17-year-old shot dead at checkpoint in occupied East Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- A 17-year-old Palestinian was shot dead at the Al-Zayyim checkpoint in occupied East Jerusalem after allegedly attempting to stab checkpoint officers just past midnight on Saturday.

Ali Mohammed Ali Said Abu Ghannam began running toward a number of police officers at a checking station "wielding a large knife," according to statement issued by Israeli police. After being pushed back by an officer, Abu Ghannam ran in the direction of the crossing. Those guarding the checkpoint saw the youth running towards them and shot him, the statement said. Abu Ghannam was confirmed dead.

Abu Ghannam's father Muhammad told Ma'an that Israeli intelligence and security forces summoned him to the al-Zayyim checkpoint to identify his son's body, and then was taken to the Russian Compound police station in West Jerusalem.

Muhammad Abu Ghannam added that after identifying his son's face, he was prevented from seeing his son's body and not able to see where or how many times he had been shot.

He said that Israeli intelligence informed him that his son's body will be delivered to the family on condition that only 20 people attend the funeral, but that he refused these conditions and demanded that his son's body be delivered to the family without any conditions.

Head of a local committee in the al-Tur village, Mufid Abu Ghannam, said that Israeli forces raided the Abu Ghannam home early Saturday, assaulted residents and pepper sprayed them. He added that Ali's room was specifically searched and his personal belongings confiscated. more

Comments

'Coronavirus-free' Gaza prepares for the worst

Until now, the besieged Gaza Strip has stayed free of the novel coronavirus spreading across the world. As the Gaza Strip has been under a stringent Israeli-led blockade for nearly 13 years, the spread of the coronavirus - officially known as COVID-19 - has become the topic of discussion for many Palestinians, with some joking that the blockade was preventing them from being exposed.But as authorities in the coastal Palestinian enclave gear up to contain any potential outbreak, serious questions have arisen about the risks and implications of such a scenario. But given its already difficult humanitarian situation and high population density, an outbreak in the Gaza Strip could prove to be catastrophic, health officials have warned. "If the virus enters Gaza and spreads, it will get out of hand," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Majdi Thuhair told Middle East Eye, as he explained that a severe shortage of resources and personnel would make it near impossible

Boycott of New York diamond dealer launched to protest settlement construction

Members of Adalah NY call for boycott of Leviev for its crimes against Palestinians and South Africans New York, NY, May 9 – On the day before Mother’s Day, 40 New York human rights advocates gathered at the Leviev jewelry store on Madison Avenue and called on throngs of weekend Madison Avenue shoppers to boycott Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev over his companies’ construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in West Bank villages including Bil’in and Jayyous. Mother’s Day is one of the biggest jewelry shopping periods in the US annually. The New York protest came as controversy is growing in Norway over Norwegian government investments in Leviev’s company Africa-Israel . The New York protesters also commemorated Bassem Abu Rahma from Bil’in who was shot to death by Israeli soldiers last month during a peaceful protest against the construction on Bil’in’s land of Israel’s wall and of the Mattityahu East settlement by a Leviev company. Thanks to vivapalestina.us (not co

Support striking Palestinian quarry workers demanding their rights from Israeli employer

On 16 June, 35 Palestinian workers at Salit Quarries in Mishor Adumim (in area C, east of Jerusalem, in the Occupied West Bank) began a strike. The workers, organized with the independent union WAC-Ma'an, are demanding an end to exploitation and humiliation, and insist on signing a first collective agreement. Salit Quarries’ main customer is Readymix Industries (Israel). The total reliance of Salit Quarry on Readymix as their biggest and by far the most important customer puts responsibility on Readymix to make sure that their clients abides by labour laws and safeguards elementary rights for the workers of Salit. We call upon Readymix to urge the Salit management to terminate this unnecessary strike by signing the collective agreement with the workers and WAC-Ma’an. Click this protest link to send your message. The text of the message is as follows: I write to you to express my grave concern about the failure of Salit management to sign a collective agreement with the workers of

Search iGaza