In 2005, the Jerusalem municipality issued demolition orders for most homes in the Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, East Jerusalem. This week, it demolished homes in the neighborhood, despite the mayors’ past promise to allow the residents to present a plan reflecting the area's development needs.
On 4 Oct. '08, Border Police officer Tomer Avraham killed Iyad Abu-Ra'iyeh, who was found in Tel Aviv without a permit, after severely beating him. Tel Aviv District Court judge Oded Mudrik sentenced Avraham to one year imprisonment for manslaughter, referring to the crime as "a hapless, lethal act incidental to military or police activity."
On 30 Sept. '08, police arrested Shadi Sabatin and his Israeli employer. An interrogator then severely beat him, trying to force him to confess he worked in Jerusalem without a permit. Sabatin's employer, who heard his cries in the interrogation room, placed a complaint with the Department for Police investigations.
On 2 November, a military court of appeals denied the appeal of Salwa Salah and Sareh a-Siuri to overturn renewal of the administrative detention orders issued against them.
B'Tselem calls on the army to release the two girls immediately or, if it has evidence against them, to prosecute them as provided by law.
Despite the harsh criticism voiced earlier by the High Court justices, the judge advocate general sticks to his position that the charge of unbecoming conduct is suitable for a case in which a bound and blindfolded Palestinian was abused and shot.
On 5 Oct. '08, two fishermen sailed from Rafah in a rowboat. One of them, Muhammad Musleh, told B'Tselem that an Israeli navy boat fired at them without warning, although they were in the zone permitted for fishing by the army. Musleh was severely injured in his leg and is being treated in al-Muqassed Hospital in Jerusalem. B'Tselem knows of numerous cases, in the last two years, of soldiers shooting and abusing fishermen on the Gaza shoreline.
On 17 Oct. '08, several Jewish men armed with clubs attacked and beat Majdi and Khaled al-Husseini, residents of East Jerusalem, as they approached an ice cream shop in West Jerusalem. The two sought shelter with policemen standing nearby, who abused them. The paramedic treating Majdi al-Husseini, who was wounded, also abused him, willfully hurt him and tied his hands once inside the ambulance.
The olive-picking, which began several weeks ago, has been accompanied by fear of settler attacks on Palestinian farmers. Several cases of harassment have occurred, including destruction of trees and crops, stone throwing and beating of farmers. B'Tselem reiterates the arm's responsibility to protect farmers on their lands.
On 11 Sept. '08, in the middle of the night, soldiers arrested Muhammad Khawajah, 12, from Ni'lin village, beating and dragging him on his stomach. The child, suspected of stone throwing at a demonstration, was beaten during interrogation and held in Ofer Prison for 4 days with adult detainees. 'Abd a-Rahman al-Halim, a 14-year-old arrested with him, was held for 45 days.
B'Tselem severely condemns the Palestinian terror attack today in Gilo neighborhood in East Jerusalem, in which an elderly Israeli civilian was stabbed to death. Attacks aimed at civilians are immoral, inhuman, and illegal. Intentional killing of civilians is considered a war crime that can never be justified, whatever the circumstances may be.
On 28 Sept. '08, the Israeli High Court held a hearing on the petition of Ashraf Abu Rahma and human rights organizations demanding amendment of the indictment against the battalion commander and soldier involved in the shooting of Abu Rahma in Ni'lin. The justices ordered the military Judge Advocate General's Office to reconsider the indictment and to inform the court of its decision within 40 days.
On 14 August 2008, in the middle of the night, soldiers entered the home of the Abu 'Aker family, in the Deheishe refugee camp, to arrest the father. They ordered him and his children to undress in front of them, severely beat the father, slapped his thirteen-year-old son, and turned the house upside down, breaking things in the process. B'Tselem demanded the Judge Advocate General's Office to investigate the incident.
Israel’s regime of apartheid and occupation is inextricably bound up in human rights violations. B’Tselem strives to end this regime, as that is the only way forward to a future in which human rights, democracy, liberty and equality are ensured to all people, both Palestinian and Israeli, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israel has acted in a coordinated and deliberate manner to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip, committing genocide against its residents. In light of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the public statements made by Israeli decision-makers, and the international community’s failure to take effective action, there is a serious risk that the Israeli regime will expand the genocide to other areas under its control—first and foremost, the West Bank.
B’Tselem calls on the Israeli public and the international community to use every tool available under international law to bring an immediate end to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.