Palestinian Killed by Army Fire At A Roadblock In The Jordan Valley

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Written by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies Report post Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies Report post

Published: 02 January 2011 02 January 2011

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Palestinian Killed by Army Fire At A Roadblock In The Jordan Valley

Palestinian medical sources reported on Sunday morning, that Israeli soldiers stationed at the Al Hamra roadblock in the Jordan valley, shot and killed a Palestinian youth despite having his hands up following soldiers demands.


The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that slain resident was identified as Mahmoud Mohammad Daraghma, 21.

The Red Crescent added that Daraghma was shot in his chest and buttocks while walking towards the roadblock.

The Maan News Agency reported that Dr. Hatem Farroukh, who witnessed the shooting, said that Daraghma had both of his hand over his head before two soldiers, male and female, shot him from a distance that does not exceed three meters.

Daraghma was not armed and only had a Coke can in his hand and that just before he was shot he was walking next to some female soldiers. The soldiers then opened fire at him from different directions.

In related news, medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that two residents were wounded on Sunday at dawn after the army bombarded areas in northern and central Gaza.

The Israeli Air Force bombarded a site, believed to be used as a training center for the fighters of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in Jabalia in northern Gaza. Damage to the site and a number of surrounding homes were damaged, and one resident was mildly injured.

The second attack targeted an area west of Al Nusseirat refugee camp in Central Gaza inflicting one injury.

Nonviolent Protestor Killed After Being Asphyxiated by Tear Gas in Bil’in

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Written by Ane Irazabal - IMEMC News Ane Irazabal - IMEMC News

Published: 02 January 2011 02 January 2011

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Jawaher Abu Rahma, aged 36, died on Saturday, after suffering the effects of tear gas inhalation fired by the Israeli military during the Friday weekly protest in Bil’in. Medical sources reported that the cause of the death was suffocation from tear gas chemicals mixed with phosphorus.

photo by Hamde Abu Rahma

Hundreds of Palestinians, internationals and Israeli peace activists attended Abu Rahma's funeral in a procession through the village of Bil'in on Saturday, in which residents released a statement condemning the death.

“The loss of Jawaher Abu Rahma makes us feel more determined to continue to resist against the illegal settlements and the apartheid wall, until the residents of Bil'in achieve justice and freedom and can live in peace,” the statement underlined.

Bil'in popular committee spokesman Jonathan Pollak said in a statement that Abu Rahmah arrived at the Ramallah hospital unconscious, after being poisoned by an active ingredient in the tear gas, and doctors were unable to revive her.

“She did not die because of a lack of medical treatment, but because Israeli forces used a lethal tear gas banned in several European countries,” Pollak added.

Although several sources reported that Jawaher was taking part to the nonviolent protest on Friday, local witnesses claimed that she was not attending the demonstration, as she was in her home, approximately 500 meters away from where the gas canisters landed.

Jawaher Abu Rahma was the sister of Bassem Abu Rahma, who was also killed after being hit by a tear gas canister in 2009 during a nonviolent weekly demonstration against the Annexation Wall in Bil'in.

On Saturday, the Israeli army stated that they would investigate the death of Abu Rahma, without giving any other explanations, Ma'an News reported.

US will prevent security council opposition to settlements

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Written by JTA JTA

Published: 30 December 2010 30 December 2010

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JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The United States opposes efforts to pass a U.N. Security Council resolution against Jewish West Bank settlements, a State Department spokesman said.

At the same time, the administration does "not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity," the spokesman, Mark Toner, said Wednesday during a meeting with reporters.

The Palestinian Authority is currently working on a draft of a resolution that would ask the Security Council to condemn Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including eastern Jerusalem, as illegal and an obstacle to peace, according to reports. The resolution could be presented to the Security Council in early 2011.

"We don't accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity and, in fact, we believe continued expansion is corrosive to peace efforts, as well as to Israel's future," Toner said. "We believe, fundamentally, that direct negotiations are the only path through which the parties will ultimately reach the framework agreement that is our goal, our mutual goal.

"And final status issues can only be resolved through negotiations between the parties and not by recourse to the U.N. Security Council, so we've consistently opposed any attempt to take these kinds of issues to the Council, because we believe that these kinds of efforts don't move us any closer to our goal, which is of two states living side by side in peace and security," he added.

Toner declined to say specifically whether the United States would veto such a resolution. A resolution that does not call for sanctions could result in the United States not using its veto, according to reports.

The Associated Press reported that it has obtained a draft copy of the resolution. The AP reported that the resolution will ask the Security Council to reaffirm that "the Israeli settlements established in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”

The resolution also reiterates the Palestinian's demand that Israel, "the occupying power, immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in this regard.”

It also urges "the intensification of international and regional diplomatic efforts to support and invigorate the peace process towards the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East," according to the AP.

Israel leaves us no choice but to boycott

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Written by Ali Abunimah Ali Abunimah

Published: 17 December 2010 17 December 2010

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LAtimes.com

Palestinians have already given up so much since 1948. It's up to Israel to end its campaign of ethnic cleansing for the peace process to move forward.

Israel's deputy minister of foreign affairs, Danny Ayalon, paints a picture of an innocent Israel yearning for peace, virtually begging the intransigent Palestinians to come negotiate so there can be a "two-states-for-two-peoples solution" ("Who's stopping the peace process?" Dec. 14). But it's one that bears no resemblance to the realities Palestinians experience and much of the world sees every day.

Ayalon claims that the settlements Israel refuses to stop building on occupied land are a "red herring" and present no obstacles to peace because in the "43 years since Israel gained control of the West Bank, the built-up areas of the settlements constitute less than 1.7% of the total area."

But let us remind ourselves of a few facts that are not in dispute. Since the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel signed the Oslo peace agreement in 1993, the number of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has tripled to more than half a million. Ayalon's deceptive focus on the "built-up areas" ignores the reality that the settlements now control 42% of the West Bank, according to a report last July from the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem.

B'Tselem points out that there are now more than 200 Israeli settlements "that are connected to one another, and to Israel, by an elaborate network of roads." These roads, along with various "security zones" from which Palestinians are excluded, cut across Palestinian land and isolate Palestinians in miserable and often walled, ghetto-like enclaves.

Read more: Israel leaves us no choice but to boycott