Palestinians injured, taken prisoners in protests across the occupied West Bank

Ma'an - RAMALLAH – Israeli forces detained two Palestinian teenagers picking olives near Hebron on Friday as weekly anti-wall protests across the West Bank marked the start of the olive harvesting season.

Witnesses said Jehad Jamal Al-Amla, 17, and Iyad Jamil Al-'Amla, 18, were detained while picking olives in Beit Ula west of Hebron. An Israeli military spokeswoman said they were harvesting olives from trees close to the separation wall, and "were invited for security questioning."

Two journalists injured in Bil'in

At a weekly demonstration in Bil'in, Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets at protesters as they attempted to cross a gate in the separation wall to collect their olives, the local popular committee said.

Two journalists were injured at the rally, the committee said. Abas Al-Momani was hit in the back by a tear gas canister, while Haron Amaira suffered from extreme tear gas inhalation.

Protesters carried a banner reading "We will stay here like the roots of the olive trees."

An Israeli military spokeswoman said riot dispersal means were used against 30 protesters in the Ramallah village.

PNI leader attends Ni'lin rally

A simultaneous protest in Ni'lin, also in the Ramallah district, was attended by Palestinian National Initiative leader Mustafa Barghouthi.

Barghouthi said he attended the rally to help farmers pick their olives, and to show them they were not alone.

Nil'in's popular committee said five were injured when Israeli forces launched tear gas canisters and rubber coated bullets at villagers and activists who were attempting to harvest olives close to the separation wall.

An army spokeswoman said forces used tear gas and rubber bullets in response to rocks thrown by demonstrators, who she said numbered around 60.

Reports of live ammunition in An-Nabi Salih

Meanwhile, at a weekly protest in An-Nabi Salih, west of Ramallah, locals said one man was hospitalized after being hit in the chest by a live bullet. He was taken to Yasser Arafat hospital in Salfit, where medics said his condition was serious.

Six others were injured by live ammunition fired by Israeli soldiers during the anti-wall demonstration, the local committee said.

Protesters marched to the village entrance after noon prayers, and the committee said forces were already stationed there. Protesters reported that soldiers became irate when village children threw paint at them, and launched tear gas grenades in response.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said around 70 protesters gathered in the village, and forces used riot dispersal means in response to rocks hurled at soldiers. She said forces did not use live ammunition against demonstrators at any protests on Friday.

Bethlehem village protests mosque arson

Hundreds of villagers joined prayers at Al-Anbiya Mosque in Beit Fajjar, which was subject to an arson attack on Tuesday. Israeli police suspected the mosque was attacked as part of a "price tag" operation by nearby settlers wishing to protest Israel's West Bank policies, Israeli press reported.

After noon prayers, residents headed to the village entrance to protest the arson and settler violence towards Palestinians. Israeli forces were already deployed at the entrance, and launched tear gas and sound grenades at the rally, locals said, adding that four protesters were injured.

A military statement said forces used riot dispersal mechanisms against around 100 protesters in response to violence.

Settler shoots Palestinian

Ma'an - HEBRON – Two Palestinians were injured near Hebron Friday, witnesses said.

Locals reported that an Israeli resident of an illegal settlement north of Hebron fired live ammunition at Ibrahim Muhammad Sharif Basal.

In a separate incident, Salem Nabil Abu Quedar was injured when he was hit in the face by a sound grenade thrown by Israeli forces, residents said.

Both men were hospitalized, but medics said their conditions were stable.

Young woman filmed by soldiers describes torture, humiliation

Ma'an - HEBRON – The Palestinian woman who was filmed, handcuffed and blindfolded as an Israeli soldier danced around her said Thursday that the video only showed the beginning of "a journey of torture and humiliation."

A video of 24-year-old Ihsan Dababisa surfaced on YouTube on Monday, and was aired on RT News. Dababisa spoke to Ma'an's correspondent in her home in Nuba village, west of Hebron, and described the ordeal which followed her detention.

Dababisa said she was detained at Etzion checkpoint at 8 a.m. on 11 December 2007, and thrown into a military jeep, handcuffed and blindfolded. She was taken to the yard of Etzion detention center in front of a group of soldiers.

Moments later, she said, she heard loud music and one of the soldiers tried to touch her. She tried to stay close to the wall, and another soldier arrived with a bottle of wine, and offered her a drink. When she refused, he continued to harass her, she said.

The soldiers then attacked her "like vicious dogs."

"They began beating me with rifle butts and legs. One of the soldiers hit my head against the metal of the military jeep until I fainted. Then I found myself in front of a female doctor wearing military uniform. After examining me they moved me to the interrogation center where my journey of torture and humiliation started.

"The officer’s name who began to interrogate me was Beran. He threatened to demolish my family home and arrest my siblings, the interrogation lasted for two hours. After that I was transferred with my eyes blindfolded to another interrogation center, I think it was the Russian compound, where there were three interrogators.

"Soon after I came in they began insulting and cursing using words I do not want to say. One of the interrogators was pulling me from my hair. I was handcuffed the whole time. The interrogation lasted until 11 at night, then they transferred me to Hasharon prison where they accused me of trying to stab someone, and of affiliation with the Islamic Jihad. Lawyers from the prisoners' society defended me and I was sentenced to 22 months in prison. I was released on 6 September 2009."

More than a year after she was released, Dababisa saw herself on the news. "They were talking about me, I could not believe what I was seeing with my eyes. I was about to faint, I began to cry, I could not sleep all night for one moment. All of the memories while I was among a group of criminal sadist corrupted soldiers who were without feelings and humanity came to my head."

Dababisa said she would not be relieved "until the soldiers are punished in court as an example to anyone who would dare to humiliate or insult any Palestinian prisoner."

Residents protest 'video humiliation'

Ma'an - GAZA CITY – Gaza City residents organized a sit-in on Thursday, demonstrating collective anger over a video of an Israeli soldier belly dancing beside a bound and blindfolded Palestinian woman in the West Bank.

The video, which made waves on news sites and aired on Israel's Channel 10 News, was called a "disgusting illustration of the sick mentality of the occupier," in a Palestinian Authority statement.

Gaza Minster of Prisoners Affairs Muhammad Al-Ghoul spoke to assembled protesters, saying he believed the Israeli army would not waste an opportunity to mistreat Palestinians as long as the Arab and Islamic world remained silent about the crimes.

According to officials, the woman in the video was identified as 35-year-old Ihsan Dababisa, who told journalists that she was deeply humiliated on the day of the event, and again when it was broadcast on Israeli television.

Al-Ghoul asked rights organizations and the international community if they had been "sleeping on the job," accusing observers of willful silence in letting such an event go unanswered. 

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

 

Settlers burn Palestinian fields

Ma’an - NABLUS – Residents of the Huwwara village south of Nablus said Thursday that Jewish settlers set dozens of dunums of farm lands on fire, destroying crops.

PA official responsible for settlement-observation in the northern West Bank Ghassan Doughlas said the fields were in the At-Tira area of Huwwara village, and had destroyed some crops.

"Lighting fields on fire is a provocative act perpetrated by settlers seeking bury the peace process," the official said, calling on representatives of the Middle East Quartet to ensure that Israel took responsibility for the actions of its settlers.

The fire was the latest in a long string of recent arson and vandalism carried out by the illegal settler population in the West Bank, mainly in the northern area.

On Wednesday, settlers reportedly harvested the olives of Palestinian trees and subsequently damaged several, and on Monday settlers set fire to a mosque in the Bethlehem-area village of Beit Fajjar. Israeli police said an investigation had been opened into the latter incident, but no arrests had been made by Thursday, despite calls for action in joint Israeli-Palestinian protests.

One week earlier, witnesses said a settler was behind the wheel of a hit and run in Qalqiliya district. No charges were laid.

Israeli settlers expand Palestinian Territory colony

Ma’an - BETHLEHEM – Settlers in the northern Jordan Valley settlement of Mehola began large-scale construction projects on Wednesday night, reports from the Palestine News Agency WAFA said.

Official sources told the agency that the settlers were adding new housing units in the western side of the settlement.

Governor of Tubas Marwan Tubasy said three housing units had already been added during the past week, with several concrete pouring machines seen entering and exiting the settlement.

A report in the daily Israeli newspaper Haaretz said the foundations for some 350 homes had been set in the 10 days following the construction freeze expiration.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for Israel to show restraint as peace negotiators continue to work for a compromise on the issue, with Palestinian officials remaining adamant that peace talks will not continue if settlement construction does.