Settlers' call sends Palestinian shepherd to IDF beating

[ProgressiveMuslim]

By Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondent



The response from the Israel Defense Forces spokesman came surprisingly quickly; a mere two or three hours after the query had been sent by Haaretz, the spokesman replied orally, and then in writing, that "following the reporter's question and after receiving most of the facts, the chief prosecutor, Col. Jana Modzagbrishvili has instructed the military police to look into the matter."

The matter, according to most of the facts, was that soldiers had beaten a civilian, who was bound and blindfolded, for several hours on January 7.

Starting in the village of al-Tawani in the southern Hebron Hills, the affair continued at the military base in Sussia. The man who was beaten was Masab Rabai, aged 22.

Masab and one of his brothers had taken their sheep to graze on land in the wadi directly below their home on that Thursday. There are olive trees in the wadi and a few small plots for growing. Between the rocks on the slopes, there are weeds for the sheep to feed on.

They were accompanied by two volunteers from Christian Peacemaker Teams who, together with volunteers from Italy, are constantly in the village. The houses of the Havat Maon outpost are hidden by the trees of a thicket some 300 meters from the village and east of the wadi.

At 9 A.M. a beige Mitsubishi with two settlers appeared suddenly on the path below the thicket. One of them took photographs and the second spoke on his cell phone. That happens a lot - settlers appear and call soldiers. What is the crime? People working on their lands.

Masab saw all of this from the wadi and hastened to call some more of his brothers to come. He anticipated problems. Some soldiers arrived and began talking to the settlers.

Three of the soldiers went down to the wadi to where the shepherd brothers and those accompanying them were. When he was told that Masab spoke good English, one of the soldiers said to him, according to his testimony, that "if I see you here again, I'll kill you."

"Why?" Masab asked. "This is my land and I'm always here."

The soldier demanded to see his ID card. "I told him I didn't have one and the soldier responded, 'You are all under arrest.'"

The brothers said that he must bring the police because that is their job.

The brothers started to move away and the soldiers followed until they caught Masab's brother, Majdi, and reportedly kicked him in the leg. He tripped and fell and hurt himself. Other people from the village began streaming into the wadi, women and children.

Reinforcements from the army also arrived at the scene. There were some 15 soldiers altogether. Masad was among those who were carrying the injured Majdi and the soldiers again tried to catch another of his brothers as well as Masab.

The two of them escaped and the soldiers began throwing stun grenades and tear gas among the people. They also broke a camera belonging to the CPT volunteers. A police van that had been called by the volunteers arrived and stopped a short distance away.

They caught Masab and, according to his testimony, the soldiers tied his hands behind his back, threw him onto the floor of the jeep, someone grabbed his throat and some of the other soldiers beat him with their helmets and the butts of their guns and with a pipe, and others kicked him....

read on...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1156487.html

[Jefferson23]

1. Which terror group do you belong to?"

Juma answered: "I don't understand." She said: "To Hamas, to Fatah?"

And he replied: "No, I'm in a third group."

"Which?" she asked, her eyes lighting up.

"The group of the small farmers."



Ah, the peace maker strikes again.

[Jefferson23]

2. Jail ordeal of hundreds of Palestinian children arrested for throwing stones

Jail ordeal of hundreds of Palestinian children arrested for throwing stones


Rights groups express concern at the rising number of juveniles as young as 12 who are held behind bars and 'treated like terrorists'


With more than 300 Palestinian children being held in Israeli prisons, human rights groups and Palestinian officials are increasingly concerned about the actions of the Israeli military.

The Israeli group B'Tselem said that security forces had "severely violated" the rights of a number of children, aged between 12 and 15, who had been taken into custody in recent months.

The family of one 13-year-old boy from Hebron who was arrested on 27 February by a military patrol and detained for eight days have brought a legal case against the authorities. The teenager, Al-Hasan Muhtaseb, described how he had been interrogated without a lawyer late into the night, forced to confess to throwing stones, made to sign a confession in Hebrew that he couldn't read, jailed with adults and brought before a military court. He was only released on bail eight days later, after considerable legal effort by several human rights groups. As he had signed a confession, he still faces a possible indictment for throwing stones – a charge that usually brings several months in jail but carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' jail.

Although most international attention focuses on diplomatic sparring in the Middle East, it is cases such as this teenager's arrest that are the reality for Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation. The surprise about the teenager's experience is not that it is exceptional, but that it is a common occurrence.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/14/palestinian-children-rights-violated-israel?CMP=AFCYAH

[grassfed]

3. lynchings by settlers and IDF are routine daily events

random sampling from thousands of examples documented by HROs

http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article645

http://palsolidarity.org/2010/01/10276

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUXSFsJV084