Jerusalem Day: Marching Over History

Photo blog by Dylan Collins | Al-Akhbar | May 13, 2013

On Wednesday, 8 May 2013, Israel held its annual Jerusalem Day celebration, commemorating its annexation of East Jerusalem and the Old City during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Israeli settlers marched through East Jerusalem neighborhoods carrying Israeli flags and singing, celebrating and asserting their control of what is internationally recognized as the capital of any viable future Palestinian state.

Settlers marching in and out of the Damascus Gate, located directly alongside the largest Palestinian shopping center in the city, were met with a pro-Palestine counter-demonstration.

Hundreds of Israeli police were on the scene to put down the Palestinian counter-demonstration. Israeli police detained upwards of 18 individuals and beat dozens of others. Among the detainees were minors as well as several photographers.

(All photos by Dylan Collins)

Israeli police arrest Palestinians at al-Aqsa mosque

Al-Akhbar | March 31, 2013

Israeli police arrested Palestinian worshipers on Saturday at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, after an alleged scuffle erupted during a visit by a group of Jews and Christians to the mosque.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Ma’an that six Palestinians were arrested for throwing stones at groups of Jews and Christians visiting the compound.

Witnesses told Ma’an that police detained ten Palestinians and attacked Muslim worshipers with electric shock batons.

Dozens of Israeli settlers raided the mosque from al-Magharbeh gate, witnesses said. One settler drank wine and another allowed her daughter to urinate near an olive tree in the compound, they said, adding that a guard at al-Aqsa Mosque intervened, leading to scuffles.

Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, the director of Islamic endowments in Jerusalem, said 200 Israeli settlers had entered the mosque in a provocative way, adding that religious officials had forced Israeli police to close al-Magharbeh gate for the day.

Israel’s police spokesman said further visits of Jewish and Christian groups were scheduled on Sunday afternoon and would continue as planned.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is one of the holiest sites in Islam. Jews also consider the area, which they refer to as Temple Mount, as imbued with important religious meaning.

(Ma’an, Al-Akhbar)

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Palestinian assailed by Israeli women, stripped of hijab

Al-Akhbar | February 27, 2013

A Palestinian woman waiting at a light rail station in Jerusalem on Monday was attacked and stripped of her headscarf by religious Jewish women, Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv reported Tuesday.

According to bystanders, a young Jewish woman punched the Palestinian suddenly as she was passing by the station. A friend of the assailant began aiding her in beating the Palestinian, pushing her against the wall, and ultimately ripping off her headscarf.

The Palestinian was accompanied by an old man who tried to push the attackers away to no avail.

The event occurred at about three o’clock in the afternoon. It is unclear whether the incident involved only the two assailants mentioned in witness accounts, or a larger group shown in the photo.

“There were about 100 Orthodox and yeshiva students who disembarked the tramway and spotted an Arab woman accompanied by an older man,” a witness, who photographed the event, told Ma’ariv.

“It developed into arguing and yelling, and I don’t know what the content was that everyone jumped on her.”

According to the witness, an activist named Dorit Jordan Dotan, a municipality security officer passively watched the event and seemed to be smiling. Many residents also stood by.

“The entire time, the guard stood and smiled and did not even try to break up the fight,” a witness said.

Dotan confirmed that the incident took place at the station where a group of young people had just arrived from the train, but seemed to downplay the event by suggesting the attackers were intoxicated.

“Young people drink a lot of wine for Purim. Screams were heard everywhere. A woman tried to fight [the Jewish students] but they yelled at her not to dare touch the Jews and continued to beat [the Arab woman],” Dotan said.

Following publication in Ma’ariv, police launched an investigation into the case.

“It’s a shame that the Arab whore didn’t die”

On the day the report was published, Israeli police officer Ariel Shapiro re-posted the article on his Facebook page and issued a chilling endorsement: “Very good,” wrote Shpiro “It’s a shame that the Arab whore didn’t die.”

Screenshot of Shapiro’s Facebook page along with the offending status message

The message was publicized by Palestinian Member of Knesset Ahmad Tibi.

Israeli army and police officers have come under fire in recent weeks for showcasing dehumanizing images of and slogans about Palestinians. The most famous of these is an Instagram photo of Mor Ostrovski, 20, showing the crosshairs of a rifle being aimed at the head of a Palestinian boy.

Jewish Settler’s Vehicle Rams Child in Hebron Hit and Run

By Saed Bannoura | IMEMC & Agencies | August 23, 2012

An Israeli settler driving in Jaber Neighborhood, in the southern West Bank of Hebron, hit a Palestinian child then drove off in what appears to be a ramming attack, medical sources reported.

Nasser Qabaja, a Red Crescent official in Hebron, said that the child was moved to an Israeli hospital upon request of her family.

Medical sources said that the child suffered moderate injuries, and that she suffered various cuts and bruises.

Late in January this year, an Israeli driver hit a Palestinian teenager at a checkpoint near Jerusalem, and then drove off in an apparent ramming attack.

Some of the witnesses present at the scene were able to document the license number of the vehicle, but Israeli police did not take the information when it was presented to them.

Although several previous ramming incidents have been reported to the Israeli police and military, no investigations of these incidents have been carried out by the Israeli authorities.

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Israeli police caught robbing Palestinian workers

Ma’an – May 31, 2012

Israeli police gather near Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. (MaanImages/Mimmi Nietula, File)

TEL AVIV, Israel — Three Israeli policemen were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of beating and stealing from Palestinian workers in Jerusalem, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

A police representative told an Israeli court on Thursday that Uziel Hanun, Osama al-Sahly and Reuven Dhokerker regularly used threats to escort Palestinian workers into alleys in the Old City.

“Those who didn’t have money were beaten and sent home, those who did were also beaten, and their money stolen,” the court was told.

Hanun, al-Sahly and Dhokerker were arrested Wednesday after being caught “in the act,” Haaretz reported.

Police officials believe the robberies were systematic, the report said.

The police officers allegedly attacked a worker from Ramallah and took his wages. He then had to ask for money to get home, the police representative told the court.