24 apr 2018
Facts on the ground show that Israel’s investment in the occupied West Bank is much more than the one inside the occupied 1948 borders. Within this context, the Israeli government allocated NIS 417,000,000 for developing settlements, in the Dead Sea area, in order to attract more settlers, expand the settlements outside the Green Line and Judaize it.
According to the above information, the budget is not allocated to remedy the Dead Sea drought, but to strengthen and support the settlement outside of the Green Line, within the so-called “Regional Council Megillot”, north of the Dead Sea, which means expansion under the slogan of development of tourism and maintenance of road no. 90.
In turn, Head of the Tamar Regional Council and a member of Kibbutz Ein Gedi, Dov Latinov, said the decision will serve as a lifeline to save the Dead Sea and to further develop the settlements there, as the sea is an irreplaceable national treasure,” after the government decision.
According to the PNN, the Jordan Valley region is considered part of the Afro-Asian crater pit, one of the lowest in the world, located at a low of about 380 miles below sea level. The Palestinian Jordan Valley stretches along the eastern side of the West Bank, from Ein Gedi (the Dead Sea) southward, to the so-called “Tal Makhkhoz”, on the borders of Bisan, northward inside the Green Line, and from the Jordan River in the east to the eastern slopes of the West Bank of the Jordan Valley in the west. This area accounts for 28.5% of the West Bank 2,400 sq km. Settler profits through investment in the northern Jordan Valley amount to $ 650,000,000, annually.
At the same time, the attacks and violations of the “pay the price gangs”, against Palestinians and their properties, escalated under the protection of the occupation government and silent encouragement from the American administration, during the past week. These terrorist groups carried out several attacks, including those perpetrated against the the eastern village of Lubban, attacking citizens’ property and assaulting farmers from the village of Madma, during the plowing of their land, and forcing them to leave by way of tear gas bombs.
Moreover, they assaulted the villagers of Al-Tawana in Mafassar Yatta, threw rocks at them, attacked a school bus in Yatta, resulting in the injury of 13-year-old Ahmed Abu Aram, as well as assaults on students in the Salameh neighborhood, in the Old City of Hebron, puncturing the tires of 45 vehicles in the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, and cutting down about 100 olive fruitful trees in the village of Burin, south of Nablus, and 15 others in the Urief village.
For their part, settlers launched a campaign on Facebook, calling for the killing of Palestinians, to slaughter and burn them, calling hospital maternity wards and threatening to cut off the heads of recently born babies. Another said, “We must revenge for every Jew injured or killed.”
Within this context, the occupation Attorney General decided to abandon the confessions of the perpetrators of the arson attack on the Dawabsha family, in the village of Douma, south of the city of Nablus, 2 years ago, under the pretext that the confessions were illegal because they were obtained in an unusual way. Moreover, the Israeli Kern Keimet Fund decided not to allow the establishment of a memorial for Mohammed Abu Khdeir, who died after he was burned alive, in a crime committed by 3 Israeli settlers in July of 2014, in a forest around Jerusalem.
On the other hand, the 3rd annual report of the Palestinian Center for Israeli Studies (MADAR), on the “Register of racist and supportive laws for the occupation and settlement,” finds that the situation has been escalated, and even accelerated, by the Israeli right to enact legislation aimed at consecrating Israeli control of as much of the West Bank as possible.
During the 3 years of the parliamentary mandate of the Knesset, 185 laws were enacted, including 54 that were passed or entered into legislation. This clearly implies the involvement of the Knesset in imposing racist legislation aimed at restricting Palestinian citizens and controlling their land and property. Pal Legislation on the Judaization of Jerusalem and legislation on settlement expansion, since the beginning of the Knesset’s 20 mandate, has dealt with 43 laws for the direct and indirect annexation of the occupied West Bank or settlements.
The most important laws that have finally been passed are the Land Grab and Land Privileges Law, the Law for the Consolidation of Jerusalem, the Israeli Higher Education Law on Settlements Institutes, the University in Ariel, and 2 other academic colleges.
The National Bureau said that the positions of US officials helped in radicalizing the behavior of Israelis in general, and settlers in particular, and pointed out that the new escalation in attacks and violations of the terrorist “paying the price gangs” would not have continued seriously in the last few days and weeks, otherwise.
According to the above information, the budget is not allocated to remedy the Dead Sea drought, but to strengthen and support the settlement outside of the Green Line, within the so-called “Regional Council Megillot”, north of the Dead Sea, which means expansion under the slogan of development of tourism and maintenance of road no. 90.
In turn, Head of the Tamar Regional Council and a member of Kibbutz Ein Gedi, Dov Latinov, said the decision will serve as a lifeline to save the Dead Sea and to further develop the settlements there, as the sea is an irreplaceable national treasure,” after the government decision.
According to the PNN, the Jordan Valley region is considered part of the Afro-Asian crater pit, one of the lowest in the world, located at a low of about 380 miles below sea level. The Palestinian Jordan Valley stretches along the eastern side of the West Bank, from Ein Gedi (the Dead Sea) southward, to the so-called “Tal Makhkhoz”, on the borders of Bisan, northward inside the Green Line, and from the Jordan River in the east to the eastern slopes of the West Bank of the Jordan Valley in the west. This area accounts for 28.5% of the West Bank 2,400 sq km. Settler profits through investment in the northern Jordan Valley amount to $ 650,000,000, annually.
At the same time, the attacks and violations of the “pay the price gangs”, against Palestinians and their properties, escalated under the protection of the occupation government and silent encouragement from the American administration, during the past week. These terrorist groups carried out several attacks, including those perpetrated against the the eastern village of Lubban, attacking citizens’ property and assaulting farmers from the village of Madma, during the plowing of their land, and forcing them to leave by way of tear gas bombs.
Moreover, they assaulted the villagers of Al-Tawana in Mafassar Yatta, threw rocks at them, attacked a school bus in Yatta, resulting in the injury of 13-year-old Ahmed Abu Aram, as well as assaults on students in the Salameh neighborhood, in the Old City of Hebron, puncturing the tires of 45 vehicles in the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, and cutting down about 100 olive fruitful trees in the village of Burin, south of Nablus, and 15 others in the Urief village.
For their part, settlers launched a campaign on Facebook, calling for the killing of Palestinians, to slaughter and burn them, calling hospital maternity wards and threatening to cut off the heads of recently born babies. Another said, “We must revenge for every Jew injured or killed.”
Within this context, the occupation Attorney General decided to abandon the confessions of the perpetrators of the arson attack on the Dawabsha family, in the village of Douma, south of the city of Nablus, 2 years ago, under the pretext that the confessions were illegal because they were obtained in an unusual way. Moreover, the Israeli Kern Keimet Fund decided not to allow the establishment of a memorial for Mohammed Abu Khdeir, who died after he was burned alive, in a crime committed by 3 Israeli settlers in July of 2014, in a forest around Jerusalem.
On the other hand, the 3rd annual report of the Palestinian Center for Israeli Studies (MADAR), on the “Register of racist and supportive laws for the occupation and settlement,” finds that the situation has been escalated, and even accelerated, by the Israeli right to enact legislation aimed at consecrating Israeli control of as much of the West Bank as possible.
During the 3 years of the parliamentary mandate of the Knesset, 185 laws were enacted, including 54 that were passed or entered into legislation. This clearly implies the involvement of the Knesset in imposing racist legislation aimed at restricting Palestinian citizens and controlling their land and property. Pal Legislation on the Judaization of Jerusalem and legislation on settlement expansion, since the beginning of the Knesset’s 20 mandate, has dealt with 43 laws for the direct and indirect annexation of the occupied West Bank or settlements.
The most important laws that have finally been passed are the Land Grab and Land Privileges Law, the Law for the Consolidation of Jerusalem, the Israeli Higher Education Law on Settlements Institutes, the University in Ariel, and 2 other academic colleges.
The National Bureau said that the positions of US officials helped in radicalizing the behavior of Israelis in general, and settlers in particular, and pointed out that the new escalation in attacks and violations of the terrorist “paying the price gangs” would not have continued seriously in the last few days and weeks, otherwise.
22 apr 2018
Zvika Fogel
An Israeli general has confirmed that when snipers stationed along Israel’s boundary with Gaza shoot at children, they are doing so deliberately, under clear and specific orders.
In a radio interview, Brigadier-General (Reserve) Zvika Fogel describes how a sniper identifies the “small body” of a child and is given authorization to shoot.
Fogel’s statements could be used as evidence of intent if Israeli leaders are ever tried for war crimes at the International Criminal Court.
On Friday, an Israeli sniper shot dead 14-year-old Muhammad Ibrahim Ayyoub.
The boy, shot in the head east of Jabaliya, was the fourth child among the more than 30 Palestinians killed during the Great March of Return rallies that began in Gaza on 30 March.
More than 1,600 other Palestinians have been shot with live ammunition that has caused what doctors are calling “horrific injuries” likely to leave many of them with permanent disabilities.
As eyewitnesses and video confirmed, the child Muhammad Ayyoub posed no conceivable danger to heavily armed Israeli occupation forces stationed dozens of meters away behind fences and earthen fortifications on the other side of the Gaza boundary when he was killed.
Even the usually timid United Nations peace process envoy Nickolay Mladenov publicly declared that the slaying was “outrageous.”
Targeting children
On Saturday, Brigadier-General Fogel was interviewed by Ron Nesiel on the Israeli public radio network Kan.
Fogel is the former chief of staff of the Israeli army’s “southern command,” which includes the occupied Gaza Strip.
Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian lawmaker in Israel’s parliament, drew attention to the interview in a tweet.
A recording of the interview is online (it begins at 6:52). The interview was translated for The Electronic Intifada by Dena Shunra and a full transcript follows this article.
The host Ron Nesiel asks Fogel if the Israeli army should “rethink its use of snipers,” and suggests that someone giving orders “lowered the bar for using live fire.”
Fogel adamantly defends the policy, stating: “At the tactical level, any person who gets close to the fence, anyone who could be a future threat to the border of the State of Israel and its residents, should bear a price for that violation.”
He adds: “If this child or anyone else gets close to the fence in order to hide an explosive device or check if there are any dead zones there or to cut the fence so someone could infiltrate the territory of the State of Israel to kill us …”
“Then his punishment is death?” Nesiel interjects.
“His punishment is death,” the general responds. “As far as I’m concerned then yes, if you can only shoot him to stop him, in the leg or arm – great. But if it’s more than that then, yes, you want to check with me whose blood is thicker, ours or theirs.”
Fogel then describes the careful process by which targets – including children – are identified and shot:
“I know how these orders are given. I know how a sniper does the shooting. I know how many authorizations he needs before he receives an authorization to open fire. It is not the whim of one or the other sniper who identifies the small body of a child now and decides he’ll shoot. Someone marks the target for him very well and tells him exactly why one has to shoot and what the threat is from that individual. And to my great sorrow, sometimes when you shoot at a small body and you intended to hit his arm or shoulder, it goes even higher.”
For “it goes even higher,” Fogel uses a Hebrew idiom also meaning “it costs even more.”
In this chilling statement, in which a general talks about snipers targeting the “small body of a child,” Fogel makes crystal clear that this policy is premeditated and deliberate.
While presenting unarmed Palestinian children as dangerous terrorists worthy of death, Fogel describes the snipers killing them in cold blood as the innocent, vulnerable parties who deserve protection.
“We have soldiers there, our children, who were sent out and receive very accurate instructions about whom to shoot to protect us. Let’s back them up,” he says.
Lethal policy
Fogel’s statements are no aberration but represent Israeli policy.
“Israeli officials made it clear that the open-fire regulations would permit lethal fire at anyone attempting to damage the fence, and even at any person coming within 300 meters of it,” the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem stated [PDF] in a recent analysis of Israel’s illegal targeting of unarmed civilians who pose no threat.
“Nevertheless, all state and military officials have steadfastly refused to cancel the unlawful orders and continue to issue – and justify – them,” B’Tselem added.
B’Tselem has called on individual soldiers to defy such illegal orders.
Following its investigation of the “calculated” killings of unarmed demonstrators on 30 March, the first day of the Great March of Return rallies in Gaza, Human Rights Watch concluded that the lethal crackdown was “planned at [the] highest levels of the Israeli government.”
Two weeks ago, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court issued an unprecedented warning that Israeli leaders may face trial for the killings of unarmed Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip.
Potential defendants would be giving any prosecutor a gift with such open admissions that killing unarmed people in an occupied territory who pose no objective threat is their policy and intent.
The question remains whether anything will finally pierce the shield of impunity that Israel has enjoyed for 70 years.
Full Transcript
Brigadier-General (Res.) Zvika Fogel interviewed on the Yoman Hashevua program of Israel’s Kan radio, 21 April 2018.
Ron Nesiel: Greetings Brigadier General (Res.) Zvika Fogel. Should the IDF [Israeli army] rethink its use of snipers? There’s the impression that maybe someone lowered the bar for using live fire, and this may be the result?
Zvika Fogel: Ron, let’s maybe look at this matter on three levels. At the tactical level that we all love dealing with, the local one, also at the level of values, and with your permission, we will also rise up to the strategic level. At the tactical level, any person who gets close to the fence, anyone who could be a future threat to the border of the State of Israel and its residents, should bear a price for that violation. If this child or anyone else gets close to the fence in order to hide an explosive device or check if there are any dead zones there or to cut the fence so someone could infiltrate the territory of the State of Israel to kill us …
Nesiel: Then, then his punishment is death?
Fogel: His punishment is death. As far as I’m concerned then yes, if you can only shoot him to stop him, in the leg or arm – great. But if it’s more than that then, yes, you want to check with me whose blood is thicker, ours or theirs. It is clear to you that if one such person will manage to cross the fence or hide an explosive device there …
Nesiel: But we were taught that live fire is only used when the soldiers face immediate danger.
Fogel: Come, let’s move over to the level of values. Assuming that we understood the tactical level, as we cannot tolerate a crossing of our border or a violation of our border, let’s proceed to the level of values. I am not Ahmad Tibi, I am Zvika Fogel. I know how these orders are given. I know how a sniper does the shooting. I know how many authorizations he needs before he receives an authorization to open fire. It is not the whim of one or the other sniper who identifies the small body of a child now and decides he’ll shoot. Someone marks the target for him very well and tells him exactly why one has to shoot and what the threat is from that individual. And to my great sorrow, sometimes when you shoot at a small body and you intended to hit his arm or shoulder it goes even higher. The picture is not a pretty picture. But if that’s the price that we have to pay to preserve the safety and quality of life of the residents of the State of Israel, then that’s the price. But now, with your permission, let us go up one level and look at the overview. It is clear to you that Hamas is fighting for consciousness at the moment. It is clear to you and to me …
Nesiel: Is it hard for them to do? Aren’t we providing them with sufficient ammunition in this battle?
Fogel: We’re providing them but …
Nesiel: Because it does not do all that well for us, those pictures that are distributed around the world.
Fogel: Look, Ron, we’re even terrible at it. There’s nothing to be done, David always looks better against Goliath. And in this case, we are the Goliath. Not the David. That is entirely clear to me. But let’s look at it at the strategic level: you and I and a large part of the listeners are clear that this will not end up in demonstrations. It is clear to us that Hamas can’t continue to tolerate the fact that its rockets are not managing to hurt us, its tunnels are eroding …
Nesiel: Yes.
Fogel: And it doesn’t have too many suicide bombers who continue to believe the fairytale about the virgins waiting up there. It will drag us into a war. I do not want to be on the side that gets dragged. I want to be on the side that initiates things. I do not want to wait for the moment where it finds a weak spot and attacks me there. If tomorrow morning it gets into a military base or a kibbutz and kills people there and takes prisoners of war or hostages, call it as you like, we’re in a whole new script. I want the leaders of Hamas to wake up tomorrow morning and for the last time in their life see the smiling faces of the IDF. That’s what I want to have happen. But we are dragged along. So we’re putting snipers up because we want to preserve the values we were educated by. We can’t always take a single picture and put it before the whole world. We have soldiers there, our children, who were sent out and receive very accurate instructions about whom to shoot to protect us. Let’s back them up.
Nesiel: Brigadier-General (Res.) Zvika Fogel, formerly Head of the Southern Command Staff, thank you for your words.
Fogel: May you only hear good news. Thank you.
An Israeli general has confirmed that when snipers stationed along Israel’s boundary with Gaza shoot at children, they are doing so deliberately, under clear and specific orders.
In a radio interview, Brigadier-General (Reserve) Zvika Fogel describes how a sniper identifies the “small body” of a child and is given authorization to shoot.
Fogel’s statements could be used as evidence of intent if Israeli leaders are ever tried for war crimes at the International Criminal Court.
On Friday, an Israeli sniper shot dead 14-year-old Muhammad Ibrahim Ayyoub.
The boy, shot in the head east of Jabaliya, was the fourth child among the more than 30 Palestinians killed during the Great March of Return rallies that began in Gaza on 30 March.
More than 1,600 other Palestinians have been shot with live ammunition that has caused what doctors are calling “horrific injuries” likely to leave many of them with permanent disabilities.
As eyewitnesses and video confirmed, the child Muhammad Ayyoub posed no conceivable danger to heavily armed Israeli occupation forces stationed dozens of meters away behind fences and earthen fortifications on the other side of the Gaza boundary when he was killed.
Even the usually timid United Nations peace process envoy Nickolay Mladenov publicly declared that the slaying was “outrageous.”
Targeting children
On Saturday, Brigadier-General Fogel was interviewed by Ron Nesiel on the Israeli public radio network Kan.
Fogel is the former chief of staff of the Israeli army’s “southern command,” which includes the occupied Gaza Strip.
Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian lawmaker in Israel’s parliament, drew attention to the interview in a tweet.
A recording of the interview is online (it begins at 6:52). The interview was translated for The Electronic Intifada by Dena Shunra and a full transcript follows this article.
The host Ron Nesiel asks Fogel if the Israeli army should “rethink its use of snipers,” and suggests that someone giving orders “lowered the bar for using live fire.”
Fogel adamantly defends the policy, stating: “At the tactical level, any person who gets close to the fence, anyone who could be a future threat to the border of the State of Israel and its residents, should bear a price for that violation.”
He adds: “If this child or anyone else gets close to the fence in order to hide an explosive device or check if there are any dead zones there or to cut the fence so someone could infiltrate the territory of the State of Israel to kill us …”
“Then his punishment is death?” Nesiel interjects.
“His punishment is death,” the general responds. “As far as I’m concerned then yes, if you can only shoot him to stop him, in the leg or arm – great. But if it’s more than that then, yes, you want to check with me whose blood is thicker, ours or theirs.”
Fogel then describes the careful process by which targets – including children – are identified and shot:
“I know how these orders are given. I know how a sniper does the shooting. I know how many authorizations he needs before he receives an authorization to open fire. It is not the whim of one or the other sniper who identifies the small body of a child now and decides he’ll shoot. Someone marks the target for him very well and tells him exactly why one has to shoot and what the threat is from that individual. And to my great sorrow, sometimes when you shoot at a small body and you intended to hit his arm or shoulder, it goes even higher.”
For “it goes even higher,” Fogel uses a Hebrew idiom also meaning “it costs even more.”
In this chilling statement, in which a general talks about snipers targeting the “small body of a child,” Fogel makes crystal clear that this policy is premeditated and deliberate.
While presenting unarmed Palestinian children as dangerous terrorists worthy of death, Fogel describes the snipers killing them in cold blood as the innocent, vulnerable parties who deserve protection.
“We have soldiers there, our children, who were sent out and receive very accurate instructions about whom to shoot to protect us. Let’s back them up,” he says.
Lethal policy
Fogel’s statements are no aberration but represent Israeli policy.
“Israeli officials made it clear that the open-fire regulations would permit lethal fire at anyone attempting to damage the fence, and even at any person coming within 300 meters of it,” the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem stated [PDF] in a recent analysis of Israel’s illegal targeting of unarmed civilians who pose no threat.
“Nevertheless, all state and military officials have steadfastly refused to cancel the unlawful orders and continue to issue – and justify – them,” B’Tselem added.
B’Tselem has called on individual soldiers to defy such illegal orders.
Following its investigation of the “calculated” killings of unarmed demonstrators on 30 March, the first day of the Great March of Return rallies in Gaza, Human Rights Watch concluded that the lethal crackdown was “planned at [the] highest levels of the Israeli government.”
Two weeks ago, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court issued an unprecedented warning that Israeli leaders may face trial for the killings of unarmed Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip.
Potential defendants would be giving any prosecutor a gift with such open admissions that killing unarmed people in an occupied territory who pose no objective threat is their policy and intent.
The question remains whether anything will finally pierce the shield of impunity that Israel has enjoyed for 70 years.
Full Transcript
Brigadier-General (Res.) Zvika Fogel interviewed on the Yoman Hashevua program of Israel’s Kan radio, 21 April 2018.
Ron Nesiel: Greetings Brigadier General (Res.) Zvika Fogel. Should the IDF [Israeli army] rethink its use of snipers? There’s the impression that maybe someone lowered the bar for using live fire, and this may be the result?
Zvika Fogel: Ron, let’s maybe look at this matter on three levels. At the tactical level that we all love dealing with, the local one, also at the level of values, and with your permission, we will also rise up to the strategic level. At the tactical level, any person who gets close to the fence, anyone who could be a future threat to the border of the State of Israel and its residents, should bear a price for that violation. If this child or anyone else gets close to the fence in order to hide an explosive device or check if there are any dead zones there or to cut the fence so someone could infiltrate the territory of the State of Israel to kill us …
Nesiel: Then, then his punishment is death?
Fogel: His punishment is death. As far as I’m concerned then yes, if you can only shoot him to stop him, in the leg or arm – great. But if it’s more than that then, yes, you want to check with me whose blood is thicker, ours or theirs. It is clear to you that if one such person will manage to cross the fence or hide an explosive device there …
Nesiel: But we were taught that live fire is only used when the soldiers face immediate danger.
Fogel: Come, let’s move over to the level of values. Assuming that we understood the tactical level, as we cannot tolerate a crossing of our border or a violation of our border, let’s proceed to the level of values. I am not Ahmad Tibi, I am Zvika Fogel. I know how these orders are given. I know how a sniper does the shooting. I know how many authorizations he needs before he receives an authorization to open fire. It is not the whim of one or the other sniper who identifies the small body of a child now and decides he’ll shoot. Someone marks the target for him very well and tells him exactly why one has to shoot and what the threat is from that individual. And to my great sorrow, sometimes when you shoot at a small body and you intended to hit his arm or shoulder it goes even higher. The picture is not a pretty picture. But if that’s the price that we have to pay to preserve the safety and quality of life of the residents of the State of Israel, then that’s the price. But now, with your permission, let us go up one level and look at the overview. It is clear to you that Hamas is fighting for consciousness at the moment. It is clear to you and to me …
Nesiel: Is it hard for them to do? Aren’t we providing them with sufficient ammunition in this battle?
Fogel: We’re providing them but …
Nesiel: Because it does not do all that well for us, those pictures that are distributed around the world.
Fogel: Look, Ron, we’re even terrible at it. There’s nothing to be done, David always looks better against Goliath. And in this case, we are the Goliath. Not the David. That is entirely clear to me. But let’s look at it at the strategic level: you and I and a large part of the listeners are clear that this will not end up in demonstrations. It is clear to us that Hamas can’t continue to tolerate the fact that its rockets are not managing to hurt us, its tunnels are eroding …
Nesiel: Yes.
Fogel: And it doesn’t have too many suicide bombers who continue to believe the fairytale about the virgins waiting up there. It will drag us into a war. I do not want to be on the side that gets dragged. I want to be on the side that initiates things. I do not want to wait for the moment where it finds a weak spot and attacks me there. If tomorrow morning it gets into a military base or a kibbutz and kills people there and takes prisoners of war or hostages, call it as you like, we’re in a whole new script. I want the leaders of Hamas to wake up tomorrow morning and for the last time in their life see the smiling faces of the IDF. That’s what I want to have happen. But we are dragged along. So we’re putting snipers up because we want to preserve the values we were educated by. We can’t always take a single picture and put it before the whole world. We have soldiers there, our children, who were sent out and receive very accurate instructions about whom to shoot to protect us. Let’s back them up.
Nesiel: Brigadier-General (Res.) Zvika Fogel, formerly Head of the Southern Command Staff, thank you for your words.
Fogel: May you only hear good news. Thank you.
Ahed Tamimi, 17, is serving an eight-month prison sentence after she was filmed slapping an Israeli soldier
Ahed Tamimi, the Palestinian teenager famed for slapping an Israeli soldier on camera, should have been shot, at least in the knee, Deputy Knesset Speaker Bezalel Smotrich (Habayit Hayehudi) wrote on Twitter Saturday.
“In my opinion, she should have gotten a bullet, at least in the kneecap,” he wrote. “That would have put her under house arrest for the rest of her life.”
Ahed Tamimi, the Palestinian teenager famed for slapping an Israeli soldier on camera, should have been shot, at least in the knee, Deputy Knesset Speaker Bezalel Smotrich (Habayit Hayehudi) wrote on Twitter Saturday.
“In my opinion, she should have gotten a bullet, at least in the kneecap,” he wrote. “That would have put her under house arrest for the rest of her life.”
Bezalel Smotrich
He was responding to journalist Yinon Magal, who had reposted the footage of Tamimi slapping the soldier along with the text, “I’m watching this clip again and am so glad that Tamimi is still in jail. Sometimes, it’s good that the mills of justice grind slowly.”
Tamimi, 17, was arrested and charged soon after the incident took place last December. In March, she was convicted in a plea bargain of assaulting a soldier, incitement and interfering with a soldier in the line of duty. She was sentenced to eight months in prison plus a fine of 5,000 shekels ($1,400).
MK Michal Rozin (Meretz) responded angrily to Smotrich’s tweet. “You should be ashamed of yourself! Should the hilltop youth from Samaria who threw stones at IDF soldiers last week also have been shot?” she wrote on Twitter, referring to violent settlers in the northern West Bank. “Oh, I forgot – the law is different for enemies ...”
“I don’t accept your excuses and explanations,” she added. “You’re a thug and an inciter.”
Tamimi’s mother Nariman and cousin Nur were also convicted in slapping incident. Nariman Tamimi, who shot the video, was sentenced to eight months in prison and a 6,000-shekel fine for incitement, abetting an assault and interfering with a soldier in the line of duty. Nur, who also slapped the soldier, was given a five-month suspended sentence and fined 2,000 shekels.
In the original indictment, Ahed Tamimi was also charged with several other offenses, including throwing stones on various occasions.
He was responding to journalist Yinon Magal, who had reposted the footage of Tamimi slapping the soldier along with the text, “I’m watching this clip again and am so glad that Tamimi is still in jail. Sometimes, it’s good that the mills of justice grind slowly.”
Tamimi, 17, was arrested and charged soon after the incident took place last December. In March, she was convicted in a plea bargain of assaulting a soldier, incitement and interfering with a soldier in the line of duty. She was sentenced to eight months in prison plus a fine of 5,000 shekels ($1,400).
MK Michal Rozin (Meretz) responded angrily to Smotrich’s tweet. “You should be ashamed of yourself! Should the hilltop youth from Samaria who threw stones at IDF soldiers last week also have been shot?” she wrote on Twitter, referring to violent settlers in the northern West Bank. “Oh, I forgot – the law is different for enemies ...”
“I don’t accept your excuses and explanations,” she added. “You’re a thug and an inciter.”
Tamimi’s mother Nariman and cousin Nur were also convicted in slapping incident. Nariman Tamimi, who shot the video, was sentenced to eight months in prison and a 6,000-shekel fine for incitement, abetting an assault and interfering with a soldier in the line of duty. Nur, who also slapped the soldier, was given a five-month suspended sentence and fined 2,000 shekels.
In the original indictment, Ahed Tamimi was also charged with several other offenses, including throwing stones on various occasions.
20 apr 2018
The Israeli occupation authorities on Thursday morning closed the Iliya Institute, a community center operating in Occupied Jerusalem, under the recommendations of Israel’s War Minister.
Israeli intelligence officers pasted the closure order on the gates of the institution.
The measure come shortly after Israel’s War Minister Avigdor Lieberman labeled the Iliya Institute a terror establishment following data amassed by the Shin Bet security agency.
According to a statement from Lieberman’s office, the war minister signed a special order under section 3 (a) of the Anti-Terrorism Law after it was found that the Institute, which operates as a youth center, was acting on behalf of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
The recommendation was allegedly made after months of surveillance by the Shin Bet which found that the Institute carried out activities aimed at promoting the activities of DFLP in Occupied Jerusalem such as recruiting and training activists to spread the group’s ideology through incitement videos.
Israeli intelligence officers pasted the closure order on the gates of the institution.
The measure come shortly after Israel’s War Minister Avigdor Lieberman labeled the Iliya Institute a terror establishment following data amassed by the Shin Bet security agency.
According to a statement from Lieberman’s office, the war minister signed a special order under section 3 (a) of the Anti-Terrorism Law after it was found that the Institute, which operates as a youth center, was acting on behalf of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
The recommendation was allegedly made after months of surveillance by the Shin Bet which found that the Institute carried out activities aimed at promoting the activities of DFLP in Occupied Jerusalem such as recruiting and training activists to spread the group’s ideology through incitement videos.