B’Tslem appeals closing of investigation into death of Firas Qasqas

On 15 May 2012, on behalf of B’Tselem, Attorney Gabi Lasky, filed an appeal to the State Attorney against the decision by the Central District Attorney’s office to close the investigation into the fatal shooting of Firas Qasqas by reserve-duty soldiers on 2 December 2007. The appeal was submitted after an examination of the material from the investigation into this case revealed that there is concrete evidence that necessitates an indictment for the negligent shooting of Qasqas, and that the decision to close the case is patently unreasonable and should be reversed.

The State Attorney’s office told B’Tselem of itsdecision to close the case in January 2012, more than four years after the incident, and only after Attorney Gabi Lasky had submitted B’Tselem’s appeal to the High Court of Justice demanding that the MAG Corps make a decision about whether to take steps against those involved in this incident. Some four months elapsed between the announcement that the case would be closed and B’Tselem’s receipt from the State Attorney’s office of all the investigative material in the file required to appeal the decision.

As grounds for closing the case, the Central District Attorney’s Office cited the absence of a sufficient evidentiary foundation for a conviction. It claimed that although the shooting did not conform to the open-fire regulations, this “was a unique operational situation, in which the soldiers … felt that they were in real danger.” The Attorney’s Office concluded that, “even if the order to shoot was mistaken, it does not amount to negligence.” The announcement also stated that “there is a significant absence of evidence with respect to the ability to prove a causal connection between the firing and the alleged death of Firas Qasqas.”

The area where Qasas and his brothers-in-law were taking a walk when he was shot to death.

In the appeal, Atty. Lasky rejected these claims and countered that the conclusion of the Central District Attorney’s office that there is no case for negligence cannot be accepted. Firing live ammunition at people without prior warning, at a distance that does not permit accurate shooting, without defining a clear objective and without taking even minimal care to fire precisely – is all in contravention of the open fire regulations, and occurred in a situation in which there was no real danger to the soldiers. As such, such actions are beyond the bounds of professional error. At a very minimum, such firing constitutes negligent behavior, and even in such a case obliges conducting criminal proceedings. Lasky also argued that there is a clear causal relationship between the shooting and the death of Qasqas and that the decision to close the case is patently unreasonable, inimical to the rule of law and to the public interest in potecting civilians, and sends a dangerous message of disregard for human life.

The decision by the State Attorney’s office to close the case was made after it told the court in August 2011, in the framework of B’Tselem’s appeal, that based on its examination of the investigatory material in the file on the killing of Firas Qasqas, it had decided to bring charges against the officer responsible for the killing, pending a hearing for the officer in November 2011. The State Attorney’s office did not reveal what charges were being brought against him. After the hearing, the State Attorney’s office changed its mind and decided to close the case.

Background

Firas Qasqas, age 32, was killed on 2 December 2007 by soldiers’ gunfire near the A-Tira area of Ramallah. Qasqas, a resident of the village of Batir in the Bethlehem district, had gone with his family to visit relatives at their home in A-Tira. B’Tselem’s information indicates that around midday, Qasqas was walking with his two brothers-in-law in an open area near some houses in the neighborhood. The three noticed a group of soldiers about 500 meters away, as the crow flies. Qasqas’ two brothers-in-law told B’Tselem that the soldiers fired live ammunition toward the three men, without prior warning, and despite the fact that the three were unarmed and did nothing to endanger the soldiers. Qasqas was wounded by a bullet that penetrated his back and exited from his abdomen. His brothers-in-law took him to a hospital in Ramallah where he died of his wounds.

Following the incident, B’Tselem wrote to the Judge Advocate General’s Office on several occasions, demanding that the Military Police Investigation Unit (MPIU) open an investigation into the circumstances of the killing. Some two months later – which was about a year after the incident — an investigation was opened. B’Tselem assisted the MPIU in coordinating the taking of testimonies of the two men who were with Qasqas when he was shot, and provided the MPIU with all the relevant material the organization had in the matter.

To the best of B’Tselem’s knowledge, the investigation of the case ended in April 2009, and on 25 July 2009 the file on the investigation was transferred for examination by the MAG Corps for operational matters. B’Tselem made repeated inquiries demanding a decision in the case, without effect, until in February 2011 B’Tselem submitted a petitionto the HCJ through Attorney Gabi Lasky. The MAG Corps then transferred the case to the State Attorney’s office, arguing that military law no longer applies to those involved in the incident, since they were reserve soldiers and due to the length of time that elapsed since the incident. The State Attorney’s office notified the Court that it had only received the file on 7 March 2011, and was given a two-month extension by the Court in order to examine the investigatory material. The State Attorney’s office subsequently received two further extensions for supplementary investigation, at its request. In August 2011, the State Attorney’s office announced that after examining the investigatory material in the file on the killing of Firas Qasqas, a decision had been made to try the officer responsible for his killing, pending a hearing to be conducted for the officer during November. In mid-January 2012 the State informed the Court that following the hearing given the officer, no indictment would be filed against him and the case would be closed.

(www.btselem.org / 22.05.2012)

Jewish settlers shoot Palestinians as Israeli soldiers stand idle

File photo shows an armed Jewish settler in the occupied West Bank with Israeli soldiers.

In the latest scandal involving the Israeli military, soldiers stand by and refuse to intervene as extremist Jewish settlers open fire on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

A video clip released by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem shows armed settlers from Yitzhar settlements, near Nablus, attacked the nearby village of Asira al-Qibliya over the weekend and threw rocks at Palestinian homes, sparking clashes in the area.

The footage also shows the settlers, who were armed with two M-16 assault rifles and a pistol, shooting Palestinians in the presence of at least three soldiers. The Israeli soldiers only watched the violence and did nothing to stop the settlers. One soldier is also seen running away from the unrest.

A 24-year-old Palestinian man was injured in the shooting and five others were wounded by settlers who were throwing stones.

B’Tselem has filed a complaint with the police, urging an investigation into the incident, saying that the soldiers “did not adhere to their obligation to protect Palestinians from settler violence.”

It has also called for the prosecution of the settlers involved in the violence.

Rights groups have repeatedly accused Israeli troops of refusing to protect Palestinians against the Jewish settlers. Former West Bank Division Commander Brigadier General Nitzan Alon has also said that Israeli soldiers have not been working enough to stop settler attacks on Palestinians.

Israeli settlers, mostly armed, regularly attack Palestinian villages and farms and set fire to their mosques, olive groves and other properties in the occupied West Bank in what they believe to be the “price tag” for every outpost or West Bank settlement that is demolished.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under the international law.

(www.presstv.ir / 22.05.2012)

Kabinet gaat gewoon door met voorstel boerkaverbod

Minister Liesbeth Spies (Binnenlandse Zaken) wil de wetsvoorstellen voor het boerkaverbod en het verbod op de dubbele nationaliteit gewoon verdedigen in de Kamer. Begin mei zei Spies tegen de Volkskrant dat ze niet enthousiast was over de voorstellen. Ze zegt nu te betreuren dat ze dit heeft gezegd.

‘Begin mei heb ik de vrijheid genomen om als kandidaat-lijsttrekker voor het CDA mijn mening te geven over het boerkaverbod’, aldus Spies vanmiddag in de Tweede Kamer. Volgens de minister is dat een verkeerde inschatting geweest, ‘omdat in het publieke debat de rol van minister en kandidaat-lijsttrekker lastig uit elkaar te halen zijn’. Spies wilde geen afstand nemen van de uitspraken en zei dat ze het wetsvoorstel namens de regering gewoon kan verdedigen. ‘Ik kan en wil beide wetsvoorstellen nog steeds verdedigen.’

Volgens de minister is het evenwel aan de Tweede Kamer om te beslissen of het wetsvoorstel behandeld wordt. De Kamer kan het onderwerp controversieel verklaren, waardoor de behandeling wordt uitgesteld tot na de verkiezingen. Het is uiterst onzeker of dat gebeurt, omdat een meerderheid van VVD, CDA, PVV en het lid Brinkman er verder mee wil.

Onder meer de PvdA, GroenLinks, en Hero Brinkman waren in het Kamerdebat vanmiddag erg kritisch over het optreden van de minister. Martijn van Dam (PvdA) dreigde met een motie maar liet die uiteindelijk achterwege. Wel vroeg hij de minister om te overwegen om het voorstel voor het verbod op het dubbel paspoort gedeeltelijk in te trekken omdat een meerderheid van de Kamer inmiddels tegen aanscherping van de regels is. Brinkman stelde dat het ‘experiment’ om als minister ook uitlatingen te doen als kandidaat-lijsttrekker ‘niet voor herhaling vatbaar is’. Tofik Dibi (GroenLinks) stelde voor om de behandeling van het wetsvoorstel bij een andere minister onder te brengen. Dit weigerde Spies.

Nooit enthousiast
In januari, na het indienen van het wetsvoorstel, noemde Spies een boerkaverbod ‘van onvoorstelbaar groot belang’, omdat het open communicatie in de weg zou staan. Een negatief advies van de Raad van State over het verbod op de dubbele nationaliteit, werd door Spies genegeerd.

Nadat de meerderheid voor de verboden begin mei leek weg te vallen in de Tweede Kamer, gaf ze zelf toe dat ze eigenlijk nooit enthousiast was. ‘In de politiek moet je soms geweld doen aan je eigen standpunten omdat er dan andere zaken tegenover staan.’

(www.volkskrant.nl / 22.05.2012)

Journalists threatened during Naomi Campbell visit

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the Palestinian Authority’s heavy-handed treatment of reporters on Tuesday covering a supermodel’s visit to Bethlehem. The PA’s official Palestine TV network had an exclusive interview with Naomi Campbell at a restaurant outside the Church of the Nativity, but other reporters weren’t allowed as much as a photograph. Security guards accompanying the model harassed reporters and even threatened to break their cameras if they got near, the syndicate, which said its members were “furious,” said in a statement. (www.maannews.net / 22.05.2012)

Abbas asks PA ministers to halt costly political ads

Relatives, business leaders and other supporters commonly buy space in daily newspapers to congratulate a new minister.

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — After the new Palestinian Authority cabinet was sworn in last week, President Mahmoud Abbas asked ministers to try to halt the usual spate of political congratulation adverts, sources close to the discussions said.

Relatives, business leaders and other supporters commonly buy space in daily newspapers to congratulate a new minister.

Abbas told ministers that while the PA is in deep financial crisis, the vast sums spent on such adverts should be dedicated to Palestinians facing poverty.

Political adverts, however, continue to appear in daily newspapers each day, congratulating new ministers in the West Bank government as well as those who held on to their portfolios.

On Wednesday, President Abbas swore in a new cabinet to his West Bank government amid stalled reconciliation efforts with rival party Hamas.

Gaza’s Hamas rulers said the president should instead have focused on a forming a unity government. On Sunday, the parties agreed on a new deadline for the joint government to oversee new elections.

Under the deal agreed in the Egyptian capital, the Palestinian Elections Commission will begin work in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on May 27, after which President Mahmoud Abbas will immediately begin consultations on a consensus government as previously agreed by party leaders.

(www.maannews.net / 22.05.2012)

Palestinian Activist, Bassem Tamimi, Convicted; Prosecution Criticized by Court

Israeli military judge convicted Tamimi of two charges, but acquitted him of three, based on the testimony of 15 year-old who was instructed to incriminate him. The verdict criticized the police and prosecution on minors’ interrogations.

Military judge, Major Eti Adar, read the verdict in the trial of Bassem Tamimi – a prominent protest organizer from the village of Nabi Saleh – at the Ofer military court today, in front of a court room packed with diplomats, journalists and supporters. Tamimi was arrested in March of 2011, indicted on protest-organizing charges, and has spent 13 months in jail before he was granted bail last month. His trial has shed light on systematic violations of Palestinian minors’ right during police interrogations, and the use of their coerced confession to persecute political leadership.

The court acquitted Tamimi of incitement – the central charge in the indictment, as well as from obstruction of justice and failure to attend legal summons charges. However, he was convicted of organizing and participating in illegal marches and of solicitation to throw stones.

On hearing the verdict, Tamimi said, “I spent 13 months in prison for exercising my right to protest, and have now been convicted based on the testimony of a 15 year-old who was instructed by his interrogators to incriminate me. I never had any illusions about the military court and its ability to serve justice – it is, after all, an instrument of the Occupation.”

The bulk of the indictment was based on the testimonies of three youth from the village, aged 15, 19, and most heavily on that of a 14 year-old. The judge ruled the statement given by the 14 year-old, Islam Dar Ayyoub, is unreliable and could not substantiate a conviction. The court therefore acquitted Tamimi of the incitement charge, that included allegations, supported only by  Dar Ayyoub’s testimony, that Tamimi had formed battalions who lead the demonstrations.

In regards to the 19 year-old’s statement, the judge ruled after viewing the recording of his interrogation, that the transcript of that was handed to the court was mendacious, and that the interrogators put words in his mouth, leading him to incriminate Tamimi.

The conviction, therefore, was based on the testimony of the 15 year-old, which the judge ruled is credible despite clear video evidence to the contrary. The audio-visual recording of his interrogation proves that he, too, was questioned in an unlawful manner, told to implicate others and was led to believe that doing so may earn him a more lenient treatment by the court. The boy was told, numerous times, “Tell us what happened [...] and who in the village incited you to throw stones. [...] (shouting) you were incited! You…. you are a young boy, incited by people. Grownups, we know. It’s the grownups who incite you, right?”

Tamimi’s trial has become the center on international interest and subject to criticism on the use of military justice to repress civil resistance to the occupation and on the treatment of minors. Following his arrest, Tamimi was recognized as a human rights defender by the European Union and pronounced a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. His verdict today was attended by a dozen diplomats, including the British, Spanish, Dutch, Slovenian and Cypriot Consul Generals, as well as the representative of the European Union. Diplomats from Germany, Sweden, Ireland the USA and the UN were also in attendance.

During the course of Tamimi’s trial, new evidence has emerged, including first hand verification given by a military commander of disproportional use of force by the army in response to peaceful demonstrations, as well as police admittal of systematic violations of Palestinian minors’ rights during police interrogations, when a police interrogator who questioned both material witnesses against Tamimi, said on the stand that in his 25 years as an officer, he cannot recall a single time in which a Palestinian minor was allowed the presence of his parents during questioning.

Legal background
On March 24th, 2011, a massive contingent of Israeli Soldiers raided the Tamimi home at around noon, only minutes after he entered the house to prepare for a meeting with a European diplomat. He was arrested and subsequently charged.

The main evidence in Tamimi’s case is the testimony of 14 year-old Islam Dar Ayyoub, also from Nabi Saleh, who was taken from his bed at gunpoint on the night of January 23rd. In his interrogation the morning after his arrest, Islam alleged that Bassem and Naji Tamimi organized groups of youth into “brigades”, charged with different responsibilities during the demonstrations: some were allegedly in charge of stone-throwing, others of blocking roads, etc.

During a trial-within-a-trial procedure in Islam’s trial, motioning for his testimony to be ruled inadmissible, it was proven that his interrogation was fundamentally flawed and violated the rights set forth in the Israeli Youth Law in the following ways:

1. The boy was arrested at gunpoint in the dead of night, during a violent military raid on his house.
2. Despite being a minor, he was denied sleep in the period between his arrest and questioning, which began the following morning and lasted over 5 hours.
3. Despite being told he would be allowed to see a lawyer, he was denied legal counsel, although his lawyer appeared at the police station requesting to see him.
4. He was denied his right to have a parent present during his questioning. The testimony of one of his interrogators before the court suggests that he believes Palestinian minors do not enjoy this right.
5. He was not informed of his right to remain silent, and was even told by his interrogators that he “must tell of everything that happened.”
6. Only one of four interrogators who participated in the questioning was a qualified youth interrogator.

The audio-visual recording of another central witness against Tamimi, 15 year-old Mo’atasem Tamimi, proves that he too was questioned in a similarly unlawful manner.

The audio-visual recording of another central witness against Tamimi, 15 year-old Mo’atasem Tamimi, proves that he too was questioned in a similarly unlawful mannerand was led to believe that implicating others, may earn him a more lenient treatment. The boy was told, numerous times, “Tell us what happened [...] and who in the village incited you to throw stones. [...] (shouting) you were incited! You…. you are a young boy, Incited by people. Grownups, we know. It’s the grownups who incite you, right?”

During the course of Tamimi’s trial, new evidence has emerged, including first hand verification given by a military commander of disproportional use of force by the army in response to peaceful demonstrations, as well as police admittal of systematic violations of Palestinian minors’ rights during police interrogations, when a police interrogator who questioned both material witnesses against Tamimi, said on the stand that in his 25 years as an officer, he cannot recall a single time in which a Palestinian minor was allowed the presence of his parents during questioning.

Since the beginning of the village’s struggle against settler takeover of their lands in December of 2009, the army has conducted more than 80 protest related arrests. As the entire village numbers just over 500 residents, the number constitutes approximately 10% of its population.

On March 2nd, 2012, Amnesty International pronounced Tamimi a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate and unconditional release from Israeli prison.

Tamimi’s arrest corresponds to the systematic arrest of civil protest leaders all around the West Bank, as in the case of the villages Bil’in and Ni’ilin.

In a recent, nearly identical case, the Military Court of Appeals has aggravated the sentence of Abdallah Abu Rahmah from the village of Bilin, sending him to 16 months imprisonment on charges of incitement and organizing illegal demonstrations. Abu Rahmah was released on March 2011.

The arrest and trial of Abu Rahmah has been widely condemned by the international community, most notably by Britain and EU foreign minister, Catherin Ashton. Harsh criticism of the arrest has also been offered by leading human rights organizations in Israel and around the world, among them B’tselem, ACRI, as well as Human Rights Watch, which declared Abu Rahmah’s trial unfair, and Amnesty International, whichdeclared Abu Rahmah a prisoner of conscience.

Personal Background
Bassem Tamimi is a veteran Palestinian grassroots activist from the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah. He is married to Nariman Tamimi, with whom he fathers four children – Wa’ed (14), Ahed (10), Mohammed (8) and Salam (5).

As a veteran activist, Tamimi has been arrested by the Israeli army 11 times to date, though he was never convicted of any offense. Tamimi spent roughly three years in administrative detention, with no charges brought against him. Furthermore, his attorney and he were denied access to “secret evidence” brought against him.

In 1993, Tamimi was falsely arrested on suspicion of having murdered an Israeli settler in Beit El – an allegation of which he was cleared of entirely. During his weeks-long interrogation, he was severely tortured by the Israeli Shin Bet in order to draw a coerced confession from him. During his interrogation, and as a result of the torture he underwent, Tamimi collapsed and had to be evacuated to a hospital, where he laid unconscious for seven days. As a result of the wounds caused by torture, Tamimi was partially paralyzed for several months after his release from the hospital.

At the opening of his trial on June 5th, Tamimi pleaded “not guilty” to all charges against him, but proudly owned up to organizing protest in the village. In a defiant speech before the court he said, “I organized these peaceful demonstrations to defend our land and our people.” Tamimi also challenged the legitimacy of the very system which trys him, saying that “Despite claiming to be the only democracy in the Middle East you are trying me under military laws [...] that are enacted by authorities which I haven’t elected and do not represent me.” (See here for Tamimi’s full statement).

The indictment against Tamimi is based on questionable and coerced confessions of youth from the village. He is charged with’ incitement’, ‘organizing and participating in unauthorized processions’,’ solicitation to stone-throwing’, ‘failure to attend legal summons’, and a scandalous charge of ‘disruption of legal proceedings’, for allegedly giving youth advice on how to act during police interrogation in the event that they are arrested.

The transcript of Tamimi’s police interrogation further demonstrates the police and Military Prosecution’s political motivation and disregard for suspects’ rights. During his questioning, Tamimi was accused by his interrogator of “consulting lawyers and foreigners to prepare for his interrogation”, an act that is clearly protected under the right to seek legal counsel.

As one of the organizers of the Nabi Saleh protests and coordinator of the village’s popular committee, Tamimi has been the target of harsh treatment by the Israeli army. Since demonstrations began in the village, his house has been raided and ransacked numerous times, his wife was twice arrested and two of his sons were injured; Wa’ed, 14, was hospitalized for five days when a rubber-coated bullet penetrated his leg and Mohammed, 8, was injured by a tear-gas projectile that was shot directly at him and hit him in the shoulder. Shortly after demonstrations in the village began, the Israeli Civil Administration served ten demolition orders to structures located in Area C, Tamimi’s house was one of them, despite the fact that part of the house was built in 1965 and the rest in 2005.

(popularstruggle.org / 22.05.2012)

Car blast in E.Sudan, Khartoum points to Israel

KHARTOUM

(Reuters) – One person was killed when a car exploded in the eastern Sudanese city of Port Sudan on Tuesday in what the government said resembled a blast last year that it blamed on an Israeli missile strike.

An Israeli government spokesman declined to comment on the explosion in Sudan’s east, which analysts say is used as an arms smuggling route to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip via neighbouring Egypt.

Yigal Palmor, spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, told Reuters: “I’m not going to respond to generic allegations.”

A local journalist in the Red Sea port said he saw two small but deep holes near a gutted car and another hole beneath it. Photographs from the scene showed blood splashed on the road.

Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti, the highest level official yet to comment on the blast, stopped short of directly blaming Israel, but said the explosion looked similar to an April, 2011 attack Khartoum blamed on an Israeli missile strike.

“The style of the car explosion was similar to Israel’s attack on Red Sea state (in 2011),” he told the pro-government al-Shorooq television station, according to its website. A foreign ministry spokesman confirmed the remarks.

Israel, which Sudan considers an enemy state, declined to comment on the 2011 blast that killed two people, and neither admitted nor denied a similar attack in eastern Sudan in 2009.

A local security source in Port Sudan said the car’s driver was a prominent member of the Ababda tribe known for smuggling weapons and goods. Port Sudan is the country’s main port.

State news agency SUNA said a team of experts would be sent to investigate the explosion, and identified the dead driver as trader Nasser Awadallah Ahmed Said, 65.

Spokesmen for Sudan’s police and armed forces were not immediately available for comment.

Sudan denies allowing illegal weapon shipments across its territory, but analysts say smugglers bring in weapons through the country’s east, then route them through Egypt’s Sinai desert and into the Gaza Strip.

(in.reuters.com / 22.05.2012)