New Yesh Din data sheet shows backlog of investigation of IDF offenses
On October 12, Yesh Din published data about the new prosecutorial body within the Israeli Military indicating that processing of the files is so slow that it endangers the ability to conduct investigations and press charges against soldiers and officers involved in criminal offenses, some of which are very serious, against Palestinian civilians and their property.
Yesh Din data address the speed of decision-making at two critical stages of the law enforcement process: first, whether to launch a criminal investigation following a complaint made about alleged offenses in which IDF forces used firearms; and secondly, whether to file indictments or close files in investigations of violent incidents where soldiers allegedly committed offenses against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, following Military Police Criminal Investigations Department (MPCID) investigations. The data monitors more than 130 investigation files that were and are being investigated by the MPCID.
Yesh Din's legal adviser Michael Sfard said that "when the decision whether to open an investigation drags on for months there is no chance the investigation will bear fruit, and when a decision whether to indict drags on for years, there is no chance of a just trial. The result is that the IDF and the state of Israel are derelicting their obligation to defend the human rights of the residents of the Occupied Territories and exposing IDF soldiers to procedures abroad."
Israeli Soldier arrested for beating Palestinian grassroots leader Mohammed Khatib in Bil'in
On Monday evening (October 5), the military police arrested an Israeli soldier accused of beating up well-known nonviolent protester and secretary of Bil’in’s Regional Council Mohammed Khatib about one month ago (September 15) during a night raid on the village. Yesh Din filed a complaint and demanded that an investigation be launched immediately after the incident and today the soldier was given an arrest hearing, during which it was decided that the soldier will be held in custody until early next week.
The alleged beating took place shortly after 1:30am on September 15th, when the Israeli military raided the Bil’in residence of Abedullah Abu Rahma, Coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall, in an attempt to arrest him. However, he was not home at the time. Soldiers sealed off the house while operating inside. When Mohammed Khatib came to the house and attempted to enter to check on Abu Rahme’s family, he was severely beaten. He was taken to a hospital in Ramallah for treatment and returned to the village later.
Yesh Din’s legal counsel Attorney Michael Sfard said: “Over the past few months, the Israeli Military has attempted to squash the legitimate unarmed popular struggle in Bil’in through a variety of illegal means: violence, wrongful arrests and night searches carried out just to instill fear. I am glad to see the Military Police pursuing this important case. Unfortunately, of the hundreds of complaints Yesh Din has filed with the Military Police of such violence of Israeli soldiers against Palestinians and it is clear that the army’s capacity to adequately carry out this sort of investigation is simply non-existent. The result is a culture of total impunity among Israeli soldiers when they enter West Bank villages – which can only be stopped by imposing consequences on such behavior.”
Human rights organizations to Israeli government: Don't silence "Breaking the Silence"
On August 2nd, Yesh Din and nine other Israeli human rights organizations – The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Bimkom, B’Tselem, Gisha, Physicians for Human Rights –Israel, Adalah, HaMoked - Center for the Defence of the Individual, Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Rabbis for Human Rights - convened in a coalition publicly declaring support for the organization "Breaking the Silence" (Shovrim Shtika). In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and the Foreign Minister, the organizations protested the Israeli government's attack on the group, which reached its peak when government representatives acted to persuade donors to halt donations to the organization.
“Indeed, the soldiers' testimonies that were published by "Breaking the Silence" do not tell the 'official' story that the government of Israel wants to tell the public. They place a large question mark over the 'most moral army in the world.' image. They call on the Israeli public to leave behind its illusions and participate in a meaningful discussion about the character of the society in which they live” say the organizations.
High Court tells State: Suggest legal solution for Ofra's illegal water purification plant within 90 days
On July 23, the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered the State of Israel to suggest a practical option in accordance with the law to the illegal construction of the Ofra water purification plant, built on privately-owned Palestinian land, within 90 days. The Court indicated that if a solution is not found within the said 90 days, it will render an order nisi, as asked by the petitioners, Palestinians land-owners from Ein Yabroud, who assisted by Yesh Din in the handing the petition in June. In the State's briefing, it explained the two possible options the state considers: confiscation of the land on which it's built from its Palestinian owners or demolition of the Ofra water purification plant. Yesh Din's Legal Counsel Michael Sfard said that "If the State chooses to confiscate the land it will be both a violation of international law and violation of promises made by Israel to US administrations."
This case was brought forth by Ein Yabroud residents and Yesh Din when residents presented pictures and proof that the sewage purification facility was being built on their private land. The 37 dunam facility -including 4 dunams of construction above ground and 33 dunam of construction under ground, including canals and pipes leading to and from the facility -- was built without permission of the land owners and without building permits and by looting private property. Reports say that funding of the facility in the amount of NIS 7.8 million comes mostly from government budgets. The planning and promotion of the plans was also done by government agencies, even though the authorities knew it is built illegally on private Palestinian land.
High Court overturns 'slap on the wrist' for Abu Rahma shooters
On July 1, the High Court of Justice ruled in favor of changing indictments filed against the soldier and commander who were involved in the shooting of a handcuffed detainee in Ni’lin, Ashraf Abu Rahma, so as to reflect the gravity of the offenses. In August 2008, Abu Rahma petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice – with the assistance of Israeli human rights organizations B’Tselem, ACRI, Yesh Din, and PCATI – after having been shot by a soldier at close range while blindfolded.
The petitioners demanded that the indictments filed against the soldier who fired the shot, Staff Sergeant L., and the platoon commander, lieutenant Col. Omri Borberg, be changed so as to reflect the severity of the offenses. Using a weapon to intimidate, and shooting a handcuffed detainee may amount to abuse of detainee under aggravated circumstances, an offense that carries a penalty of seven years in prison. Instead, the Military Prosecutor decided to charge the two with “unbecoming conduct,” an offense which does not appear on criminal records.
While satisfied that the High Court did not uphold the Military Prosecutor’s decision, Yesh Din has expressed that High Court intervention should not be necessary in order to ensure military law-enforcement agencies convey to soldiers and commanders an unequivocal message to safeguard human life and dignity.
Yesh Din brings precedent-settling settler land-grab method to the High Court
On June 23, two residents of the Palestinian village of Qadum, with assistance from Yesh Din petitioned the High Court to cancel a decision by the military committee of appeals and return to them the land into which a settler trespassed with the encouragement and backing of the Kedumim local council. The petition, submitted by lawyers Michael Sfard and Shlomy Zachary, calls into question an entire land-grabbing strategy employed by settlers throughout the West Bank and will eventually set a major precedent on this matter. The High Court will have to either enforce the law and reverse the military committee’s decision, or uphold it, which will make it possible for settlers to seize additional land and expand the settlements, without the Civil Administration having the authority to prevent it.
In May 2007 the Palestinian landowners from Qadum noticed that Kedumim resident Michael Lesens had invaded their land, putting up a fence, planting hundreds of saplings, laying drip irrigation pipes and installing irrigation installations. While in August 2007 the Civil Administration issued an order for Lesens and the Kedumim Council to stop using the land and evacuate it, Lesens appealed to the military committee of appeals, leading it in March 2009 to reverse the Civil Administration decision and canceled the evacuation order. At the committee hearing it emerged that Lesens had invaded the land on behalf of the Kedumim local Council, with its backing, encouragement and planning.
Yesh Din and ACRI take IDF Commanders to the High Court
On June 24, Yesh Din and Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) petitioned the High Court of Justice demanding the immediate suspension of IDF Kfir Brigade commander Col. Itai Virob and former commander of the Shimshon battalion, Lt.-Col. Shimon Harush. The petition also called for the launch of a criminal investigation into the suspicion that illegal acts of violence were allegedly and admittedly committed in the units they commanded.
During the Court-Martial trial of Kfir Brigade Lt. Adam Malul, who was prosecuted for alleged violence against Palestinians, the Brigade and Battalion Commanders admitted to alleged criminal offenses when they said that they believe their subordinates are allowed to use physical force as part of spontaneous "questioning" of Palestinian civilians during operations in villages in the West Bank. Following these testimonies, Yesh Din and ACRI demanded the OC Central Command and the Military Advocate General (MAG) to take measures against Col. Virob and Lt.-Col. Harush, launch a criminal investigation and dismiss the two. The MAG, however, decided not to grant the organizations’ demand, and said in response that only at the end of the legal proceeding in Lt. Malul's trial would the possibility of opening a criminal investigation against the two officers be considered. Following this response the organizations have turned to the High Court of Justice.
HCJ Ruling: Immediately halt illegal construction in Elmatan outpost
Following a petition submitted on May 26th by Palestinian residents of Dir Istya and Thulth along with Yesh Din, Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) issued on the same day a provisional order for the immediate halt of illegal construction on a new building currently being built in the outpost Elmatan. According to the decision of Supreme Court Justice Yoram Danziger, the provisional order includes an immediate halt to all construction work, the connection of the building to infrastructure, paving of roads to the building, and the abstinence from any transaction connected with the building and the transfer of rights in it until further notice.
In recent weeks Yesh Din has contacted authorities a number of times regarding the Illegal construction of a permanent building in the outpost Elmatan, located near the settlement Maaleh Shomron, and has filed complaints with the police on the matter, to no response. On May 26th, the same day the petition was filed, the HCJ issued a provisional order forbidding the continuation of all construction, active immediately. "In recent weeks we reported the illegal construction to the authorities who did nothing on the matter. It is clear that in light of the authorities’ consistent failures, the court decision is necessary,” said Shlomy Zachary of Yesh Din's legal counsel.
HCJ Petition: Demolish Ofra wastewater purification facility built on private land
On May 25th, Palestinians from the village of Ein Yabroud petitioned the High Court of Justice through Yesh Din demanding it issue an order nisi for the destruction of a wastewater purification facility located on their land, southeast of the settlement of Ofra. The petition demands that all construction work on and funding of the facility be stopped, and that the Civil Administration and SJ District Police enforce the demolition orders that have been already issued for the site.
The facility encompasses 37 dunams – 4 dunams of above ground building and 33 dunams of underground building such as tunnels and pipes going to and from the facility – and was built illegally on lands belonging to Palestinian villagers and in breach of the master plan valid in the area. According to public information, the cost of the facility is NIS 7.8 million, a large part of which has been funded by government authorities and ministries. Additionally, planning and promotion of the project was done by several government authorities. "It is at once astounding and saddening that while with one hand government authorities issue cease work orders and demolition orders, with the other they hand out money from funds belonging to the citizens of the State of Israel and assists in the violation of the law – all at the expense of the private property of the appellants,” said Yesh Din'sAtty. Shlomy Zachary.
Israel to freeze creation and expansion of West Bank quarries
Following a HCJ petition filed by Yesh Din that demanded a halt to quarrying operations in the West Bank, along with a halt in opening new quarries or expanding of existing ones, the Government of Israel (GOI) informed the HCJ that it will freeze processes of land allocation for Israeli quarrying purposes in the West Bank, and will cease to approve any expansion of existing quarries there as well. In addition, the GOI stated that it has begun an examination of the legality of quarrying operations by Israeli companies in the occupied territories, and therefore asked the HCJ to delay the hearing on the issue by 6 months,. In its statement, the GOI emphasized that it does not intend to stop mining activity in existing quarries, as demanded by Yesh Din in its petition.
Israeli quarries operating in the Occupied Territories transfer most of their output back into Israel. As stated in the petition, this type of activity constitutes a violation of the laws of occupation and in some cases is even defined as pillage.
In its response the GOI affirms that most of the yield from Israeli quarries operating in the West Bank is transferred into Israel and even admits that of the rest, most is used by settlements. In the statement the GOI says that in light of the legal claims Yesh Din has raised, it is “conducting extensive work … to examine the issue of Israeli-owned quarries operations in Area C."
A petition to evacuate settlement park built on Palestinian lands
On April 22, Palestinian residents of Na’alin filed a petition to the High Court of Justice (HCJ) assisted by Yesh Din. The petition requests implementation of demolition orders issued against a park built at the entrance to the settlement of Modi'in Ilit. The park is built in part on private lands belonging to the petitioners, the brothers Muhammad and Hamed Alhawaja, and scopes some 22 acres of lawns, strolling paths, playground facilities and an amphitheater.
While having issued cease-work orders and demolition order on the site in 2006, the Civil Administration, had yet to enforce these orders ten months later, in May 2007, when it announced that "As for further treatment of the work done in the area, if such is necessary, it will be determined according to procedures and priorities.” As of today, none of such orders issued by the Civil Administration have been enforced.
Photo slideshow of Modi'in Ilit park (Dror Etkes, Yesh Din)
HCJ Petition: GSS must release data on palestinian detainees barred from meeting their lawyers
Yesh Dinand the Movement for Freedom of Information petitioned the High Court of Justice against the Office of the Prime Minister and the General Security Service (GSS) to release statistical data concerning the extent of GSS use of orders barring individual Palestinian detainees' meetings with lawyers.
According to military legislation in the West Bank, GSS interrogators are empowered to prevent detainees from meeting their lawyers for up to thirty days. In October 2007 Yesh Din approached the Office of the Prime Minister, requesting data concerning the extent to which GSS interrogators make use of this authority. The Office of the Prime Minister replied on behalf of the GSS to Yesh Din's inquiries that the Freedom of Information Law is not applicable to the GSS and all information held by GSS.
As the GSS has consistently refused to provide the requested information, Yesh Din and the Movement for Freedom of Information have appealed jointly to the High Court of Justice demanding that the court compel the GSS to provide Yesh Din with the requested information. "Adopting the assumption that organizations […] are exempt – a priori – from public exposure of all information related to their work, without considering whether the information demanded has any likelihood of harming the state’s security, is an absurd interpretation taking much liberty with the law. Adopting such an assumption will empty the extensive case law relating to the public’s right to information of all content, against the intention of the legislator," says the petition. The petition was prepared by attorneys Boaz Ben-Tzur and Nir Friedman.
HCJ submits injunction for evacuation of 9 houses in Ofra
On March 25, 2009, just two days after the State notified Yesh Din of Defense Minster Barak's decision not to implement demolition orders pending against nine houses that were built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land in the settlement of Ofra, a hearing was held in the High Court. After the hearing, the HCJ issued an injunction order whereby the State must justify its reasons for not implementing demolition orders issued by the HCJ against houses built illegally on privately-owned land within 60 days.
In their decision, the judges referred both to the timing of inhabiting the houses and gave harsh criticism of this settlement, saying “we are under the impression that actions were taken with the goal of proving facts-on-the-ground and thwarting an interim order.”
The nine houses were erected on lands belonging to the villagers of Ein Yabrud, who submitted a high court petition together with human rights organizations Yesh Din and B’Tselem in June 2008.
Yesh Din Petitions HCJ: Stop holding Palestinian detainees inside Israel
Yesh Din, along with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, filed a petition to the HCJ on March 25, 2009 demanding that prisoners and detainees who reside in the West Bank not be held in facilities within Israel, and that arraignment hearings for such detainees also not be held in courts outside the West Bank.
Holding Palestinian detainees in facilities located within Israel violates Geneva Convention norms, and infringes on detainees' and prisoners' right to due process, right to counsel, as well as visitation rights, since their lawyers and families are unable to meet with them.
Yesh Din petitions HCJ: Stop Israeli mining activity in the West Bank
In a groundbreaking petition to the HCJ, Yesh Din demands a halt to all Israeli mining activity in West Bank quarries. The petition also demands that the issuing of new concessions be halted and that existing quarrying licenses not be extended.
In the petition Yesh Din claims that Israeli mining activity in West Bank quarries is illegal and executed through brutal economic exploitation of occupied territory for the economic needs of the State of Israel, the occupying power. A list of 11 Israeli corporations operating quarries in the West Bank to which the petition refers and is also served against is based on research conducted by Coalition of Women for Peace and published on www.whoprofits.org.
A document prepared for the Interior Ministry that was obtained by Yesh Din shows that 75% of output from Israeli quarrying in the West Bank is transferred into Israel for consumption by the Israeli construction industry, in spite of Israel’s duties under international law to protect public property, including natural resources. "Under international law, this type of activity constitutes a violation of the laws of belligerent occupation and of international human rights law and in some cases is even defined as pillage," says the petition.
Photo slideshow of West Bank quarries (Dror Etkes, Yesh Din)
Report: Soldiers trash and destroy house in village of Ramin
On February 17th, Yesh Din received a report from the Awad family from the village of Ramin that a group of soldiers entered their home and destroyed most of their belongings over the course of two hours while Mustafa Awad was taken into detention and his wife Duha sought refuge at her mother’s house with her two young girls.
According to an examination by Yesh Din, the family's books – including religious texts – were thrown across the floor, family photos had been thrown about the house, while wardrobes, cupboards, furniture and upholstery was ripped apart. The family’s television, washing machine, computer, and kitchen sink were smashed, leaving much of the house destroyed. The family’s valuables as well as the birth certificates of their children disappeared.
“This is a serious incident of vandalism that must serve as a strong warning to members of the military," says Attorney Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's Legal Council. "Since the end of the operation in Gaza we have identified a rise in the number of complaints of violence of soldiers against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territories."
Silwad residents demand access to their land
Eight Palestinian residents of the village of Silwad, with the help of Yesh Din, have petitioned Defense Minister Ehud Barak and OC Central Command General Gadi Shamni demanding the dismantling of a fence built without a permit on their land that has prevented, for more than eight years, access to their land located near the Amona outpost and the settlement of Ofra.
In the petition, attorney Shlomy Zachary, of Yesh Din’s legal counsel, indicated that if the fences are not removed the residents will petition the High Court of Justice. "My clients have waited patiently for a long period of time for effective action by the authorities," wrote Zachary in the letter. "Now, as the years have passed and no enforcement action has been discernable, their patience has run out and they are determined to take all legal steps and proceedings available to them."
Yesh Din held a briefing for members of the press and diplomatic community, in which it discussed a classified Israeli government database never before released to the public. This database, leaked to Haaretz newspaper and published in full in late January 2009, is an official up-to-date reference for all statutory aspects of settlements and outposts in the West Bank. The database reviews in detail a list of legal status issues for each settlement and outpost in the West Bank.
In the briefing, Yesh Din's legal counsel Michael Sfard and Land project director Dror Etkes stressed that the database brings to light the lack of basis for distinction between settlements and outposts - settlements considered legal under Israeli law are actually built on private Palestinian land and outside of Israeli planning and building authorization. The database also reveals that the Government of Israel is aware of the extent and scope of illegal building activity in both approved settlements and unauthorized outposts." Israel has essentially legalized the theft of Palestinian land in the West Bank", said attorney Sfard.
In a letter sent to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Military Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, Yesh Din demands the immediate removal of Chief Military Rabbi, Brigadier General Avichai Rontzki. The organization Breaking the Silence recently gave Yesh Din a booklet distributed by the Chief Military Rabbinate to soldiers before entering Gaza. The booklet includes
Content of the notebooks includes political messages and degrading and belittling messages that border on incitement and racism against the Palestinian people. Other messages can be interpreted as a call to act outside of the confines of international laws of war.
Israeli human rights groups: clear and present danger to the lives and well-being of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza
Nine Israeli human rights organizations collectively called on the Prime Minister and other senior government officials, warning of a "clear and present danger to the lives and well-being of tens of thousands of civilians." Israeli human rights organizations Adalah, Amnesty International's Israel Section, Bimkom, B'Tselem, Gisha, Hamoked, Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and Yesh Din called on the Government of Israel to act immediately to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. information.Read the letter (Translated, PDF)
Gaza: reports from Israeli human rights groups
In light of the fighting in Gaza and in Israel, Israeli human rights groups are working together to inform the public of the impact on civilians, particularly regarding events that are not reported by the media. Each group is posting the information at its disposal, which has been verified to our best ability under the circumstances.
Hotline for soldiers and policemen who witnessed settler attacks against Palestinians
Yesh Din and Breaking the Silence have launched a hotline designated for soldiers and police to report settler attacks on Palestinian persons or property. This hotline has come about as a result of the recent intensification of settler violence in the West Bank.
The decision to open the hotline was made, among other reasons, because soldiers and police are often unaware of their legal duty to protect the civilian population in the Occupied Territories from Israeli civilian violence.
Soldiers and police who call the hotline and request that their identities not be revealed to the authorities will receive full confidentiality.
"EXCEPTIONS:" new report exposes IDF's failure to enforce the law on soldiers
In a new comprehensive report, the first of its kind, Yesh Din releases to the public full data on incidents in which indictments were filed against soldiers accused of committing criminal offenses against Palestinians or their property. The report deals with the period between the start of the Second Intifada in September 2000 until the end of 2007.
The report is based on empirical data, indictments and rulings provided to Yesh Din by the IDF. From 1,246 investigation files opened by the MPCID (military police criminal investigations department) from the start of the Second Intifada in 2000 until the end of 2007, only 78 (6%) led to indictments against one or more soldiers. Of the thousands of Palestinian civilians killed, perpetrators were convicted in only 4 cases.
New on the Yesh Din website: Courts-Martial rulings on criminal offenses committed by IDF soldiers against Palestinians
With the publication of the report Exceptions, Yesh Din makes publicly available the results of the indictments of soldiers for committing criminal offenses against Palestinians or their property.
The Courts-Martial rulings, verdicts and sentences were provided to Yesh Din by the IDF Spokesperson Unit in a process that has taken more than a year and a half. In the first stage the document library o includes rulings handed down until the end of 2007.
Palestinian land owners petition the HCJ with assistance from Yesh Din: Evacuate illegal outpost Amona build on their lands
10 Palestinians filed a petition with the HCJ through human rights organization Yesh Din, demanding that the illegal outpost Amona, built on their private lands, be evacuated. In the petition, filed against the Defense Minister and the Head of OC Central Command, among others, demands that Amona be evacuated, and that the fencing which encloses parts of it, restricting the owners' access to their lands, be removed.
"The petition is against an outlandish intrusion by Israeli civilians onto the private lands of the petitioners, who are all Palestinian residents of the West Bank, in a continual invasion of over a decade that has persisted without any effective law enforcement response by the authorities entrusted with maintaining the rule of law in this area," the petition states. "This is despite the consensus that trespassing is occurring on the petitioners' private lands and those of many other protected persons residing in the other."
Nearly three years ago, in a one-time occurrence, demolition orders issued against nine permanent buildings in Amona were implemented. This law enforcement procedure in the West Bank was possible only after Peace Now filed a petition with the HCJ. However, law infringement continued, with the outpost residents continuing to reside there and even constructing new illegal buildings all on the private lands of the petitioners. "Well, this is the sad picture: the respondents are well aware of the factual and legal situation, they do not deny the illegality and the enormous scope of the law infringement," the petition says, "they are simply not interested in confronting the perpetrators."
High Court orders a halt to construction of Beit El neighborhood and prevention of its inhabitation
On November 12th, High Court Justice Hanan Meltzer issued an interim order in a claim submitted by two Palestinian land owners with the assistance of the human rights organization Yesh Din. The order instructed the Beit El Municipality and the Beit El Yeshiva to halt the construction halt all construction and inhabitation, as well as any other affairs relating to the new housing units that have been built there. In his ruling, Judge Meltzer determined that it was incumbent upon the Defense Minister, the IDF, and the police to actively ensure that the vacant houses were not being populated.
"This is a dramatic decision with significant implications for all future construction of on private Palestinian land," said Atty. Shlomy Zachary of the Yesh Din legal team."In this ruling the court showed resolve and clarity regarding the authorities' duties in the enforcement of the law concerning Palestinian property, and entrusted the authorities with a commitment to actively prevent the occupancy of the houses. As opposed to other instances in the past, we hope this time the state will act upon its duties in enforcing the rule of law."
On October 29th, two Palestinian civilians submitted a petition with the assistance of the human rights organization Yesh Din to the High Court of Justice, demanding an immediate halt to the marketing of houses before they were sold and to demolish the houses that were built illegally on their private land.
New report examines State Attorney's supervision of police investigation into Israeli civilians' offenses against Palestinians
Yesh Din has released a new report entitled "Too Little, Too Late," which studies the manner in which the Office of the State Attorney oversees police investigations in the West Bank and the quality of that supervision. The report reviews and critiques the two currently existing means of supervision in the State Attorney’s Office: the “Law Enforcement Team,” headed by the Deputy State Attorney (Special Assignments), and the Appeals Department in the State Attorney’s Office, which processes appeals against police and prosecution decisions to close cases without filing indictments. The report reveals that the State Attorney’s supervision is inadequate and does not fulfill the recommendations of the various official committees that conducted inquiries into the issue.
"Too Little, Too Late" follows the 2006 report "A Semblance of Law," as the second report in a multi-year project by human rights organization Yesh Din, to examine the reasons for the State of Israel's continuing failure to enforce the law on Israeli civilians who harm Palestinians and their property in the West Bank. The report includes recommendations for strengthening the State Attorney’s supervisory roles in the investigation of offenses by Israelis against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.
Jabel Artis: Yesh Din assists Palestinians petition for realization of demolition orders adjacent to Beth-El
Two Palestinian civilians petitioned the High Court of Justice this morning, assisted by Yesh Din, demanding to immediately stop all sales of houses and demolish houses that were built illegally on their privately owned lands in Jabel Artis, just north of the settlement of Beth-El.
The petition deals with five permanent buildings and five temporary structures that were brought to this location in 2003. The buildings are being built without any permit and outside of any jurisdiction and without any outline plan. The petitioners ask the HCJ to issue an order forcing the relevant authorities in the West Bank to immediately take all measures to prevent the continued illegal construction and to take measures at their disposal to realize the demolition orders, measures which exist but which they are refraining from enforcing, due to political reasons.
The petition exposes a new mechanism for land-grabbing in the West Bank. In the incident of Jabel Artis the IDF and the Civil Administration issued a seizure order for security reasons on the land. From that day, local landowners did not have access to the land. Settlers, however were able to invade the area and begin the building. Last August, it became clear that this was a case of mistaken identity and that the seizure order issued by the IDF Civil Administration was meant for a different location and that settlers had simply taken advantage of this mishap to build in Jabel Artis.
Palestinians sue Israel for damages caused by failure to evacuate an outpost
For the first time ever, a civil suit was filed in the Magistrate Court in Jerusalem against the State of Israel on the grounds that it did not evacuate an illegal outpost in the West Bank and did not act to remove trespassers from the Palestinian-owned plots. Five Palestinian landowners, on whose lands the Migron outpost was established, with the assistance of Yesh Din, submitted a suit demanding compensation of NIS 1.5 Million (US$ 427,000).
According to the suit, nine years ago, during May 1999, Israeli settlers first trespassed onto the plaintiffs’ land under the pretext of erecting a cellular antenna. Two years later, these intruders illegally placed caravans on the plaintiffs’ privately-owned land, establishing the outpost of Migron, which sprawls over hundreds of dunams. As a result, the topography of the lands was changed beyond recognition, the plaintiffs’ access to the land was made impossible by the trespassers, and all with the assistance of law enforcement authorities in the area. “The State of Israel did not lift a finger to prevent the establishment of this outpost other than issuing evacuation orders that were never enforced,” state the plaintiffs.
The compensation is demanded for loss of potential income from the lands during the years when the outpost occupied it, and for Israel's violation of its duty under international law to protect Palestinian civilians and their property in the Occupied Territories.
Defense System Comptroller: The IDF and the police failed in the 2006 olive harvest
A report written by a Defense System Comptroller evaluating the IDF deployment in the West Bank during the olive harvest season of 2006 has been obtained by Yesh Din through the Freedom of Information Act. The report harshly criticizes the activities of the IDF during the olive harvest that year, and lists a number of recommendations designed to improve law enforcement upon Israeli citizens in the occupied territories.
After examining the report, which was distributed within the defense system in February 2007, Yesh Din has approached OC Central Command, Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni, and Head of the Samaria and Judea District Police Maj. Gen. Shlomo Kaatbi asking which of the comptroller's recommendations have been implemented thus far.
Stillborn at the Howara Checkpoint: Criminal Investigation to be launched
The Military Advocate General informed Yesh Din of his decision to launch a criminal investigation to examine the circumstances of the event in which IDF soldiers at the Howara Checkpoint refused passage of a woman giving birth and her husband on the way to the hospital in Nablus. The woman gave birth to a dead baby, at the Checkpoint. The Military Advocate General, Avihai Mandelblit has also accepted Yesh Din’s demand to suspend the implementation of disciplinary punishment handed down to a soldier, in order not to thwart the criminal process.
On the 5th of September 2008 Moheed Abu Rida and his wife Naheel, a 21 year old woman who was already in labor, were refused passage through the Howara Checkpoint. Abu Rida’s pleads with the soldiers at the checkpoint to allow himself and his wife to cross on their way to the hospital in Nablus were denied, and the baby was born dead while the couple still waited for permission to cross. Yesh Din volunteers assisted the couple in lodging a complaint. After learning from media reports that that one of the soldiers involved in the incident had been sentenced to 14 days detention in a disciplinary procedure. In an urgent appeal to the Military Advocate General, Yesh Din demanded that a full criminal investigation be launched and that until a decision is made regarding this action, the disciplinary punishment should be suspended. "The rushed disciplinary action that occurred immediately after the complaint was submitted to Military Police Criminal Investigations Department (MPCID) raises suspicion that this procedure was intended to thwart the criminal process. Furthermore, the dangerous message of resorting to a disciplinary action is such serious matter is that this was a no more than a minor mishap. This is an immoral message, one that entails the next tragedy," Yesh Din's appeal said.
Yes Din to the Military Advocate General: investigate soldiers involved in rioting in Asira al-Kabaliya
Yesh Din approached the Military Advocate General, Brig.-Gen. Avihai Mandelblit, demanding that the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) investigate soldiers that stood by and did not intervene when settlers rioted in the village of Asira al-Kabaliya. "According to the reports, although the soldiers confiscated two guns that the rioting settlers used to shoot at the Palestinian residents, they did not stop the settlers from acting in a violent manner nor prevent them from accessing houses in the village," wrote Michael Sfard, legal council for Yesh Din. The letter was sent the day after the serious incident in Asira al-Kabaliya and after Yesh Din was alerted to the fact that no investigation was launched into the soldiers' conduct. On Saturday, September 13th, dozens of settlers threw stones at the village of Asira al-Kabaliya acting to avenge the stabbing that morning of a nine year old boy in the settlement by a Palestinian, who ran out of the settlement in the direction of the village. During the curfew that was imposed on the village in order to find the suspect in the stabbing, dozens of settlers entered the village and caused serious damage to property there. In pictures published of the incident, it is clear that the IDF soldiers stood by, not stopping rioters nor hindering their efforts.
Yesh Din to the Military Advocate General: Ensure the Feasibility of Criminal Inquiry against Checkpoint Commander
In a letter addressed to the Military Advocate General, Yesh Din demands a delay in the implementation of disciplinary punishments handed down to a commander at the Hawara Checkpoint until a decision is made by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) regarding criminal investigations into the incident in which a pregnant Palestinian woman gave birth to a stillborn baby at the checkpoint. The appeal to the Military Advocate General was made after it became clear to Yesh Din that one of the soldiers involved in the incident had been sentenced in the past to 14 days detention. "The disciplinary action that occurred immediately after the complaint was submitted to Military Police Criminal Investigations Department (MPCID) raises suspicion since this process is intended to thwart the criminal process," according to the appeal.
Moheed Abu Rida and his wife were detained at the Hawara Checkpoint on September 5th as she was in the process of giving birth. Abu Rida pleaded with the soldiers at the checkpoint to allow him to go to the hospital in Nablus. This plea was rejected and his baby was born dead because his parents were not given permission to cross the checkpoint.
IDF issues land seizure order with mistaken location and settlers take over private Palestinian land
12 Israeli families have recently moved into two buildings in Jabel Artis, just North of the Beit El settlement. The two buildings were built on land belonging to Mahbuba Yassin Abdullah, a resident of the nearby village of Dura al-Qara. These buildings were built over the last 4 years and continued to be constructed despite the fact that in-depth correspondence with the authorities regarding their legitimacy, took place for over two years before their inhabitance. Throughout this correspondence, the Civil Administration admitted several times that the buildings in question were in fact illegal, having been built on privately-owned land, with seizure orders pending on it. The process for taking over land in this area began a decade ago when settlers from Beit El broke ground on the Jabel Artis mountaintop with the goal of expanding the settlement northward. Indeed, over the past decade, 14 identical buildings were erected using this same system, on the Western base of the Jabel Artis mountain. These buildings are now populated by over 80 families.
In correspondence over the past weeks between Attorney Shlomy Zachary, representing the land-owner, and the Civil Administration, it came to light that during 2003, the Civil Administration issued the seizure order to appropriate the plot of 96 Dunams for military use, to serve as a helipad. Although the helipad was not ultimately in use on this land, in actual fact the seizure order served as an additional means by which the military and settlers could appropriate hundreds of dunams of privately-owned Palestinian land, all for the sake of expanding the Beit El settlement. It should be noted that in correspondence with Atty. Zachary, the Civil Administration claimed that the land seizure order included plot 39, on which the two buildings were erected. However, information provided to Yesh Din by the Civil Administration indicated that this claim has no merit and that the order does not include this plot.
When the spokesperson for the Civil Administration was made aware of this mistake, she replied with the following statement: “We regret the mistake and we have made note of this to those in charge of this matter.” Needless to say, her statement does not address in any way to the time frame or manner in which the land will be returned to its rightful owner.
IDF soldiers convicted of abusing Palestinian at "Sheep Checkpoint"
The military court has ruled on the case of three soldiers from theLavi Battalion of the Kfir Brigade, convicting the soldiers of violations the rules of acceptable behavior, aggravated assault and abuse in aggravating circumstances. The soldiers were sentenced to light prison sentences ranging from 67 days to five months, to be served in full.
An indictment was filed against the three soldiers following the incident in question, which occurred in January 2008. At that time, a taxi driver, Zayd Abu Sneineh, was assaulted at the "sheep checkpoint" at Hebron's southern exit. The inquiry was opened after Abu Sneineh turned to the human rights organization Yesh Din. With Yesh Din's aid he filed a complaint with military police investigators.
According to Abu Sneineh's testimony, the soldiers dragged him into a puddle of water after forcing him to undress, and demanded that he dance to music from the soldier's cell phones. The soldiers also hit Abu Sneineh with a rifle butt until he fainted.
The Supreme Court orders a delay in criminal proceedings against the battalion commander and soldier involved in the shooting in Ni'lin
High Court Justice Ayala Procaccia received the request of Ashraf Abu Rahma, a resident of the village of Ni'lin, in a petition submitted by the human rights organizations B'tselem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Public Committee against Torture in Israel, and Yesh Din.
Following the petition Procaccia issued an interim order instructing the army's head attorney to delay criminal proceedings against the battalion commander and the shooter that are involved in the Abu Rahma shooting incident, that occurred while the victim's hands were tied and his eyes were blindfolded in Ni'lin in July. The petitioner's demand for an interim order was accepted on the condition that the state explain why it will not change the indictment that was served against the two men, so that it reflects the gravity of the offence, violent threats made against bound prisoners– on the face of it, an abusive violation of detainees in aggravating circumstances that would customarily lead to seven years of imprisonment.
The petition contains harsh criticism of the performance of the army's head attorney. "Choosing such a light offense is instructive of the weak response of the Military Advocate-General's Office regarding the gravity of the offense. It conveys a harsh message to other officers and soldiers of disdain for human life and paves the way for the next such actions."
Hours after serving the petition, the Supreme Court publicized its decision which accepts the petitioners demand for an interim order. Adopting the interim order means that the army cease ongoing criminal proceedings and that the army's head attorney answer the petition within 21 days, arguing why he will not revise the bill of indictment as the petition requests.
Short films delivered to Yesh Din show Border Policemen humiliating Palestinians in East Jerusalem
Yesh Din exposed short films filmed by Border Policemen in which they are shown humiliating and hitting Palestinians in East Jerusalem.The short films were given to Yesh Din by East Jerusalem residents who found them in a telephone that had apparently been lost by a border policeman. In one of the short films, an armed border policeman is seen hitting Palestinians detainees, and in the other short film a border policeman is seen trying to force a young Palestinian to salute him.The clips were filmed, apparently, in July 2007 and August 2008.Upon receipt of the clips, Yesh Din sent copies to the police legal office to have the men investigated, alongside a demand to open an inquiry against the policemen who were involved in the documented set of events.
Investigation of crimes by IDF Soldiers against Palestinians: only six percent of criminal investigations lead to indictments; few investigations are initiated by commanders
Yesh Din has published data on investigations conducted by the Military Police Criminal Investigations Division (MPCID) between the start of the Second Intifada in September 2000 and the end of 2007 for crimes committed by IDF soldiers against Palestinians and their property. Research by Yesh Din reveals that 76 of the 1,246 MCPID investigations conducted for these types of crimes resulted in indictments—only six percent. Based on these 76 investigations, a total of 132 persons were indicted: 110 of them were convicted of various crimes; four were acquitted upon completion of the legal proceedings; the indictments of eight were cancelled; and legal proceedings against ten others are still in progress.
In addition, data provided to Yesh Din by the IDF spokesperson indicate that few investigationa are launched as a result of information reported to MPCID by military commanders or others in military units: Of the 152 investigation files opened by MPCID in 2006 for alleged crimes by IDF soldiers against Palestinians and their property, only 14 (nine percent) were initiated following information received by the division from military units. In 2007, the number of such reports transmitted rose to 26; but considering the fact that 351 investigative files were opened that year, this number of reports accounted for only seven percent of the investigations launched.
Appeal: Enforce demolition order on synagogue in Giv'at Ze'ev
Yesh Din, along with Rabah Mohamad Asef Abdellatif, a resident of the village of El-Geeb, has filed a petition with the High Court of Justice, demanding it to instruct the Minister of Defense, IDF Commander in the West Bank, the head of Civil Administration office and the commander of the SJ District Police to enforce a demolition order they had issued against a building constructed adjacent to the settlement of Giv'at Ze'ev on the private property of Abdellatif. Additionally, due to the fact that an addition has recently been made to the building which is used as a synagogue, the HCJ has been asked to issue an interim order that will prevent any further construction on the land, connection of the building to infrastructures, and all other use.
The intrusion onto Abdellatif's land began a decade ago, when the "Aliyat Hashachar" synagogue was built on it. Constructing a synagogue on stolen land, says the petition, "places a grave moral stain on the Jewish citizens of Israel by breaching the Eighth Commandment, 'Thou shalt not steal.' The gravity of the issue has no measure when the theft is carried out for the sake of Judaism." In the span of the ten years that have passed since the beginning of the intrusion onto his lands, Abdellatif has tried to stop it by filing complaints with the police and taking a range of legal measures, but to no avail – while the authorities indeed issued demolition orders and cease work orders against the structures being built on Abdellatif's land, they on the other hand did nothing to ensure they were carried out, and thus in actuality they never were. The lack of implementation on the premises, along with the construction of the separation fence between Abdellatif's village and his lands, sent a clear message to trespassers that no steps will be taken against them except for the beginnings of the procedure to file the relevant documents, and nothing more. In the petition, Yesh Din and Abdellatif request that the HCJ put an end to this farce and enforce the orders and restore the rule of law in the area, which seems to not be enforced upon settlers.
9 out of 10 investigations into attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank are closed with no indictment served
Yesh Din's monitoring of the handling of investigations into offenses committed by Israeli civilians against Palestinians in the West Bank exposes that the rate of failure of the Samaria and Judea (SJ) District Police investigations is at 90%. This and other statistics are published in a data sheet which tracks 205 investigation files opened in recent years and which have been followed closely by Yesh Din. Out of the 205 investigations opened into offenses committed against Palestinians which Yesh Din is following, police processing and prosecutorial review have concluded in 163 files. Out of those 163, only in 13 (8%) of the cases were indictments filed against defendants. One case file was lost and never investigated, and 149 (91%) investigation files were closed without filing any indictments against suspects.
Additional findings in the data sheet show that out of the 149 investigation files that were closed, 91 were closed on grounds of "perpetrator unknown" (61%) and 43 cases were closed on grounds of "lack of evidence" (28%).
Yesh Din petitions HCJ: grave factual errors in decision to close Abir Aramin's file
A petition filed by Yesh Din to the High Court of Justice on behalf of Bassam and Salwa Aramin, parents of Abir Aramin, the 10-year-old girl from Anata who was killed after being shot in the head in January 2007, states that there is sufficient evidence to file an indictment against a Border Policeman who according to evidence and the facts collected on the ground, shot Aramin in the head and caused her death. The petition was filed following the Jerusalem District Attorney's announcement of July 2007 that it was closing the investigation file without filing indictments due to a lack of evidence, and following the rejection of an appeal filed by Yesh Din in February 2008.
In the petition, written based on evidence found in the police investigation file, the HCJ is asked to instruct the Attorney General to file an indictment on the charge of killing against one of the Border Policemen involved. According to Yesh Din's assessment, the police investigation materials incriminate him in conducting the fatal shooting. The petition is also directed against the shooter’s direct commander, the Border Police officer who approved the shooting.
The HCJ has issued an interim order against the construction and use of 9 houses in Ofra
On Thursday, June 19th, the HCJ issued an interim order prohibiting residents of Ofra from continuing construction on nine houses and making any use of them. The interim order was issued following a petition submitted by 5 Palestinian residents of the Ein Yabrud village, owners of the lands on which the nine houses have been built, along with human rights organizations Yesh Din and B'Tselem. Earlier that same day, the State Attorney joined the petitioners in demanding the issue of the interim order to prevent the continuation of the construction at the site and to prohibit any use of them until the HCJ's ruling on the petition. After the HCJ considered the responses of the respondents to the petition – the Ofra settlement and the State Attorney – the Honorable Justice Edmond Levy decided to issue an interim order as demanded by the petitioners. Prior to the issuance of the interim order and following the submission of the petition to the HCJ, construction efforts were accelerated – even performed on Shabbat – and the houses were inhabited in order to confront the HCJ with a finished fact. This attempt failed due to the interim order. The petition was prepared by Atty. Shlomi Zacharia and Atty. Michael Sfard of Yesh Din.
Settlement's fire station has been built on private Palestinian land
Yesh Din has recent exposed that a fire station recently built on the northern edges of the "Kochav Yaacov" settlement, east of Ramallah, is situated on private Palestinian property. A letter sent from Dror Etkes, Yesh Din's Lands Project Coordinator, to National Fire and Rescue Commissioner Shimon Romach, states that the existence of the fire station on private lands "is incompatible with the values and spirit of the national body that you lead." In a letter, Yesh Din asked Fire and Rescue Commissioner Romach to instruct that the station be moved to another location as soon as possible in order to return the land on which it currently sits to its legal owners. Like the fire station built to serve the settlements, many buildings in "Kochav Yaacov" have been built on private Palestinian lands.
High Court Petition: Immediately stop construction on 9 houses in Ofra settlement
Yesh Din, B'Tselem, and five Palestinian residents of the village Ein Yabrud who own lands in the Ofra settlement, have petitioned the High Court of Justice demanding that construction halt on 9 houses being built on their lands and that they are prevented from being populated. In the petition, filed against the Minister of Justice and the O.C. Central Command, the petitioners request that authorities be instructed to uphold demolition orders issued to the houses in the past and to issue an interim order that will prevent the houses from being populated and connected to electricity, water and sewage until a ruling is passed on the issue.
The petition states that in the illegal settlement of Ofra situated east of Ramallah, 9 new permanent structures are currently being built. The structures, not currently occupied, are located on privately owned lands belonging to 5 Palestinians. In addition, the petition states that the construction was done without a building permit and in breach of the cease and desist order and the demolition order issued to them last year but were never enforced. "In every instance that illegal construction by Jews is carried out in the West Bank on stolen private Palestinian land, as in this one, the law enforcement arm of the authorities is completely unfelt," the petition states.
In recent months, B'Tselem is conducting extensive research, in the scope of which it identified the Palestinian land owners and collected documentation of ownership of the lands. The documents collected prove that most of the settlement of Ofra was built on private property owned by Palestinians residing in adjacent villages – Ein Yabrud and Silwad. The Civil Administration even confirms that Ofra has no area of jurisdiction and no detailed building plans from which it can approve any sort of building in the settlement. Therefore, the petition states that Ofra is the largest unauthorized outpost in the West Bank.
"As of today, we hope it will be impossible to construct new houses in settlements and outpost on private lands," says Dror Etkes, Yesh Din's Lands Project Coordinator.
Settlement Policy Judicial Advocacy Project: A new Yesh Din project headed by Dror Etkes
An initiative of Dror Etkes, the Settlement Policy Judicial Advocacy Project has been adopted by Yesh Din and will be implemented in February 2008. The project will include multi-year activity that aims to expose the gap between the State of Israel's official policies on the usage of lands in the occupied territories, and the realities on the ground. In the scope of the project Yesh Din will make extensive use of systematic documentation and legal procedures. The project will be managed by Dror Etkes, who has joined Yesh Din. Previously, Dror served as coordinator of Peace Now's Settlement Watch team, and he brings with him his diverse talents and his expertise in the field of settlements and outposts in the West Bank.
Hebron settler indicted, following Yesh Din's appeal
SJ Police's Prosecution Unit informed Yesh Din recently of its decision to file an indictment against a Hebron settler accused of rock-throwing and arson against Palestinians, residents of Tel Rumeida area in Hebron. The indictment was filed as a result of an appeal submitted by Yesh Din following the police’s announcement that it would close the file on grounds of "Lack of Evidence". The organization’s legal advisor examined the evidence material and in the written appeal, indicated that there was indeed sufficient evidence to bring the case to court. Based on this appeal, as stated above, it was decided to reverse the previous decision of closing the investigation file, and file an indictment against the suspect.
The attack took place on September 1st, 2005, when a group of Jewish teenagers set fire to an olive tree adjacent to the Aza family home and threw rocks at members of the family who were sitting on their porch. After soldiers stood near the house and conversed with the settlers, but did not carry out an action to actually stop the attack, the father shouted at the attackers that he had called the police and they were on their way to the house, which incensed the attackers. Later that day, the father filed a complaint at the Kiryat Arba police station about the event
High Court Petition: Shvut Ami outpost must be evacuated once and for all
Yesh Din petitioned the High Court of Justice against OC Central Command Gadi Shamni and commander of the SJ District Police, Commander Shlomo Kaatabi. At the center of the petition, including a request for an urgent hearing, the organization asks the HCJ to order the evacuation of the illegal outpost called ‘Shvut Ami,’ built on the private land of Badriya Amr. Additionally, the organization asks the Army to deploy a regular force on the site to prevent the return of invaders and to enforce the military order issued, forbidding Israeli civilians from entering the.
For seven months, the landowner, resident of the village of Qaddum, Badriya Amer, assisted by Yesh Din, has been fighting to achieve the full evacuation of the illegal outpost 'Shvut Ami.' Over the past months, the outpost was evacuated by Israeli security forces numerous times but repopulated within hours if not minutes. "The outpost was evacuated 10 times but actually was never really evacuated," said the petition, since the authorities operated "only for the sake of appearances and knowing that their actions were not effective."
The numerous "mock evacuations" were each short-lived and the invaders, who were merely driven to the nearby intersection, would repopulate the outpost immediately. "This petition is about the failure of the authorities charged with the rule of law in the West Bank to conduct the required enforcement activities in order to protect the property of a Palestinian civilian woman and her relatives against an insolent group of invaders who took over her land with the backing of the settler leadership in the area without having any claim of rights to the land except for theological arguments," Yesh Din explained.
Since the invasion, the land owner, with the help of Yesh Din, has maintained an extensive dialogue with the law enforcement authorities, with the hope that they would do their jobs and evacuate the invaders and restore her access to her land, including the commander of the SJ police, the OC Central Command and the Defense Minister.. yet, at this very moment, invaders are on the land of Badriya Amar.
IDF criminal offenses against Palestinians: Yesh Din reveals Unit Index of IDF investigations
Yesh Din reveals comparative figures on opening of criminal investigation files in 2006 and 2007 against IDF soldiers in units suspected of committing crimes against Palestinians civilians and/or their property. The figures, collected for the first time ever, by the IDF upon request by Yesh Din based on Freedom of Information Act, reveal a list of IDF units whose soldiers are suspected of committing crimes against Palestinians and their property in the Occupied Territories: abuse, looting, illegal gunfire and killing of innocent people.
Based on the figures provided by the IDF, Yesh Din has prepared the “Unit Index” of battalions and brigades for the years 2006 and 2007. The chart-toppers for these two years are the Kfir Brigade and the Paratroopers Brigade. In 2007, 66 criminal investigations were opened against Kfir Brigade soldiers, in comparison with 35 files in 2006. In second place, Paratroopers with 52 investigation files, and behind them, Nahal with 14, Givati with 10, Ikvot HaBarzel with 6, Golani and Judea and Samria Division HQ each with 5. 351 criminal investigations were opened in 2007, compared to 152 in 2006.
Settlers attack landowner's guests; Border Police stand at a distance
Following the powerlessness of security forces in preventing repeated trespassing by settlers on the lands belonging to a Qadum resident, Legal Counsel for Yesh Din, Attorney Michael Sfard, appealed to the O.C. Central Command and Chief of Police for Samaria Judea district . Sfard demanded they evacuate, again, trespassers that invaded a plot of land known as the "Shvut Ami Outpost," and situate significant and permanent security forces to prevent further trespassing.
Over the last 6 months, the trespassers were evacuated from the land belonging to Qadum resident Badariya Amar nine times. Each time they returned and retook the land and buildings on it, even though indictments have been filed against some of them. Due to the failure of law enforcement officials in preventing the repeating trespassing, Yesh Din appealed to IDF officials in previous weeks and together coordinated that guests of the landowner – Israeli activists from the organization "Anarchists Against the Wall," and residents of the village of Qadum, would be allowed entrance onto the plot.
Despite the advance coordination, when the outpost was evacuated for the 10th time on April 3rd, only a few border police officers remained at the site to protect the guests of Ms. Amar. A border police vehicle blocked entrance to the site to residents of the Palestinian village Qadum. Several of the dozens of settlers that gathered at the site violently attacked the Israeli activists right in front of the eyes of border police officers that stood and did nothing. Due to this the activists were forced to leave the site, for the time being.
"Yesh Din": Settlements have expanded by seizing land outside of their territories
Over the last year, “Yesh Din” has received a number of complaints of settlers seizing private Palestinian agricultural lands. Today “Yesh Din” exposes for the first time that a meeting was held after the signing of the Oslo Accords, in which senior figures among the northern West Bank settlements decided to take measures to expand into lands surrounding the settlements, although these lands were not under their jurisdiction. Under the method chosen for carrying out this plan, the local councils of settlements appointed individual settlers to seize plots outside their jurisdiction, restrict access to the Palestinian landowners of the plots, and after a few years demand that the army declare them ‘state lands.’ According to “Yesh Din's” information, in some of the cases the army did in fact agree to this demand and the lands were declared state lands and officially made part of the settlements. This method was exposed during discussions held by the military appeal committee in Ofer camp, while reviewing an appeal of a Civil Administration order submitted by Michael Lesence, a settler from Kedumim. Lesence was given an eviction order from a plot of land belonging to Palestinian residents of Qadum, after the local council agreed to “Yesh Din's” demand they do so. During the discussions over the appeal, the Kedumim Council’s land coordinator, Ze'ev Moshinsky, and a former Council security officer, Michael Bar Neder, both gave testimony. Both confirmed that the Kedumim Council's practice of seizing lands surrounding Kedumim was used to expand the settlement's municipal lands. Moshinsky confirmed that the meeting of senior figures from the northern West Bank settlements took place, and that it was decided to map and seize "uncultivated" plots surrounding the settlements. Moshinsky even confirmed that the Kedumim council had the settlers sent to man the plots sign contracts avowing that they would not claim ownership of them. Bar Neder confirmed that the objective was the turn the plots into state lands by designating them as lands in use by the settlements. According to Moshinsky and Bar Neder's testimonies, Kedumim seized at least seven plots, some of which have already been declared state lands and became part of the settlement. From “Yesh Din's” information and testimonies by army representatives at the appeal committee, it is revealed that a central component in the "method" is to forcefully prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands and therefore legally ensure the declaration of the plots as ‘state lands’ by claiming "non-cultivation." Over the last year “Yesh Din” received seven complaints by Palestinians of seizure of their lands through this method.
Yesh Din reveals: soldiers abuse Palestinian at "sheep checkpoint"
Zayd Abu Sneineh, a 29-year-old Palestinian, complained that IDF soldiers beat him, ordered him to strip and made him dance to the music they played on their cell phones. The grave incident occurred at the end of January at the “sheep checkpoint” near Hebron. According to the testimony given by Abu Sneineh to Yesh Din's investigators, Abu Sneineh, a taxi dispatcher, was standing at the taxi station near the checkpoint when an IDF jeep with four soldiers arrived. The soldiers instructed Abu Sneineh to move the taxi back 100 m so as not to disturb the traffic. Zayd did as they asked and then went over to talk to the officer. The officer ordered Zayd to be quiet and to completely take off his jacket despite the freezing cold. After Zayd refused the soldiers cuffed his hands and feet, covered his eyes with a headdress and dragged him to the side of the road. For three hours the soldiers beat Zayd with fists, kicks and rifle butts, dragged him into a puddle of water and continued the humiliation by spraying water at his head from a water gun. After a while the soldiers called the GSS and let Zayd speak to “Captain Fathi” who summoned Zayd to an investigation at Har Manoach for assaulting soldiers. When Zayd asked the captain to tell the soldiers to stop beating him, the General Securities Services officer, according to the defendant, replied “that is not my problem. They’re doing their job.” After they got tired the soldiers told Zayd to take off all his clothes and to dance in front of them before they would agree to release him. In order to encourage him they played music from their mobile phones. After Zayd refused to dance and another offer by the soldiers, to dip in a puddle for his release, the soldiers beat Zayd again and only then freed him. Yesh Din filed a complaint on behalf of Zayd Abu Sneineh with the Military Police's Criminal Investigation Division in Beersheva and will continue monitoring the case.
Unprecedented results following Yesh Din suit: Settlers to evacuate private Palestinian land they invaded
A long legal battle fought by Yesh Din on behalf of residents from the Siniriya village on whose land settlers had built a horse stable, ended with an agreement by the intruders, residents of the Shaarei Tikva settlement, to evacuate the land. The agreement between the settlers and the land owners – the Ahmad family from Siniriya – was reached following a suit filed by the family and the human rights organization Yesh Din to remove the intruders from the land.
The statement of claim was submitted after the Judea and Samaria (West Bank) district police notified Yesh Din that they did not have the authority to evacuate the intruders without a court order. According to the agreement, the defendants will evacuate the site in roughly a year, no later than February 1, 2009. The settlers commit that until then, they will not allow any third party to hold and/or to make use of the site. In addition the agreement specifies that the defendants commit to assisting the plaintiffs – the Ahmad family - in every way possible in they event that they decide to begin the procedure of registering the plot in their name, and under no circumstances will they act in any way to harm the efforts of the plaintiffs to register the site in their names. In the period before their evacuation of the site, the settlers commit to enable free movement of the property owners and members of the family to and from the site. Another clause signed by the settlers states that if they fail to evacuate the premises on time, they will reimburse the plaintiffs $100 for every day they are late.
In October 2005 Muhammed Ahmed from Siniriya discovered that settlers from Shaarei Tikva built a horse stable on land belonging to him and his family. Despite assurances from the settlers that they would evacuate the site shortly they did not do so, instead developing the stable and bringing dogs and a birdhouse.
Grave factual errors in rejecting appeal on Abir Aramin's case
The State Attorney has recently rejected an appeal submitted by Yesh Din on the closing of the investigation file in case of the killing of Abir Aramin, ten years old. Abir Aramin was killed last January near her school in the village of Anata, when a Border Police jeep entered the village as part of an observation conducted on a spot in the village. The Border Police men admitted in their investigation that they used demonstration dispersion means, including rubber bullets. Last July the Jerusalem District Attorney announced it was closing the investigation file without submitting indictments since it concluded it was impossible to determine whether Abir was killed by a rubber bullet fired by the police or by stones which, according to the police, were thrown at them by youths from the village. In an appeal filed by Yesh Din with the State Attorney it argued, among other things, that an examination of the location of the stone throwers in relation to Abir’s location showed that the thesis of being hit by a stone was not possible. In the rejection of the appeal it was explained that it is possible the girl was hit by “a barrage of stones” thrown at the Border Police jeep while it was leaving the village. Yesh Din was astonished to hear that argument because, according to the material collected in the file, Abir was rushed to hospital long before the Border Police jeep left the village. The organization describes that error as “disturbing” and believes it indicates a superficial examination of the appeal. Along with the Aramin family, Yesh Din is evaluation the continuation of its legal activities on this case.
Yesh Din's report reveals: No due process in the Military Courts
Following a lengthy study of the implementation of Due Process rights in the IDF Military Courts in the West Bank, Yesh Din published its comprehensive report entitled "Backyard Proceedings."
The military justice system in the Occupied Territories tries thousands of Palestinian civilians prosecuted by the Israel Defense Forces every year. The Military Courts, which have existed for four decades, operate virtually under complete darkness. The report, “Backyard Proceedings,” provides the Israeli and international public, for the first time in more than 15 years, with information about a system that serves as a cornerstone of Israeli rule in the West Bank. The report examines the degree to which this system upholds and implements the due process rights of Palestinian detainees and defendants brought before the Military Courts. The report evaluates, among other things, the realization of a defendant’s right to know the charges against him, to prepare an effective defense, and to enjoy the presumption of innocence. The report further assesses how the principle of a public trial is applied in the Military Courts, how minors are adjudicated in the system and other related subjects. Additionally, the report examines whether the Security Legislation applying to the Occupied Territories meets the requirements of international law regarding due process rights. Through hundreds of observations, the report provides findings about the proceedings in the courtrooms.
The findings of the research described in the report reveal a series of grave defects and lapses in the implementation of due process rights in the Military Courts. On the basis of those findings Yesh Din offers recommendations for reforming legislation and policies.
Seven years of Intifada: 90% of criminal investigations of IDF soldiers closed without indictment
A 5-page Data Sheet released by Yesh Din reveals IDF failure to investigate and indict its soldiers involved in criminal offenses against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territories.
IDF statistics, provided to Yesh Din at the organization's demand, on results of Military Police investigations of criminal offenses in which IDF soldiers harmed Palestinians and their property since the beginning of the second Intifada in September 2000 until June 2007, show that some 90 percent of these investigation files were closed with no indictment. Over nearly seven years 1,091 criminal investigations were opened following offenses which include killing and injury of civilians, abuse, damages to property and others. These investigations resulted in 118 indictments only, of which 101 led to convictions of the accused. The data also show that out of the 239 investigations on killing and injury of Palestinian civilians not involved in the hostilities, only 16 resulted in convictions: less than 7 percent of the investigations on this matter.
The Data Sheet includes a comparison between the number of indictments filed by the Military Advocate General against IDF soldiers accused of committing offenses against Palestinians and number of indictments on other offenses. The comparison shows, among other things, that the number of indictments filed against soldiers on drug-related offenses in 2006 alone is seven-times higher that the number of all indictments filed against IDF soldiers accused committing of criminal offenses against Palestinians and their property throughout nearly seven years of the second Intifada.
Yesh Din submits reservations over amnesty bill for disengagement offenders
Ahead of a discussion that will take place shortly at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yesh Din has submitted to the committee a detailed reservation over the bill to pardon Israeli civilians prosecuted for offenses connected to the implementation of the Disengagement plan in 2005. In its letter Yesh Din stresses that the law violators during the Disengagement are part of a larger and long-standing phenomenon of ideological criminality by Israeli civilians, and not a one-time and unique case as the legislators who submitted the bill claim.
In its letter Yesh Din presents figures on the extent of "ideological crime" by Israeli civilians in the occupied territories in the years before and after implementing the Disengagement plan. So, for example, figures given to Yesh Din by the Israel Police show that in 2004 the SJ District opened 511 investigation files for ideologically motivated offenses -- an average of 1.4 investigation files opened each day, for violations that included offenses both against Palestinians and against members of the Israeli security forces. In the year of the Disengagement, 2005, the number of such offenses rose to 836 files opened -- an average of 2.3 files a day, and the following year an average of 1.6 investigation files a day. A total of 587 investigation files into "ideological" offenses against Palestinians and members of the security forces. In its letter Yesh Din notes that if the bill is passed, not only will the phenomenon of ideological crime not decline, but it will receive official encouragement. "Remember that the subjects of the indictments and the disturbers of public order received partial backing from their leaderships and from many public figures, providing them with a "tailwind" for their law violations. The bill will give an official seal of approval to law violation, and send a clear message of non-enforcement of the law upon Israeli civilians operating out of ideological criminality, both towards Palestinians and towards the security bodies in charge of law enforcement in the West Bank," the letter of reservation said.
Samaria military court: detainees held in shipping containers
On a visit by Yesh Din volunteers to the Samaria military court (in the Salem Camp) they discovered that Palestinian detainees brought to hearings in their cases from the Hawara military detention facility are held on the court premises inside closed metal shipping containers, despite the existence of detention cells maintained for that purpose by the prison service in the court. The metal containers have narrow windows and a bench to sit on but do not have toilets or drinking water. A prison service officer told Yesh Din that holding detainees brought from the Hawara detention facility inside the metal containers is a regular practice. Representatives of the military courts unit asked about it by Yesh Din first denied there was regular use of the containers to hold the detainees before and after their hearings at the court. However, during the visit and Yesh Din made a random check of the containers in the presence of representatives of the IDF spokesman and representatives of the military courts unit and found that three Palestinian detainees were held in a sea container at the time. The IDF spokesman representative that was on site at the time forbade photography of the makeshift "detention cell." The visit at the site with the representatives of the army spokesman and the military courts unit took place ahead of the publication of a comprehensive report on the realization of due process rights in the military court system in the occupied territories. Yesh Din’s discovery was reported in the Haaretz daily.
Following pressure by Yesh Din, obstruction preventing water delivery to family home was lifted
In August this year the IDF blocked an access road near the village of Qatanna near the settlement of Har Adar. The obstruction prevented access by vehicle to the home of the al-Fahi family, including access for the water tanker that provides drinking water for the family of 13, since the water pipe to the house was damaged while the separation barrier was constructed in the area. In the middle of October the head of the household Najem al-Fahi approached Yesh Din asking the organization to help his family act to remove the obstruction. Following his request Yesh Din wrote to head of the Central Command and demanded the obstruction preventing the regular water supply to the family home be removed. After some two weeks of negotiations between Yesh Din's legal team and the legal advisor of the Judea and Samaria region, and commander of the Border Police "Jerusalem Envelope" district, the rocks that had blocked the access road to the family's home were removed, and the water supply resumed.
Problems in filing complaints by Palestinians at Binyamin police station fixed
At a meeting initiated by Yesh Din with the commander of the Binyamin police station (responsible for the Ramallah area), following a series of problems exposed by the organization in the conduct of the station and its police officers regarding receiving complaints from Palestinians, the prohibition on the entry of Palestinians into the “Shaar Binyamin” industrial area where the police station’s investigation unit is located will be lifted, Yesh Din was told. The prohibition heretofore prevented Palestinians from filing complaints at the police station. Likewise, following cases in which Palestinians who wished to file complaints against settlers trespassing onto their land, or scattering waste from the settlements on their land, were referred to the Civil Administration without the Binyamin police collecting their complaints on the spot, the Binyamin station police were reminded of their duty to collect complaints at any time on any subject, as required by the law. The meeting on November 4 was also attended by the Binyamin police station’s investigations officer and the legal advisor of the SJ District police.
Yesh Din Position Paper: Law Enforcement Failures in Last Year's Olive Harvest
Yesh Din position paper reveals a series of law enforcement failures during last year's Palestinian olive harvest. In all of the violent incidents documented by Yesh Din, IDF soldiers stood aside while Israeli citizens attacked Palestinian harvesting laborers. This demonstrates a broad pattern of misconduct with regards to law enforcement including refraining from arresting or doing searches in real time, as well as failing to complete criminal investigations following violent events. For example, not one of the investigations opened a year ago due to settler violence against Palestinian harvest laborers resulted in an indictment.
In a letter sent to the Head of Central Command and SJ district Commander, Yesh Din called on the authorities to carry out the Position Paper recommendations: A) the law must be firmly enforced upon Israeli citizens who interfere with the Palestinian Olive Harvest, B) IDF must be deployed in advance and conduct the necessary procedures to ensure maximum access to the territories in which olive harvesting is being carried out, C) Military duties must be assimilated and upheld among officials present in the field, D) land conflicts must be resolved speedily and effectively ("Situation Freeze" Procedure) so that Olive Harvest is not interfered, E) A detailed program for SJ District procedure must be formed as well, including procedures for immediate real-time response to complaints and exercising inspection when necessary. Similar to last year, Yesh Din has set up a support hot-line which receives complaints from the field and reports to Security Forces and land owners so that immediate action can be taken in resolving security incidents.Read the YD letter to OC Central Command (Translated, PDF)Read the YD olive harvest position paper (Translated, PDF)
Yesh Din escorts Badriyah Amar in her attempt to evict an outpost built on her land
On Monday, October 8, an outpost was evacuated from a building on land belonging to Badriyah Abd el-Ghani Saleh Amar, a 61-year-old resident of Kafr Qaddum. Badriya owns a plot of 65 dunams of land which she inherited from her father, including a house her father built in the 1960s. Settlers have built an outpost in the house and on surrounding land. On September 30, 2007 Badriyah informed Yesh Din that settlers had erected tents around the stone and were using the land as if it were their own. This was part of a "campaign" to build five outposts on the intermediary days of Sukkot. It was not the first time Badriyah’s land was invaded. In March 2006, an attempt was made to appropriate the stone house. Following a request from Badriyah to Yesh Din, the organization sent a letter to OC Central Command, Gadi Shamni, demanding the immediate eviction of squatters from the land. On October 8, just when Badriyah was filing a complaint to the Kedumim police, large military and police forces went out to evacuate the trespassers. As it turned out, the evacuation was not completed and the trespassers returned to the house the very next day. After discussion between the authorities and the land owner, in which they suggested sealing her house, Badriyah decided she had no choice but to accept the suggestion and seal the house in order to prevent the settlers' return. That same night, a group of settlers returned, broke through the seal on the house and returned to their position in the house on Badriyah’s land. The law enforcement authorities' failure to prevent the repeated invasion brought the land owner to accept a compromise offer from the civil administration, which denied her the use of the building on her own land.
Yesh Din appealed decision to close investigation file on death of Abir Aramin
On January 16 this year, Abir Aramin, a 10-year-old girl, was shot dead by border police as she left her school in the village of Anata near Jerusalem. A police investigation into the case was closed on the pretext of "lack of evidence" to prosecute. Yesh Din, which has been following the case from the beginning, examined the closed investigation file and concluded thatan indictment on charges of manslaughter could be filed against one of the border policemen involved in the incident based on the existing evidence along with aerial photos and photos of possible shooting and stone-throwing trajectories. The organization filed an appeal against the decision to close the investigation file and called for the indictment of those suspected of killing the girl. The investigation of Abir's death included a number of obvious defects: the police investigation began 48 hours after the incident and police investigators examined the site of the incident only five whole days after Abir's grave injury. The evidential material also showed that it is absolutely certain that the shot that hit Abir was fired from the gun of one of the four policemen who testified that they fired toward the place where Abir and her friends were playing. The pathology reports differ over the cause of Abir's injury. According to one report, the child was more likely to have been hit in the head by a rubber bullet than by a rock, as the police claimed. The police’s version that Abir was hit by a stone thrown from a stone-throwing site in the village was refuted after it was made clear that from every aspect, ballistic, physical or technical, a stone thrown from the second site could not possibly have hit Abir because a three-story building stands between the two stone-throwing sites. "Have we become accustomed to killing children, to military jeeps entering civilian villages and cities and pulling the triggers of their weapons with inconceivable ease?," the appeal said. “A 10-year-old girl was killed while buying candy on the main street of her city. The family of the deceased, her friends, human rights organizations and Yesh Din refuse to accept that statement."
Binyamin Police Station closed off to Palestinians
In recent weeks Yesh Din has encountered a number of cases in which Palestinians came to file complaints at the Binyamin Police station (outside Ramallah), but the station's policemen refused to receive their complaints. An inquiry into the matter with the station revealed that on August 1, 2007 the military commander decided that the Binyamin industrial area, the area in which the station is located, will now be defined as an Independent Israeli Area (like the West Bank settlements) and therefore will be closed to Palestinian local residents. Because of this decision, access of Palestinian residents in the area to the police station was blocked. From now on they will only be able to reach the station accompanied by a policeman and/or accompanied by a person with a blue identity card. Yesh Din is expected to meet with commander of the Binyamin station on the matter in coming days.
Following Yesh Din petition, IDF to allow human rights groups access to Military Court files
Following an HCJ petition, the state prosecutor's office recently informed Yesh Din it would accept the organization's request to reveal the protocols of the non-confidential hearings at the military courts. For the last year, Yesh Din has been conducting a study of the realization of the right to due process in the military courts in the occupied territories. Yesh Din tried unsuccessfully to receive the protocols for more than a year. A few months ago the organization's attorneys petitioned the HCJ and requested to let them read the protocols, and before there was any hearing, the state announced it would allow public bodies such as Yesh Din to read military court files. The meaning of the announcement is that for the first time the public, through its representatives -- academics, human rights organizations and journalists -- will be able to read tens of thousands of files heard or that are still being heard in the military courts in the occupied territories.
The military advocacy wrote, in an answer to a request by Yesh Din, that after a meeting between the OC Central Command and the Military Advocate General it was decided to order the IDF to stop training in Palestinian villages until the issue is reviewed.
In March 2007 reserve soldiers approached Yesh Din complaining that for some time the IDF had been doing exercises as part of training ahead of active duty in quiet Palestinian villages throughout the West Bank. In a testimony recorded by Yesh Din, a soldier said:" and suddenly you're in the middle of a village shouting "fire fire fire." It looked so crazy, and I think the residents there got a heart attack. There were residents who went to pray at those hours. There was no instruction on how to deal with them".After verifying the information, Yesh Din requested the military advocate immediately stop the IDF training, which caused the residents of the villages anxiety and risked the lives of the villagers and IDF soldiers with no military or security goal justifying taking such a risk..
Uprooted olive trees will be returned to their legal owners
On June 17, 2007, 300 olive, almond and apricot trees were uprooted from the plot of resident of the village of Qaryut Mohamed Shehadeh Muqbel by a group of people, some of whom arrived at the site in a military vehicle. The trees were replanted in the nearby settlement of Adei Ad. Following the incident Muqbel approached Yesh Din for help in his conflict with the authorities. The organization's handling of the file yielded results: about 120 trees were returned to Muqbel's plot by the civil administration about two weeks after the incident; the OC central command issued an order closing the area to Israelis from June 25; police investigated a number of suspects; and following a request by the organization's legal team, the command's public affairs officer instructed the army to escort Mohamed Muqbel to his fields in the future so that such incidents do not recur.
Following pressure by Yesh Din: Sewage dumping into Palestinian territory stopped
During the last three years dozens of olive trees in the groves of the village of Jinsafut near the Motola factory in the Immanuel industrial area dried up as a result of a problem in the drainage of the factory's waste. Following pressure from Yesh Din, the head of the Ministry of the Environment's central region asked the head of the Immanuel Council to find an immediate solution to the drainage problem and the dumping of effluent into the villagers' olive groves. The region head wrote in a letter: "In a conversation I held with the head of the Immanuel Council on June 25, 2007 the council head promised to immediately eliminate the hazard. If the matter is not taken care of we have the option of enforcing our powers." Besides the treatment by the Ministry of the Environment representatives of the Water Commission came to examine the hazard at the site.
Urgent Appeal from Israeli Human Rights Groups to Israeli Gov't: Open Gaza's Borders to Prevent a Humanitarian Crisis
Eight Israeli human rights groups call on Israeli government to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and open crossings from the strip for refugees and essential supplies: "As we write these lines, hundreds of refugees are trapped between Erez crossing, which is sealed, and a group of Hamas extremists who are preventing their return to Gaza. The sick and those injured from recent events are trapped in Gaza. Essential food products are diminishing, and there is a growing shortage of essential medical supplies. The state of Israel can not stand idly by at a time when the fundamental human rights of Gaza residents are being violated and the right to life is being threatened." The message is signed by The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, B'Tselem, Gisha, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Hamoked-Center for the Defense of the Individual, Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, Rabbis for Human Rights and Yesh Din. Read the petition (PDF)
The Last Forty Years: Yesh Din sponsors exhibition
Yesh Din-Volunteers for Human Rights is sponsoring an exhibitionion made up of forty art pieces created by David Tartakover, Miki Kratzman, Gideon Levy and Lahav Halevi to mark forty years of the Occupation. The exhibition is being held in a private building on Rothschild Blvd. in Tel Aviv, which is currently undergoing restoration and reconstruction. A journalist, a photographer and two graphic artists present 40 pieces which they say "express a personal approach to the reality of occupation, the passage of time, the accumulating past and the unclear future. The exhibition is based on two main assumptions," says Lahav Halevi, an artist and designer who is presenting at the exhibition. "One is that all of us, including the participants in the exhibition, are part of a public that shares responsibility for the condition of occupation. The other is that the exhibition itself -- just like the symbolic date of 40 years -- is merely a point in time and that it is possible that its participants and the entire Israeli people will 'celebrate' many more years of occupation."
The exhibition is displayed at 69 Rothschild Blvd., Tel Aviv, and will be open to the public free of charge from June 5-16, from 2 PM to midnight daily. The works are also displayed at Yesh Din's website. Exhibition on Yesh Din's website
Yesh Din petitions High Court of Justice to order Military Courts to release protocols
As part of a new project by Yesh Din, which is monitoring the upholding of the due process rights in the military courts in the West Bank, the organization petitioned the High Court of Justice demanding it order the IDF to open the protocols of the military court hearings to public view. Despite repeated requests by Yesh Din, the IDF is persisting in its refusal to allow the viewing and copying of the protocols of non-confidential hearings in the Military Courts in the occupied territories. The petition argues that concealing the protocols undermines the principle of public debate, which constitutes the basis of any legal system, and that, furthermore, the IDF’s policy undermines freedom of expression and the right to freedom of information.Read the petition (Translated, PDF)
A second project for Yesh din: Due Process at Military Courts
Yesh Din has launched a new project in December 2006 designed to monitor the application of due process rights at Israeli military courts in the West Bank. Following a lengthy preparation and training period, Yesh Din volunteers go to military courts in the West Bank, examine the practical application of due process rights there and document their findings in a special database created for the project. The documented findings and additional information being collected at present will serve Yesh Din and B’Tselem to publish a special report. The report will be based on hundreds of observations, statistical findings and interviews and further research. At this early stage of the project, lawyers who attend military courts on a regular basis note there is a significant improvement at the hearings where Yesh Din monitors are present. A first modest success was registered shortly after the project's launch, when following a request by Yesh Din the list of daily hearings is now posted at the doors of the military courts, allowing families, lawyers and their escorts to know which hearings are taking place and when. Yesh Din operates this project in addition to existing project on law enforcement upon Israeli civilians in the West Bank, launched in March 2005.
Following Yesh Din's handling: first-ever indictment on illegal infrastructure work in outpost
Following Yesh Din's continuous monitoring, SJ District Police indicted a resident of Elmatan outpost at the Kefar Saba Magistrate's court. The indictment was served due to the illegal placement of electric wiring in privately-owned lands of a Palestinian resident of Kufr Thulth, and is a first indictment ever to be served for illegal building in outposts. "The indictment served is prominent in its solitude on the background of massive illegal construction over the past decade throughout the West Bank. This is the first time an indictment is served for any kind of unauthorized construction in an outpost. We hope this reflects a change in law-enforcement policies", said adv. Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal advisor.
Last September, settlers from the illegal outpost El-Matan, installed electric cables on the private lands of Ibrahim Rashid A'alam from the village of Kufr Thulth in the West Bank. The wiring, which was placed without permission, carries electricity from the settlement of Ma'aleh Shomron to the outpost ElMatan. For more than two and a half months, Yesh Din appealed to different Israeli authorities (civil administration, the SJ police and the chief-of-staff of the Ministry of Public Security) without success in getting the cable removed from the landowner's private lands.Each authority claimed a different authority was responsible for removing the cable. On December 4, 2006 Yesh Din and A'alam submitted a petition to the HCJ in order to demand the removal of the cable. Shortly after, the cable was removed, to be later placed again on adjacent lands, partly private-owned by Palestinians and partly considered "state lands". Now the SJ Distinct police indicted a settler for illegally placing the electric wiring.
Apartheid Order cancelled
Following the continuous struggle of eight Israeli human rights groups headed by Yesh Din, Israel's Attorney General's office informed Yesh Din on March 25 the Apartheid Order is now cancelled. In response said Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal advisor who filed the High Court petition demanding cancellation of the Order: "It was only by the firm stance of the Israeli human rights organizations, who refused to cooperate with the order and waged a campaign against it, that saved us from sinking into a moral abyss. It was proven that IDF commanders do not know how to make judicial use of the massive power entrusted to them and that tight political and legal oversight of their conduct is needed." The General's orderJoint ad (Translated)Read the Petition (PDF file)Cancellation Order (PDF file)
Yesh Din Reveals IDF Reserve Brigade turned Palestinian villages to training facility
Information which Yesh Din obtained from military reservists and residents of the village of Beit Lid shows that before sunrise on Wednesday, February 21 2007, a reservist IDF battalion raided the villages of Beit Lid and Safarin, and over the course of three hours, performed a street warfare drill among the houses of the villages. Furthermore, information obtained by Yesh Din tells that a similar drill was carried out at least one time in previous weeks and that another battalion is expected to carry out the drill in the coming weeks.
In Yesh Din's appeal to the Military Advocate General, Adv. Michael Sfard indicates that the information the organization holds raises strong suspicion that the drills that were carried out in the Palestinian villages infringe upon a number of provisions of military justice law and contradict provisions of international law which obligate the military commander to protect the safety and well-being of civilians in an occupied territory. Yesh Din demands an investigation into the matter.
In a testimony recorded by Yesh Din, a soldier said:" and suddenly you're in the middle of a village shouting "fire fire fire." It looked so crazy, and I think the residents there got a heart attack. There were residents who went to pray at those hours. There was no instruction on how to deal with them". Read the soldier's full testimonyRead Yesh Din's letter to MAG (pdf)
Habeas Corpus issued against settler who failed to stand trial
Judge Hagit Mac-Kalmanovich of the Jerusalem Magistrate Court was forced to issue an Habeas Corpus order against Yifat Alkobi, resident of Hebron, after she failed to stand before trial on February 11th. The session has been postponed to March 29, 2007.
The indictment was filed following a March 3, 2005 incident, when Yifat Alkobi attached Yusuf Aza, age 10, his cousin, age 7 and his neighbor, age 12. She threw stones at them and when she was able to catch Aza, she smashed a stone into his mouth and broke several of his teeth. An IDF soldier tried to separate between her and the child but did not act according to his authority and did not arrest her at the time of the incident. In a testimony he gave to Yesh Din, Aza said: "I tried to run around the car, but Alkobi was faster than me, she caught my shirt and pushed me against the wall. A soldier tried to separate us but she pushed the soldier backwards, his leg got caught in a wire and he fell She held me in one hand and lifted a stone from the ground with her other hand. She put the stone in my mouth, closed my mouth by force and held my face so that my mouth would stay closed. I felt my teeth breaking. I was bleeding from my mouth and I couldn't resist."
Only several months following the attack was Alkobi interrogated by the Hebron district police - after a warrant for her arrest was issued because she refused to be interrogated. In the end, the indictment served against her included accusation of a racially-motivated assault. Alkobi became well-known recently after a video clip showed her screaming and cursing at a Palestinian family in Tel Romeida.
Yesh Din is closely monitoring the law enforcement authorities' handling of this case, as well as more than 200 other cases of violations against Palestinians and their property by Israeli civilians.
Yesh Din: Recycled decisions will not solve the problem of non-enforcement of the law
Yesh Din responded to the decision of the ministerial committee on law enforcement upon violent settlers: "The proposal to train a designated force to enforce the law upon Israeli civilians is no more than an evasion of fulfilling the IDF's duties. What's needed is a clear definition of the mission of the defense of Palestinian civilians and their property from settler violence as a key mission of IDF forces in the West Bank. The defense minister needs to closely oversee the functioning of the central command and the regional divisions in that area. Without the will to act resolutely to strengthen the rule of law upon Israeli civilians in the West Bank, the ministerial committee's decisions will dissipate and be forgotten." Adv. Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal advisor added: "A special task force to handle settler violence already existed in the past, in the form of the military police's "Orchid" company. About one year ago that company was transferred to staffing checkpoints in the West Bank after failing to fulfill its mission in Hebron. When the defense minister does not know that soldiers have the authority to make arrests it is hard to run an army that would protect Palestinians from violence settlers. What is needed is a change in orders and a reiteration of messages, because the powers already exist."
Yesh Din investigates killing of a 10 year old Palestinian girl near Jerusalem
Abir Aramin, a 10-year old suffered a serious head wound Tuesday, during her school's recess in the West Bank village of Anata, northeast of Jerusalem. At the time, there were clashes nearby between Border Police forces and protestors, and witnesses and her family say she was injured by Border Police fire directed near her school. On Thursday, Abir died of her wounds.
At the request of Abir's family and Combatants for Peace, where Abir's father, Bassam Aramin, is a leading activist, Yesh Din opened an investigation into the circumstances of the killing and assigned its legal adviser, Adv. Michael Sfard, as the family's representative vis--vis the Israeli authorities. On Wednesday and Thursday, Yesh Din investigators collected testimonies from witnesses and physical evidence. On Thursday night, Adv. Sfard filed a complaint on behalf of Abir's family and was informed a few hours later that an investigation team had been established, headed by the Deputy Investigations' Chief of the SJ Police District. Yesh Din is closely monitoring the investigation and provided the police with evidence and other details to advance the investigation.
Under pressure from Yesh Din and other human rights groups: Apartheid Order frozen
Following a petition to the High Court of Justice filed by Yesh Din's legal advisor and other pressures employed by Yesh Din and other human rights groups, GOC Central Command announced the Apartheid Order will not be going into effect on January 19, as planned. Following the announcement, Yesh Din made this statement: "The State's behavior in this matter has been disgraceful. The IDF is running an unbridled policy in the West Bank, orchestrated by Maj.-Gen. Naveh. A decent system of civilian oversight would have stopped the order, which threatened to undermine the foundations of democracy in the State of Israel, and add it to the black list of countries with racist legislation, before it was even published. The IDF's backing down at the last minute -- three days before the order went into effect, and only after an aggressive public campaign by a coalition of human rights organizations and the threat of a petition in the High Court of Justice -- should signal to the political echelon that it must tighten its control over the IDF, and Maj.-Gen. Naveh in particular." The General's orderJoint ad (Translated)Read the Petition (PDF file)
Yesh Din to Defense Min.: Law Enforcement authority exists - but no desire to act accordingly
Following publication in the media of videos from Hebron over the past few days, a governmental decision (Jan. 14, 2007) established a special ministerial committee on the issue of "Jewish-Arab relations in Hebron". On this backdrop, the media quoted Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, who referred to an IDF soldier seen in one of the videos as "helpless and unable to intervene, because he does not have the authority to enforce the law." In a letter sent to the Minister of Defense and the new ministerial committee, Yesh Din stated that the fact that the Minister of Defense is not aware that IDF soldiers do in fact hold the full authority to detain and arrest Israeli citizens who violate Palestinians and their property - whether in Hebron or any other place in the West Bank - is highly disappointing. "It is unfortunate that the Minister of Defense, who reportedly encouraged the establishment of the new special committee, is not aware that according to both Israeli governmental decisions as well as International Humanitarian Law, IDF soldiers in the West Bank are fully authorized to enforce the law upon Israeli civilians. [...] Law enforcement authority required of IDF soldiers is firm and abiding and has existed for ages. What is continuously absent is the soldiers' awareness of the existence of this authority and a real desire to make use of it." Yesh Din's letter also included a number of recommendations based on Yesh Din's Law Enforcement of Settler Violence project which were published in the report, A Semblance of Law and offered Yesh Din's assistance in the committee's work. Copies of the letter were sent to the Attorney General, the Prime Minister and the ministers appointed to the committee. Read the Letter
Yesh Din and seven other human rights organizations petition the High Court of Justice on the "Apartheid Order"
On January 7, seven Israeli human rights organizations petitioned the HCJ to demand the abolishment of the order which forbids Palestinians from traveling in Israeli cars driven by Israelis or foreigners. The petitioners are also requesting that the HCJissue an interim order to postpone the Apartheid Order's implementation until a ruling is reached. The order is scheduled to go into affect on January 19, 2007. The submission of the appeal presents an additional phase in the Israeli human rights organizations' struggle to overrule the order. The preface of the appeal included the following statement: "The order at hand implements the principles of segregation, via the law and the creation of criminal sanctions, among two different nationalities which meet in the private sphere of their vehicles, without permit from the authorities. [...] Out of all the red lines [Israel has] crossed, the petitioners believe that the order on "traffic and transportation" carries within it grave seeds of evil as it orders civilians to become active agents of discrimination; and as it so crudely penetrates the private domain; and particularly because of its leaning towards tarnishing social, professional, political and personal relations and to enforce the 'separation' even on those who may not be approving of it." The human rights organization petitioning are Yesh Din-Volunteers for Human Rights, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Gisha, the Public Committee against Torture in Israel, HaMoked-Center for Defense of the Individual, Machsom Watch, Physicians for Human Rights and Bimkom-Planners for Planning rights. The petitioners are represented by Yesh Din's legal advisor, Adv. Michael Sfard. Read the Petition (PDF file)
Yesh Din's HCJ Petition forces IDF and Police to dismantle electricity infrastructure of Elmatan outpost
Military and police forces removed electricity lines laid by residents of illegal outpost Elmatan on private Palestinian lands in the village of Thulth.The removal came as a result of a petition filed by Yesh Din to the High Court of Justice and following two and a half months of appeals to the authorities which continuously evaded fulfilling their duty of removing the lines by giving a variety of excuses and passing the buck to others."This case shows that the authorities in the West Bank do not enforce the law on settlers, even when the incidence is simple and clear-cut, unless they are threatened from above at the High Court level.This is distressing and dangerous and proves again that the military and police forces have not internalized their duties," responded Attorney Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal advisor who filed the petition on behalf of Yesh Din and the lands' owner.On December 4th Yesh Din filed the petition at the High Court of Justice demanding the removal of the electricity lines from privately-owned Palestinian land belonging to residents of the village Thulth. Only after the petition was filed did the military and police forces arrive on January 2nd, and remove the electric lines
Yesh Din to Defense Minister and OC Central Command: Cancel the Apartheid order
On November 19, OC Central Command Major General Yair Naveh signed an order forbidding Palestinians from traveling in Israeli vehicles. The order, which is supposed to take effect on January 19, 2007, prevents the transport of Palestinian citizens inside the West Bank without permits (barring exceptions) in Israeli vehicles (defined also as vehicles registered in Israel, even if they do not have Israeli license plates) by Israeli citizens. In his letters to the two figures, Attorney Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal advisor, notes that the new order joins a list of orders issued by the OC of the Central Command that create a legal system of separation on the basis of nationality. As such, notes Attorney Sfard, the order is manifestly illegal and falls under the definition of the Crime of Apartheid according to international law. Yesh Din is taking a series of actions, along with a number of other human rights organizations, to lead to the cancellation of the Apartheid order. As part of this effort, a joint ad was published in Haaretz, in which the human rights NGOs declare they will not cooperate with the order's directives. The General's orderYesh Din's letter to the Defense MinisterYesh Din's letter to the OC Central CommandJoint ad (Translated)Israel Radio Interview with Atty. Sfard
The loss of complaints by the SJ Dist.: YD monitoring leads to systemic changes and disciplinary action against officer
After repeated appeals by Yesh Din to the SJ District Police to find complaints filed by Palestinians but lost after their submission, the SJ District Police's public complaints officer said an officer appointed to examine the matter found some of the lost complaints, and subsequently investigations into them began. Other complaints filed to the SJ District Police units were not found. In her letter, Chief Superintendent Rotem Gantz said "We are sorry about the situation [...] and have reached several conclusions and several systemic decisions were made to prevent the recurrence of such cases. In addition, the deputy commander of the SJ District decided to enter a comment in the personal file of the commander of investigations in the Samaria district." A sample by Yesh Din published in the report A Semblance of Law found that more than 10% of the complaints filed by Palestinians to SJ District police units were lost and not investigated at all. The SJ District Police's Response
Yesh Din files suit on behalf of Palestinian landowners to evacuate farm built on their land by settlers
Yesh Din filed a suit on behalf of Palestinian land owners from the village of Saniriya demanding to evacuate settler residents of Sha'arei Tikvah who invaded their land and built an agricultural farm on it. The suit was filed to the Jerusalem Magistrate Court after the SJ District Police told Yesh Din it did not have the authority to force the exit of the squatters from the land without a court order. In October 2005, Mohammed Ahmad from the village of Saniriya discovered that settlers built a stable on a plot of land that belongs to him and his family and is planted with olive trees. Despite the settlers' promises they would leave the site, they did not do so and developed the stable and added to it a dovecote and dogs. In February 2006, Mohammed went to the police and filed a complaint. The SJ District Police investigated Mohamed's complaint and reached the conclusion that the land on which the stable stands is private land. On August 16, 2006 the SJ District Police told the residents of the stable they must evacuate it within 14 days. However, the squatters did not evacuate the land as required and the SJ District Police said, as aforementioned, they could not evacuate them without a court order. Subsequently, Yesh Din filed a suit on behalf of the land owners by summary procedure, demanding the court order the squatters to leave the land immediately and take away any objects and buildings they built at the site. Mohamed Ahmad's Testimony
Attorney General responds to Yesh Din's findings: law enforcement in West Bank at "very low level"
At the Conference on Public Law held late November, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz was asked by Dr. Eyal Gross of Tel-Aviv University Law School and Yesh Din's legal forum for his reactions for Yesh Din's report findings. Dr. Gross emphasized the findings on the high failure rate in SJ District Police investigations on settler offences against Palestinians and their property. Answering Dr. Gross' question, AG Mazuz made a surprising admission: "I don't know if this will surprise you but I agree with you that the situation of law enforcement in the territories is not only unsatisfactory but it is at a very low level." In response to AG Mazuz's admission, said Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal advisor: "We welcome Attorney General Mazuz's open admission of the incompetence of law enforcement authorities' handling of settler attacks against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank. But the admission is no substitute for effective action. Israel has a legal obligation under the laws of armed conflict to protect civilian population from settler violence and Mazuz must lead a concentrated effort to this end." More
Yesh Din opens situation room to monitor law enforcement in cases of violence against Palestinian olive harvesters
Yesh Din recently established a situation room to secure this year's olive harvest in the West Bank by monitoring law enforcement of cases of violence against Palestinians. The situation room receives calls from Palestinian harvesters about harassment by Israeli civilians, and deploys intervention teams made up of Yesh Din and Combatants for Peacevolunteers. During the first five days of operation, the situation room already has handled 18 cases, including olive theft, settler violence and the army's blocking of Palestinians' access to olive groves. The goal of the two organizations' joint activity surrounding the harvest is to ensure that law enforcement authorities handle cases of settler violence against harvestersas they happen and without delay. In order to achieve that goal, Yesh Din and Combatants for Peace established a mechanism for real-time information-gathering, a direct communication system with the military command and the defense minister's office, and fully-trained, dedicated intervention teams. In addition, the situation room regularly exchanges information with other organizations involved with the harvest. Read more...
Yesh Din's comprehensive report: 90% Failure rate in the SJ District Police Investigations
A comprehensive report released September 11 by Yesh Din-Volunteers for Human Rights paints a grave picture of systematic failures in law enforcement upon Israeli settlers who violate the rights of West Bank Palestinian civilians and their property. The 148 page-report, A Semblance of Law: Law Enforcement upon Israeli Civilians in the West Bank, is the result of Yesh Din's ongoing monitoring of the IDF's and the West Bank police force's (SJ District Police) treatment of settlers' and other Israeli civilians' violence towards Palestinians. The report exposes the dynamics that lead to the absence of effective law enforcement on the Israeli civilians in the West bank who commit offenses against Palestinians. Based on a thorough examination of the investigation files, the report publicly exposes for the first time the failures and deficiencies in the SJ District Police's investigations.An in-depth review of dozens of investigation files reveal repeated flaws: files are closed without suspects' alibi claims being verified; or shortly after the complaint is filed, without all necessary investigatory actions being taken; or due to "lack of evidence", even when there appears to be sufficient evidence to put suspects on trial. Read or download the report
YD to Min. of Defense: End "No Comment Policy" on settler violence
Following Amos Harel and Avi Issacharof's story in Haaretz (September 8), Yesh Din wrote to the Minister of Defense Amir Peretz, demanding to put a halt to what Haaretz described as the Ministry of Defense's "No Comment Policy". In its letter, Yesh Din pointed to the previous government's pledge on evacuation of settler outposts (the Sasson Report) and to the state's duty to ensure law enforcement upon violent settlers, as reaffirmed at the High Court of Justice's recent ruling in the Murrar case. Yesh Din also referred to the critical impact of the selective enforcement of the law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories upon the rule of law.
Palestinian civilian killed in drive-by shooting, 6 August 2006
As a result of pressure from Yesh Din, the West Bank Police opened an inquiry to investigate the murder of H'ssein Mardawi on August 6, 2006 on Route 505, adjacent to the Za'atara checkpoint. H'ssein was driving a vehicle along with his 17-year-old son, Amid, who was injured from shrapnel, and his nephew, who was not injured. From Amid's testimony: "As the other car overtook us and was side-by-side with our truck, two of the people in the truck, the one sitting next to the driver and the one sitting behind him, opened fire at us. I didn't see the kind of weapon; I only was able to notice the passenger sitting behind the driver. The pick-up truck drove on and did not stop. I was able to catch its license plate number." Only after Yesh Din appealed to the SJ Police to investigate did the police begin proceedings, two days after the incident. Amid Mardawi's Testimony
SJ Police: Stable owners who built on private property must vacate premises
In October 2005, settlers from Sha'arei Tikva built a stable on Muhammad Ahmed's property in the village of Sanaria. When Muhammad asked the settlers to leave his property, they not only ignored his request, but they developed and enlarged the stable. From Muhammad's testimony: "We had believed that the settlers had removed the structures they had built on our land as promised. But my brother, Rajad Ismail Halil, who was there in January, saw that not only had they not removed the stable, but they had enlarged it and brought more pigeons and dogs." In February, Muhammad appealed to the police and filed a complaint. The SJ Police investigated his complaint and concluded that the land in question was in fact private Palestinian property. On August 16, 2006, SJ Police informed the stable owners that they must vacate the premises within 14 days. Muhammad Ahmed's Testimony
Suspects convicted in cases overseen by Yesh Din
Boaz Melet of the illegal outpost "Edei Ed" was convicted in June 2006 for trespassing and for instructing students from the yeshiva he heads to pick olives from land belonging to residents of the Palestinian village Mareir. Also in June, Elisha Svetitsky of Tapuach settlement was convicted in the Tel-Aviv District Court for throwing stones at a car driving through Tapuach junction, and for later attacking the complainant in the police station. Yesh Din monitored the police investigations of these cases, and its volunteers accompanied the complainants to the courts in Israel where they testified.
Attacks on Palestinian-owned olive trees in the West Bank continue
Despite harsh statements from law enforcement officials and the Israeli government against the damage caused to Palestinian-owned olive trees in the West Bank last winter, not one suspect has yet been brought to trial.The law enforcement system's impotence has led to continuing attacks on Palestinian olive groves. On June 10, 2006, all of the olive trees in A'aisha A-Shtia's plot were cut down."I was shocked.I couldn't speak. I felt numb. The trees were cut so that the only thing left was their stumps. All my olive trees were mutilated! None were left!" A'aisha A-Shtia's Testimony
Investigation into attack on Kufr Thulth shepherds completed: Case transferred to prosecution unit
The prosecution unit of the West Bank police informed Yesh Din that it is handling the investigation into the beating of two young residents of Kfar Thulth by settlers from Elmatan outpost. On December 31, 2005, a group of settlers attacked the shepherds, Muhib Udah and Amar Khuli, on Kufr Thulth land. From Muhib Udah's testimony: "Four settlers, armed with weapons, approached me. Three of them came from one direction and the fourth from another. One of them grabbed my hands and tied them behind my back with a rope. Another settler grabbed me by the shirt and started to beat me with the barrel of his gun until my nose and mouth bled. Then, all four of them attacked me and forced me to the ground."
Yesh Din welcomes establishment of joint task force on settler attacks on Palestinian olive groves
Yesh Din - Volunteers for Human Rights, working for law enforcement of settler violence, welcomes the decision made today to establish a joint security forces' task force on attacks on Palestinian olive groves. At the same time, Yesh Din expresses its hope that today's announcement will not join the myriad government reports and decisions about the failure of law enforcement of settler violence - from the 1982 Karp Report to the 2005 Sasson Report - collecting dust at police and state attorney offices.
"The attacks on Palestinians' olive groves will end when the Israeli law enforcement agencies - IDF, West Bank Police and State Prosecution - take their duty seriously to protect Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and enforce the law on violent settlers effectively," said Atty. Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal advisor. "Unfortunately, Yesh Din's monitoring of the law enforcement bodies in this matter reveals their continuous failure to fulfill their duties."
Following a year of inquiry, Investigating Military Police admits: Complaints lost
Following a year of inquiry and correspondence between Yesh Din and the Binyamin Regional Police and Investigating Military Police, it became clear that the complaints filed by four young residents of Deir Nidham village against settlers who shot at them and soldiers who brutally beat them had been lost. The West Bank Police and the Investigating Military Police are unable to find the complaints filed or any investigative material. This incident adds to at least 10 other complaints that Palestinians have filed with the West Bank Police that have been lost, either with them or with the Investigating Military Police. In March 2005, violence began to intensify between settlers and residents of Deir Nidham regarding a pond on the village's land. Following the incident in which the settlers shot at the Palestinians, the IDF was summoned. The four Palestinians were taken to the nearby IDF base, where they were brutally beaten. Yesh Din volunteers accompanied the four Palestinians to the Binyamin police station, where they filed their complaints. This week the police admitted that all the investigative material had been lost. Munjed Tamimi's testimony
At request of prosecution, Yesh Din brings victims to testify at Avri Ran's trial
- On Wednesday, December 7, 2005 at 8:30 a.m., the trial of Avri Ran and three other settlers accused of violent attacks against Palestinians reopened at the Kfar Saba courthouse. [He was acquitted in January 2006.]
- In response to the prosecution's request, Yesh Din volunteers ensured that the Palestinian victims arrived at the courthouse to testify
- Earlier in the trial, settlers in the courthouse threatened and attacked the victims and the volunteers.
On Thursday, December 1, legal proceedings began in the case against Avraham (Avri) Ran, Victor Ladzinski, Isachar Mandel and Elad Ziv, residents of the Givat Olam outpost, which is adjacent to Itamar. The four are charged with violent assault, severe obstruction and injury in aggravating circumstances, following their attack in March 2005 on Amar Ahmad Abdallah Bani Jaber and Khader Musalem Ibrahim Abu Haniya, residents of the village of Akraba.
The human rights organization Yesh Din investigated the incident and followed up with the handling of the case. At the request of the prosecution, Yesh Din contacted the victims and witnesses, and volunteers of the organization took responsibility for bringing the victims to the Shalom courthouse, so they could offer their testimonies in the trial.
During the December 1 proceedings, witnesses and Yesh Din volunteers were met with great hostility and were attacked by settlers present in the courthouse. The settlers shouted obscenities at the volunteers, spat on them and tried to prevent them from sitting in the courtroom during deliberations while the defendants came and went freely and were allowed to sit with their families anywhere in the courtroom.
Once again, Yesh Din volunteers will make certain that the witnesses safely get from their villages to the courthouse in order to ensure their testimonies are heard.
Settlers continue to attack residents of Yanoun
Halil Rabia Yusef Jaber was herding his sheep northeast of his village of Yanoun when he was attacked by a Jewish settler. In the past, residents of Yanoun have had to leave their village following recurring attacks by settlers. From Jaber's testimony: "I was walking on the mountain towards the orchard with my son Firas and the sheep, at a distance of about a kilometer from the fence of the settlement of Itamar, when suddenly an armed settler came towards me. Another settler nearby was herding goats. I walked at a distance, about 20 meters from him, because I didn't want to have any problems. The settler asked me 'What are you doing here?' and approached me. He came right up to me and aimed his weapon at my knees. I told him: 'I am on my own land, working.' He said to me: 'Get out of here.' I said to him: 'Fine, I'll leave.' I didn't think he would hit me or would do anything. And then he lifted his rifle, raised it and hit me in the face, on my cheek with the butt of the rifle." Full testimony
Settlers on rampage in Palestinian villages; Yesh Din calls on police and army to stop violence immediately
The human rights organization Yesh Din has long been warning that violent attacks against Palestinians would escalate with the realization of the Disengagement Plan in the Gaza Strip.
The organization's field researchers have increased their presence on the ground because of heightened settler violence against Palestinians surrounding the Disengagement
At the beginning of the Disengagement process, Yesh Din, warned along with other Israeli human rights organizations, urged the security forces to deploy for a wave of violence by settlers against Palestinians.
Since the security forces, busy with the evacuation, have scaled down their presence in dangerous friction areas, Yesh Din's field researchers have increased their presence on the ground - especially in the violence-prone parts of the northern West Bank. The organization's researchers have been receiving a steady flow of information about incidents that are given minimal media coverage but may portend future attacks against Palestinians. "The inaction of the law enforcement agencies could cost the lives of additional innocent Palestinians besides the ones murdered at Shiloh," said lawyer Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal advisor.
According to reports reaching Yesh Din researchers, in recent days the Palestinian residents of the northern West Bank have been subjected to recurring attacks by settlers in connection with the Disengagement.
A sampling of incidents:
- August 16, 2005: A group of some 25 settlers took over two homes in the village of Burka, south of Homesh, went on a rampage and caused damages. The settlers left the homes only after an IDF force arrived, a few hours later.
- August 17, 2005: A settler set fire to a greenhouse. In the afternoon a settler riding a motor scooter arrived at the greenhouses near the village of A-Nabi Alias, near Alfei Menashe. Eyewitnesses reported to Yesh Din that after spending some time there, the settler lit a firebomb and set fire to a greenhouse owned by Abdul Karim Ahmed Radwan, a resident of A-Nabi Alias. The fire was put out quickly, and the greenhouse was only slightly damaged.
- August 17, 2005: A Palestinian gas station near the settlement of Sa-Nur was broken into and trashed by settlers.
- August 18, 2005: A settler threw a firebomb at a Palestinian vehicle in the village of Azzoun al-Atma.
- August 20, 2005: Settlers tried to enter the villages of Aja, Bizariya, Silat a-Dhaher and al-Fundukumiya in the areas of Homesh and Sa-Nur, attacked residential homes and caused property damage, but escaped when the IDF arrived.
- August 21, 2005: Tahseen Shrim, a resident of Qalqiliya, was shot in the shoulder by a settler riding a motor scooter. Shrim, 42, was sitting on the sidewalk near the flower nursery he owns in the village of A-Nabi Alias when the settler rode past him on the motor scooter and shot him in the shoulder. A few hours later the nursery owned by Shrim was set on fire.
- August 22, 2005: Settlers tried to enter the villages of Silat a-Dhaher and al-Fundukumiya in the area of Homesh and Sa-Nur, attacked residential homes and caused property damage, but escaped when the IDF arrived.
Yesh Din notes that in some cases it was evident that the security forces were preventing violent settlers from entering the Palestinian villages in the northern West Bank. However, such a local response is not enough. The Shai Police must enforce the law against violent settlers effectively and firmly and conduct serious investigations with the goal of bringing the suspects to justice.
Yesh Din field researchers are taking testimonies in all of these cases, and the organization intends to follow the police investigations closely.
Seventy-year old resident of Beit Dajan, Aziz Hneini, brutally attacked yet again
Aziz Abed al-Qarim Salman Hneini, who was attacked by settlers in April 2005, was attacked again in October by two settlers who beat him with a club and stabbed him with a knife. From Hneini's testimony: "The minute I got off the donkey in order to run away, the man with the cudgel came up to me from behind and beat me with his cudgel on my shoulders and my back. He continued to beat me energetically with the cudgel all over my body, while the second threw stones. Later, at the hospital, I found out that my left leg and two of my ribs were broken. I couldn't stand up because of the pain and I fell down on the ground. The second man bent down towards me, and with the knife began to make cuts in my two hands, another cut above my right eye and cuts in both legs. They did not talk to me, or to each other" The case on the previous attack on Hneini was closed by the Jerusalem District Attorney Office on account of "lack of evidence", despite the fact that Hneini was able to identify one of the attackers and the West Bank police did not bother to arrange a line-up or to verify the suspect's alibi. Full testimony
Yesh Din warns: Murder of Palestinians in Shiloh by Israeli settler could signal wave of settler violence
- Hundreds of "hilltop youths" arrested in Gush Katif and released by the IDF outside of the Gaza Strip could be on their way to the West Bank
- The West Bank police do not have the necessary forces to prevent such incidents, since the majority of the police force has been deployed to assist Disengagement efforts.
- The defense establishment warned that settlers might initiate terrorist acts of this nature in order to sabotage the Disengagement.
- Yesh Din calls on the chief commissioner of police to launch a concerted effort to prevent additional terrorist acts.
Yesh Din, a human rights organization working to ensure law enforcement against settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, warns that the evacuation of extremist settlers from the Gaza Strip and their relocation to the West Bank could result in a wave of violence is liable against Palestinian residents.
Two weeks ago, leading up to the implementation of the Disengagement Plan, several human rights organizations, including Yesh Din, approached Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz and Attorney General Menachum Mazuz, to alert them to the possibility of a wave of violence from Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property.
Yesh Din's monitoring of the situation shows that the police force in the West Bank is far from fulfilling its duty of enforicng the law against violent settlers. The situation has deteriorated in the past two weeks, after many West Bank police officers were sent to provide reinforcement for the Disengagement, leaving the Palestinian residents of the West Bank vulnerable to violent acts.
"Regrettably, the neglect of law enforcement against the settlers as well as the IDF's and police force's faulty preparation have cost the lives of innocent Palestinian civilians today," said attorney Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal advisor. "It is the responsibility of the IDF commanders and chiefs of police to concentrate efforts to prevent further violent attacks on Palestinians and their property in the coming days and weeks."
Human rights organizations to defense minister and attorney general: Prepare to defend Palestinians against wave of settler violence during Disengagement
Israeli human rights organizations today warned of an escalation in violence by Israeli civilians against Palestinians and their property during and after the Disengagement. The organizations - B'Tselem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual, Yesh Din and Rabbis for Human Rights - wrote to Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, demanding that law enforcement authorities make advance preparations to protect Palestinians living near settlements known to contain violent individuals, and particularly in those areas where there has been rioting in the past. Some of the violence will be spontaneous, the letter states, "but there is concern that we will witness organized attacks intended to stop the disengagement process". The organizations believe that the attacks could endanger dozens of Palestinian lives.
The organizations have expressed concern for years about the lax law enforcement towards settlers in the West Bank, as documented most recently in the report of attorny Talia Sasson from the Justice Ministry. Unfortunately there has been no significant improvement in this area. Attached to the letter, which was written by Attorney Limor Yehuda from ACRI, is a list of over 50 violent acts carried out by settlers against Palestinians in recent months. While recognizing the restrictions under which security forces are currently operating, the organizations assert that this does not relieve them of their obligation to enforce the law and protect the Palestinian population. Among the measures that the organizations demand that security forces take are:
Deployment in conflict areas and prevention of Israelis considered likely to abuse Palestinians from entering these areas.
Issuing clear directives to soldiers and the police as to their obligation to enforce the law with regard to Israeli civilians in the Occupied Territories, and their powers and authority in this regard.
Close scrutiny and oversight of weapons held by settlers.
Israeli human rights organizations are also concerned about an escalation in violence by Palestinians against Israeli civilians during the Disengagement. The Israeli military has invested considerable resources to protect Israelis during this period, and Palestinians are entitled to similar protection.
The organizations have also drafted their own action plan to provide a real-time response to settler violence during this period.
Yesh Din's volunteers bring Palestinians to testify at Tel Aviv court
The evidence phase at the trial of Elisha Svetitsky began recently at the Tel Aviv District Court. Svetitsky is accused of throwing a large stone at a Palestinian vehicle in Tapuach junction last July, and later kicking the driver at the police station after he was arrested. At the request of the driver and a passenger, summoned to testify at the trial, Yesh Din volunteers escorted them to the court. Svetitsky remians under arrest for the duration of the proceedings.
Appeal filed by Yesh Din leads to renewed investigation
An appeal filed by attorney Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal advisor, led West Bank Police to reopen its investigation of recurrent stone-throwing from the settlement of Elkana at the nearby Amer family home. On September 13, 2005 Commander Uzi Zommer of West Bank Police Force Shomron District, informed Yesh Din that three investigations into the stone-throwing incidents had been closed, citing "unknown offender" as the reason in all three. After the organisation examined the investigation files, it filed appeals against the closure of two of these investigations, based on a number of failures on the part of the police. Superintendent Yaron Shitrit recently notified Yesh Din that following the appeals, one of the investigations was renewed. Yesh Din is still expecting responses on all other appeals it filed over the past few months. Hani Amer's testimony
Palestinian minor suffers head wound in attack by violent settlers
Five settlers from Halamish (Ne've Tzoof) attacked three Palestinian shepherds, one adult and two minors, who were herding their flock of sheep through their family-owned land adjacent to the settlement.
According to testimonies recorded by Yesh Din volunteers, the three shepherds arrived at their pastures to discover that the settlers had begun to fence off the plot of land, apparently in order to take control of the property. One of the settlers opened fire from his house in nearby Halamish, just missing the animals. Minutes later, a group of armed settlers drove up to the shepherds, shouting threats and throwing stones in an attempt to drive them away. The shepherds refused to leave their land, leading one of the settlers to threaten set his dog on Ismail Abdul Hafiz Tamimi (56). His son, Mohammed (17), suffered a serious injury to his head when a settler beat him with brass knuckles and was in serious need of medical treatment. The settlers also kicked and beat the sheep.
The incident, which took place Friday, May 6, 2005, was revealed in testimonies recorded by Yesh Din's volunteer researchers. Yesh Din volunteers accompanied the victims, at their request, to testify at the Sha'ar Binyamin police station Sunday, and reported fair treatment by police.
"This is yet another piece in the puzzle of a widespread phenomenon - settlers are taking over Palestinian lands and abusing them as they please while security forces remain idle", said attorney Michael Sfard, legal advisor for Yesh Din. In recent weeks, Yesh Din volunteers have documented a long list of incidents of settler violence against Palestinians. Two weeks ago, the organization appealed to the attorney general and the chief of police demanding that West Bank Police be instructed to register complaints filed by Palestinians against violent settlers.
West Bank Police refuse to register complaints from Palestinians attacked by settlers
For the past month, Yesh Din has been working in the West Bank to collect evidence from Palestinians attacked and harassed by settlers. From the beginning, it was clear that the police frequently refuse to register Palestinian complaints. As a result, the organization has appealed to the attorney general and chief police commissioner demanding an end to these illegal actions. Yesh Din volunteers stated: "We will make every effort to force the police to register the complaints and investigate them appropriately."
Yesh Din volunteers investigate incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and accompany victims to police stations to file their complaints. Over the course of their efforts, the volunteers discovered widespread police refusal to register Palestinians' complaints against settlers.
In a number of recent instances, West Bank police officers refused to register complaints and agreed only after Yesh Din volunteers intervened. In one case, a civil administration employee pressured a Palestinian whose olive trees were uprooted and stolen by settlers not to file his complaint in return for the restoration of his trees.
Yesh Din, represented by its legal advisor, Michael Sfard, has demanded of the attorney general and the chief police commissioner to instruct commanders of the police stations in the Occupied Territories regarding their obligation to record every complaint brought by a civilian and to conduct an investigation if any suspicion of criminal activity is raised. Sfard cited three examples of police refusal to register Palestinian complaints. "This is one of the most marked characteristics of the rule of law - when it is absent or silent, there is a clear rise in violations against it," wrote Sfard .
Following a petition submitted on May 26th by Palestinian residents of Dir Istya and Thulth along with Yesh Din, Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) issued on the same day a provisional order for the immediate halt of illegal construction on a new building currently being built in the outpost Elmatan. According to the decision of Supreme Court Justice Yoram Danziger, the provisional order includes an immediate halt to all construction work, the connection of the building to infrastructure, paving of roads to the building, and the abstinence from any transaction connected with the building and the transfer of rights in it until further notice.
On May 25th, Palestinians from the village of Ein Yabroud petitioned the High Court of Justice through Yesh Din demanding it issue an order nisi for the destruction of a wastewater purification facility located on their land, southeast of the settlement of Ofra. The petition demands that all construction work on and funding of the facility be stopped, and that the Civil Administration and SJ District Police enforce the demolition orders that have been already issued for the site. 
On March 25, 2009, just two days after the State notified Yesh Din of Defense Minster Barak's decision not to implement demolition orders pending against nine houses that were built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land in the settlement of Ofra, a hearing was held in the High Court. After the hearing, the HCJ issued an injunction order whereby the State must justify its reasons for not implementing demolition orders issued by the HCJ against houses built illegally on privately-owned land within 60 days.
On February 17th, Yesh Din received a report from the Awad family from the village of Ramin that a group of soldiers entered their home and destroyed most of their belongings over the course of two hours while Mustafa Awad was taken into detention and his wife Duha sought refuge at her mother’s house with her two young girls.
Eight Palestinian residents of the village of Silwad, with the help of Yesh Din, have petitioned Defense Minister Ehud Barak and OC Central Command General Gadi Shamni demanding the dismantling of a fence built without a permit on their land that has prevented, for more than eight years, access to their land located near the Amona outpost and the settlement of Ofra. 
In a letter sent to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Military Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, Yesh Din demands the immediate removal of Chief Military Rabbi, Brigadier General Avichai Rontzki. The organization Breaking the Silence recently gave Yesh Din a booklet distributed by the Chief Military Rabbinate to soldiers before entering Gaza. The booklet includes 
In a new comprehensive report, the first of its kind, Yesh Din releases to the public full data on incidents in which indictments were filed against soldiers accused of committing criminal offenses against Palestinians or their property. The report deals with the period between the start of the Second Intifada in September 2000 until the end of 2007.
With the publication of the report Exceptions, Yesh Din makes publicly available the results of the indictments of soldiers for committing criminal offenses against Palestinians or their property.
10 Palestinians filed a petition with the HCJ through human rights organization Yesh Din, demanding that the illegal outpost Amona, built on their private lands, be evacuated. In the petition, filed against the Defense Minister and the Head of OC Central Command, among others, demands that Amona be evacuated, and that the fencing which encloses parts of it, restricting the owners' access to their lands, be removed.
On November 12th, High Court Justice Hanan Meltzer issued an interim order in a claim submitted by two Palestinian land owners with the assistance of the human rights organization Yesh Din. The order instructed the Beit El Municipality and the Beit El Yeshiva to halt the construction halt all construction and inhabitation, as well as any other affairs relating to the new housing units that have been built there. In his ruling, Judge Meltzer determined that it was incumbent upon the Defense Minister, the IDF, and the police to actively ensure that the vacant houses were not being populated. 
A report written by a Defense System Comptroller evaluating the IDF deployment in the West Bank during the olive harvest season of 2006 has been obtained by Yesh Din through the Freedom of Information Act. The report harshly criticizes the activities of the IDF during the olive harvest that year, and lists a number of recommendations designed to improve law enforcement upon Israeli citizens in the occupied territories. 
Yesh Din approached the Military Advocate General, Brig.-Gen. Avihai Mandelblit, demanding that the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) investigate soldiers that stood by and did not intervene when settlers rioted in the village of Asira al-Kabaliya. "According to the reports, although the soldiers confiscated two guns that the rioting settlers used to shoot at the Palestinian residents, they did not stop the settlers from acting in a violent manner nor prevent them from accessing houses in the village," wrote Michael Sfard, legal council for Yesh Din. The letter was sent the day after the serious incident in Asira al-Kabaliya and after Yesh Din was alerted to the fact that no investigation was launched into the soldiers' conduct. On Saturday, September 13th, dozens of settlers threw stones at the village of Asira al-Kabaliya acting to avenge the stabbing that morning of a nine year old boy in the settlement by a Palestinian, who ran out of the settlement in the direction of the village. During the curfew that was imposed on the village in order to find the suspect in the stabbing, dozens of settlers entered the village and caused serious damage to property there. In pictures published of the incident, it is clear that the IDF soldiers stood by, not stopping rioters nor hindering their efforts.
12 Israeli families have recently moved into two buildings in Jabel Artis, just North of the Beit El settlement. The two buildings were built on land belonging to Mahbuba Yassin Abdullah, a resident of the nearby village of Dura al-Qara. These buildings were built over the last 4 years and continued to be constructed despite the fact that in-depth correspondence with the authorities regarding their legitimacy, took place for over two years before their inhabitance. Throughout this correspondence, the Civil Administration admitted several times that the buildings in question were in fact illegal, having been built on privately-owned land, with seizure orders pending on it. The process for taking over land in this area began a decade ago when settlers from Beit El broke ground on the Jabel Artis mountaintop with the goal of expanding the settlement northward. Indeed, over the past decade, 14 identical buildings were erected using this same system, on the Western base of the Jabel Artis mountain. These buildings are now populated by over 80 families.
The military court has ruled on the case of three soldiers from theLavi Battalion of the Kfir Brigade, convicting the soldiers of violations the rules of acceptable behavior, aggravated assault and abuse in aggravating circumstances. The soldiers were sentenced to light prison sentences ranging from 67 days to five months, to be served in full. 
Yesh Din, along with Rabah Mohamad Asef Abdellatif, a resident of the village of El-Geeb, has filed a petition with the High Court of Justice, demanding it to instruct the Minister of Defense, IDF Commander in the West Bank, the head of Civil Administration office and the commander of the SJ District Police to enforce a demolition order they had issued against a building constructed adjacent to the settlement of Giv'at Ze'ev on the private property of Abdellatif. Additionally, due to the fact that an addition has recently been made to the building which is used as a synagogue, the HCJ has been asked to issue an interim order that will prevent any further construction on the land, connection of the building to infrastructures, and all other use. 
A petition filed by Yesh Din to the High Court of Justice on behalf of Bassam and Salwa Aramin, parents of Abir Aramin, the 10-year-old girl from Anata who was killed after being shot in the head in January 2007, states that there is sufficient evidence to file an indictment against a Border Policeman who according to evidence and the facts collected on the ground, shot Aramin in the head and caused her death. The petition was filed following the Jerusalem District Attorney's announcement of July 2007 that it was closing the investigation file without filing indictments due to a lack of evidence, and following the rejection of an appeal filed by Yesh Din in February 2008.
Yesh Din has recent exposed that a fire station recently built on the northern edges of the "Kochav Yaacov" settlement, east of Ramallah, is situated on private Palestinian property. A letter sent from Dror Etkes, Yesh Din's Lands Project Coordinator, to National Fire and Rescue Commissioner Shimon Romach, states that the existence of the fire station on private lands "is incompatible with the values and spirit of the national body that you lead." In a letter, Yesh Din asked Fire and Rescue Commissioner Romach to instruct that the station be moved to another location as soon as possible in order to return the land on which it currently sits to its legal owners. Like the fire station built to serve the settlements, many buildings in "Kochav Yaacov" have been built on private Palestinian lands
Yesh Din petitioned the High Court of Justice against OC Central Command Gadi Shamni and commander of the SJ District Police, Commander Shlomo Kaatabi. At the center of the petition, including a request for an urgent hearing, the organization asks the HCJ to order the evacuation of the illegal outpost called ‘Shvut Ami,’ built on the private land of Badriya Amr. Additionally, the organization asks the Army to deploy a regular force on the site to prevent the return of invaders and to enforce the military order issued, forbidding Israeli civilians from entering the..JPG)
Yesh Din reveals comparative figures on opening of criminal investigation files in 2006 and 2007 against IDF soldiers in units suspected of committing crimes against Palestinians civilians and/or their property. The figures, collected for the first time ever, by the IDF upon request by Yesh Din based on Freedom of Information Act, reveal a list of IDF units whose soldiers are suspected of committing crimes against Palestinians and their property in the Occupied Territories: abuse, looting, illegal gunfire and killing of innocent people.
Following the powerlessness of security forces in preventing repeated trespassing by settlers on the lands belonging to a Qadum resident, Legal Counsel for Yesh Din, Attorney Michael Sfard, appealed to the O.C. Central Command and Chief of Police for Samaria Judea district . Sfard demanded they evacuate, again, trespassers that invaded a plot of land known as the "Shvut Ami Outpost," and situate significant and permanent security forces to prevent further trespassing. 
Following a lengthy study of the implementation of Due Process rights in the IDF Military Courts in the West Bank, Yesh Din published its comprehensive report entitled "Backyard Proceedings."
A 5-page Data Sheet released by Yesh Din reveals IDF failure to investigate and indict its soldiers involved in criminal offenses against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territories.
In August this year the IDF blocked an access road near the village of Qatanna near the settlement of Har Adar. The obstruction prevented access by vehicle to the home of the al-Fahi family, including access for the water tanker that provides drinking water for the family of 13, since the water pipe to the house was damaged while the separation barrier was constructed in the area. In the middle of October the head of the household Najem al-Fahi approached Yesh Din asking the organization to help his family act to remove the obstruction. Following his request Yesh Din wrote to head of the Central Command and demanded the obstruction preventing the regular water supply to the family home be removed. After some two weeks of negotiations between Yesh Din's legal team and the legal advisor of the Judea and Samaria region, and commander of the Border Police "Jerusalem Envelope" district, the rocks that had blocked the access road to the family's home were removed, and the water supply resumed.
At a meeting initiated by Yesh Din with the commander of the Binyamin police station (responsible for the Ramallah area), following a series of problems exposed by the organization in the conduct of the station and its police officers regarding receiving complaints from Palestinians, the prohibition on the entry of Palestinians into the “Shaar Binyamin” industrial area where the police station’s investigation unit is located will be lifted, Yesh Din was told. The prohibition heretofore prevented Palestinians from filing complaints at the police station. Likewise, following cases in which Palestinians who wished to file complaints against settlers trespassing onto their land, or scattering waste from the settlements on their land, were referred to the Civil Administration without the Binyamin police collecting their complaints on the spot, the Binyamin station police were reminded of their duty to collect complaints at any time on any subject, as required by the law. The meeting on November 4 was also attended by the Binyamin police station’s investigations officer and the legal advisor of the SJ District police.
On Monday, October 8, an outpost was evacuated from a building on land belonging to Badriyah Abd el-Ghani Saleh Amar, a 61-year-old resident of Kafr Qaddum. Badriya owns a plot of 65 dunams of land which she inherited from her father, including a house her father built in the 1960s. Settlers have built an outpost in the house and on surrounding land. On September 30, 2007 Badriyah informed Yesh Din that settlers had erected tents around the stone and were using the land as if it were their own. This was part of a "campaign" to build five outposts on the intermediary days of Sukkot. It was not the first time Badriyah’s land was invaded. In March 2006, an attempt was made to appropriate the stone house. Following a request from Badriyah to Yesh Din, the organization sent a letter to OC Central Command, Gadi Shamni, demanding the immediate eviction of squatters from the land. On October 8, just when Badriyah was filing a complaint to the Kedumim police, large military and police forces went out to evacuate the trespassers. As it turned out, the evacuation was not completed and the trespassers returned to the house the very next day. After discussion between the authorities and the land owner, in which they suggested sealing her house, Badriyah decided she had no choice but to accept the suggestion and seal the house in order to prevent the settlers' return. That same night, a group of settlers returned, broke through the seal on the house and returned to their position in the house on Badriyah’s land. The law enforcement authorities' failure to prevent the repeated invasion brought the land owner to accept a compromise offer from the civil administration, which denied her the use of the building on her own land.
On January 16 this year, Abir Aramin, a 10-year-old girl, was shot dead by border police as she left her school in the village of Anata near Jerusalem. A police investigation into the case was closed on the pretext of "lack of evidence" to prosecute. Yesh Din, which has been following the case from the beginning, examined the closed investigation file and concluded thatan indictment on charges of manslaughter could be filed against one of the border policemen involved in the incident based on the existing evidence along with aerial photos and photos of possible shooting and stone-throwing trajectories. The organization filed an appeal against the decision to close the investigation file and called for the indictment of those suspected of killing the girl. The investigation of Abir's death included a number of obvious defects: the police investigation began 48 hours after the incident and police investigators examined the site of the incident only five whole days after Abir's grave injury. The evidential material also showed that it is absolutely certain that the shot that hit Abir was fired from the gun of one of the four policemen who testified that they fired toward the place where Abir and her friends were playing. The pathology reports differ over the cause of Abir's injury. According to one report, the child was more likely to have been hit in the head by a rubber bullet than by a rock, as the police claimed. The police’s version that Abir was hit by a stone thrown from a stone-throwing site in the village was refuted after it was made clear that from every aspect, ballistic, physical or technical, a stone thrown from the second site could not possibly have hit Abir because a three-story building stands between the two stone-throwing sites. "Have we become accustomed to killing children, to military jeeps entering civilian villages and cities and pulling the triggers of their weapons with inconceivable ease?," the appeal said. “A 10-year-old girl was killed while buying candy on the main street of her city. The family of the deceased, her friends, human rights organizations and Yesh Din refuse to accept that statement." 
Eight Israeli human rights groups call on Israeli government to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and open crossings from the strip for refugees and essential supplies: 
Judge Hagit Mac-Kalmanovich of the Jerusalem Magistrate Court was forced to issue an Habeas Corpus order against Yifat Alkobi, resident of Hebron, after she failed to stand before trial on February 11th. The session has been postponed to March 29, 2007. 
A comprehensive report released September 11 by 
Following a year of inquiry and correspondence between Yesh Din and the Binyamin Regional Police and Investigating Military Police, it became clear that the complaints filed by four young residents of Deir Nidham village against settlers who shot at them and soldiers who brutally beat them had been lost. The 
Halil Rabia Yusef Jaber was herding his sheep northeast of his village of Yanoun when he was attacked by a Jewish settler. In the past, residents of Yanoun have had to leave their village following recurring attacks by settlers. From Jaber's testimony: "I was walking on the mountain towards the orchard with my son Firas and the sheep, at a distance of about a kilometer from the fence of the settlement of Itamar, when suddenly an armed settler came towards me. Another settler nearby was herding goats. I walked at a distance, about 20 meters from him, because I didn't want to have any problems. The settler asked me 'What are you doing here?' and approached me. He came right up to me and aimed his weapon at my knees. I told him: 'I am on my own land, working.' He said to me: 'Get out of here.' I said to him: 'Fine, I'll leave.' I didn't think he would hit me or would do anything. And then he lifted his rifle, raised it and hit me in the face, on my cheek with the butt of the rifle." 
Aziz Abed al-Qarim Salman Hneini, who was attacked by settlers in April 2005, was attacked again in October by two settlers who beat him with a club and stabbed him with a knife. From Hneini's testimony: "The minute I got off the donkey in order to run away, the man with the cudgel came up to me from behind and beat me with his cudgel on my shoulders and my back. He continued to beat me energetically with the cudgel all over my body, while the second threw stones. Later, at the hospital, I found out that my left leg and two of my ribs were broken. I couldn't stand up because of the pain and I fell down on the ground. The second man bent down towards me, and with the knife began to make cuts in my two hands, another cut above my right eye and cuts in both legs. They did not talk to me, or to each other" The case on the previous attack on Hneini was closed by the Jerusalem District Attorney Office on account of "lack of evidence", despite the fact that Hneini was able to identify one of the attackers and the West Bank police did not bother to arrange a line-up or to verify the suspect's alibi. %20Haaretz%20ENG%20Apr06-08.jpg){kind=link}