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Israeli Forces in Disguise Attempt Assassination in Beit Ommar

Saturday, Oct. 14

On Saturday, Oct. 14 at 4am two unmarked cars with Israeli Special Forces inside drove into the village of Beit Ommar and shot a man in the street as he was walking to the mosque for morning prayers. The special forces were dressed as Palestinians. Jamil Aljem, 40, was shot twice in the stomach. He is currently in critical condition in a hospital in Hebron. Arab media reports that the IOF has not made a statement as to the reason for this attempted execution.

Israel has publicly admitted to engaging in a policy of extra-judicial killings since the beginning of the Second Intifada (though practically Israel has engaged in such activities for decades) . The UN has consistently condemned these actions, stating they are in violation of international law including the 4th Geneva Convention’s Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War, which Israel signed in 1951. Article 3(1)(d) of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits “the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.”
Jamil is a father of 5. PSP is in contact with his family.

Palestinian assaulted by IOF after roadblock removal

By PSP

A Palestinian man, 25, was severely beaten, following the successful removal of a road block in Beit Ommar. Shafiig Khlayel intervened when Israeli occupation forces began assaulting a Palestinian woman shortly after her husband had participated in the Beit Ommar roadblock removal. As people tried to stop the assault, they themselves came under attack. Shafiig was punched in the stomach and back, as well as being hit several times with a rifle butt. After he was thrown to the ground, he was then set upon again, being kicked in the back and on the legs. Internationals who had been involved in the road block removal happened to be passing by the site of the incident and were able to intervene, putting themselves in between soldiers and those being attacked. Several internationals were injured. One was bitten in the arm by a soldier. Shafiig went to see a doctor after the attack in order to receive medical assistance and have his injuries documented. The rectangular mark from the rifle butt on his stomach is still visible. A week on, Shafiig is still recovering. Due to injuries sustained to his chest, he is having problems breathing, especially during sleep. Believing that nothing would come of it anyway, Shafiig has not reported his attack to the police.

Israeli Occupation Forces attacked Palestinians outside mosque in Beit Ommar

By PSP

11 October 2006 – Today, at 12pm Israeli soldiers and shebak blocked the mosque in Beit Ommar and attacked people who had come to pray.   Two military jeeps, one hummer and one shebak car, totalling twenty soldiers and four secret service officers, entered and proceeded to block the mosque in Beit Ommar at noon today. People going to prayer were left standing outside the mosque, unable to enter.

 Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stayed for one hour, forcibly checking ID, filming worshipers, and issuing two Palestinians with papers requiring them to attend questioning. The IOF then attacked five Palestinian men, beating them with their rifle butts and fists, causing two of them to bleed from the head, elbows and hands and forcing  them to seek medical assistance.

Settler Attacks Continue for Beit Ommar Farmer

September 20, 2006, in the village of Beit Ommar, activists with the Palestine Solidarity Project visited the farmland of Abu Jaber and his brother Abu Sameer. This is the third time that activists with the Project met with the farmers to document damage done to their land by nearby Israeli colonial settlers.

Three months ago, activists with the Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP) began meeting with Abu Jaber and Abu Sameer, though attacks on their land have dated back many years. These activists previously visited with the farmers July and August of this year. On September 15 2006, five days prior to PSP’s visit, Abu Jaber and Abu Sameer’s land was once again attacked by settlers from Bat Ayin. These attacks have become more frequent as the olive harvest approaches, and presently, the land is attacked nearly twice per week.

Typically, when the settlers come to the land, they cut olive, plumb and grape trees. They rip tress from the earth and throw stakes and plants into nearby bushes. Olives, plumbs and grapes are picked from the trees and stolen, while some crops are thrown to the ground to decay in the sun or to be eaten by illegally grazing settler livestock.

While at PSP’s last visit similar destruction was photographed, videotaped and documented, upon this visit, the damage had increased. More plants had been destroyed, more crops had been stolen and more of the farming infrastructure had been removed and mangled.

For several years prior to the attacks in 2006, Abu Jaber and Abu Sameer have been attempting to litigate this problem through the Palestinian Land Defense Committee, which joins Israeli and Palestinian lawyers to aid farmers in trouble. As of now, this attempt to seek justice through the Israeli court system has been fruitless. This experience is common for Palestinians seeking to have their grievances addressed through the legal system of the Occupation. The nature of the Occupation creates parallel and unequal legal systems for Palestinians and Israelis seeking to solve their problems through the court. Had Abu Jaber attacked the farm land of Bat Ayin, the Apartheid court system would have likely fined and imprisoned him, though when the situation is reversed, nothing happens and the racist nature of the Occupation courts is made apparent.