Palestinian youths on Thursday threw a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli military watchtower in Ofer prison near Ramallah, setting it alight. Witnesses told Ma'an that protesters attacked the military watchtower with fireworks and firebombs during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the area. Israeli forces stationed in the watchtower fired live shots, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters at demonstrators before being forced to flee after the fire broke out. more

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Nine Palestinians were struck by riot dispersal fire on Tuesday at a rally near the Ofer prison to mark the 45th anniversary of Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The Naksa, meaning "setback," is marked every year on June 5. It commemorates the defeat of five Arab armies in a short war that ended with Israel in possession of significantly more territory. At the Ofer protest, Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades toward the protesters holding a sit-in and directed a foul-smelling liquid at journalists covering the event, a Ma'an correspondent said. Clashes erupted as Palestinians threw stones and Israeli forces fired rubber-coated bullets during a two-hour clash. Nine Palestinians were struck by the riot-dispersal rounds, according to the reporter. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that forces used riot-dispersal means to disperse about 100 Palestinians, some of whom threw stones at soldiers in the same general area. ...

OCCUPIED WB,(PIC)-- The Islamist MPs confirmed that the Israeli occupation still disclaims the last agreement on prisoners, especially with the recent renewal of the prisoners' administrative detention that included number of MPs and former ministers and other prisoners. The MPs denounced in a statement the illegal administrative detention, expressing their surprise at the international silence towards this violation of the international norms and agreements especially the Fourth Geneva Convention, and stating that all the Israeli courts' decisions are illegal because there is no legitimacy to the occupation. The MPs stressed that storming of Ofer prison and cutting electricity of one of its main sections are arbitrary measures aiming to create confrontations between detainees and the prison administration and to strip prisoners of their accomplishments which they had achieved during the strike of dignity, adding that the Israeli storming of the jail is an Israeli desperate att...

Today, Israeli police confronted protestors outside of prisons in both the West Bank and Israel with rubber bullets, tear gas and electric shock, arresting 15. Protesters gathered in support of approximately 2,500 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike since April 17, 2012. In Ramle, demonstrators amassed outside the prison medical clinic where police shot electrical currents from a Taser gun and arrested eight demonstrators chanting for prisoner rights. Later, protestors moved to the Ramle police station where those arrested where held, and seven more were taken into Israeli custody. "They beaten us and arrested some because we refuse to leave our comrades who were arrested alone," tweeted journalist Abir Kopty, whose hand was injured by police. According to Kopty's updates, Israeli authorities also shouted expletives while arresting protestors. Within hours, several of the detained, including a bus driver who transported the activists, were released. Although, remainin...

By haithmkatib RAMALLAH - Four Palestinians were injured during clashes with Israeli forces near Ofer jail at a demonstration in support of hunger-striking prisoners, medics told Ma'an. Activist Tayseer Arabsha was moderately wounded after being hit in the head by a rubber bullet, Palestinian Red Crescent officials said. Three others were slightly injured by rubber bullets, they added. Protesters gathered near the Ramallah-district military jail to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger-strike in Israel jails. Israeli forces also fired tear gas, sound grenades and waste water to disperse the demonstrators, witnesses said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was not familiar with the use of rubber bullets by forces dispersing the protest. A wave of hunger-strike by Palestinians jailed in Israel peaked two weeks ago, when over a thousand detainees joined long-term hunger-strikers on Palestinian Prisoners Day. Prisoners groups estimate 2,000 detainees are now refusing f...

NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israel is set to release at least a dozen Palestinian prisoners on Friday, a human rights group said. Ahmad al-Beitawy, a researcher with International Solidarity for Human Rights, said Thursday that the Israeli prison administration will release prisoners with sentences of four years or less. The expected release is due in part to the activation of a law by the prison authorities which sees detainees released early for good behavior and because they have undertaken a third of their sentence, al-Beitawy said. The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Prisoner Affairs said Thursday, however, that the Israeli decision to release prisoners was in fact related to conditions of overcrowding in jails, and lawyer for the ministry Jawad Omoumi told Ma'an that announcements by the International Solidarity for Human Rights group were inaccurate. "I called detainees in Ofer prison, which includes detainees whose time in prison is nearly up, and they assured me that the Isra...

Ten more Palestinian detainees at the Ofer Israeli prison, decided to join the open-ended hunger strike of Sheikh Khader Adnan, who has been on hunger strike since 50 days, and his health condition has sharply deteriorated. Amjad An-Najjar, head of the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS), in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, stated that six Islamic Jihad detainees, and four detainees of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), declared they are joining the strike. An-Najjar stated that Adnan, 33, is ongoing with his strike despite his bad health condition, and held Israel responsible for his life. more