Gunmen wearing the headbands of the armed wing of Hamas shot and wounded three civilians in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, last Thursday evening, a leading human rights organization reported on Sunday.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ (PCHR) investigation found that at around 9:30pm on Thursday, gunmen fired at three young men near the As-Sultan apartment building in the city of Jabaliya.
PCHR identified the three wounded men as:
Isma’il Mohammed Mousa Dardona, 30, who was wounded by six bullets to the feet and sustained shrapnel wounds;
Mus’ab Mohammed Ibrahim Dardona, 29, who was wounded by three bullets to his left leg and 10 shrapnel wounds throughout the body; and
Khaled Mohammed Mohammed Dardona, 30, who was wounded by three bullets to the feet.
In addition, a bystander, Yousif Khamis Jneid, 24, was wounded in the feet by two bullets.
One of the wounded civilians, Khaled Dardona, said that gunmen wearing on their heads signs with “Izz Addin Al-Qassam Brigades” fired at him and at his two companions from a distance of approximately five meters. Khaled told PCHR that he fled to a nearby pharmacy, while his companions fell to the ground and the gunmen continued to fire at them.
He added that immediately after the incident, a white Land Rover arrived at the scene, and gunmen in civilian clothes stepped down from the car. The gunmen took him and Isma’il to the car and transferred them to the Kamal ‘Odwan Hospital. Local civilians brought the third wounded civilian to hospital in a civilians’ car.
Captain Atef al-Louh, Director of Jabalia Police Station, told PCHR that the police have opened an investigation into the incident. Police have checked the scene and taken testimonies from eyewitnesses.
Source: Maan News Agency
4/20/2009
UN human rights chief “shocked” at US boycott of racism summit
The UN’s highest authority on human rights said she was “shocked and deeply disappointed” at a US decision to boycott the Durban Review Conference against racism, which opens on Monday in Geneva.
"I am shocked and deeply disappointed by the United States decision not to attend a conference that aims to combat racism, xenophobia, racial discrimination and other forms of intolerance worldwide," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in a statement released on the conference’s official website on Sunday.
US president Barack Obama confirmed on Sunday that the US would join Australia, Canada, Israel and Italy in refusing to attend the meeting, which is aimed at reviewing goals set out in Durban, South Africa in 2001.
The US and Israel stormed out of the original Durban summit over remarks that identified Israel as a perpetrator of racism towards Palestinians.
The 64-page Declaration and Program of Action (DDPA) endorsed at the conference affirms “the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent State.” The document also says that “the Holocaust must never be forgotten.”
Though the 17-page document for this year’s review conference removes all references to the Palestinians, the US says the current draft does not go far enough by not negating the offending sections of the 2001 declaration.
"I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe," Obama said in Trinidad on Sunday after attending the Summit of the Americas, according to AP.
But he said the draft declaration reaffirms the whole of the document from the 2001 summit at which "folks expressed antagonism toward Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive."
"We expressed in the run-up to this conference our concerns that if you adopted all of the language from 2001, that's not something we can sign up for," Obama said, according to AP.
UN High Commissioner Pillay responded to this concern in her statement, saying, "I believe that difficulty could have been overcome. It would have been possible to make it clear in a footnote that the US had not affirmed the original document and therefore is not in a position to reaffirm it, which is a routine practice in multilateral negotiations to enable consensus-building while allowing for individual positions to be expressed. … And then we could have all moved on together, and put the problems of 2001 behind us."
"I fail to see why, given that the Middle East is not mentioned in this document, that politics related to the Middle East continue to intrude into the process," Pillay said.
Source: Maan News Agency
Philippines: ICRC confirms kidnapped staff member is free
Manila / Geneva (ICRC) – Andreas Notter, one of three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) staff members, who were abducted in the southern Philippines on 15 January, is now free. He spent 93 days in captivity.
Mr Notter is being looked after by colleagues from the ICRC. He is safe, well and happy that he will soon be back with his family. However, his thoughts are with Eugenio Vagni, with whom he shared the kidnapping ordeal and who is not yet free.
The ICRC was informed that Mr Notter was free by the Philippine authorities at around 8:00am Manila time on 18 April.
“We are, of course, very relieved that Andreas will soon be back in the arms of his loved ones,” said Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC's head of operations for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific. “But we remain very concerned about Eugenio’s safety and we call on the abductors to let him go safely, immediately and unconditionally.”
Referring to recent official and behind-the-scenes endeavours to resolve the ordeal, Mr Aeschlimann said the ICRC appreciated all genuine efforts that had been made by national and local authorities.
Mr Notter and Mr Vagni were kidnapped in mid-January, along with Mary Jean Lacaba, near the Jolo Provincial jail, where they were working on a water and sanitation project. Mrs Lacaba was released on 2 April.
Sudan: responding to humanitarian needs in rural areas
Over recent weeks, the ICRC has helped to fight a meningitis outbreak in Darfur. Along the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the ICRC has assisted 18,000 people displaced by violence.
A meningitis outbreak in Darfur
In close cooperation with the Sudanese Red Crescent and other components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the ICRC is responding to life-threatening situations, including those emanating from the gap left by international non-governmental organisations expelled in March, especially in remote areas of Darfur where few other humanitarian organizations are working.
On 27 March, the ICRC started a vaccination campaign against the deadly disease of meningitis in the towns of Kutrum, Kati and Thur and their surrounding areas in the region of Jebel Marra, in central Darfur. The Ministry of Health had declared an outbreak of the disease on 11 March. ICRC health staff are supervising the campaign, while the WHO and UNICEF, along with the Khartoum-based MSF-Switzerland, are supplying the vaccines.
Fifteen ICRC staff have joined forces with dozens of Sudanese-trained vaccinators to contain the disease as quickly as possible by focusing their efforts on specific areas.
"This operation is difficult to coordinate, since it involves such factors as maintaining the cold chain and ensuring that the medical supplies used are in suitable condition," said Vincent Ochilet, head of the ICRC's sub-delegation in Zalingei. "The security situation will also affect the pace at which the vaccinations take place and the extent of the territory covered."
Sudan is part of what is commonly called Sub-Saharan Africa's "meningitis belt," which extends from Ethiopia in the east to Guinea-Bissau and Gambia in the west, and includes Chad and the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Uganda and Kenya. This new wave of meningitis broke out in February 2009 and has already affected dozens of people, resulting in several deaths in the area of Western Jebel Marra.
"A decade has passed since the last big outbreak and we have to be vigilant," said Frances Devlin, ICRC primary health coordinator in Sudan. "Communication within Jebel Marra is very difficult and there may be other pockets of meningitis we are not aware of."
So far, 31,323 people in Kutrum, Thur, Kurfal, Buldong and Kati have been vaccinated and the campaign is moving to Gildo next week. The objective is to vaccinate more than 65 percent of the population between 2 and 30 years of age in this mountainous region exposed to the disease.
Clean drinking water for displaced people in Muhajiriyya, South Darfur
Tens of thousands of people displaced from the Muhajiriyya and Labado areas are said to have sought refuge in and around Khazzan Jadeed after an armed opposition group launched a military offensive against the towns.
ICRC water engineers spent two days and two nights in the Khazzan Jadeed area repairing 17 hand pumps, thus bringing clean drinking water to the local communities and the displaced people there. They also trained eight local water technicians to maintain the pumps and supplied the town’s water committee with the tools needed for regular maintenance of all 28 hand pumps in the area. Meanwhile, in Labado, the ICRC set up a water distribution point by manufacturing and erecting a water tower and extending pipes from a new borehole to the water tank.
An earlier ICRC assessment had reported that access to water in both areas was very poor and could lead to communal tensions. More than half of the hand pumps in the Khazzan Jadeed area needed repairs.
Emergency aid for victims of Malakal fighting
Heavy fighting at the end of February between Sudanese Army units and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the southern city of Malakal left dozens of people dead and injured.
With the agreement of both parties to the conflict, ICRC staff contacted the Malakal Civil Hospital – the main hospital in the city, where most civilian and some military casualties are taken – for information about its needs.
"Two days after the fighting began, ICRC aircraft delivered urgently needed medical supplies and evacuated some of the wounded soldiers to Khartoum for further treatment," said Olivier Charmes, the ICRC delegate in charge of the Malakal operation.
Kits for treating war-wounded people, dressing materials and other medical supplies were donated to the Malakal Civil Hospital and two military medical units to enable both sides to deal with the large number of casualties.
A military hospital belonging to the United Nations Mission in Sudan received at least 10 military and civilian casualties. With the agreement of all parties involved, the ICRC arranged to transfer some of the wounded military personnel from this hospital to their own areas after they received treatment.
The Sudanese Red Crescent branch in Malakal helped collect dead bodies and take them to the hospital. A total of 31 civilians were reported to have lost their lives and 52 to have been injured.
Essential assistance for displaced people in the south
For several months now, following an upsurge in violence caused by the Lord's Resistance Army, people have been crossing into Southern Sudan from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in search of safety.
The violence spilled over into Southern Sudan, forcing Congolese refugees and Sudanese civilians to leave everything behind and flee to the Sudanese states of Western and Central Equatoria. More than 43,500 Sudanese are estimated to be displaced inside the country, with nearly 18,000 Congolese seeking refuge in Southern Sudan. Among the refugees are unaccompanied children, some of whom are too young to explain who they are or where they came from.
ICRC staff in Juba and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with their partners from the Sudanese Red Crescent Society and the Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,are tracing displaced persons and unaccompanied children in the area. The ICRC is also providing displaced children and their host families with clean drinking water and household essentials.
Thanks to the cross-border Red Cross and Red Crescent network, news has been conveyed between people separated by the latest upsurge of violence, and several children have been able to return to their families. For those still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones, however, the anguish continues.
By March, nearly 18,000 people had received blankets, kitchen sets, plastic sheeting, soap and jerrycans in Maridi, Ezo and Naandi in Western Equatoria.
4/18/2009
In memoriam Edu
Eduardo Rozsa Flores (Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 1960. March 31. - Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 2009. April 16) Hungarian actor, writer, publicist.
Eduardo Rózsa-Flores
FAREWELL
I can see already my
Wonderful but
Passing
Body
Nicely stretched out.
/Loneliness is big here.
Silence, total
All the little spots are filled
with
Bitterness and shadows./
Outside, the unbridled four horsemen
of the Apocalypse
Treading on virginal pure dreams of
little girls
Screams – long and mind-shattering –
Stream in through the window
There's life out there, still
The fight goes on
I am receding now, with
Deserved angelic wings earned,
in loneliness.
The Only One's all encompassing
Embrace awaits me.
FAREWELL
I can see already my
Wonderful but
Passing
Body
Nicely stretched out.
/Loneliness is big here.
Silence, total
All the little spots are filled
with
Bitterness and shadows./
Outside, the unbridled four horsemen
of the Apocalypse
Treading on virginal pure dreams of
little girls
Screams – long and mind-shattering –
Stream in through the window
There's life out there, still
The fight goes on
I am receding now, with
Deserved angelic wings earned,
in loneliness.
The Only One's all encompassing
Embrace awaits me.
Rest in peace my Brother!
Bolivia Police Uncover Plot to Assassinate President
Bolivian police say they broke an armed international group on Thursday that was plotting to assassinate President Evo Morales and the vice president.
Three suspects were killed and two were arrested in a half-hour long shootout with officers in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, police said. The area is the center of political opposition to Morales.
Police confiscated explosives, high-caliber weapons and plans to follow the president's motorcade, Police Commander Victor Hugo Escobar said in a news conference.
They included C-4 explosives "that don't exist in Bolivia," Vice President Alvaro Garcia said.
Morales told journalists in Venezuela's seaside city of Cumana that he and Garcia were the targets.
"I had information several days ago that they were preparing an assassination attempt," Morales said. "Yesterday, I gave the vice president and the commander of the national police instructions to stage an operation and detain those mercenaries."
Escobar said that among those killed were Hungarians, while Garcia said in a statement that the band was composed of Croatians, Irish and Bolivian "far right."
Among the seized weapons were rifles with telescopic sights. Documents were seized "pertaining not only to past events but future attacks against the highest authorities of the national government," Garcia said.
Police are searching for other suspects, adding "there are other cells," he added.
Police said the group also is responsible for a dynamite attack Wednesday on the home of Bolivia's Catholic Cardinal Julio Terrazas, who was not home at the time.
Santa Cruz Gov. Ruben Costas said in a news conference that local police were not involved in the operation and suggested that it was staged to discredit his government.
"The government for three years has repeated allegations of a coup but has never shown any evidence," Costas said.
Costas promotes the autonomy of the region along with other opposition governors.
Garcia called his comments "regrettable."
Witnesses told the radio station Fides that the shooting began at 4 a.m. and lasted half an hour. The windows of the hotel were destroyed.
Source: AP
Three suspects were killed and two were arrested in a half-hour long shootout with officers in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, police said. The area is the center of political opposition to Morales.
Police confiscated explosives, high-caliber weapons and plans to follow the president's motorcade, Police Commander Victor Hugo Escobar said in a news conference.
They included C-4 explosives "that don't exist in Bolivia," Vice President Alvaro Garcia said.
Morales told journalists in Venezuela's seaside city of Cumana that he and Garcia were the targets.
"I had information several days ago that they were preparing an assassination attempt," Morales said. "Yesterday, I gave the vice president and the commander of the national police instructions to stage an operation and detain those mercenaries."
Escobar said that among those killed were Hungarians, while Garcia said in a statement that the band was composed of Croatians, Irish and Bolivian "far right."
Among the seized weapons were rifles with telescopic sights. Documents were seized "pertaining not only to past events but future attacks against the highest authorities of the national government," Garcia said.
Police are searching for other suspects, adding "there are other cells," he added.
Police said the group also is responsible for a dynamite attack Wednesday on the home of Bolivia's Catholic Cardinal Julio Terrazas, who was not home at the time.
Santa Cruz Gov. Ruben Costas said in a news conference that local police were not involved in the operation and suggested that it was staged to discredit his government.
"The government for three years has repeated allegations of a coup but has never shown any evidence," Costas said.
Costas promotes the autonomy of the region along with other opposition governors.
Garcia called his comments "regrettable."
Witnesses told the radio station Fides that the shooting began at 4 a.m. and lasted half an hour. The windows of the hotel were destroyed.
Source: AP
Home Business & Finance News U.S. Politics International Technology Entertainment Sports Lifestyle Oddly Enough Environment Health Science Special Co
Bolivia launched an investigation on Friday into a suspected militant group that police say was plotting to kill President Evo Morales, but the opposition slammed the probe as an "international show."
Three suspected mercenaries were killed in a shootout on Thursday in the anti-Morales stronghold of Santa Cruz after police moved to arrest a gang that officials say traveled from Ireland or Croatia to kill leading public figures in the Andean nation.
"The investigative work is now in the hands of prosecutors. I hope they do their work quickly so we can have clear and concrete information" about who was behind the conspiracy, police chief Victor Hugo Escobar told state television.
Interpol has offered to help Bolivia with the investigation. But opposition Senate chief Oscar Ortiz said investigators "should aim to find the truth, instead of helping the president stage an international show".
Ortiz attacked Morales for "playing the victim" and said the country's first indigenous leader was trying to disparage the eastern city of Santa Cruz because he lacked support there.
Morales has accused right-wing politicians and business leaders in Santa Cruz of organizing violent protests there last year to try to destabilize his government.
On Thursday, he said the rightist opposition wanted to "riddle us with bullets," referring to himself and the vice president.
Government officials said the suspected conspirators had also targeted Santa Cruz Governor Ruben Costas, a fierce Morales' critic. They said the men were likely behind a dynamite attack on the residence of Roman Catholic Cardinal Julio Terrazas earlier this week. The cardinal was not home at the time.
"The terrorist group had a strategy and part of the strategy was to attack the cardinal ... and (take) other actions, not only against the president or vice president, but other authorities as well," Deputy Interior Minister Marcos Farfan told the Erbol radio network.
Farfan said the suspected plotters tried to blow up a navy boat on which Morales met with Cabinet ministers two weeks ago and aimed to trigger "a spiral of violence" in Bolivia.
The head of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, condemned the suspected assassination plot on Friday after meeting with Bolivia's foreign minister in Trinidad and Tobago, where Morales was attending the Summit of the Americas.
Confusion lingered over the nationalities of the three men killed. State news agency ABI reported that one of them was a Bolivian-Hungarian, Eduardo Rozsa Flores, who fought in separatist movements in the former Yugoslavia.
ABI said the other two men who died in the gunfight hailed from Ireland and Romania, although Bolivian authorities initially said two of the men had been Hungarian.
Police arrested two others in the Santa Cruz raid, whom local media identified as a Bolivian and a Hungarian. Authorities said police confiscated sniper rifles, high-caliber guns and other explosives from a nearby building.
Source:Reuters
Three suspected mercenaries were killed in a shootout on Thursday in the anti-Morales stronghold of Santa Cruz after police moved to arrest a gang that officials say traveled from Ireland or Croatia to kill leading public figures in the Andean nation.
"The investigative work is now in the hands of prosecutors. I hope they do their work quickly so we can have clear and concrete information" about who was behind the conspiracy, police chief Victor Hugo Escobar told state television.
Interpol has offered to help Bolivia with the investigation. But opposition Senate chief Oscar Ortiz said investigators "should aim to find the truth, instead of helping the president stage an international show".
Ortiz attacked Morales for "playing the victim" and said the country's first indigenous leader was trying to disparage the eastern city of Santa Cruz because he lacked support there.
Morales has accused right-wing politicians and business leaders in Santa Cruz of organizing violent protests there last year to try to destabilize his government.
On Thursday, he said the rightist opposition wanted to "riddle us with bullets," referring to himself and the vice president.
Government officials said the suspected conspirators had also targeted Santa Cruz Governor Ruben Costas, a fierce Morales' critic. They said the men were likely behind a dynamite attack on the residence of Roman Catholic Cardinal Julio Terrazas earlier this week. The cardinal was not home at the time.
"The terrorist group had a strategy and part of the strategy was to attack the cardinal ... and (take) other actions, not only against the president or vice president, but other authorities as well," Deputy Interior Minister Marcos Farfan told the Erbol radio network.
Farfan said the suspected plotters tried to blow up a navy boat on which Morales met with Cabinet ministers two weeks ago and aimed to trigger "a spiral of violence" in Bolivia.
The head of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, condemned the suspected assassination plot on Friday after meeting with Bolivia's foreign minister in Trinidad and Tobago, where Morales was attending the Summit of the Americas.
Confusion lingered over the nationalities of the three men killed. State news agency ABI reported that one of them was a Bolivian-Hungarian, Eduardo Rozsa Flores, who fought in separatist movements in the former Yugoslavia.
ABI said the other two men who died in the gunfight hailed from Ireland and Romania, although Bolivian authorities initially said two of the men had been Hungarian.
Police arrested two others in the Santa Cruz raid, whom local media identified as a Bolivian and a Hungarian. Authorities said police confiscated sniper rifles, high-caliber guns and other explosives from a nearby building.
Source:Reuters
4/15/2009
4/14/2009
ICRC - Somalia: Somali Red Crescent compound hit by mortar
The compound housing a limb-fitting centre of the Somali Red Crescent Society was hit by a mortar on Monday afternoon, 13 April, killing one civilian and wounding five others, none of whom were staff of the Somali Red Crescent or patients. The centre was clearly marked with the red crescent emblem.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Somali Red Crescent are deeply saddened by the incident and the bloodshed it caused, and wish to extend their heartfelt condolences to the family of the person killed.
"The incident illustrates once more how dangerous it is in Mogadishu and how difficult it can be to provide victims of the armed conflict with medical care and humanitarian aid," said Dr Ahmed M. Hassan, the president of the Somali Red Crescent.
Although nothing suggests that the centre was deliberately targeted, the ICRC and the Somali Red Crescent remind all parties concerned of their obligation to respect and protect at all times medical staff and infrastructure such as hospitals, clinics and limb-fitting and rehabilitation centres.
The ICRC continues to work closely with the Somali Red Crescent and remains a key provider of emergency aid for victims of conflict and natural disasters in Somalia. It has maintained an uninterrupted presence in the country since 1982.
Source: ICRC
Source: ICRC
Erekat: Israeli rejection of Palestinian state is a rejection of negotiations
Israel’s refusal to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state amounts to a rejection of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, said top negotiator Saeb Erekat on Tuesday.
Erekat, the head of the Negotiations Affairs Department in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said that “Israel has to make a choice between continued occupation and abiding by its obligations.”
Erekat was speaking during a meeting with the Belgian Consul General in Jerusalem, Leo Peters, at Erekats office in the West Bank city of Jericho.
Commenting on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ surprise visit to Iraqi Kurdistan which began on Monday, Erekat said that the trip was part of efforts to resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees in Iraq. Abbas also visited Baghdad earlier this month as a part of this effort.
Source: Maan News Agency
Erekat, the head of the Negotiations Affairs Department in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said that “Israel has to make a choice between continued occupation and abiding by its obligations.”
Erekat was speaking during a meeting with the Belgian Consul General in Jerusalem, Leo Peters, at Erekats office in the West Bank city of Jericho.
Commenting on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ surprise visit to Iraqi Kurdistan which began on Monday, Erekat said that the trip was part of efforts to resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees in Iraq. Abbas also visited Baghdad earlier this month as a part of this effort.
Source: Maan News Agency
Israeli soldiers seize four Palestinians from Safa, days after settler clashes
sraeli forces seized four brothers from the West Bank village of Safa, where settler attacks sparked clashes with Israeli forces last week.
According to Ma’an’s correspondent in the nearby city of Hebron, 14 Israeli military vehicles invaded Safa. Soldiers conduced house-to-house searches before seizing Ahmad Ibrahim At-Teet, 35, and his brothers; Muhammad, 32, Moussa, 24, and Ma’moun, 22, and Hassan Ibrahim Qouqas, 32.
Another member of the same family, Samih At-Teet, 37, had been seized by undercover Israeli forces from a neighboring village on Monday evening.
Samih At-Teet and Ashraf Bahjat were released late on Monday evening.
Last Thursday, armed Israeli settlers attacked Safa, provoking clashes between stone-throwing Palestinians, Israeli soldiers and settlers. The invading settlers came from the nearby settlement of Bat Ayin, where earlier this month a Palestinian man killed a teenage settler and wounded a child.
Also on Tuesday Israeli soldiers raided the village of Bani Na’im, east of Hebron, detaining Moussa Hamdan At-Tarayra, 31.
Source: Maan News Agency
According to Ma’an’s correspondent in the nearby city of Hebron, 14 Israeli military vehicles invaded Safa. Soldiers conduced house-to-house searches before seizing Ahmad Ibrahim At-Teet, 35, and his brothers; Muhammad, 32, Moussa, 24, and Ma’moun, 22, and Hassan Ibrahim Qouqas, 32.
Another member of the same family, Samih At-Teet, 37, had been seized by undercover Israeli forces from a neighboring village on Monday evening.
Samih At-Teet and Ashraf Bahjat were released late on Monday evening.
Last Thursday, armed Israeli settlers attacked Safa, provoking clashes between stone-throwing Palestinians, Israeli soldiers and settlers. The invading settlers came from the nearby settlement of Bat Ayin, where earlier this month a Palestinian man killed a teenage settler and wounded a child.
Also on Tuesday Israeli soldiers raided the village of Bani Na’im, east of Hebron, detaining Moussa Hamdan At-Tarayra, 31.
Source: Maan News Agency
4/12/2009
Gaza 2009. - Nusayrat - An Al-Quds Brigade fighter, Abu Mujahed talking about the Jihad and peace
Gaza 2009. - Nusayrat - An Al-Quds Brigade fighter, Abu Mujahed talking about the Jihad and the peace from bogARTphoto on Vimeo.
This video is a part of my new documentary.
English subtitle coming soon.
Gaza 2009. - Nusayrat - Meet with the fighters of Al-Quds Brigades
Gaza 2009. - Nusayrat - Meet with the fighters ofAl-Quds Brigades from bogARTphoto on Vimeo.
This preedited video is part of my new documentary about Gaza.
The english subtitle is coming soon.
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance in Hebron's Old City
A group of Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance in the old city of Hebron Saturday afternoon, causing damage to the vehicle.
The ambulance was moving a patient from the Hebron governmental hospital to her home in Ash-Shuhada Street when the attack occurred, Head of Ambulance and Emergency Services for the Red Crescent Abed Al-Haleem Al-Ja’afra said. The Israeli army was aware that the ambulance would be crossing the normally closed area, and had okayed the move.
As the ambulance arrived to the Al- Qarantina area, the soldiers opened the checkpoint allowing the vehicle into the area where it was attacked by settlers who pelted stones on the vehicle.
“The vehicle was ambushed, and the soldiers turned a blind eye to the incident, making no move to stop the settlers from throwing stones,” Al-Ja’afra said.
Being unable to move forward and take the patient safely to her home, the ambulance tried to back out of the street but soldiers would not open the checkpoint for several minutes.
The patient was returned to the emergency ward and awaits approval from Israeli authorities as to when she will safely be able to return home.
Life under attack in the Old City
The Israeli military checkpoints in Hebron like the one at the entrance to Ash-Shuhada street have made life impossible for local residents, many who have moved to other areas to ecape constant harassment from nearby settlers, the annoyance of having to walk through metal detectors on the way home, and having the street blocked off from vehicle traffic.
Residents say the area has the feel of a closed military zone.
“In the old city, we are living inside a cage,” one resident, Atif Al-Uweiwi, said.
School pupils in the old city also suffer from settler attacks as they are en route to and from school. Some pupils prefer to stay home for fear of the attacks.
“Our lives are like cats and dogs; when the settlers are absent, we go to school and we play outside. But, when they are there, we are stay indoors or use back alleys to get where we need to go,” said Haytham Ar-Rajabi, a school boy in the area.
He adds, “In the old city we live as if we were not human beings. Where are the children rights which humanitarian organizations claim we have?”
World Volunteers Organization for Peace reported last week that Israeli soldiers had installed yet another checkpoint near the Ibrahimi Mosque for security proposes.
According to Iyad Khamasiyya, spokesperson of the group, “settlers assault school pupils in the middle of the day, especially those who study at the Ibrahimi elementary school located in the centre of Hebron.”
Source: Maan News Agency
The ambulance was moving a patient from the Hebron governmental hospital to her home in Ash-Shuhada Street when the attack occurred, Head of Ambulance and Emergency Services for the Red Crescent Abed Al-Haleem Al-Ja’afra said. The Israeli army was aware that the ambulance would be crossing the normally closed area, and had okayed the move.
As the ambulance arrived to the Al- Qarantina area, the soldiers opened the checkpoint allowing the vehicle into the area where it was attacked by settlers who pelted stones on the vehicle.
“The vehicle was ambushed, and the soldiers turned a blind eye to the incident, making no move to stop the settlers from throwing stones,” Al-Ja’afra said.
Being unable to move forward and take the patient safely to her home, the ambulance tried to back out of the street but soldiers would not open the checkpoint for several minutes.
The patient was returned to the emergency ward and awaits approval from Israeli authorities as to when she will safely be able to return home.
Life under attack in the Old City
The Israeli military checkpoints in Hebron like the one at the entrance to Ash-Shuhada street have made life impossible for local residents, many who have moved to other areas to ecape constant harassment from nearby settlers, the annoyance of having to walk through metal detectors on the way home, and having the street blocked off from vehicle traffic.
Residents say the area has the feel of a closed military zone.
“In the old city, we are living inside a cage,” one resident, Atif Al-Uweiwi, said.
School pupils in the old city also suffer from settler attacks as they are en route to and from school. Some pupils prefer to stay home for fear of the attacks.
“Our lives are like cats and dogs; when the settlers are absent, we go to school and we play outside. But, when they are there, we are stay indoors or use back alleys to get where we need to go,” said Haytham Ar-Rajabi, a school boy in the area.
He adds, “In the old city we live as if we were not human beings. Where are the children rights which humanitarian organizations claim we have?”
World Volunteers Organization for Peace reported last week that Israeli soldiers had installed yet another checkpoint near the Ibrahimi Mosque for security proposes.
According to Iyad Khamasiyya, spokesperson of the group, “settlers assault school pupils in the middle of the day, especially those who study at the Ibrahimi elementary school located in the centre of Hebron.”
Source: Maan News Agency
Hamas: Egypt suggested temporary Palestinian committee to take control
gyptian mediators have suggested a temporary Palestinian committee in order to end a two-year-long political crisis, said Hamas leader Salah Bardaweel on Sunday.
He explained in a statement sent to media that after Hamas and Fatah realized during their last meeting in Cairo on 2 April that it would be difficult to reach consensus on the political platform of a transitional government, Egyptian intelligence director Umar Sulaiman suggested formation of a temporary Hamas-Fatah committee instead of a government.
Meanwhile, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will form a new transitional government to create the conditions for the suggested committee to be formed. The committee is supposed to operate in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip only, and will be in charge of implementing what is being agreed on in Cairo, especially regarding the reconstruction of Gaza. The committee is supposed to be separate from the government, which will help the committee carry out its tasks.
“This suggestion needs to be clarified in more detail,” Al-Bardaweel commented on the Egyptian suggestion. He asserted that Hamas did not give a formal response to the proposal, but rather asked questions about the plan.
He also expressed Hamas’ hopes that the Egyptian suggestion, after being clarified, will be an opportunity to break the stalemate and enhance positive dialogue in order to heal the rift between Palestinian rivals and be able to counter Israel’s “extremist agenda.”
Al-Bardaweel also highlighted that the Egyptian suggestion did not resolve the question of the future of the de facto government in the Gaza Strip, nor did it give details about the mechanism president Abbas will follow in forming the new government.
Source: Maan News Agency
He explained in a statement sent to media that after Hamas and Fatah realized during their last meeting in Cairo on 2 April that it would be difficult to reach consensus on the political platform of a transitional government, Egyptian intelligence director Umar Sulaiman suggested formation of a temporary Hamas-Fatah committee instead of a government.
Meanwhile, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will form a new transitional government to create the conditions for the suggested committee to be formed. The committee is supposed to operate in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip only, and will be in charge of implementing what is being agreed on in Cairo, especially regarding the reconstruction of Gaza. The committee is supposed to be separate from the government, which will help the committee carry out its tasks.
“This suggestion needs to be clarified in more detail,” Al-Bardaweel commented on the Egyptian suggestion. He asserted that Hamas did not give a formal response to the proposal, but rather asked questions about the plan.
He also expressed Hamas’ hopes that the Egyptian suggestion, after being clarified, will be an opportunity to break the stalemate and enhance positive dialogue in order to heal the rift between Palestinian rivals and be able to counter Israel’s “extremist agenda.”
Al-Bardaweel also highlighted that the Egyptian suggestion did not resolve the question of the future of the de facto government in the Gaza Strip, nor did it give details about the mechanism president Abbas will follow in forming the new government.
Source: Maan News Agency
4/11/2009
Gaza 2009. - Gaza City - A deaf boy, Bilal talking about the war
Gaza 2009. - A deaf boy, Bilal talking about the war from bogARTphoto on Vimeo.
Bilal Banar is an eleven-year old little deaf boy. He lives with his uncles and cousins in one building in Shegaeia area in the Middle of the Gaza Strip. Bilal's family has been living in extremely difficult economic conditions since his father has been unemployed for many years.
During the war over the Gaza Strip, Bilal's cousin and best friend was killed by the Israeli bombardment. Bilal has been shocked and felt so sad, but he insisted to attend the funeral in order to have the last look at his cousin. Unexpectedly, Apache helicopter targeted the funeral. Bilal's father's first concern was to keep his kid save during the air strike. When this massive wave was finished, Bilal and his father checked the other family members. Shockingly, they discovered that four uncles and two more cousins have just been killed. This terrible disaster has turned the whole family life to a painful tragedy. Bilal's parents were completely heartbroken, therefore; they could not give him the needed support in order to get over this crisis.
When Bilal came back to school after the war had ended, he was very confused. He could not believe that his uncles and cousins where gone. He said "I am waiting for them, they will come back". Atfaluna's counseling knew about Bilal's story, and they tried hard to help him to pass this hard situation through the counseling session for him and his mother. Finally, Bilal start to recover from what he witnessed during the harsh war over Gaza. Recently, he is able to contact with his friends and teachers. Step-by-step, he gets back to his normal routine. Hopefully one day, Bilal and other children in Gaza can overcome the disaster they went through.
This video is part of my documentary about Gaza after the war.
Preedited version. English subtitle coming soon.
4/01/2009
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