in response. in rafah alone, 70 were said to have been killed friday alone.

basically, soon as a ceasefire was pronounced, occupation forces began an incursion much deeper than previous once and proceeded with military operations. when they were met by hamas militants, the militants engaged in battle, apparently killed several soldiers and captured one (a practise that is not uncommon in acts of war). this is likely to have occured BEFORE the actual ceasefire was supposed to begin.
faced with the prospect of having a soldier in the hands of hamas, the zionists turned the capture into a major immorality of international concern (which elicited widespread condemnations), suggested that hamas had broken the ceasefire (which the zionists themselves never intended to fully honor) and proceeded to massively bomb rafah to make sure that the captured soldiers was killed. more significantly, there are various reports of up to 300 palestinians having been – in their case kidnapped – by invading occupation soldiers from gaza. there are even reports of executions, yet no specific information is available. when a soldier is captured, he becomes a prisoner of war, but the non-combatants (including “fighters” who are not, at that moment, engaging in combat or posing an immediate theat) cannot simply be seized under international law. furthermore, non-combatants in occupied territory are taken prisoner by the occupation forces, they can not be transferred outside the territory except for special circumstances (risk to their safety – not the case in palestine – thanks to lydia de leeuw for clariyfing this point to me).

in total,123 palestinians were murdered in gaza on friday and 250 injured according to pchr (see the detailed report here). in fact, the number of corpses in rafah was so high while the area was largely cut-off that people began storing bodies in freezers. there are very gruesome pictures of children’s bodies in an icecream freezer (i’m posting a less graphic one here).

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saturday: 80 palestinians killed and 278 wounded

please read the pchr report for detailed updates on the horrors of saturday. what is significant is that saturday, it was reported that places in khoza’a and had become inhabitable, not only due to the immense destruction that the massacres caused, but also by the smell of rotting corpses.

 

anne’s pictures from beit lahiya in the north and other places.

 Beit Lahiya- Despite announcement by Israeli army of withdrawal of certain areas, many Palestinians did not go back to their houses for fear of further Israeli attacks
Beit LahiyaMalgré l’annonce par l’armée israélienne du retrait de certaines zones, de nombreux Palestiniens ne sont pas retournés  dans leurs maisons par crainte de nouvelles attaques israéliennes
 
  Beit Lahiya
Destroyed Mosque in ash-Shati camp / une mosquée détruite à ash-Shati

Water and electricity shortages are becoming overwhelming.
Les pénuries d’eau et d’électricité se font de plus en plus graves

sunday: 9 killed when area next to unrwa school shelter was bombed

on sunday, a missile hit right in front of another unrwa school shelter, this time the unrwa boys prep school in rafah, killing nine people and injuring 27. according to unrwa, unrwa schools that currently serve as shelters were bombed/shelled on six other occasions before:

UN school “21 and 22 July 2014: Maghazi Preparatory Girls School A & B, Middle Area. The school, which was finalized in 1980 with international support provided to UNRWA, sheltered approximately 1,000 IDPs prior to the first attack.
23 July 2014: Deir El Balah Preparatory Girls School C. The school was completed in 2013 and is funded by the United States of America. It provided refuge to 1,500 Palestinians at the time it was hit.
24 July 2014: Beit Hanoun Elementary Co-ed School A & D, North Area. The school was completed in 1997 and is funded by the United States of America. It provided shelter to approximately 1,200 IDPs the day it was hit.
29 July 2014: Zaitoun Preparatory Girls School B. The school was completed in 2012 and is also funded by the United States of America. It sheltered almost 2,200 IDPs.
30 July 2014: Jabalia Elementary Girls School A & B. The school was built in 1960 from funding provided by the European Commission and sheltered over 3,200 IDPs.”
“UNRWA estimates that 95 installations have been damaged since 8 July in 135 strikes, including at least 10 direct hits.

according to pchr, between sunday 10am and monday 10 am, 53 palestinians were murdered (see the detailed report here).

 

monday: another ceasefire broken, at least 50 palestinians killed

on monday, the 72 hour ceasefire that in fact took hold tuesday was supposed to start, but was immediately (reportedly 5 minutes after it was to have started) broken when the occupation bombed a two story house in el shati refugee camp by an f16. the house was completely destroyed and six people killed, according to pchr:

Ibtissam Ibrahim al-Bakri, 31; her children: Aseel, 4; and Mohammed, 4 months; Ramadan Kamal al-Bakri, 36; and Ibrahim Mohammed al-Masharawi, 32. Kamal Ahmed al-Bakri, 4, died of his wound on Tuesday morning.  Five neighboring houses were also destroyed.

read the detailed report on monday’s attack by pchr here.

in total, while some news sources report 40 palestinians murdered on monday, pchr that ten palestinians were murdered between monday 10am and tuesday 10am.

nonetheless, people began to return to their former homes on monday. as you is evident in anne’s pictures from various places in gaza, they often only found rubble and utter destruction.

 

 

 

 

 

 This is what remains of the kindergarden built by Italian NGO Vento de Terra in Um Al Nasser /
C’est ce qui reste de l”école construite par l’ONG italienne Vento de Terra à Um Al Nasser

 

Um Al Nasser
Beit Hanoun

 

 

monday/tuesday/wednesday: arrests and harrassment in the west bank and east jerusalem

in the past few days, attacks by both army and soldiers continued in the west bank, east jerusalem (and probably in 48 as well, though i didn’t come across reports). since july 7, 17 palestinians in the west bank were killed so far. monday night, occupation forces invaded aida refugee camp, arrested at least one and injured several in ensuing clashes. i have seen pictures and reports of devestation (and even a report of soldiers having defacated on the roof of a house). i will post them later if i find them. 32 palestinians were reportedly arrested/kidnapped by occupation forces in the west bank and east jerusalem on monday.

on tuesday, following two reported attacks by palestinians during which one jewish resident was killed and a soldier was injured, there was even more repression and deployment in east jerusalem. palestinians who wanted to enter the al aqsa compound (haram al shareef) were attacked, including women. 15 palestinians were injured. in total, 38 palestinians were reportedly “arrested”/kidnapped by occupation army in the west bank and east jerusalem.

today, settler colonists attacked various stores in the old city of hebron. at least nine palestinians were reportedly “arrested”/kidnapped by the occupation army.

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