From Mondoweiss – After about two months of detention, Israeli authorities released Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak on February 20. Pollak was arrested after right-wing group Ad Kan  filed a suit against him  for protesting in the West Bank and allegedly “attacking IDF soldiers”. During his detention, Pollak refused to pay a NIS 500 bail (around $145) set by a Jerusalem judge for, in Pollak’s words, refusing to “recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli system.”... Palestinian journalist Ahmad Al-Bazz interviewed Pollak following his release.

RAMALLAH, Thursday, March 5, 2020 (WAFA) - Israel today re-arrested a Palestinian man as he was getting ready to leave prison after serving 18 years behind bars for resisting the Israeli occupation, according to local sources. Randy Odeh, 39, from Shufat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, was arrested on 7 March 2002 and sentenced to 18 years in prison. He was supposed to be released today but as he was getting ready to leave the Naqab prison in the south of Israel, he was re-detained. more

From PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday evening kidnaped five Palestinian passengers as they tried to travel officially through the border crossing of Beit Hanoun (Erez) and al-Karama in the north and east of the Gaza Strip. According to Asra Media Office, the IOF kidnaped two citizens from Gaza after they went to the Beit Hanoun crossing on the northern border. The detained passengers, who hold businessman permits, were identified as Abdul-Kareem Abu Sa’ada and Ahmed Subuh. Passengers, mostly businessmen and patients, go to the Beit Hanoun crossing in order to be interviewed by Israeli officers and have their requests for travel approved. more  

Ramallah - Ma'an - The Prisoners and Editors Affairs Authority said in a report issued today, Sunday, that the administration of the "Gilboa" prison continues to isolate the prisoner Walid Daqqa (59 years), from the town of Baqa al-Gharbiyyah, in the occupied interior, with extremely harsh detention conditions. The commission explained that the administration of the "Megiddo" detention center punished the prisoner, accuracy, and forced him into the cells, to smuggle the sperm of his wife abroad, who gave birth to a child recently called "Milad", and on 18/2/2020 the prisoner was transferred to the isolation of "Gilboa." She added that the conditions of isolation of the prisoner are very difficult, as all his books and papers were confiscated before his isolation, and the prison administration denied him the cantina and the introduction of a "cooking slab", and the prison administration deliberately extended his isolation every 48 ...

As some 1,600 Palestinian prisoners marked their 23rd day on hunger strike on Tuesday, the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners' Affairs warned that hunger strikers had entered a dangerous stage, reporting that health conditions were deteriorating considerably. The political prisoners are calling for an end to the denial of family visits, the right to pursue higher education, appropriate medical care and treatment, and an end to solitary confinement and administrative detention -- imprisonment without charge or trial -- among other demands for basic rights. Prisoners have started to fall due to waves of dizziness, severe pains, and weight loss, according to a statement released by the committee on Tuesday. The statement highlighted that Israeli authorities had prepared ambulances outside of every prison, and said that "the occupation’s government treats hunger strikers with such cruelty and savagery to the extent that it is willing to completely exhaust their health and lead t...

More than 1,600 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody launched an open-ended mass hunger strike Monday morning on Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, led by imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi, under the banner of "Freedom and Dignity" for prisoners. Sources told Ma'an that prisoners had purged all food products from their cells and shaved their heads in Israel prisons from the north to the south, namely in the Gilboa, Hadarim, Ashkelon, Ktziot, Nafha, and Ramon prisons. In the southern occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, a number of activists in al-Duheisha refugee camp shaved their heads in solidarity with the hunger strikers, while a rally took place Sunday marking prisoners’ day in the nearby Aida refugee camp that honored current and former prisoners from the camp. Initially called for by Fatah-affiliated prisoners, Palestinian prisoners from across the political spectrum have since pledged their commitment to undertake the strike, which by some estimates, exce...

An Israeli court on Sunday morning sentenced a teenage Palestinian girl from Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem to six years in prison after she was charged with knife possession and planning a stab attack. Hayat Shweiki told Ma'an that the Jerusalem magistrate's court formally sentenced her daughter Manar Majdi Shweiki to six years in prison after the girl had already spent more than a year in detention, highlighting that the court postponed the sentencing twice since the beginning of 2017. Her lawyer Mustafa Yahya said last week that the ruling was postponed because the court was awaiting a report regarding Shweiki's behavior over the course of her detention, though Yahya said at the time he already reached a plea bargain with the Israeli prosecution that determined the six-year sentence. Since her detention in December last year, Shweiki has been moved between Israel's Ramla and HaSharon prisons. Israeli police first detained her on Dec. 6 in the Wadi Hilweh area ...

A member of the central committee of the socialist Palestinian People’s Party (PPP) declared a hunger strike on Sunday in protest of his detention by security forces in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. According to a statement from PPP, Adnan al-Faqaawi was arrested by security forces over his involvement in recent protests in the Gaza Strip, held to demand a resolution to an ever-worsening electricity crisis in the besieged coastal enclave. PPP said al-Faqaawi was being held incommunicado in a detention center in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Hamas’ security forces have been accused of assaulting journalists and restricting the freedom of expression of demonstrators over the past week, with rights groups and United Nations harshly criticizing Hamas for possible human rights violations and their suppression of dissent amid the protests. more

The Israeli magistrate’s court in Jerusalem on Sunday sentenced a 19-year-old Palestinian girl to 16 years in prison, after she was accused of attempting to stab an Israeli settler in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem in Oct. 2015. Members of Shurouq Dwayyat’s family told Ma'an that the sentence also included a fine of 80,000 shekels ($20,929). Shurouq was shot and injured by a 35-year-old Israeli settler in Jerusalem's Old City after she allegedly attempted to stab him on Oct. 7, 2015. However, witnesses told Ma'an that she had been assaulted by the Israeli settler and did not have any sharp objects on her at the time of the incident. Israeli media said at the time that the man sustained light injuries, while Shurouq was shot four times in her upper body, leaving her in serious condition. more

Israeli forces detained at least 16 Palestinians across Israel and the occupied West Bank on Thursday and Friday over suspicions of starting fires that erupted in Haifa and have continued to spread for the fourth consecutive day. Israeli media reported on Friday that three Palestinian workers were detained in the Haifa district over suspicions of arson. The Palestinians had reportedly entered Israel without permits. Another 11 Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces in Israel and the Jerusalem area. Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank district of Ramallah, Israeli forces detained a Palestinian for allegedly attempting to start a fire near the illegal Israeli settlement of Kochav Yaakov, an Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an. The spokesperson did not identify the Palestinian detained in Ramallah, however, locals told Ma’an that Sayel Darwish Jarabaa, 60, was detained from the Beitin village in northern Ramallah late Thursday for allegedly attempting to start a fire. Jarabaa ...

An Israeli magistrate court in Jerusalem Wednesday sentenced a teenage Palestinian girl to 13-and-a-half years in prison for a stabbing attack carried out exactly one year ago in Jerusalem. According to a statement released by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), lawyer Mufid al-Hajj reported that the prison sentence handed down to 17-year-old Nurhan Awwad also came with a fine of 30,000 shekels ($7,757). Exactly one year ago, when Awwad was 16-years-old, she carried out a stabbing attack with her 14-year-old cousin Hadil Wajih Awwad, who was shot dead by an Israeli security guard during the incident. Meanwhile, Nurhan was severely wounded with two bullet wounds in her stomach. Video footage showed both girls running at the security officer waving scissors, before the security guard and another Israeli managed to knock the girls to the ground. Once on the ground, the security guard ran forward and shot each of them several times. more

An Israeli court sentenced a 14-year-old Palestinian boy to 12 years in prison on Monday for his part in a stabbing attack that wounded two Israelis in October last year. The boy, named by Palestinian officials as Ahmed Manasra, carried out the attack in an Israeli settlement north of Jerusalem along with his 15-year-old cousin. The cousin was shot and killed by an Israeli passerby, while Manasra was wounded. It was one of the first stabbings in a months-long wave of violence that caused alarm across Israel. The attack seriously wounded a 12-year-old Israeli boy who was riding on his bicycle and lightly injured a man. Both have recovered. At the time, the incident caused widespread controversy because the Palestinian authorities accused Israel of killing both attackers. They subsequently discovered that the younger boy, sentenced on Monday, was still alive and being treated for his injuries in an Israeli hospital. In passing sentence, the Jerusalem District Court barred the naming ...

Nine Palestinian prisoners continued their open hunger strikes in Israeli prisons on Monday, according to Sawt al-Asra (Voice of the Prisoners) radio. Protesting for various reasons, the nine prisoners have all refused food until their demands have been met by Israeli authorities. Four of the nine hunger strikers have been protesting being held in solitary confinement, according to the radio station. 19 year-old Anas Abd al-Majeed Shadid from the southern Hebron-area village of Dura has been on hunger strike for 35 days protesting his solitary confinement, while Majd Hassan Abu Shamla, 24, and Hassan Ali Rabayaa, 31, both from the Jenin district, continued their hunger strikes for the 27th day. Mosab Manasra from Hebron continued his hunger strike for the seventh day, also in protest of his solitary confinement. Palestinian prisoners Samer al-Issawi from occupied East Jerusalem and Munther Sanawbar from Nablus continued their hunger strikes for the seventh day on Monday. The two ...

At least 20 Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces during overnight and pre-dawn military raids Sunday, according to Palestinian and Israeli security sources. Palestinian Authority (PA) security sources told Ma’an that in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus, Israeli forces detained six Palestinians from the town of Sebastiya. Sources identified the detainees as Nimir Hatim Ghazal, Abd al-Karim Buhluq, Ramzi Naser al-Hajj, Ahmad Azim, Adham Radi, and Rami Radi. The sources highlighted that Israeli forces sealed off an apartment and a warehouse in Nablus city that were allegedly being used for manufacturing explosive devices. Israeli troops also reportedly broke into a print shop on al-Salam street in Nablus and confiscated equipment. From the northernmost West Bank district of Jenin, Israeli forces raided the town of Qabatiya and detained Majdi al-Qazaha. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that there were three detentions from Sebastiya, and confirmed one...

Israeli forces detained at least 56 Palestinians in overnight raids between Sunday evening and Monday across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, with more than half of the detainees coming from the Jerusalem area, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said in a statement that 39 of the total detainees came from Jerusalem, including the 17-year-old daughter and father of the slain gunman who carried out a drive-by shooting Sunday morning in East Jerusalem that left two Israelis dead. An Israeli police spokesperson said just 15 Palestinians were detained in East Jerusalem neighborhoods while and Israeli army spokesperson confirmed 16 total detentions were made overnight in the West Bank, saying three were conducted in the Jerusalem district -- one from the village of Qatanna, one from al-Ram, and one from Abu Dis. According to PPS, seven Palestinians were detained from the Qalqiliya area village of Azzun in the northern West Bank...

A number of Palestinian organizations focused on prisoners, human rights, and health decided on Wednesday to establish a committee to follow the cases of Palestinians in poor health being held in Israeli prisons. Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs lawyer Kamil Natour; Hurryat Center for Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights head Heli Al-Araj; Palestinian medical association members Ibrahim Khamis and Bashar Fadil; and Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) lawyer Lubna Hindi met on Wednesday to discuss the plan. The committee reportedly intends to push for Palestinian doctors to be allowed to visit Palestinian prisoners and inspect the medical conditions in Israeli prisons, as well as to take legal action when prisoners’ lack of medical care in Israeli custody can be proven. The organizations’ officials said that more than 700 Palestinian prisoners currently suffer due to poor medical access, 150 of whom reportedly in serious health conditions requiring “immediate medical int...

Several dozen Palestinian women, including 12 minors, are currently being held in Israel’s HaSharon prison, according to a statement released Thursday by the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs. The committee said in the statement that 41 Palestinian women and girls are being held in the prison, with some suffering from deteriorating health conditions, adding that Israel’s treatment of women prisoners is against international law, and requires “international institutions to end their silence" and to stop Israel's "perpetual crimes.” The committee also called upon all Palestinians to unite behind the prisoners’ cause, highlighting the recent escalation of raids and assaults by Israel Prison Service (IPS) officials in recent weeks in response to a mass hunger strike under way inside Israel’s prisons in protest of the arbitrary detention of Palestinians without charge or trial. More than 300 Palestinian prisoners have joined the strikes. The committee identified th...

Israeli forces detained at least 27 Palestinian in raids overnight Sunday and early Monday morning across the occupied West Bank, including a Palestinian security officer accused by Israel of weapons dealing, and relatives of Mohammad Faqih, killed last week when Israeli forces bombarded a home with bulldozers and anti-tank missiles while he was inside, concluding a weeks-long manhunt after a deadly shooting attack last month. Faqih, from the city of Dura just east of central Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, was accused of carrying out a drive-by shooting on July 1 south of the illegal Israeli settlement of Otniel in Hebron, which left one Israeli settler dead and three injured. In the wake of the shooting -- which occurred within 48 hours of series of deadly incidents in Hebron that left one Israeli girl killed in her home, her attacker shot dead, and another Palestinian woman killed by Israeli forces in a separate incident, the entire district was placed under the most ex...

/ Israeli forces detained six Palestinians from the Hebron district in the southern occupied West Bank in predawn raids Sunday, as Israeli forces continued to impose strict security measures at the entrances to Hebron and its surrounding villages. Local sources told Ma'an that Israeli forces raided the towns of Beit Awwa and al-Samu near Hebron city where they searched the homes of residents, and maintained closures to entrances of several other surrounding villages using gates and dirt berms, in addition to erecting several flying checkpoints used to check ID cards of passing Palestinian residents. Israeli forces raided the Beit Awwa village west of Hebron where they detained Amal Khadir Masalmah, Muhammad Sabri Maluh Masalmah, and Mutasim Faruq Masalmah. The al-Samu municipality confirmed that Israeli forces raided the town and detained Muhammad Hamid Rawashdah, Muhammad Issa al-Daghamin, and Iyad Musa Salamah al-Daghamin from their homes. The municipality added that the sout...

A Palestinian youth was wounded by Israeli forces at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank district of Jerusalem on Thursday morning after he reportedly tried to help another Palestinian being detained by Israeli border police. Fatah movement spokesman Thaer Fasfous told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers opened fire at a Palestinian youth and detained another at a checkpoint near the refugee camp of Shufat north of occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said in a statement that Israeli forces were detaining a youth suspected of involvement in “terrorist activities” as locals attempted to prevent the detention. Israeli forces then saw a “suspicious” youth reportedly approaching them with a knife and “neutralized” him using live fire. Al-Samri said that no Israelis were injured in the case. more