Physicians for Human Rights – Israel reported on 29 January that Khader ‘Adnan, has been on hunger strike since 18 December 2011. Thirty-four year old 'Adnan, from the village of ‘Araba near Jenin, was detained on 17 December 2011 and placed in administrative detention. ‘Adnan is on the hunger strike in protest against his administrative detention and the manner in which he was arrested and interrogated. According to PHR, “his condition is life-threatening.”

In 2011, there was a sharp increase in the number of Palestinian administrative detainees held by Israel, from 219 in January to 307 in December, according to figures B'Tselem received from the Israel Prison Service. Twenty-nine percent of the detainees had been held for six months to one year; another 24 percent from one to two years. Seventeen Palestinians had been in administrative detention continuously for two to four and a half years, and one man has been held for over five years. At the end of 2011, Israel was holding one minor in administrative detention. This year marks the first time since 2008 that there was an increase in the number of administrative detainees, after the number had fallen from 813, in January 2008, to 204 in December 2010.

After Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, B'Tselem wrote to the MAG Corps demanding investigations of the Military Police Investigation Unit (MPIU) into 20 incidents that had taken place during the operation. In each of the incidents, B'Tselem's field research raised serious suspicions that military actions had harmed unarmed, uninvolved civilians, in violation of international humanitarian law.

A description of the incidents follows.

Five members of the Bau’lusha family killed – no MPIU investigation opened

On 29 December 2008, the military bombed a mosque in the center of the Jabalya refugee camp without warning residents living close by. As a result of the bombing, six nearby houses collapsed, among them the Bau’lusha family's home. Five daughters of the family were killed: Jawaher, 4, Dina, 7, Samar, 12, Ikram, 14, and Tahrir, 17. Their four siblings were injured, as were ten residents of nearby houses.

The ruins of al-‘Aqel Mosque and, adjacent to it, the Bau’lusha family's home. Photo: Muhammad Sabah, B'Tselem, 30 March '09.

B'Tselem’s letter to the MAG Corps, Hebrew, PDF

Click here to read the testimony give by Samira Bau'lusha, the mother, several days after the incident..

Firas Qasqas, an unarmed Palestinian civilian, was killed on 2 February 2007 by soldiers' gunfire, in Ramallah District. On 18 August 2011, in response to a petition filed by B'Tselem, the State Attorney's Office informed the High Court of Justice that the officer responsible for the shooting would be prosecuted, pending a hearing. In mid-January 2012, the State informed the Court that, following the hearing given the officer, no indictment would be filed against him.

In a letter attached to the State’s announcement, Att. Rakefet Segal-Mohar from the Central District Attorney’s Office wrote that, although the shooting did not conform to the open-fire regulations, “it was a unique operational situation, in which the soldiers … felt that they were in real danger.” The Office concluded that, “even if the order to shoot was mistaken, it does not amount to negligence.”

B'Tselem intends to appeal the decision.

Background:

The decision was reached four years after a company of reserve-duty soldiers killed Qasqas from a distance of several hundred meters away, although he was unarmed and had done nothing that endangered them. The announcement was made in response to the petition filed, on 3 February 2011, by B'Tselem, represented by Attorney Gabi Laski, demanding that the Judge Advocate General’s Office decide whether to take measures against the soldiers involved in the case.

Most of B'Tselem's complaints have led to no outcome

Three years after operation Cast Lead, the Israeli military's argument against independent investigation of its conduct during Operation Cast Lead has proven to be hollow. The military has completely failed to investigate itself, regarding both policy choices and the conduct of the forces in the field in particular cases.

The MAG (Military Advocate General) Corps recently updated B'Tselem on its handling of the hundreds of complaints that B'Tselem had submitted over the past decade and more, including the 20 complaints involving Operation Cast Lead. This was the first substantive response received by B'Tselem in spite of repeated questions to the MAG Corps and the IDF Spokesperson. The main points regarding Operation Cast Lead-related cases follow:

 

• In nine cases, the MAG Corps did not order an investigation. Regarding five of them, the response repeated the update sent more than two years ago, after B'Tselem's initial complaint: “The file has been sent to the relevant military officials for response”. The cases are: 1) the killing of five members of the Abu ‘Easheh family, 2) the killing of five members of the ‘Aleiwa family, 3) the killing of 11 members of the Dib family, 4) the killing of Ibrahim and Muhammad Abu Dakah and Ibrahim Abu Tir, and 5) the killing of five members of the Ermelat family. “The file is being handled” was the response regarding two other cases: 1) the killing of five sisters from the Bau’lusha family, and 2) the killing of the baby Wiam al-Kafarneh. In the two remaining cases, “the request was not located”: 1) the killing of eight persons in the bombing of a truck carrying oxygen tanks, and 2) the killing of three children of the al-Astal family.

On 5 Jan. '12, B'Tselem wrote to the military advocate general, Brig. Gen. Danny Efroni, and to the commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, Brig. Gen. Hagai Mordechai, demanding an investigation into the firing of .22-caliber bullets that hit a young Palestinian man who was throwing stones at soldiers during the weekly demonstration in a-Nabi Saleh, on 23 December 2011. B'Tselem also requested that the MAG clarify to senior commanders, to forces in the field, and to the Judea and Samaria Division’s spokesperson that using these bullets is tantamount to firing live ammunition, and is, therefore, forbidden as a crowd-control measure.

Part of video footage showing firing of .22-caliber bullet at Palestinian demonstrator throwing stones, a-Nabi Saleh, 23 Dec. '11.
View more videos.

In her letter, B'Tselem’s executive director, Jessica Montell, noted that the circumstances did not meet the army's criteria for using live fire as detailed in official correspondence with B'Tselem. The soldiers' lives were not at risk, and the forces were equipped with crowd-control means, such as tear gas, which they had successfully used earlier against the stone throwers.

After the incident, the Judea and Samaria Division spokesperson said that the shooting had been carried out according to procedure. This statement contradicts the army’s previous declarations that firing.22-caliber bullets is not considered a proper means for coping with a public disturbance, and that the rules of engagement regarding this kind of ammunition are stringent and comparable, in general, to the rules applying to the firing of “regular” ammunition.

Three years after Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli military's argument against independent investigation of its conduct during the operation has proven to be hollow. The military has completely failed to investigate itself, regarding both policy choices and the conduct of the forces in the field in particular cases.

From 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009, the Israeli military carried out an offensive dubbed Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. The resulting damage to the civilian population in Gaza was colossal: Israeli security forces killed 1,391 Palestinians, at least 759 of whom (including 318 minors under age 18) were civilians who had not been taking part in the hostilities. More than 5,300 Palestinians were injured, at least 350 of them seriously. The operation also caused extensive damage to homes, industrial plants and the agricultural sector, in addition to the electricity, sanitation, water, and health infrastructure that had already been on the brink of collapse due to Israel's siege on Gaza. According to UN estimates, the military destroyed more than 3,500 homes, leaving some 20,000 persons homeless.

Three years after Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli military's argument against independent investigation of its conduct during the operation has proven to be hollow. The military has completely failed to investigate itself, regarding both policy choices and the conduct of the forces in the field in particular cases.

From 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009, the Israeli military carried out an offensive dubbed Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. The resulting damage to the civilian population in Gaza was colossal: Israeli security forces killed 1,391 Palestinians, at least 759 of whom (including 318 minors under age 18) were civilians who had not been taking part in the hostilities. More than 5,300 Palestinians were injured, at least 350 of them seriously. The operation also caused extensive damage to homes, industrial plants and the agricultural sector, in addition to the electricity, sanitation, water, and health infrastructure that had already been on the brink of collapse due to Israel's siege on Gaza. According to UN estimates, the military destroyed more than 3,500 homes, leaving some 20,000 persons homeless.

The resources of an occupied territory are supposed to be used to benefit the local population, unless they are needed for an urgent military purpose. However, in a judgment given on 26 December 2011, Israel's High Court of Justice established a new rule enabling the state and private Israeli enterprises to loot quarries in the West Bank. The decision completely contradicts international law and principles that have guided High Court rulings in the last thirty years. There is cause for great concern that the ruling will enable Israel to treat the West Bank and its resources as if they have been annexed to the state, without taking the human rights of Palestinians into account.

The Kochav Hashachar quarry in the Jordan Valley. Photo: Keren Manor, activestills.org, 8 Feb. '11

The court’s opinion, written by Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch and joined by justices Miriam Na’or and Esther Hayut, was given in a petition filed by Yesh Din in March 2009 against Israeli entities operating quarries in Area C in the West Bank. On 10 January 2012, Yesh Din filed an application for rehearing, before an expanded panel, on the new rule that the judgment established.

Judge's ruling justifies the routine violation of minors' rights by the Police

On 9 Jan. '12, an Israeli Military Youth Court judge held that a confession given to the police by a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from the village a-Nabi Saleh, suspected of stone-throwing was admissible, although the minor was interrogated in a manner that severely violated his rights. The interrogation of I.D is typical of the treatment of Palestinian minors by the SHAI (Samaria and Judea) Police Force, but as most proceedings against minors are concluded with plea-bargains, there is virtually no judicial criticism of confessions extracted illegally. In this case, the court had a rare opportunity to afford I.D. real protection and to set a standard for protecting the rights of all Palestinian minors interrogated by police. Instead, he judge opted to admit the confession into evidence and justify violation of the rights of Palestinian minors.

I.D.'s interrogation, taken from video footage of the interrogation by the police.

Background

On 9 January 2012, Israeli Military Youth Court judge Major Sharon Rivlin-Ahai held that the confession given to the police by I.D., a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from a-Nabi Saleh, interrogated on suspicion of stone throwing, was admissible. The judge admitted the confession even though the minor had been questioned in breach of his rights under Israel’s Youth Law, whose spirit, according to the Military Appeals Court, applies also in adjudication of Palestinian minors in the military courts.

I.D. was arrested at home in the middle of the night. He was not allowed to rest, eat, or go to the bathroom and, from the morning, was interrogated for more than seven hours. He was interrogated, without his parents present, by three or four interrogators, only one of whom is a trained youth interrogator – although even he is not currently functioning in that capacity and has not undergone retraining following the changes in the Youth Law made in 2008.

I.D.'s interrogation, taken from video footage of the interrogation by the police.

Despite the fact that I.D.’s attorney contacted the interrogators before the interrogation began, I.D. was only allowed to consult with him five and a half hours of interrogation. One of the interrogators read I.D. his rights three times, each time omitting the right to remain silent and emphasizing that he must tell the whole truth. Under interrogation, I.D. admitted to throwing stones and incriminated two persons from his village in organizing demonstrations and inciting villagers to throw stones.

Israel's Civil Administration is planning to relocate some 27,000 Bedouins living in Area C in the West Bank. At first, some 2,300 people will be expelled from their homes near the Ma'ale Adummim settlement and relocated to a site next to the Abu Dis garbage dump, east of Jerusalem. Members of the Khan al-Ahmar community explain how the move will affect them.

Saleh Abu Muhareb, 54

I have two wives and 12 children, eight of whom are married. We all live together, about 900 meters from the border. Together with my sons and nephews, I have a 16-dunam (16,000 sq m) plot of land. In addition, we and a few other families rent about 70 dunams (70,000 sq m) of land, divided into several lots, along the border, east of Wadi a-Salqa. On that land, which has an irrigation system, we grew cauliflower, squash and other crops. This land provides a livelihood for some 45 persons. Sometimes, we hired people to help us work the land.

At the beginning of the second intifada, in 2000-2001, the Israeli army cleared a 16-dunam olive orchard on the land we rented and damaged the well. A year later, we replanted the olive orchard, but the well remained closed. At the present time, of the 70 dunams that we rent, we’ve managed to work only 40 of them. It breaks my heart to look from a distance at the 30 dunams that are not being cultivated.

In 2008, I planted 17 dunams of wheat, but when harvest time came, I couldn’t get to the land because the army fired at us whenever we tried to go there. That year, we lost the entire crop and had no wheat and no straw for the animals. We have 15 sheep, a cow and a horse. This plot still has no crops growing on it.

During the plowing season, the tractor owners refuse to plow land near the border. More than once, the army fired at the tractor that was plowing our land. There is no work in the Gaza Strip, and young people can’t work in other occupations, especially since Israel imposed a siege on Gaza.