NEW ON FACEBOOK ~~ WAYS TO ABUSE PALESTINIAN CHILDREN

March 25, 2013 at 13:34 (Collective Punishment, FaceBook, Hasbara, Israel, Just Plain Disgusting, Palestine, Rights of The Child, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

Simple advice for how to deal with a Palestinian child:

I’d break every one of his bones

More violence is needed. Where are the clubs to break their legs?

Put him on his knees and shoot a bullet into his mouth.

Israeli corporal Ari Ben Reuven says: “break every bone” of crying Palestinian boy seized on way to school

by Ali Abunimah

The Electronic Intifada has captured even more horrifyingly racist and violent statements by Israeli soldiers on Facebook targeting Palestinian children as part of our effort to document this widespread phenomenon.

On the day US President Barack Obama arrived for his Israel visit last week, Israeli occupation forces in Hebron violently seized and detained dozens of Palestinian children, some aged as young as eight, on their way to school.

The harrowing video, above, of the Israeli army attack on the children went viral on YouTube.

B’Tselem, the Israeli organization that documents and criticizes some of Israel’s human rights abuses and which posted the video, condemned the mass arrest of the children as “unlawful” and said that some of the children had been taken to interrogation centers wheresevere and systematic abuses, including holding children in solitary confinement and harsh interrogation without parents or lawyers present is the norm.

In previous cases, Palestinian children have testified that under such conditions they have been forced to confess by Israeli interrogators to false charges of throwing rocks or molotov cocktails and pressed to inform on friends and family.

“A bullet in his mouth”

Givati Brigade’s Yoni Gordon thinks Palestinian child should be put on his knees and shot in the mouth (Source).

When the video of the children’s arrest was posted on the popular Israeli Facebook page “We are all in favor of death to terrorists,” a hotbed of racist incitement, it provided an opportunity for dozens of Israelis, once again, to express horrifyingly violent views (Screenshot of all the comments in context).

Some of those posting comments were Israeli soldiers. Here are a few that indicate the mindset of these soldiers:

Kfir Brigade’s Oren Degani, seen with a child, thinks Palestinian children are “little shits” (Source).

Oren Degani whose Facebook profile contains information suggesting he is a member of the “Black Scorpions” unit of the Israeli army’s Kfir Brigade, clearly believes the Palestinian children deserve such treatment and that they are all presumed guilty. He wrote under the video:

They pretend to be innocent saints who did nothing. I know this from my reserve duty. They throw a firebomb and when you catch them they cry and swear on Muhammad that they didn’t do anything … little shits.

Corporal Ari Ben Reuven’s profile image includes the motto “The road to peace is paved with telescopic gunsights” and “Let the army mow [them] down! (Source).

Ari Ben Reuven, whose Facebook profile indicates he is a corporal in the Israeli army was even more blunt:

I’d break every one of his bones

Ron Shwartz had a similar reaction and observed:

More violence is needed. Where are the clubs to break their legs?

Yoni Gordon, a member of the Givati Brigade had simple advice for how to deal with a Palestinian child:

Put him on his knees and shoot a bullet into his mouth.

Avisaf Hillel (center) misses his army days of abusing Palestinian children (Source).

Avisaf Hillel, whose Facebook profile says he attends “Ariel University,” a settler institution in the occupied West Bank, and is a die-hard supporter of Israel’s Beitar Jerusalemfootball club whose fans are notorious for their racist mob rampages, looked back fondly and with a touch of sarcasm on his time in the army when he was mistreating Palestinian children:

How I miss those days!!! But during my time in regular military service, they couldn’t get a peep out of their mouth!! We took care of them real well!!

Jewish Agency’s social media propagandist Avi Mayer also defends child abuse

Another of those defending and justifying the soldiers’ brutality seen in the video was the Jewish Agency’s social media propandist Avi Mayer – himself an American volunteer in the Israeli army.

In a series of tweets, Mayer, a former Israeli army spokesman, suggested that accusations leveled against the children by the Israeli occupation army should be taken as incontrovertible truth that the children were criminals who deserved such shocking treatment and that Palestinian children should be viewed as guilty until proven innocent of whatever the Israeli army accuses them.

Not surprisingly, Mayer has absolutely refused to criticize the Israeli army’s routine, documented abuses of children or the horrifying statements of his comrades in arms.

With thanks to Dena Shunra for additional research.

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THREAT TO OBAMA’S LIFE AVERTED IN OCCUPIED WEST BANK

March 21, 2013 at 15:38 (Israel, Occupied West Bank, Oppression, Palestine, Sarcasm, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

Americans can rest easy today, any threat against the life of their President has been averted.

Watch the video below to see for yourself …

Video: As Obama lands, Israeli soldiers violently arrest Palestinian 8-year-olds on their way to school

by Ali Abunimah

Video posted by the Israeli organization B’Tselem shows Israeli occupation forces, armed and financed by the United States, violently arresting Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron today as US President Barack Obama arrived for a visit to Israel.

The video shows harrowing scenes of young children clinging to parents as heavily-armed Israeli occupiers drag them away.

According to B’Tselem:

B’Tselem this morning urgently contacted the Army’s Legal Advisor for Judea and Samaria, demanding his emergency intervention regarding the detention of numerous children, including some as young as 8 to 10 years old, by the Israeli military this morning in Hebron. Preliminary information received this morning indicates that Soldiers detained or arrested over twenty minors on their way to school. About ten of them were released. The video was filmed by an international activist.

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PHOTOS OF ISRAELI TERROR KEEP ON COMING TO LIGHT

February 23, 2013 at 18:51 (Israel, Just Plain Disgusting, Palestine, Photography, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

Since The Electronic Intifada revealed the shocking Instagram photos posted by Israeli soldiers Mor Ostrovski and Osher Maman, even more disturbing images have come to light. Some of the ones below were found by Israeli blogger “Zeatu” and others by The Electronic Intifada.

“Oops…one less Arab”: Even more disturbing Instagram images from the Israeli army

Submitted by Ali Abunimah

Two Palestinians seen in the crosshairs of a gun sight. Posted by Israeli army Kfir Brigade member Eliya Hatan on 4 November 2012 (Source).

Since The Electronic Intifada revealed the shocking Instagram photos posted by Israeli soldiers Mor Ostrovski and Osher Maman, even more disturbing images have come to light. Some of the ones below were found by Israeli blogger “Zeatu” and others by The Electronic Intifada.

Images from “ybaruch”

Instagram user “ybaruch” describes himself as “Retired Operations Sergeant at the Israeli army, now just a student” and gives his age as 21. He says that all the 144 images images posted to his account are his. Many of the images in his account indicate that “ybaruch” took part in frequent night raids and armed attacks on Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.

A Palestinian man blindfolded and bound can be seen during a night raid in a photo posted by “ybaruch” on 10 July 2012. Location unknown (Source).

Although it is impossible to know the location of the incident in the photo above, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights records that during the week of 5-11 July 2012, Israeli occupation forces carried out “at least 63 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, [Israeli occupation forces] arrested 26 Palestinians, including 7 children.” The blindfolded and bound man in the image may have been one of those captured.

An Israeli soldier plays a “card game” with confiscated Palestinian identity cards in the occupied West Bank. Posted by “ybaruch” 18 October 2012 (Source).

This image is particularly disturbing. Palestinians face long delays at the hundreds of Israeli military checkpoints throughout the occupied West Bank, often held, humiliated or turned back by teenage Israeli soldiers. Playing a “card game” with Palestinian ID’s shows the power Israeli soldiers exercise over Palestinians and the contempt in which the soldiers hold those over whom they rule.

Instagram image posted by “ybaruch” on 15 June 2012 is tagged with the location Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank. The caption says “This is how we break into a house.” (Source)

This image shows occupation soldiers prying open the door of a house in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm. Israeli occupation forces carry out hundreds of night raids every year, seizing Palestinians from their beds.

The caption reads “Oops … one less Arab. Let’s see if he’ll try to escape from us again.” Posted by “ybaruch” on 17 May 2012. Location unknown. (Source)

The t-shirt says “My first bullet, his last breath.” Posted by “ybaruch” (Source).

Self-portrait? Posted by “ybaruch” (Source).

Images from Eliya Hatan

Israeli soldier and Instagram user Eliya Hatan gives his age as 19, and according to his Facebook page he is a member of the Kfir Brigade. The image at the top of this post comes from Eliya Hatan’s account. It shows two Palestinian men, perhaps laborers, seen through a gunsight and recalls the notorious photo of the child in the sniper’s gunsightposted by Mor Ostrovski.

A Star of David formed out of bullets. Posted by Israeli soldier Eliya Hatan (Source).

Israeli occupation soldier Eliya Hatan (Source).

Images from “dk_1988_”

Instagram user “dk_1988_” gives his age as 24. Several of the 105 images posted to his account indicate that he is a member of the Israeli “Border Guard” a paramilitary unit responsible for regular violence against Palestinian civilians under occupation.

Palestinian men with their hands up. Posted 12 October 2012 by Israeli border guard “dk_1988_” (Source).

Member of the Israeli “border guard” and apparent owner of Instagram account “dk_1988_” (Source).

Images from Ofir Binder

A finger makes an obscene gesture toward a Palestinian flag with the words “Hamas Patrol” written on it in Hebrew and a Fatah flag. Posted by Ofir Binder on 4 August 2012 (Source).

A man holds a flame to the corner of a Fatah flag in an image posted by Ofir Binder on 2 August 2012 (Source).

An image posted by Ofir Binder on 29 September 2012 shows a sleeping Israeli army comrade through a gunsight. The tags reveal fantasies of violence (Source).

Israeli occupation soldier and Instagram user Ofir Binder

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INTERNET STORM OVER SOLDIER’S PHOTOS

February 21, 2013 at 13:46 (Internet, Irony, Israel, Photography, Soldier Brutality)

More outrage for smoking joints in uniform than for killing a Palestinian …

The current outrage has to do with a Golani Brigade soldier who posted pictures of himself on Instagram, smoking what he says are joints, while in uniform. The soldier uploaded a second photograph of a bound Palestinian prisoner, and also boasted on Twitter of having killed a Palestinian.

Drugs, guns, and bound Palestinians: An Israeli soldier’s photo album

Days after a Golani Brigade soldier posted a photograph of a Palestinian boy in the crosshairs of his rifle, a new scandal emerges surrounding an Israeli soldier’s online photos.

By Oded Yaron

Golani Brigade soldier apparently smoking a joint with his weapon. Photo by Screenshot

Israel Defense Forces soldiers’ social-media activity is once again creating a storm on the Internet, just days after a soldier who posted a photograph of a Palestinian boy in the crosshairs of his sniper’s rifle drew harsh criticism.

Electronic Intifada first reported on the soldier’s photographs and apparently spent time rummaging through the photos he posted online. The site posted a number of his pictures, including one of him half-naked and holding a weapon. The soldier has since blocked his accounts on Instagram and Facebook.

Among the other photos included in Electronic Intifada’s report were two with English captions reading “Keep calm and kill people in your mind” and “Keep calm and take over Gaza.” Another picture shows a map of the Gaza Strip with the caption “Soon to be a giant theme park!!”

The report also included the soldier’s response to an Arab user’s comment on Facebook, in which he wrote, “For all I care you can comment all my pictures, you’re just a f–king Arab pile of s–t, you even smell like it….”

The IDF Spokesperson responded: “This is a grave incident, which does not represent the IDF. Our investigation of the incident is ongoing and disciplinary action will be taken in its wake. The IDF will continue to act to prevent incidents of this sort, which are not in line with the IDF’s values.”

This incident was reported after Electronic Intifada and other news sites around the world last weekend posted an Instagram photo of what appears to be a Palestinian boy in the crosshairs of a sniper’s rifle.

“This is what occupation looks like,” representatives of Breaking the Silence, a group of IDF combat veterans who aim to raise public awareness of what happens in the territories, said on the group’s Facebook page. “This is what military control over a civilian population looks like.”

More photos from the Golani soldier’s account.Screenshot found at Source below

The advocacy group said the image shows that not much has changed in the decade since a similar photograph taken by a soldier was displayed in the organization’s first public exhibit in 2003.

“There, too, an Israeli soldier aimed a weapon at a boy and took a picture with his camera as a memento, a gesture of an endless feeling of power that is connected to control over another people,” read the Breaking the Silence Facebook page. “Ten years have passed. The devices and the applications have changed; the ways in which pictures are shared has changed. The feeling of excessive power and the clear contempt for human life and human dignity have remained.”

The soldier, whose actions “are not in accordance with the spirit of the IDF or its values,” according to the army, has since deleted his Instagram account.

Source

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A PROFILE OF ISRAELI TERRORISM

February 21, 2013 at 11:43 (Collective Punishment, Hasbara, Italy, Occupation, Palestine, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

During the first four years of the first intifada 75 Palestinians were killed by Israeli undercover agents or civilian disguised soldiers. Of 29 cases in 1991 none of the victims had been engaged in combat, eleven were taking part in non-violent demonstrations at the time of the shooting whilst 14 were carrying out normal daily activities.

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Profiling Israel‘s undercover Mistaarvim unit

By Jessica Purkiss

Israeli undercover agents arresting a Palestinian boy suspected of throwing stones at Israeli soldiers during a protest in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo by Lazar Simeonov.

At the beginning of the year 2013, the operation of undercover Israeli agents within the West Bank came to light once again. On January 1, soldiers dressed as vegetable vendors arrested Murad Bani Odeh, a member of the Islamic Jihad political party in the West Bank village of Tamoun, south of Jenin.

Ynet news reported that Muhammad Basharat, the local village council head said that the soldiers entered the village in a van bearing a Palestinian license plate, adding that the men inside it did not arouse anyone’s suspicion. Israeli media reported that the soldiers were part of Israel’s Mistaarvim, or ‘Arabized’ elite undercover unit.

Little is known about the internal operations of the Israeli undercover units. The group ‘Mistaarvim’ in Hebrew or “Musta’rabeen” in Arabic is an undercover unit whose members serve in various sections of the Israeli army. Translated from Hebrew it literally means ‘Arab pretenders.’

The Mistaarvim are an elite branch of a supposed ‘counter-terrorism’ unit who impersonate Palestinians and infiltrate West Bank communities in an attempt to find information that may be of interest to the Israeli government. Members are indistinguishable amongst Palestinian communities, as they dress the same way Palestinians do, speak Arabic in the local dialect, and drive cars with Palestinian licensed number plates. According to a study by the Palestinian Human Rights Information Center (PHRIC), disguises include stage props such as crutches and fake babies, with members undergoing extensive training on cultural habits to help them blend in successfully.

Information on the Mistaarvim unit is heavily guarded. In 1988 three journalists had their press cards removed from them after writing pieces on the existence of undercover squads operating in the West Bank. The military censor office filed a police complaint against Paul Taylor, chief correspondent for Reuters, Andrew Whitley of the Financial Times.and Steve Weizman, a Reuters reporter.

According to Saleh Abdel Jawad, a professor at the Department of History and Political Science, the Mistaarvim consists of four selective units, two of which belong to the Israeli army; the Duvdevan (Hebrew for cherry) which work in the West Bank, and the second Shamshon (Samson) in the Gaza Strip. The third unit belongs to the border police and the fourth operates strictly in the Jerusalem area belonging to the Israeli police.

During demonstrations supposedly Palestinian protestors have turned out to be part of the undercover unit. In May 2011, on Nakba Day, Palestinians took part in a march to the Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah, West Bank. At some point during confrontations with Israeli soldiers, members of the Mistaarvim unit who were disguised as Palestinian protestors produced handguns and made several arrests. During a demonstration in 2010 in the Palestinian town of Umm al-Fahm in the 1948 territories, an officer from the Mistaarvim unit was wounded by a stun grenade fired by an Israeli policeman whilst impersonating a Palestinian demonstrator.

Extra-judicial assassinations

Aside from arresting Palestinians, the undercover units have been known to carry out extra-judicial assassinations. Haaretz noted that undercover units such as Mistaarvim had been dubbed as a “hit unit” by media. This term was rejected by the unit’s former soldiers and commanding officers.

However, Shimon Somech, a commander of the Mistaarvim from 1942-1946admitted that assassination was part of the unit’s activities.

“In essence we did not engage in eliminating people. Maybe there were isolated instances where members of the unit were asked to eliminate someone,” he said.

For example in 2008 soldiers disguised as Palestinians executed four Palestinians in Bethlehem, West Bank.

“These men were fighters, but they were not in a combat situation at the time. They were sitting in a car, waiting for their dinner. The Israeli special forces drove up, disguised as Palestinian civilians, and opened fire without warning,” said Jared Malsin, a journalist from Ma’an news agency who had met with the men hours before their killing.

“It was the moral equivalent of a team of Palestinians, disguised as Israelis, driving an Israeli car into Tel Aviv and gunning down four off-duty Israeli soldiers,” he said.

The official ‘mission’ of the unit to capture wanted Palestinians was altered after the outbreak of the second intifada. The changes gave the army “a broader license to liquidate Palestinian terrorists” and allowed the army “to act against known terrorists even if they are not on the verge of committing a major attack,” a policy reportedly sanctioned by then Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein according to an Haaretz article. Subsequently this translated to the extra-judicial killing of many Palestinians involved in resistance activities.

The unit has conducted numerous extra-judicial assassinations; among them was the infamous annihilation of the preeminent Black Panthers (Fahad al Aswad) group during the first Intifada. Undercover agents dressed up as peasant women entered the Yasmineh quarter of the Old City in Nablus, where they executed the leaders of the group, a paramilitary wing of Fatah.

PHRIC first recorded the ambush and killing of targeted Palestinians by undercover units in Gaza in 1986 and 1987, where Islamic Jihad activists were killed. This method was supposedly secretly adopted as a policy in the first months of the first Intifada, under the authority of the then Minister of Defence Yitzhak Rabin.

Whilst such methods had been in practice long ago in the West Bank and Gaza, it wasn’t until 2009 that Israel publically admitted the use of ‘Mistaarvim’ inside Israel, or the ’48 territories itself. It was the first public admission that the Israeli police were using such units and had been for two years in their own country. It caused outrage demonstrating a dangerous practice of racial profiling where the Arab communities of Israel were targeted because of their ethnicity.

However Haaretz newspaper revealed in 1998 that the Israeli secret police, the Shin Bet, had operated a number of Mistaarvim inside Israel shortly after the state was created, placing them within Palestinian communities. The unit was disbanded in 1959 after several members of the unit married local Arab women in order to maintain their cover.

How their existence violates International law and Israeli law

The killing of the four Islamic Jihad members in 2008 is considered to be an act of extrajudicial assassination, illegal under Article Three of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Customary international law prohibits political or extra-judicial killings by governments; no circumstances can be invoked to justify arbitrary restrictions on the right to life. Executing someone without a trial violates the principles of due process. In the 29 cases observed by PHRIC no warning was given nor was any effort to apprehend the victim before shooting.

Referring to Israel’s Law of War Booklet (1986), the Report on the Practice of Israel states: “As a basic policy, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] prohibits the resort to perfidy to kill, injure or capture an adversary.” Israel’s Manual on the Rules of Warfare (2006) states that it is forbidden to “adopt the disguise of a non-combatant civilian. Where no clear picture emerges from the battle front as to who is a civilian and who is a disguised combatant, civilians are liable to get hurt.” The Manual on the Laws of War gave the following example of perfidy: “it is forbidden to single out a specific person on the adversary’s side and request his death (whether by dispatching an assassin or by offering an award for his liquidation.” Injuring or killing a person while breaching the prohibition on perfidy is also war crime under international criminal law. Clearly as well as violating internationally accepted norms, the use of units such as Mistaarvim violates Israel’s own military rules.

Source

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MORE PHOTOS THAT SHOW THE PERILS OF ZIONISM

February 20, 2013 at 09:54 (Extremism, Israel, Palestine, Photography, Soldier Brutality, zionism)

The camera seems to have become the greatest tool in combating evil. Even when the photos are taken by the enemy themselves, they can be used to help our cause by exposing the dangers of zionism …

Will this guy become the new ‘Prisoner X’ ?

Star of David formed with guns. Source

Stoned, naked, armed and dangerous: more disturbing images from an Israeli soldier’s Instagram

by Ali Abunimah

Golani Brigade soldier Osher Maman, who came from a troubled youth in Florida, posts photos of himself breaking Israeli military law and playing with weapons in irresponsible ways. Source

As Mor Ostrovski’s now infamous Instagram image of a Palestinian child in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle generated disgust around the world, the Israeli army claimed that the photograph was “a severe incident which doesn’t accord with the IDF’s spirit and values.”

It is understandable that an occupation army that markets itself as the “most moral army in the world” would attempt such damage control.

Those who follow matters closely know that the photograph was an apt symbol for the Israeli army’s contempt for the lives of Palestinian children, as well as for the total impunitysoldiers accused of crimes against Palestinian civilians enjoy. Even in terms of “misuse” of social media, it was no isolated incident.

Israeli soldiers’ use of social media has given a unique insight into an “army” that functions more like a rabble – with soldiers misusing weapons, breaking laws, and expressing violent and extreme views and posting images of themselves doing it online.

From troubled Florida youth to the Israeli army

Gun play Source

A case in point is Osher Maman, another 20-year-old Israeli soldier currently enlisted in the “elite” Golani Brigade.

Maman’s Instagram account currently includes 549 images which show, among other things, images of him mishandling weapons and breaking military laws. The earliest date from April 2012 and the most recent from today. An illustrative selection – with tags where he included them – are used throughout this post. Maman also expresses deeply racist and even genocidal views towards Palestinians and Arabs.

Embedded rich on Twitter

Maman, who grew up in Naples, Florida after his family left Israel a decade ago, made the news in 2006 when as a 14-year-old he brought a BB gun given to him by his parents to school and used it to threaten two girls.

Maman also has an adult criminal history with records of arrests in February 2011 and inMay 2011 for “trespassing on school grounds.”

“Hitman”

Osher Maman’s Facebook page, which features many of the same images that can be seen on his Instagram account but also goes back earlier, identifies him as a former student of Barron Collier High School in Naples, Florida, and uses the nickname “Eazybaby” which resembles the name of his Instagram account eazybaby310.

An Osher Maman was a member of the graduating high school class of 2010 according to the Naples Daily News on 5 June 2010.

Source

Maman’s Facebook bio says: “From israel to Miami to the I.D.F Kik: eazybaby310 An active assassin/hitman” and identifies himself as a member of Barak, the 12th Battalion of the supposedly “elite” Golani brigade. This is corroborated by many images he has posted of weapons, uniforms and other military paraphernalia bearing the insignia of this battaltion.

Maman wrote a message on Facebook on 13 August 2011:

im leaving to the israeli army this monday, just wanted to say.. fuck the police, fuck barron collier high school and all the staff, fuck all the judges, fuck all you little hater faggots that blow up my fb and phone talking shit, fuck the bitches that cheated on me, fuck the virus i just got on my computer and whoever created it, fuck you fuck you fuck you, whos next…

One year later, Maman celebrated the anniversary of his move in another Facebook status:

So one year ago i moved here to join the army… Im not gonna make up some bullshit glorious story to break your heart… I just did it to beat up terrorists and shit… Happy one year anniversary Mmmmmffffffckasss!!!

Source

Not exactly a boy scout

An image he posted of its insignia indicates that Maman was recruited directly from the United States via “Garin Tzabar” a program that recruits Jews and Israelis from overseas into the army. Maman identifies himself as a Garin Tzabar member on his Google Plus account.

A comment made on a website dedicated to Garin Tzabar, from the Facebook account of Maman’s mother, Batya Sabag, a social media consultant in Naples, Florida, also identifies her son as a graduate of the program.

One of the requirements of the Garin Tzabar program is a “Certificate of Good Conduct (proof of no prior criminal record).”

This military recruitment program for the Israeli occupation army is run by the Israel Scouts.

According to an image posted by Maman, on 5 April 2012 his military service had begun 138 days previously (which would be November 2011) and will end on 19 November 2014.

A montage posted by Osher Mamam features a blindfolded and bound Palestinian prisoner, weapons, and tags that reveal fantasies of violence. Source

Misuse of weapons

Obscene Source

When Maman was arrested and charged in the BB gun incident – classified by authorities as a weapon, not a toy, his father, Zion Maman, told media that “the culture in Israel has a more relaxed view about toy guns.”

Basic rule of gun safety: don’t put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to shoot. Source

That relaxed view extends to real guns, mortars, grenades and all sorts of other heavy weapons that Osher Maman is seen handling, sometimes naked, and using as toys and props in disturbing images he posted online.

These images suggest that the Israeli army exercises little control or discipline over weapons.

Star of David formed with guns. Source

This gun appears to be loaded and it’s definitely not a toy. Source

Does the Israeli army just leave mortar shells lying around for use as Instagram props? Source

More weapons for Osher Maman to play with. Source

Playing God? Note the caption Osher Maman has attached to this image of what might be the controller of remote weapon system. Source

Source

Source

Maman posts images of himself breaking military law

A criminal offense under Israeli military law, Golani brigade soldier Osher Maman smokes marijuana in his uniform. Source

Images posted on Maman’s Instagram account show him smoking marijuana in uniform and on duty, in direct contravention of Israeli army order “33.011 – Use of Drugs – procedures for report, detention, and initiating a military police investigation.”

Osher Maman with a joint while on duty. Source

Military order 33.011 states that the use of drugs, including hashish, “constitutes a criminal offense and harms the army, so this order does not leave room for the commanders’ discretion.” It adds that, “All soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces are prohibited from possessing drugs, taking them, or trading in them.”

Osher Maman shows off his stash. Possession is a criminal offense under army law. Source

What does it mean that the Israeli army recruits a soldier, with a dubious history, who is stupid enough to post images of himself committing more criminal offenses?

Is this a man who should be handling – playing with – lethal weapons in any circumstances? Or does it mean that this Most Moral Army so lacks discipline that soldiers like Maman can break the law without fear of consequences?

A lust for violence and genocidal hatred of Arabs

Osher Maman freely expresses his deep, even genocidal hatred of Palestinians and his desire to see them oppressed and killed. Responding to a comment on one of his images, for example, Maman told the commenter

Lmao for all I care you can comment all my pictures, you’re still a fucking Arab pile of shit, you even smell like it. You’re never going to win over israel (the chosen people) bc you’re a bunch of slaves, shit I probably am the slave master of some Arab who’s related to you… An you all will stay trapped in gaza and every little shittt village that you Palestinians have inside of israel. And you will continue to go to our jails and to have your houses broken in to. Basically your life will be shit until you all die, so go ahead and have fun commenting on my pictures of that’s going to make your death a little better…

Note the horrifying tags Israeli soldier Osher Maman, who took a BB gun to school as a teen and used it to threaten two girls, has attached to this image. Source

In addition to the endless stream of photos of himself and his buddies posing with guns, Maman shares images and slogans glorifying violence, especially, of course, against Palestinians.

Over a map of Gaza, the Hebrew slogan says “Soon to be a giant theme park.” Source

Osher Maman is not a “rotten apple.” He, along with Mor Ostrovski – the author of the infamous photo of the boy in the crosshairs – is another symbol of the occupation army under whose arbitrary and dictatorial rule Palestinians have been forced to live for decades.

It is soldiers just like these who whine to the Israeli media that they can’t be more brutal and violent against Palestinians because cameras are watching them.

It is soldiers just like these who are responsible, though never punished or held to account, for the killings of Palestinian children like Samir Awad, Salih al-Amarin and Muhammad al-Salaymeh, young men like Mustafa Tamimi and Rushdi Tamimi and young women likeLubna Hanash among so many thousands more.

With thanks to Benjamin Doherty for research and to Dena Shunra for research, translation and analysis.

Source

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DEMOLISHING A PALESTINIAN NEIGHBOURHOOD TO ‘PROTECT’ ITS RESIDENTS

January 31, 2013 at 11:26 (Collective Punishment, Ethnic Cleansing, Hasbara, Human Rights, Illegal Evictions, Israel, Oppression, Palestine, Soldier Brutality)

In 2011 a young Bedouin girl suffered severe injuries after being shot in an incident her family blamed on the Israeli military, which denied involvement at the time.

In 2007 a Palestinian girl died two days after being shot by a border police officer near Anata.

Therefore, the neighbourhood must be demolished ….

Wouldn’t it be better to demolish the military base in question?

The Palestinian girl mentioned above was our precious Abir Aramin OBM.

Israel to demolish Palestinian neighborhood

JERUSALEM – Israeli forces on Tuesday delivered demolition notices to all Palestinian families in Fuheidat neighborhood east of Anata village in northeast Jerusalem, residents said.

According to the notices, residents can demur before Feb. 17.

A Ma’an reporter said about 200 Palestinians live in the neighborhood which is located to the west of a large Israeli military base called Anatot.

The Israeli forces plan to remove the neighborhood because it is close to the base.

In 2011 a young Bedouin girl suffered severe injuries after being shot in an incident her family blamed on the Israeli military, which denied involvement at the time.

In 2007 a Palestinian girl died two days after being shot by a border police officer near Anata.

Source

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ZIONISM MUST BE PUT UNDER CONTROL

January 29, 2013 at 10:54 (Civil Liberties, Corrupt Politics, Ethnic Cleansing, Israel, Occupied West Bank, Palestine, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

This report details the crowd control weapons used by Israeli security forces in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem).

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Crowd Control: Israel’s Use of Crowd Control Weapons in the West Bank

Crowd control weapons are supposed to be non-lethal, enabling authorities to enforce the law without endangering human life. In fact, however, they are dangerous weapons that can cause death, severe injury and damage to property if used improperly.

This report details the crowd control weapons used by Israeli security forces in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem).

Tear gas is a chemical irritant that severely affects the eyes and the respiratory system. It is the predominant crowd control weapon in use by Israeli security forces and is dispersed through several types of grenades manufactured in the United States: A rubber tear-gas grenade (known as “400″ or “skittering grenade”), which can be hand-thrown or fired from a launcher mounted on a rifle, and a 40mm aluminum canister (known as “gas rocket”) which is fired from a launcher. In East Jerusalem security forces also use the splitting tear-gas grenade which separates into three sub-canisters. 40mm-caliber canisters are fired from several different types of launchers. Some are mounted on soldiers’ rifles and can be fired one grenade at a time. Others are stand-alone launchers which can fire from one to six grenades in quick succession. Israeli security forces also have at their disposal a jeep-mounted system that enables firing salvos of grenades, which can cover a large area with tear gas.

Stun grenades are also a predominant crowd control weapon. They are a diversionary measure, whose explosion emits a bright light and a thunderous noise. The grenades are designed to cause panic, thereby enabling security forces to overpower people. Like the tear-gas grenades in use by Israeli security forces, the stun grenades are also manufactured in the United States.

Rubber-coated metal bullets are utilized primarily against stone-throwers. Security forces use two types of bullets made of a metal core coated with either rubber or plastic, and fired from launchers mounted on rifle-barrels. These so-called “rubber” bullets are manufactured by Israel Military Industries Ltd. The Orr Commission prohibited the use of rubber-coated metal bullets within Israel’s borders. In East Jerusalem, since the prohibition, Israel Police has been using 40mm-caliber sponge rounds imported from the Unites States.

The Skunk is a foul-smelling liquid developed by the Israel Police for the purpose of dispersing demonstrations. It is sprayed from truck-mounted water cannons. The odor is so offensive that it forces any person in its vicinity to back off. The report also details the relevant orders of the military and the Israel Police which regulate the use of these weapons, and which the security forces refuse to divulge. In addition the report surveys the implementation of the regulations in the field and the detrimental results of violating them.

This report has found that there are two main problems with the use of crowd control weapons in the West Bank. First, the wording of the open-fire and safety regulations is ambiguous, and in some cases the regulations cannot be properly followed. Second, when security forces in the field violate the regulations, even systematically, practically no action is taken to put an end to this wrongful conduct. Senior-ranking officers deny that violations of the open-fire regulations are the norm and classify injury to civilians from improper use of crowd control weapons as “exceptions to the rule”. Furthermore, even in the rare instances in which investigations into such incidents are conducted, most are closed without the perpetrators or their superiors being held accountable. Following are some of the report’s findings:

Soldiers and Border Police often fire tear-gas grenades directly at demonstrators with the aim of hitting them, or fire carelessly, without ensuring that demonstrators are not in the direct line of fire, in direct contravention of regulations.
Soldiers and Border Police systematically violate standing orders, firing rubber-coated metal bullets even in circumstances clearly prohibited by the orders. B’Tselem has documented instances in which security forces have fired rubber-coated metal bullets at a closer range than that permitted by the regulations, making it potentially lethal. They have also fired at minors, at the upper torso and at passersby or demonstrators who had not been throwing stones and did not pose a danger to security forces or any other individual. In some cases, commanders, including high-ranking officers, knew of the unlawful firing and even ordered it.
Security forces sometimes fire live ammunition during demonstrations, particularly at Palestinians who are throwing stones at them. B’Tselem has documented use of live ammunition in circumstances that were not life-threatening.
Soldiers and Border Police have fired 0.22 inch-caliber bullets under circumstances that do not warrant the use of lethal weapons. In effect, this ammunition is used as if were a non-lethal means of crowd control.
In several cases security forces sprayed the foul-smelling Skunk liquid at or near homes, raising grave suspicions that it is being used as a collective punitive measure against residents of villages where regular weekly demonstrations are held.
Police officers make use of pepper spray in contravention of official police procedure, which is designed strike a balance between law enforcement considerations and safety considerations.

The unlawful use of crowd control weapons by Israeli security forces is accompanied by further restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of speech and their freedom to protest the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. These restrictions include the arrest and prosecution of demonstration organizers; the dispersal of demonstrations using force, even when demonstrators were not violent in any way; and the deportation of foreign nationals participating in the demonstrations. Areas in the West Bank where demonstrations are held every Friday are declared closed military zones for the time scheduled for demonstration. Specific orders designating closed military zones enable security forces to keep Israeli activists from taking part in the demonstrations and to make them liable for arrest and prosecution. These disproportionate restrictions deviate from the instructions issued by the Legal Advisor for the West Bank, which prohibit the declaration of an area a closed military zone to a specific group, such as activists at demonstrations.

Members of the security forces who are faced with stone throwers, sometimes in large-scale events, have the authority to use the various weapons detailed in this report. However, the authorities must ensure that the troops on the ground obey the open-fire regulations and use crowd control weapons within the parameters that keep them non-lethal. It follows that every soldier, officer, or police officer violating these rules must be prosecuted. In addition, B’Tselem demands that Israeli security forces:

prohibit the use of live ammunition, including 0.22inch-caliber bullets, for the purpose of dispersing demonstrations, except in instances of mortal danger;
restrict the use of rubber-coated metal bullets to instances of mortal danger, to be used as a preliminary measure, before firing live ammunition;
completely prohibit the firing of 40mm tear-gas canisters either directly at individuals or horizontally, in a way that could cause result in injuries.

Source via Uruknet

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ROUNDUP OF ISRAELI ELECTION RESULTS

January 27, 2013 at 10:25 (Apartheid, Collective Punishment, Genocide, Hasbara, Israel, Israeli Elections, Palestine, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

THE REAL RESULTS

Israel received its mandate to continue with their genocidal and apartheid policies in the election last week.

The following are just a few of the latest reports …

Israeli Election Results

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Impunity to Kill: Six Palestinians Shot Dead by Israeli Forces in Less Than a Fortnight

Meet Lubna Hanash, the 6th unarmed Palestinian shot dead by Israeli soldiers this month

Mourners bury woman, teen killed by Israeli forces in Bethlehem

Don’t believe the (liberal Zionist) hype: Israel’s elections ratified the apartheid status quo

After Israeli elections, Palestinians bracing for illusion of change

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EVER WONDER WHY SO MANY ISRAELI SOLDIERS ARE WACKO AND TRIGGER HAPPY?

January 25, 2013 at 11:31 (Israel, Israeli Elections, Soldier Brutality)

The following report might explain why …

Some 8,500 absentee ballots, most of which were cast by IDFsoldiers, went to the Ale Yarok (Green Leaf) party, famous for its pro-legalization platform.

Image ‘Copyleft’ by Carlos Latuff

8,000 soldiers vote for party supporting pot legalization

IDF soldiers cast 8,000 votes for Ale Yarok party, which also favors shortening IDF service

Some 8,500 absentee ballots, most of which were cast by IDFsoldiers, went to the Ale Yarok (Green Leaf) party, famous for its pro-legalization platform.

The party failed to cross the 2% election threshold, receiving only 1.15% of the popular vote with 43,725 votes. However, if the Knesset would be formed solely according to the absentee votes(known in Israel as double envelope votes), the party would have received four to five Knesset seats.

The party’s popularity among soldiers reached such levels that during Election Day complaints reached the IDF’s election headquarters that the party’s ballot notes had run out in several IDF polling stations and were nowhere to be found.

Election Results

“It makes sense that the party is popular among young voters, as the vast majority of IDF soldiers are in their 20s,” a young officer who voted for the party told Ynet.

“I smoke pot only on social occasions, at home during leaves from the army and never in uniform, but the time has come to legalize light drugs, so that they can be better regulated, thus reducing the crime surrounding them,” he said.

“Today everyone knows that heavy booze drinking, which is legal, can be much more addictive and dangerous.”

Noa, a soldier serving a para-combat role in an outpost in the territories, said many of her friends, among them Ale Yarok voters, smoke marijuana, sometimes even at the base.

“There are many ways not to get caught, and those who are clever usually succeed in covering up their tracks,” she said.

“In our unit, there are those who didn’t think twice about voting for the party, not just because of the drugs. The party’s platform, which talks about excess freedom, liberalism and (personal)liberties bodes well with overworked combat soldiers who can’t for their release.”

One of the party platform’s main tenets relates directly to the soldiers plight and talks about “shortening IDF service, releasing redundant soldiers and paying those who serve fairly.”

Over the past year a sharp increase was registered in the number of drug related offences among soldiers.

A record number of cases in which dealers attempted to sell drugs within the army were recorded, and additional cases of pot smoking were registered in elite combat forces.

Source

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ISRAEL TO PUT WALL AROUND ‘PROTEST VILLAGES’

January 22, 2013 at 07:30 (Collective Punishment, Hasbara, Israel, Nonviolent Resistance, Palestine, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

Beit Iksa, surrounded by Israeli settlements, is set to be entirely encircled by Israel’s separation wall, cutting it off from Jerusalem.

When completed, the wall will annex 96 percent of Beit Iksa’s land, according to a study by the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem.

(Israeli forces raid Jerusalem protest village

An activist holds a Palestinian flag placed near a newly-erected tent
in the West Bank village of Beit Iksa, between Ramallah and Jerusalem
January 20, 2013. (Reuters/Mohamad Torokman)

BETHLEHEM — Dozens of people were lightly injured on Sunday as Israeli forces raided a newly erected Palestinian protest village in northwest Jerusalem, activists said.

Local activist Nabil Habana said Israeli forces raided the al-Karamah (Dignity) village in Beit Iksa and issued demolition and evacuation orders.

Activists tried to prevent soldiers from reaching their tents, with soldiers firing tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the protesters, Habana added.

Earlier, Israeli troops entered the al-Karamah village at around 7 a.m., photographing the structures and preventing more protesters and supporters from arriving.

It was the third time troops had entered the area.

Spokesman for the protest village, Bilal Kiswani, said the repeated incursions by Israeli forces indicate that the al-Karamah village will be demolished soon.

There are over 100 activists from nearby areas at the protest village, and they will remain on the land despite Israeli orders to leave, he added.

Local groups set up the new tented protest village northwest of Jerusalem on Friday, the second such initiative against Israeli settlement building in as many weeks.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces tore down the tented village Bab al-Shams, set up to protest Israel’s plans to build the “E1″ settlement on the land, severing the West Bank from Jerusalem.

Beit Iksa, surrounded by Israeli settlements, is set to be entirely encircled by Israel’s separation wall, cutting it off from Jerusalem.

When completed, the wall will annex 96 percent of Beit Iksa’s land, according to a study by the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem.

Source

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ELECTION DAY SILENCE FROM THE GRAVES OF PALESTINE

January 21, 2013 at 07:58 (Genocide, Hasbara, Israel, Israeli Elections, Just Plain Disgusting, Palestine, Soldier Brutality)

All the more reason why all who can vote MUST vote to put an end to this terrorism.

Samir Awad won’t be voting in Tuesday’s election, not only due to his age (16 ) or his Palestinian nationality. Samir Awad won’t be voting on Tuesday because he was shot dead from close range last week by Israel Defense Forces soldiers: one bullet in his head, one in his back and one in his thigh. The soldiers who shot him will vote on Tuesday, because democracy is like that.

A silent Palestinian voice amid the din of the Israeli election

Whoever believes that the Awad family will continue to be denied their rights forever is living a lie, the most revolting lie of this election campaign.

By Gideon Levy

All of the neighbors from the hills opposite Awad’s home will also vote, despite living beyond the sovereign borders of their country. Most of them will vote for those who wish to banish Samir’s family, or continue to make their life hard. His bereaved father, Ahmed, cannot vote in this election despite living next to Israeli citizens, and working for years in Israel, building its houses and renovating its villas.

This is the elephant in the room. The monster at the door, who we try to ignore by saying, “If we won’t look at it, it won’t exist.” This is the worst deception of this election, the sickest lie of Israeli Democracy, promoted by all voters and candidates.

In a true democracy, Samir’s death would have become a campaign issue. Four innocent Palestinians were killed in the week leading up to the election. Nobody really cared, and one doubts if most Israelis were even aware of the deaths. Awad who? A singer or a soccer player?

It’s very easy to imagine the mood if, in the week leading up to the election, four Israelis were to be killed in a similar fashion: their deaths would rock the political establishment. But the Palestinian deaths go by like dust, barely worth a mention. Even their very presence in the backyard of the only democracy in the Middle East is as light as the dust.

No one bothers to inquire any more how the Awad family is prevented from participating in an election that will deeply affect their lives, while their neighbors – in the settlements constructed on their lands – enjoy rights that they can only dream of. Or how their neighbors naturally participate in this election, the ones that preceded it and the ones yet to come. How on earth can Israel be considered a democracy? How can it not be called an apartheid state? Why is nobody even discussing the issue?

Samir was murdered in cold blood. There’s no other way to describe his death. A high school student who wasn’t endangering anyone. The soldiers who shot him in flight will never be brought to justice. I saw their faces last week in a video clip, filmed several minutes after they killed Samir (who was trying to climb the separation barrier that suffocates his village ). They were a group of tough Israelis in uniform. Soon they will complete their service and begin civilian life, taking pride in their military service. After all, they are considered to be those with ‘values,’ those who ‘carry the weight of the burden’ – an issue that actually is present in the debate surrounding the election.

One can suppose that none of them suffer from sleepless nights, haunted by the death of the boy and the sorrow of his family. Israelis in general lose no sleep due to horrendous actions carried out on their behalf. And why should they? There are those who see to it that they shouldn’t be worried. Israel Radio reported that “the IDF prevented an effort to infiltrate Israel.”

Samir was two or three years younger than his killers. He didn’t have much of a future to look forward to, being one of a 17-strong family, supported by his father, who works in Israel. Even in the days of mourning Ahmed sports a “Hava & Adam, the Modi’in Ecological Farm” T-shirt. He still yearningly recalls how, in his broken Hebrew, he would lecture about Palestinian agriculture to Israeli students.

The murderers of his son can expect a different future: studies, entertainment, a career and voting rights. Only because they’re Jewish, not Palestinian. Israelis can vote on Tuesday for whoever they wish. But whoever believes that the Awad family will continue to be denied their rights forever is living a lie, the most revolting lie of this election campaign. Samir is the silent voice of this election, the voice which should have shocked and rocked the campaign.

Source

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LEGAL PALESTINIAN ‘SETTLEMENT’ ILLEGALLY EVACUATED BY ISRAELI FORCES

January 13, 2013 at 09:36 (Ethnic Cleansing, Hasbara, Israel, Nonviolent Resistance, Occupied West Bank, Oppression, Palestine, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

”We intend to carry out the eviction without the use of force,” a police statement said, “but we shall act with determination against anyone who partakes in riots and jeopardizes the security forces.”

Palestinian sources said that the outpost’s inhabitants sat on the ground as an act of passive resistance when the forces arrived at Bab al-Shams.

Security forces evacuate E1 outpost

Some 150 Palestinians evicted from Bab al-Shams outpost in area E1, without violent resistance, injuries. At least two Palestinians arrested, including Mustafa Barghouti

IDF and police forces evacuated some 150 Palestinians from the Bab al-Shams outpost in area E1 early on Sunday morning.

The Palestinians were placed on buses and taken to theQalandiya checkpoint. Palestinian National Initiative director Mustafa Barghouti was arrested during the eviction as well as at least one other person, according to the Palestinians.

One tent was torched by the outpost’s inhabitants who had complained that officers attacked Arab and Palestinian journalists.

Earlier, the Shai District Police said that the eviction was part of efforts to implement the closed military zone order. “We intend to carry out the eviction without the use of force,” a police statement said, “but we shall act with determination against anyone who partakes in riots and jeopardizes the security forces.”

Palestinian sources said that the outpost’s inhabitants sat on the ground as an act of passive resistance when the forces arrived at Bab al-Shams.

(צילום: רויטרס)

Forces evict Palestinians (Photo: Reuters)

(צילום: AFP)

Photo: AFP

There were no indications of violent resistance and no injuries were reported during the incident.

“Thousands of Israeli officers surrounded the tents and arrested the inhabitants one by one,” Barghouti told the French news agency. However, police stressed that the Palestinians were “escorted out of the area” and were not arrested for violating the closed military zone order.

Palestinians after arriving at Qalandiya

The IDF spokesman ordered officers to prevent journalists from entering the outpost as per the cabinet’s orders. However, Arab and Palestinian journalists were allowed to get close to the outpost prior to the eviction.

אחד הפלסטינים מורחק מהמקום (צילום: רויטרס)

Palestinian cleared from outpost (Photo: Reuters)

כוחות הביטחון בין האוהלים במאחז (צילום: רויטרס)

Photo: Reuters

כוחות צבא ומשטרה בשטח, אחרי הפינוי (צילום: אוהד צויגנברג)

Forces after the eviction (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

“An urgent evacuation is required due to a pressing security need,” the State said in a petition filed with the High Court of Justice late on Saturday.

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said in the document that the State has issued orders to define the outpost as a closed military zone and to remove squatters from its land.

Weinstein argued that the encampment was set up in order to provoke riots “of national and international consequence,” citing up-to-date intelligence information.

According to the petition, most of the tents have been pitched on the State’s lands, and allowing the protesters to stay where they are will create friction with settlers and could trigger widespread unrest.

The State “indents to act urgently to fulfill the right to evacuate everyone from the area,” Weinstein wrote. The State will then examine whether the law requires the tents to remain or be removed.

המאחז הפלסטיני ב-E1. "לפעול בדחיפות למנוע מהומות" (צילום: AFP)

Bab al-Shams on Saturday night (Photo: AFP)

The document was filed in response to a temporary injunction issued by the High Court in order to bar the State from removing the protesters from the outpost as long as there isn’t an emergency warranting an evacuation. In the meantime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the routes leading up to the outpost to be closed to traffic, rendering the area a closed military zone.

A group of 200 Palestinians, backed by foreign activists, created the encampment, whose name means “Gate of the Sun,” near Ma’aleh Adumim on Friday, setting into motion a series of legal exchanges between the Palestinians’ representatives and the State.

מאחז באב אל-שאמס. המדינה מבקשת לפנותו (צילום: אוהד צויגנברג)

The outpost (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

On Saturday, the government ordered the leaders of Bab al-Shams to immediately vacate the premises.

The outpost’s leaders then petitioned the High Court to block the warrant, claiming that the encampment was set up on their own private land and it is part of the village of At-Tur, where they reside. The tents, they claimed, where meant to act as a tourist center spotlighting Bedouin heritage. The decision to evict them went against zoning laws because it did not give them a chance to voice their arguments, they said.

The leaders said that if Israeli security forces were to make them leave, they would do so with only passive resistance.

Mahmoud Zawara, of the Popular Palestinian Committees, told Ynet that the 30-tent outpost was set up as part of the “Palestinian struggle” against Israel’s planned construction in the area.

Source and more videos AT

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PLAYING IN SNOW IS A NO-NO FOR PALESTINIAN YOUTH

January 12, 2013 at 18:19 (Israel, Oppression, Palestine, Rights of The Child, Settler Violence, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

Israeli soldiers and illegal settlers cannot tolerate Palestinian youth enjoying themselves ….

Israeli Soldiers Attack, Arrest Palestinian Youths Playing With Snow In Jerusalem

by Saed Bannoura

Video Included

The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, in Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reported that Israeli soldiers violently attacked and arrested several Palestinians playing with snow, in Sheikh Jarrah, in occupied Jerusalem, amidst the current snowfall that is covering nearly every part of Palestine. Extremist settlers, who gathered in the area shouted slogans against the Arabs and the Palestinians.

The clashes took place when a number of extremist Israeli settlers started throwing rocks at the local Palestinian youths who were playing with the snow, and started shouting and cursing at them, while chanting racist slogans against the Arabs and the Muslims.

The Center said that the current situation in the area is tensed as dozens of settlers and soldiers are still in the streets, and that the Palestinians were forcibly removed.

Several members of the Israeli Internal Security were also deployed in the area ordering the local Palestinians to leave; the extremist Israeli settlers were not ordered to leave, the center added.

Silwan is directly impacted by Israel’s illegal settlement activities, while Israeli soldiers repeatedly attacked and kidnapped dozens of residents, including children. Extremist settlers are also responsible for dozens of attacks against the residents, their homes and property.

The Wadi Hilweh Center recently reported that Israeli soldiers and policemen kidnapped in the last 6 months more than 350 Palestinians in Jerusalem, including dozens of youth and children, and 13 women.

The arrests were mainly made in Silwan, Al-Esawiyya, Shufat refugee camp, the Old city, Al-Sawane, and Beit Hanina.

Most of the kidnapped Palestinians were released after being order to pay fines that ranged between 500 New Israeli Shekels (NIS) to 2000 NIS. In the same timeframe, Israel demolished on average 4 Palestinian homes per month.

Source

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IDF KICKS OFF THE NEW YEAR BY ATTACKING A PALESTINIAN SCHOOL

January 1, 2013 at 12:31 (Collective Punishment, Ethnic Cleansing, Hasbara, Israel, Occupied West Bank, Palestine, Soldier Brutality)

Israeli Forces Attack School, PSP Activists in Another Invasion Following Funeral

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For the third time in 4 days, Israeli forces attacked residents of Beit Ommar after a funeral. On Wednesday, December 26, over 100 soldiers and the “skunk” truck were used in a prolonged attack on the residents of Beit Ommar that lasted over two hours. Soldiers began by firing on the the youth who had gathered near the entrance to the cemetery during the funeral of a man who died suddenly at the age of 37. Soldiers immediately began using rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition, as they had on December 22 when they wounded two young men with live ammunition.

On Wednesday, the Israeli forces entered the village, and spotted three Palestinian activists with PSP and two youth with them standing on a nearby roof taking pictures. The Israeli forces rushed the home, blocking the entrance to it with the three men and two boys inside. They then threw at least 4 tear gas canisters into the house. The activists, including PSP co-founder Mousa Abu Maria and boys aged 10 and 13, were forced onto the roof, where they could not escape the tear gas. The two youth lost consciousness and all five were captive in the house for over 45 minutes until the Israeli soldiers left the entrance.

During the same invasion, Israeli forces used the “skunk”–a toxic, foul-smelling liquid that is sprayed from a truck and remains on anything it touches for days–onto a girl’s elementary school.

In related incidents, Israeli forces have arrested at least 5 youth from their homes over night in the last 5 days. Some of them were released after two days of interrogation. Others are still being held.

Source

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WHY THE IDF HATES THE CAMERA

December 14, 2012 at 11:41 (Collective Punishment, Genocide, Hasbara, Israel, Occupied West Bank, Palestine, Soldier Brutality, War Crimes)

Recent videos of Israeli war crimes show why the camera is now the IDF’s greatest enemy …

“We’ll be steadfast to our last breath”: Moving video of Hebron teen murdered by Israeli soldier

Submitted by Ali Abunimah

A video has emerged of Palestinian teen Muhammad al-Salaymeh, who was shot dead by an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron yesterday, his 17th birthday.

The video, posted on the Facebook page QNN is of an earlier television encounter between Muhammad and his older brother Awad, banished to Gaza after his release from prison by Israel in October 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange.

In the video Awad and Muhammad chat. Awad says “My brother Muhammad was born while I was in prison,” and when the host asks Muhammad what he wishes for, the teen answers, “I wish we could all be together, as one family, instead of separated.”

When asked what the situation was like near his home in Hebron, Muhammad answered, “there are always closures, but we are steadfast. We will never leave our house in which we were raised for years and generations, because we will be steadfast to our last breath, until we die.”

Muhammad’s family home is in central Hebron, an area coveted and occupied by Israeli settlers who have steadily been driving Palestinian families out.

Today dozens of Muhammad’s schoolmates attended his funeral in Hebron. “We lost a friend, a brother, and a sporting hero,” his friend Ahmad Al-Jamal told Ma’an News Agency.

Video of murder scene

Another video, released by B’Tselem, shows the harrowing immediate aftermath of Muhammad’s shooting. There is a brief glimpse of Muhammad lying on the ground, distraught relatives screaming, with Israeli occupation forces present on the scene. Towards the end of the video medics can be seen attending to Muhammad as a voice calls for his father “Abu Awad.”

In the final moments of the video a man, possibly Abu Awad, is heard saying, “ibni, ibni,” – “My son.”

*

Alleged killer content

Members of Muhammad’s family accused Israeli occupation forces of “fabricating” a story that Muhammad had been carrying a toy gun, as AFP reported:

Salayma’s uncle, Nasser, told AFP that the Israeli version of his nephew’s death was “a fabrication.”

“The plastic gun story isn’t true and it is all fabrication,” he said. Other relatives said Salayma was on his way to buy a birthday cake when the incident took place.

“Yesterday was his birthday and he celebrated it at school and was going to celebrate at home, but it never happened,” Nasser al-Salayma said.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said its preliminary investigations showed Israeli forces “at the checkpoint were detaining a child, who had a plastic pistol” as Salayma approached. When he reached the checkpoint, an Israeli border policewoman “fired at him from a close range… he was hit by three bullets,” the group said.

Muhammad al-Salaymeh’s accused killer has been named in media reports as Nofar Mizrahi, 19, a member of the Israeli “Border Police,” a unit of the occupation forces.

Mizrahi was quoted by The Jerusalem Post expressing that she was “happy” at the outcome and had no qualms or regrets about having killed al-Salaymeh even though he may have had a toy gun or nothing at all in his hands:

“It didn’t change it for me, because in those same moments you don’t have time to think or be confused. For me it was a real pistol in every sense of the word pointed at my soldier and it’s my responsibility to act, because if I don’t kill him my friend will be killed, and I won’t let this happen,” said “N” on Thursday.

“After they investigated the incident it turned out it was a fake gun, but it didn’t change how I felt about it. I’m happy this ended with no injuries on our side and I’m sure any other officer in my situation would have done what I did,” she added.

N said that she had only moments to react and instantly got in position, finding a clear line of fire before letting off three shots into al-Salaymeh.

Israeli soldiers recently told Israeli media they were frustrated that they could not shoot at Palestinians more freely.

Killings of Palestinians by Israeli occupation forces are rarely subjects of credible investigations and Muhammad al-Salaymeh is now the latest of thousands of Palestinians to be killed by the Israeli occupation with little hope of justice or accountability.

Written FOR

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IDF FINDS A NEW ENEMY

December 14, 2012 at 10:12 (Freedom of The Press, Hasbara, Israel, Occupation, Palestine, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

As the crimes of the Israeli army are documented on camera, the IDF seems to have found a new target, the cameramen themselves ….

Reuters: IDF soldiers beat our cameramen in Hebron

News agency claims two of its photographers assaulted by troops who accused them of working for B’Tselem

Reuters

The Reuters news agency is claiming that IDF soldiers punched two of its cameramen and forced them to strip in the street, before letting off a tear gas canister in front of them. One of the photographers reportedly required hospital treatment.

“The regional brigade commander was ordered to open an investigation,” Israeli Defense Forces spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said in an email.

Yousri Al Jamal and Ma’amoun Wazwaz said a foot patrol stopped them as they were driving to a nearby checkpoint where a Palestinian teenager had been shot dead by an Israeli border guard.

According to the report, their car was clearly marked ‘TV’ and both were wearing blue flak jackets with ‘Press’ emblazoned on the front.

The two claim that the soldiers forced them to leave the vehicle and punched them, striking them with the butts of their guns. The troops accused them of working for an Israeli NGO,B’Tselem, which documents human rights violations in the West Bank, the Reuters cameramen said.

The soldiers did not let the men produce their official ID papers and forced them to strip down to their underwear, making them kneel on the road with their hands behind their heads, the cameramen claim.

According to the report, two other Palestinian journalists working for local news organizations, including a satellite television station affiliated to Hamas, were also stopped and forced to the ground.

The photographers further claimed that one of the soldiers then dropped a tear gas canister between the men and the IDF patrol ran away. The four journalists scrambled clear and Jamal and Wazwaz got to their car, which had rapidly filled up with tear gas.

They tried to drive away, but said they only got around 200 meters before they had to stop and exit the vehicle because of the choking gas. The soldiers then fired more tear gas in their direction.

Wazwaz was taken to hospital by ambulance and released later the same night.

The cameramen claim that the soldiers took two gas masks and a video camera from their car. The undamaged camera was later found abandoned further up the road.

“We deplore the mistreatment of our journalists and have registered our extreme dismay with the Israeli military authorities,” said Stephen J. Adler, editor-in-chief of Reuters News.

Source

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“INTOLERABLE’ NOT TO BE ABLE TO SHOOT PALESTINIANS AT WILL

December 10, 2012 at 11:25 (Collective Punishment, Hasbara, Israel, Occupation, Palestine, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

It’s been like that since video of Israeli soldiers brutalizing Palestinians came to light during the first intifada, which began 25 years ago this weekend.

Videos or no videos, decade after decade, Israel’s brutal occupation grinds on without accountability and with impunity for those who give the orders and those follow them.

Israeli soldiers say it’s “intolerable” they can’t kill Palestinians more freely due to cameras, “rules”

Submitted by Ali Abunimah

Soldier next to jeep throwing grenade. More soldiers nearby.

An Israeli soldier lobs tear gas at Palestinian demonstrators during a protest against Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip, in the village of Beit Ummar near the West Bank city of Hebron on November, 16, 2012.

(Mamoun Wazwazi / APA images)

Israeli occupation soldiers have complained to Israel’s Ynet that they are not allowed to be more violent against Palestinians whose land they occupy in the West Bank.

In particular, the soldiers seem unhappy that they can no longer just shoot dead Palestinians who throw stones at them because Palestinians do not like foreign armies occupying their towns. Ynet used only initials to identify the soldiers.

According to S., orders to open fire address situations of a clear and present danger and only if there is a person with the means and intent to kill. “But what is an angry mob throwing stones and sometimes rocks at you if not a life threatening situation? I wouldn’t order opening fire at a crowd of people but we can’t have a situation where you stand in front of a person with a rock and start to ask yourself is this person life threatening. If I shoot at him I go to jail.

“Intolerable” not to be able to shoot Palestinians at will

One soldier admits that the presence of cameras – presumably in the hands of Palestinian and other videographers – inhibits the soldiers from being even more abusive:

T. says the cameras on the ground undermine the forces’ efforts. “A commander or an officer sees a camera and becomes a diplomat, calculating every rubber bullet, every step. It’s intolerable, we’re left utterly exposed. The cameras are our kryptonite.”

Occasionally crimes by Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers are caught on video.

But more often they are not. In recent testimonies given to the group Breaking the Silence, Israeli soldiers admitted to horrifying crimes including deliberate and random attacks on Palestinian children, sometimes killing them and sometimes just for amusement.

In video shot by Palestinians last May, Israeli settlers can be seen attacking a village with stones, live fire and setting fire to fields as Israeli occupation forces guard the settlers.

In this video, posted a few days ago on YouTube, settlers can be seen throwing stones at Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Urif, again protected by soldiers.

It seems unlikely that “S.” and “T.” would be too keen on Palestinians being given the right to shoot at them. Stones are only deadly weapons, it would appear, in the hands of Palestinians, and when directed against heavily-armed, invading occupation forces.

Israeli soldiers kill with impunity anyway

While “T.” worries about “calculating every rubber bullet,” Israeli soldiers have found ways around rules nominally meant to prevent wanton killing of Palestinians.

Exactly one year ago, Mustafa Tamimi, 28, was killed when Israeli soldiers in the village ofNabi Saleh fired a tear gas canister at his face at point blank range, a murder witnessed by Linah Alsaafin.

In November, harrowing video caught images of Rushdi Tamimi, 31, also in Nabi Saleh,lying on the ground shortly after being shot in the stomach and thigh by Israeli occupation forces during a protest against Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

The video shows the occupation soldiers threatening the woman shooting the video and preventing villagers from tending to Tamimi, who died of his wounds in hospital two days later.

In addition to Tamimi, 22-year-old Hamdi al-Falah was killed by Israeli soldiers during protests against the attack on Gaza in the West Bank city of Hebron.

“S.” who was concerned, “If I shoot at him I go to jail,” need not worry. A year after Mustafa Tamimi’s killing, no one has been brought to justice. It’s unlikely that Rushdi Tamimi’s killers will face justice either.

It’s been like that since video of Israeli soldiers brutalizing Palestinians came to light during the first intifada, which began 25 years ago this weekend.

Videos or no videos, decade after decade, Israel’s brutal occupation grinds on without accountability and with impunity for those who give the orders and those follow them.

Written FOR

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Mark Elf @ Jews Sans Frontiers posted the following related article….

Israel doesn’t kill stone throwers…not on camera anyway

Here’s a turn up in YNET. Israeli soldiers in the West Bank were confronted by stone-throwers.

Click HERE to view video

A video that surfaced over the weekend shows Palestinians stoning Israeli security forces, eventually forcing them to run for cover – similiar to the incident in Hebron.

Six IDF soldiers equipped with shields and crowd-dispersal means found themselves ambushed by a crowd of stone throwing Palestinians in the West Bank village of Kafr Qaddum.

YNET people spoke to “S” and “T”:

According to S., orders to open fire address situations of a clear and present danger and only if there is a person with the means and intent to kill. “But what is an angry mob throwing stones and sometimes rocks at you if not a life threatening situation? I wouldn’t order opening fire at a crowd of people but we can’t have a situation where you stand in front of a person with a rock and start to ask yourself is this person life threatening. If I shoot at him I go to jail.”

T’s testimony was a tad more telling:

T., a combatant in an infantry brigade, also claims that soldiers are not equipped to handle the complex situation on the ground. “There’s nothing more humiliating for a combatant than to see his friends run,” he says.

He criticizes the army for sending such a small group of soldiers to Qaddum on Friday at a particularly volatile time.

T. says the cameras on the ground undermine the forces’ efforts. “A commander or an officer sees a camera and becomes a diplomat, calculating every rubber bullet, every step. It’s intolerable, we’re left utterly exposed. The cameras are our kryptonite.”

I see, so cameras are a constraint. I don’t know how Freudian the guy was being regarding kryptonite. It’s the only thing that can kill Superman. Does this Israeli soldier really think that not being able to kill is the same thing as actually being dead?

4 Comments

PALESTINIANS: THE BRAVEST CHILDREN IN THE WORLD

November 9, 2012 at 12:40 (Activism, Civil Rights, Israel, Occupied West Bank, Palestine, Rights of The Child, Soldier Brutality)

Watch them live standing up to the enemy ….

They are the children of the prisoner Bassem Al Tamimi and the recently released prisoner Nariman Al Tamimi. The occupying forces also arrested journalists, five internationals. [Ynet interpretation of this, "Palestinian girl tries to goad soldiers into lashing out" can be found here]

Ynet’s whitewashed version can be seen below.

From

2 Comments

ZIONISM: DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO YOU?

October 24, 2012 at 09:04 (Civil Liberties, DesertPeace Exclusive, Dictatorship, Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide, Germany, Hasbara, Hate crimes, Israel, Occupation, Palestine, Soldier Brutality, zionist harassment)

The following images were sent to me by Michael Rivero to share with my readers…

It makes sense to the likes of these few….

Now look at the following (disturbing) photos to see how zionism is repeating the crimes of history, can you honestly say this makes sense? Yet, these attrocities are supported by the United States government, the European Union and others, even receiving Nobel ‘Peace’ Prizes for that support. Surely this cannot make sense to any rational person.