18 nov 2015
The Nazareth District Court issued, Wednesday, a 30-day Administrative Detention order against a young Palestinian citizen for a Facebook post that appeared to be suicidal, but explained by Israel as an "intent to carry out an attack."
The District Court, following an order from Israel’s Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan, issued a 30-day Administrative Detention order against the young man, identified as Ahmad Jawamees, on suspicion that he "is thinking about harming Jewish citizens."
The Court said "there is no sufficient evidence that he intended to harm anybody," and that he expressed sorrow for his post; therefore "a decision was made to hold him imprisoned for thirty days under Administrative Detention." (without charges)
The Israeli Internal Security claims the young man intended to harm Jewish Israelis, without offering him any psychological support, although he could be facing issues or certain conditions that might make him suicidal.
Last Thursday, November 12, the Israeli army kidnapped Tamara Abu Laban, only 14 years of age, from her family home in the at-Tour town in occupied Jerusalem, for Facebook posts that Israeli considered to be "incitement."
On October 18, and on October 10, the Israeli Police abducted Anas al-Khatib, in addition to an activist and poet, Darin Tatour, both members of the National Democratic Assembly, for writing social media posts that was also regarded to be "incitement."
The District Court, following an order from Israel’s Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan, issued a 30-day Administrative Detention order against the young man, identified as Ahmad Jawamees, on suspicion that he "is thinking about harming Jewish citizens."
The Court said "there is no sufficient evidence that he intended to harm anybody," and that he expressed sorrow for his post; therefore "a decision was made to hold him imprisoned for thirty days under Administrative Detention." (without charges)
The Israeli Internal Security claims the young man intended to harm Jewish Israelis, without offering him any psychological support, although he could be facing issues or certain conditions that might make him suicidal.
Last Thursday, November 12, the Israeli army kidnapped Tamara Abu Laban, only 14 years of age, from her family home in the at-Tour town in occupied Jerusalem, for Facebook posts that Israeli considered to be "incitement."
On October 18, and on October 10, the Israeli Police abducted Anas al-Khatib, in addition to an activist and poet, Darin Tatour, both members of the National Democratic Assembly, for writing social media posts that was also regarded to be "incitement."
16 nov 2015
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) categorically denies allegations made by Ofir Gendelman, Israeli Government spokesperson, on his Facebook account, in which he claims that PRCS’ teams refused to discharge their humanitarian duty and to assist several wounded Israelis near Al Samou’ (Hebron Governorate), on Friday.
According to a report published by PNN, PRCS states that the facts are as follows:
"A PRCS’ team arrived at the scene and started providing First Aid to the wounded. A few minutes later, two Israeli ambulances, one belonging to the Israeli army and another from Magen David Adom, arrived at the scene. The ambulances’ teams headed towards the wounded persons, brandishing their weapons. Given that Israeli paramedics had arrived and were providing medical care to casualties, PRCS’ team left the scene which they felt had become unsafe.
Since early October, Israeli occupation forces have assaulted and directly targeted PRCS’ teams, either by firing bullets and canisters at them, or by beating them, or by pepper spraying them. 125 PRCS emergency medical technicians have been wounded and 67 ambulances damaged as a result of these systematic practices which go against IHL provisions. Moreover, Israeli occupation forces have prevented PRCS’ teams on 66 different occasions from reaching Palestinian sick and wounded persons to provide them with medical life-saving treatment.
The humanitarian principles and values and professionalism of PRCS’ teams are indisputable. PRCS has over the years provided First Aid to hundreds of Israelis present in the oPt, as was the case mid-October when its teams provided an Israeli citizen with medical assistance near Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus. PRCS calls on Ofir Gendelman and all those concerned to peruse Israeli Media Archives for all similar cases where PRCS’ teams provided First Aid to Israeli citizens.
Israeli occupation forces have not ceased their blatant violations of IHL and the Four Geneva Conventions which apply in the oPt: they hinder the work of medical teams, prevent wounded persons from receiving medical attention, storm hospitals to kill and arrest injured Palestinians, and terrorize patients and medical teams in a clear breach of conventions and laws.
PRCS discharges its mission in line with the lofty principles and values it believes in. The Society believes that medical assistance should be provided to all those in need regardless of their nationality, race or religion. Israel, on the contrary, leaves Palestinians, including children, to bleed and prevents help and medical teams from reaching them, as can be seen in a number of footage videos.
Israeli occupation authorities and their representatives should put an end to this information war and to the falsification of facts aimed at spreading misinformation and Israeli propaganda."
Health Minister Backs Red Crescent’s Account of Wounded Settlers
Palestinian Health Minister Jawad ‘Awad, on Monday, refuted Israeli allegations that Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics abandoned three days earlier wounded Israeli settlers, to the south of Hebron.
Speaking during a press conference, ‘Awad denied Israeli allegations that the Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics didn’t stop to provide medical treatment for the Israeli settler family who came under fire as they were driving through the southern Hebron hills near As-Samou‘ town on Friday.
Two settlers were killed and another was injured in the shooting. The two casualties were a father in his 40s and his son, 18, who were in the car with five other family members.
Israeli media said, according to WAFA, that a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance allegedly passed by the site of the shooting attack on Friday and abandoned the wounded settlers as they laid dying and didn’t approach the scene to provide medical treatment.
“Despite Israeli occupation forces’ violations against Palestinian medical facilities, paramedics and ambulances and despite threats they have faced, PRCS have been working under serious conditions to save the lives of the injured regardless of their nationality and religion,” stated ‘Awad.
‘Awad slammed these Israeli allegations as intended to “undermine the credibility of Palestinian paramedics” and as a “desperate attempt to divert world attention from Israeli crimes against medical staff, most recently the killing of ‘Abdullah ‘Azzam Shalalda, 27, and kidnapping his cousin, ‘Azzam, 22, who was receiving medical treatment at al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron.
“Seeking to save the lives of the wounded people impartially and neutrally, PRCS paramedics have provided medical treatment for many wounded Israeli settlers and even soldiers in car accidents,” ‘Awad added.
Citing Health Ministry statistics, ‘Awad said two Palestinians shot by Israeli forces in October succumbed to their injuries after Palestinian paramedics were prevented from approaching them and that over 300 attacks against Palestinian paramedics were recorded over October, including preventing ambulances from approaching Palestinians shot by Israeli forces following alleged stabbing attacks or attempts and opening fire directly at ambulances.
This came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly ordered the Foreign Ministry to lodge a “stern” complaint with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, demanding an explanation as to why the Palestinian ambulance allegedly abandoned wounded settler family.
Israeli media quoted an Israeli Foreign Ministry source as threatening that “Israel will enact all necessary sanctions against the Red Crescent.”
“If things are indeed as they seem to me today, the State of Israel will take appropriate steps against the Red Crescent,” Netanyahu reportedly said.
Furthermore, Israeli Prime Minister’s Arab media spokesperson Ofir Gendelman posted a claim on his Twitter account accusing Palestinian paramedics of refusing to treat the victims.v However in a press statement issued late Friday, PRCS “categorically” denied allegations that its paramedics did not stop to assist the wounded settler family.
According to a report published by PNN, PRCS states that the facts are as follows:
"A PRCS’ team arrived at the scene and started providing First Aid to the wounded. A few minutes later, two Israeli ambulances, one belonging to the Israeli army and another from Magen David Adom, arrived at the scene. The ambulances’ teams headed towards the wounded persons, brandishing their weapons. Given that Israeli paramedics had arrived and were providing medical care to casualties, PRCS’ team left the scene which they felt had become unsafe.
Since early October, Israeli occupation forces have assaulted and directly targeted PRCS’ teams, either by firing bullets and canisters at them, or by beating them, or by pepper spraying them. 125 PRCS emergency medical technicians have been wounded and 67 ambulances damaged as a result of these systematic practices which go against IHL provisions. Moreover, Israeli occupation forces have prevented PRCS’ teams on 66 different occasions from reaching Palestinian sick and wounded persons to provide them with medical life-saving treatment.
The humanitarian principles and values and professionalism of PRCS’ teams are indisputable. PRCS has over the years provided First Aid to hundreds of Israelis present in the oPt, as was the case mid-October when its teams provided an Israeli citizen with medical assistance near Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus. PRCS calls on Ofir Gendelman and all those concerned to peruse Israeli Media Archives for all similar cases where PRCS’ teams provided First Aid to Israeli citizens.
Israeli occupation forces have not ceased their blatant violations of IHL and the Four Geneva Conventions which apply in the oPt: they hinder the work of medical teams, prevent wounded persons from receiving medical attention, storm hospitals to kill and arrest injured Palestinians, and terrorize patients and medical teams in a clear breach of conventions and laws.
PRCS discharges its mission in line with the lofty principles and values it believes in. The Society believes that medical assistance should be provided to all those in need regardless of their nationality, race or religion. Israel, on the contrary, leaves Palestinians, including children, to bleed and prevents help and medical teams from reaching them, as can be seen in a number of footage videos.
Israeli occupation authorities and their representatives should put an end to this information war and to the falsification of facts aimed at spreading misinformation and Israeli propaganda."
Health Minister Backs Red Crescent’s Account of Wounded Settlers
Palestinian Health Minister Jawad ‘Awad, on Monday, refuted Israeli allegations that Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics abandoned three days earlier wounded Israeli settlers, to the south of Hebron.
Speaking during a press conference, ‘Awad denied Israeli allegations that the Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics didn’t stop to provide medical treatment for the Israeli settler family who came under fire as they were driving through the southern Hebron hills near As-Samou‘ town on Friday.
Two settlers were killed and another was injured in the shooting. The two casualties were a father in his 40s and his son, 18, who were in the car with five other family members.
Israeli media said, according to WAFA, that a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance allegedly passed by the site of the shooting attack on Friday and abandoned the wounded settlers as they laid dying and didn’t approach the scene to provide medical treatment.
“Despite Israeli occupation forces’ violations against Palestinian medical facilities, paramedics and ambulances and despite threats they have faced, PRCS have been working under serious conditions to save the lives of the injured regardless of their nationality and religion,” stated ‘Awad.
‘Awad slammed these Israeli allegations as intended to “undermine the credibility of Palestinian paramedics” and as a “desperate attempt to divert world attention from Israeli crimes against medical staff, most recently the killing of ‘Abdullah ‘Azzam Shalalda, 27, and kidnapping his cousin, ‘Azzam, 22, who was receiving medical treatment at al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron.
“Seeking to save the lives of the wounded people impartially and neutrally, PRCS paramedics have provided medical treatment for many wounded Israeli settlers and even soldiers in car accidents,” ‘Awad added.
Citing Health Ministry statistics, ‘Awad said two Palestinians shot by Israeli forces in October succumbed to their injuries after Palestinian paramedics were prevented from approaching them and that over 300 attacks against Palestinian paramedics were recorded over October, including preventing ambulances from approaching Palestinians shot by Israeli forces following alleged stabbing attacks or attempts and opening fire directly at ambulances.
This came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly ordered the Foreign Ministry to lodge a “stern” complaint with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, demanding an explanation as to why the Palestinian ambulance allegedly abandoned wounded settler family.
Israeli media quoted an Israeli Foreign Ministry source as threatening that “Israel will enact all necessary sanctions against the Red Crescent.”
“If things are indeed as they seem to me today, the State of Israel will take appropriate steps against the Red Crescent,” Netanyahu reportedly said.
Furthermore, Israeli Prime Minister’s Arab media spokesperson Ofir Gendelman posted a claim on his Twitter account accusing Palestinian paramedics of refusing to treat the victims.v However in a press statement issued late Friday, PRCS “categorically” denied allegations that its paramedics did not stop to assist the wounded settler family.
10 nov 2015
Tamara Abu Laban, 15, from al-Tour town in Occupied Jerusalem, was detained in an Israeli police car for eleven hours, her father said.
Over a phone call with Palestinians Detainees and Ex-detainees Community, the father said Israeli forces arrested his daughter on November 05 after storming the house. She was arrested just for writing on her Facebook page “Forgive me” which was taken as expression of her intention to carry out a resistance operation, he added.
She was arrested and detained in an Israeli police car for eleven hours since Israeli jails refused to receive her. She was then released on Friday, November 06 under certain conditions. The minor girl was released on a bail of 1500 shekels under house arrest for five days in addition to third party bail for 10,000 shekels.
The Israeli Occupation Authority has launched arrest campaigns against Palestinians for their opinions published on social networks. Human rights organizations considered that as an arbitrary and illegal detention as well as a violation of the right of freedom of speech.
Over a phone call with Palestinians Detainees and Ex-detainees Community, the father said Israeli forces arrested his daughter on November 05 after storming the house. She was arrested just for writing on her Facebook page “Forgive me” which was taken as expression of her intention to carry out a resistance operation, he added.
She was arrested and detained in an Israeli police car for eleven hours since Israeli jails refused to receive her. She was then released on Friday, November 06 under certain conditions. The minor girl was released on a bail of 1500 shekels under house arrest for five days in addition to third party bail for 10,000 shekels.
The Israeli Occupation Authority has launched arrest campaigns against Palestinians for their opinions published on social networks. Human rights organizations considered that as an arbitrary and illegal detention as well as a violation of the right of freedom of speech.
6 nov 2015
Facebook management Wednesday evening renewed the closure of 12 Facebook pages close to Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, in the West Bank.
Seven of the closed pages belonged to the Islamic Movement's branches in the West Bank governorates of al-Khalil, Tulkarem, Nablus, Jenin, Bethlehem, Qalqilya and Tubas.
The closure of the Facebook pages came in response to Israeli requests and in continuation of previous campaigns against pages close to resistance websites.
Last month witnessed the closure of tens of Facebook pages and accounts in addition to YouTube channels; most significant the Facebook page of Hamas spokesman Husam Badran and the official YouTube channel of Hamas media.
Seven of the closed pages belonged to the Islamic Movement's branches in the West Bank governorates of al-Khalil, Tulkarem, Nablus, Jenin, Bethlehem, Qalqilya and Tubas.
The closure of the Facebook pages came in response to Israeli requests and in continuation of previous campaigns against pages close to resistance websites.
Last month witnessed the closure of tens of Facebook pages and accounts in addition to YouTube channels; most significant the Facebook page of Hamas spokesman Husam Badran and the official YouTube channel of Hamas media.
The Magistrate judge decided on Friday to release the 15-year old Tamara Mouamar Abu Laban with a bail and house-arrest for 4 days.
Lawyer Mohammad Mahmoud explained that Tamara was presented to the Magistrate judge and the police requested during the session to extend her arrest for 4 days to continue interrogating her on charges of incitement and threatening over her Facebook account.
The judge listened to the lawyer’s and police’s claims and decided to extend the arrest of Tamara until 10 p.m. tonight and then release her with a 2000-NIS bail and house-arrest for 4 days.
Abu Laban was arrested late Wednesday night after raiding her home in the village of Al-Tur.
Lawyer Mohammad Mahmoud explained that Tamara was presented to the Magistrate judge and the police requested during the session to extend her arrest for 4 days to continue interrogating her on charges of incitement and threatening over her Facebook account.
The judge listened to the lawyer’s and police’s claims and decided to extend the arrest of Tamara until 10 p.m. tonight and then release her with a 2000-NIS bail and house-arrest for 4 days.
Abu Laban was arrested late Wednesday night after raiding her home in the village of Al-Tur.
5 nov 2015
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Thursday evening kidnapped a child from her home in Attur village east of Occupied Jerusalem.
Local sources said that Israeli soldiers stormed the parents' house of 14-year-old Tamara Abu Laban in Attur village and arrested her on allegations of writing anti-Israel Facebook postings.
The IOF recently arrested several Palestinian young men and women in the West Bank on charges of publishing inflammatory writings and postings on Facebook pages.
Local sources said that Israeli soldiers stormed the parents' house of 14-year-old Tamara Abu Laban in Attur village and arrested her on allegations of writing anti-Israel Facebook postings.
The IOF recently arrested several Palestinian young men and women in the West Bank on charges of publishing inflammatory writings and postings on Facebook pages.
2 nov 2015
Israeli police arrest a protester in Nazareth on 8 October
Writing on Facebook can result in being locked up if you are a Palestinian citizen of Israel.
That became clear in mid-October when 19-year-old Anas Khateeb was arrested and charged with incitement over three comments he had posted on the social media website. The comments read: “Jerusalem is Arab,” “long live the intifada” and “I am on the waiting list.”
In the past week, a magistrate’s court in Akka (Acre) — a city in present-day Israel — extended his detention until 26 November.
His treatment is being perceived as an attack on the right to free expression by Palestinians. The charge of incitement is viewed as absurd. None of the three posts explicitly called for violence.
And none of them received more than 70 “likes,” indicating that Khateeb was unlikely to foment unrest on any significant scale. Under Israeli law, incitement only occurs if there is a strong possibility that a speech or text will encourage acts of violence.
Khateeb’s arrest has been part of a wider crackdown on Palestinians living in present-day Israel, where they make up about 20 percent of the population.
Adalah, a human rights group, has calculated that approximately 100 Palestinian activists were arrested in Israel within the space of a week in early October. In most cases, requests by police to extend the detention of these activists were approved by courts.
The courts have ignored evidence that police violently suppress political protests, according to Adalah. The organization also accuses the Israeli forces of abusing their powers and has documented how Palestinian activists have been arrested for organizing an “unlawful gathering,” even though there is no such offense in Israeli law.
Police who overstep their powers are seldom punished.
“This impunity has not only allowed the police to avoid accountability, but has essentially encouraged them to view their brutality as legitimate,” said Amjad Iraqi, an Adalah campaigner.
Strategy of persecution
Monitoring of online activity by Palestinians is undertaken by both the authorities and by employers.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel finds that that Palestinians are being dismissed from jobs because of comments they have made. Employers are checking what Palestinian workers write on Facebook and giving the names of young workers to the police, it has been reported.
“The persecution of Palestinian citizens of Israel has been a strategy of the State of Israel for years,” said Khulud Khamis, a feminist campaigner and writer based in Haifa. “It is only changing form, and spreading to the medium of social media.”
“I think those people who publicly voice their opinions do so knowing the risks entailed,” she added. “Others keep silent for precisely the same reason.”
Nadim Nashif, founder of the grassroots group 7amleh, said that young people are more likely to be arrested for Facebook posts as they are the most politically active group in Palestinian society.
The Israeli authorities are seeking to depict a wide variety of comments relating to protests as incitement, according to Nashif.
“A girl from Haifa was arrested because she wrote ‘take an onion with you’ on Facebook,” he said. “The Israeli authorities said that this meant that she was preparing for tear gas to be used.”
“It is ridiculous, they will try to find anything they can [to persecute people],” he added.
Panic
While a number of Palestinians have been jailed for their online activities in the recent past, Israel appears to be intensifying its surveillance and repression both on the Internet and on the streets in response to mass protests.
A young Nazareth woman was recently placed under administrative detention — detention without charge or trial — after stating in a text message that she wished to become a “martyr.” Although administrative detention has been widely practiced against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, this is the first case in a decade of it being used against a Palestinian citizen of Israel, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.
“Israel is trying to keep things under control; they always panic at a potential uprising,” Nashif said. “They are taking a harsh attitude with Palestinian citizens in order to keep us quiet while they are busy in the West Bank. Things that are acceptable in normal times are not anymore.”
Nashif noted that different standards are being applied to Israeli Jews than to Palestinians.
In October, Reuven Rivlin, Israel’s president, promised he would never release Yigal Amir, who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s prime minister, in 1995. In response, Hagai Amir, Yigal’s brother, wrote on Facebook that Rivlin was a “kiss-up politician” who “must pass from the Earth.”
Hagai Amir was detained for one day, before being released and placed under five days’ house arrest.
By contrast, “Anas Khateeb did not make any specifically violent comments and his detention has been extended,” Nashif said. “It is completely unjustified.”
Racism at the top
Israel’s ruling coalition contains a number of ministers who have made racist and arguably genocidal remarks about Palestinians. The best known example is that of Ayelet Shaked, now Israel’s justice minister.
During Israel’s 2014 attack on Gaza, she claimed that all Palestinians are “enemy combatants” and advocated the killing of Palestinian mothers while calling their offspring “little snakes.”
Unlike Khateeb’s posts, Shaked’s Facebook comments received thousands of “likes.”
Adalah has complained to Israel’s attorney general about the incitement by Israeli public figures. But no action has been taken.
Among the cases raised by Adalah were that of Avigdor Lieberman, then Israel’s foreign minister, who called in March this year for the beheading of “anyone who is against us.”
And during the summer, Adalah complained about how Bentzi Gopstein, director-general of the Israeli far-right group Lehava, had stated publicly that he supported the burning of churches. Adalah contended that his remarks amounted to a call for violence against Palestinian Christians.
“There are lots of racist posts and comments in the Hebrew social media, but they only arrest Arabs,” said Rani Khoury, a Palestinian living in Nazareth.
“Israel does not want Arabs to think politically,” Khoury said. “They want us to be more Israeli. They have been scaring us like this since 1948.”
Alia Al Ghussain is a British-Palestinian born and raised in Dubai. She holds an MA in human rights from the University of Sussex and is currently based in Haifa.
Writing on Facebook can result in being locked up if you are a Palestinian citizen of Israel.
That became clear in mid-October when 19-year-old Anas Khateeb was arrested and charged with incitement over three comments he had posted on the social media website. The comments read: “Jerusalem is Arab,” “long live the intifada” and “I am on the waiting list.”
In the past week, a magistrate’s court in Akka (Acre) — a city in present-day Israel — extended his detention until 26 November.
His treatment is being perceived as an attack on the right to free expression by Palestinians. The charge of incitement is viewed as absurd. None of the three posts explicitly called for violence.
And none of them received more than 70 “likes,” indicating that Khateeb was unlikely to foment unrest on any significant scale. Under Israeli law, incitement only occurs if there is a strong possibility that a speech or text will encourage acts of violence.
Khateeb’s arrest has been part of a wider crackdown on Palestinians living in present-day Israel, where they make up about 20 percent of the population.
Adalah, a human rights group, has calculated that approximately 100 Palestinian activists were arrested in Israel within the space of a week in early October. In most cases, requests by police to extend the detention of these activists were approved by courts.
The courts have ignored evidence that police violently suppress political protests, according to Adalah. The organization also accuses the Israeli forces of abusing their powers and has documented how Palestinian activists have been arrested for organizing an “unlawful gathering,” even though there is no such offense in Israeli law.
Police who overstep their powers are seldom punished.
“This impunity has not only allowed the police to avoid accountability, but has essentially encouraged them to view their brutality as legitimate,” said Amjad Iraqi, an Adalah campaigner.
Strategy of persecution
Monitoring of online activity by Palestinians is undertaken by both the authorities and by employers.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel finds that that Palestinians are being dismissed from jobs because of comments they have made. Employers are checking what Palestinian workers write on Facebook and giving the names of young workers to the police, it has been reported.
“The persecution of Palestinian citizens of Israel has been a strategy of the State of Israel for years,” said Khulud Khamis, a feminist campaigner and writer based in Haifa. “It is only changing form, and spreading to the medium of social media.”
“I think those people who publicly voice their opinions do so knowing the risks entailed,” she added. “Others keep silent for precisely the same reason.”
Nadim Nashif, founder of the grassroots group 7amleh, said that young people are more likely to be arrested for Facebook posts as they are the most politically active group in Palestinian society.
The Israeli authorities are seeking to depict a wide variety of comments relating to protests as incitement, according to Nashif.
“A girl from Haifa was arrested because she wrote ‘take an onion with you’ on Facebook,” he said. “The Israeli authorities said that this meant that she was preparing for tear gas to be used.”
“It is ridiculous, they will try to find anything they can [to persecute people],” he added.
Panic
While a number of Palestinians have been jailed for their online activities in the recent past, Israel appears to be intensifying its surveillance and repression both on the Internet and on the streets in response to mass protests.
A young Nazareth woman was recently placed under administrative detention — detention without charge or trial — after stating in a text message that she wished to become a “martyr.” Although administrative detention has been widely practiced against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, this is the first case in a decade of it being used against a Palestinian citizen of Israel, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.
“Israel is trying to keep things under control; they always panic at a potential uprising,” Nashif said. “They are taking a harsh attitude with Palestinian citizens in order to keep us quiet while they are busy in the West Bank. Things that are acceptable in normal times are not anymore.”
Nashif noted that different standards are being applied to Israeli Jews than to Palestinians.
In October, Reuven Rivlin, Israel’s president, promised he would never release Yigal Amir, who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s prime minister, in 1995. In response, Hagai Amir, Yigal’s brother, wrote on Facebook that Rivlin was a “kiss-up politician” who “must pass from the Earth.”
Hagai Amir was detained for one day, before being released and placed under five days’ house arrest.
By contrast, “Anas Khateeb did not make any specifically violent comments and his detention has been extended,” Nashif said. “It is completely unjustified.”
Racism at the top
Israel’s ruling coalition contains a number of ministers who have made racist and arguably genocidal remarks about Palestinians. The best known example is that of Ayelet Shaked, now Israel’s justice minister.
During Israel’s 2014 attack on Gaza, she claimed that all Palestinians are “enemy combatants” and advocated the killing of Palestinian mothers while calling their offspring “little snakes.”
Unlike Khateeb’s posts, Shaked’s Facebook comments received thousands of “likes.”
Adalah has complained to Israel’s attorney general about the incitement by Israeli public figures. But no action has been taken.
Among the cases raised by Adalah were that of Avigdor Lieberman, then Israel’s foreign minister, who called in March this year for the beheading of “anyone who is against us.”
And during the summer, Adalah complained about how Bentzi Gopstein, director-general of the Israeli far-right group Lehava, had stated publicly that he supported the burning of churches. Adalah contended that his remarks amounted to a call for violence against Palestinian Christians.
“There are lots of racist posts and comments in the Hebrew social media, but they only arrest Arabs,” said Rani Khoury, a Palestinian living in Nazareth.
“Israel does not want Arabs to think politically,” Khoury said. “They want us to be more Israeli. They have been scaring us like this since 1948.”
Alia Al Ghussain is a British-Palestinian born and raised in Dubai. She holds an MA in human rights from the University of Sussex and is currently based in Haifa.
27 oct 2015
According to the Israeli media, 20.000 Israelis joined the Israeli NGO Shurat HaDin – The Israeli Law Center on a civil lawsuit against Facebook on accusations of ignoring widespread Palestinian posts "calling for violence against Jews."
The suit was filed this last Monday, in the New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, by three attorneys — Robert Tolchin of New York; Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the director of the Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center, and Asher Perlin of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
PNN reports that, according to The Times of Israel newspaper, the 20,000 Israeli plaintiffs claim that the Facebook posts have inspired many recent “terror attacks” and that “Facebook’s algorithms and platform connects inciters to terrorists who are further encouraged to perpetrate stabbings and other violence attacks against Israelis”.
The suit alleges that Facebook has a “legal and moral obligation” to block much of this content but that it chooses not to. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction against Facebook requiring the social network to “immediately remove all pages, groups and posts containing incitement to murder Jews; to actively monitor its website for such incitement that all incitement is immediately removed prior to being disseminated to masses of terrorists and would-be terrorists; and to cease serving as matchmaker between terrorists, terrorist organizations, and those who incite others to commit terrorism.”
They are also arguing that Facebook is “far from a neutral or passive social media platform and cannot claim it is a mere bulletin board for other parties’ postings” and that “the terrorists do not come on their own; they write posts and encourage their friends to kill Jews,” Israeli attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of Shurat HaDin, told Fox News. “Facebook has been transformed into an anti-Semitic incubator for murder.”
According to the israeli newspaper Haaretz, in a news release Darshan-Leitner also state that “Facebook wields tremendous power and this publicly traded company needs to utilize it in a way that ensures that Palestinian extremists who are calling to stab Israelis and glorifying the terrorist that do, are not permitted to do it on its platform.”
The suit was filed this last Monday, in the New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, by three attorneys — Robert Tolchin of New York; Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the director of the Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center, and Asher Perlin of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
PNN reports that, according to The Times of Israel newspaper, the 20,000 Israeli plaintiffs claim that the Facebook posts have inspired many recent “terror attacks” and that “Facebook’s algorithms and platform connects inciters to terrorists who are further encouraged to perpetrate stabbings and other violence attacks against Israelis”.
The suit alleges that Facebook has a “legal and moral obligation” to block much of this content but that it chooses not to. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction against Facebook requiring the social network to “immediately remove all pages, groups and posts containing incitement to murder Jews; to actively monitor its website for such incitement that all incitement is immediately removed prior to being disseminated to masses of terrorists and would-be terrorists; and to cease serving as matchmaker between terrorists, terrorist organizations, and those who incite others to commit terrorism.”
They are also arguing that Facebook is “far from a neutral or passive social media platform and cannot claim it is a mere bulletin board for other parties’ postings” and that “the terrorists do not come on their own; they write posts and encourage their friends to kill Jews,” Israeli attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of Shurat HaDin, told Fox News. “Facebook has been transformed into an anti-Semitic incubator for murder.”
According to the israeli newspaper Haaretz, in a news release Darshan-Leitner also state that “Facebook wields tremendous power and this publicly traded company needs to utilize it in a way that ensures that Palestinian extremists who are calling to stab Israelis and glorifying the terrorist that do, are not permitted to do it on its platform.”
12 oct 2015
YouTube administration closed down on Sunday morning the main Hamas channel in the occupied West Bank after it succumbed to pressure by the Israeli occupation authorities.
The closure of Hamas’s YouTube channel came in the wake of Israeli threats to block Hamas’s social media activities and activism which supports the ongoing Jerusalem Intifada.
Several days ago, YouTube deleted a video showing Palestinian female worshipers who face daily aggression at Al-Aqsa Mosque at the hands of the Israeli occupation soldiers after the videoshot hit a record high in view rates.
The decision also comes a few days after Hamas published a video clip in Hebrew entitled “Nahnu Jund Allah” (We are the soldiers of God).
The closure of Hamas’s YouTube channel came in the wake of Israeli threats to block Hamas’s social media activities and activism which supports the ongoing Jerusalem Intifada.
Several days ago, YouTube deleted a video showing Palestinian female worshipers who face daily aggression at Al-Aqsa Mosque at the hands of the Israeli occupation soldiers after the videoshot hit a record high in view rates.
The decision also comes a few days after Hamas published a video clip in Hebrew entitled “Nahnu Jund Allah” (We are the soldiers of God).