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Israeli Troops Rob Palestinian Banks
(News.Scotsman.com, 25 Feb 2004)
Israeli security forces seized large amounts of cash from four Palestinian bank branches today, saying much of the money was sent by Iran, Syria and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas to fund Palestinian militants. . . . During the raids, dozens of Palestinians threw stones at soldiers who clamped a curfew on Ramallah during the raids. Seventeen Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets and live rounds, three of them in critical condition, doctors said. . . . Troops were accompanied by computer experts from two of the banks, who had been arrested overnight, Palestinian officials said. Soldiers covered the banks’ cameras with sacks or disabled them, and confined employees to back rooms, witnesses said. Customers were allowed to leave after ID checks. . . . Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said the raids were unjustified. . . . “This is destructive to the Palestinian economy and people are really worried,” Erekat said. He said he fears Palestinians will lose confidence in their banking system and there would be a run on the banks. . . . The forces took millions of shekels in cash from the bank vaults, corresponding to the amount of money they found in the targeted accounts, security sources said. . . . In the bank raids, troops driving jeeps, armoured personnel carriers and trucks blocked off main roads in Ramallah and declared a curfew. Shopowners were ordered to close their businesses, and residents and journalists were ordered indoors, some at gunpoint. . . . Soldiers fired tear gas, metal-core rubber bullets and also live rounds to disperse dozens of stone throwers, hospital officials said. Seventeen stone throwers were injured, 16 by rubber bullets and one by live fire, the officials said. . . . Troops raided two branches of the Arab Bank, as well as the offices of the Cairo Amman Bank and the International Palestine Bank, Palestinian security officials said. Soldiers also took over several other buildings, witnesses said.

[COMMENT: The Israelis have now stooped so low as to become no more than international thugs and should be treated as such.]

posted by LoZo 12:42 PM

 

Israeli soldier charged in Briton's shooting death

JERUSALEM, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The Israeli military said on Thursday it had charged with manslaughter a soldier suspected of shooting dead a British activist as he helped Palestinian civilians take cover during a clash in the Gaza Strip last year. . . . The soldier had faced aggravated-assault charges but these were upgraded after Tom Hurndall died last month of a head wound sustained in Rafah refugee camp on April 11, 2003, an army spokewoman said. The new indictment was served on Wednesday. A member of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement, Hurndall volunteered to serve in Rafah, which sees regular clashes between Israeli forces and Gaza militants waging a more than three-year-old uprising. . . . Witnesses said he was wearing a bright orange jacket and helping Palestinian children cross a street when he was shot and rendered comatose. The soldier initially said he had shot at a gunman but later "admitted to firing in proximity to an unarmed civilian as a deterrent", according to the Israeli military. . . . Manslaughter carries a 20-year jail sentence under Israeli military law. The trial was due to begin in March, the army spokeswoman said.

posted by LoZo 11:06 AM

 

Earthquake cracks Knesset
(Jerusalem Newswire, February 11, 2004)
An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale rocked Israel and surrounding states Wednesday morning, sending frightened people streaming into streets throughout the country, but causing only one indirect injury and little damage. . . . Israel Radio reported the quake left a crack in the ceiling of the Knesset plenum, Israel's parliament, just minutes before lawmakers were scheduled to take their seats for the day's debates. . . . Channel 2 TV reported that Israeli geologists believe a major earthquake could strike Israel without notice, and based on research predict the arrival of "the big one" in the next 50 years. . . . And Channel 1, screening a map highlighting areas of the capital believed to be especially susceptible to damage in the event of a major quake, pointed out that the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock - both straddling Israel's Temple Mount - were most at risk. . . . According to Israel Radio, staff in the Israeli Knesset thought a large bomb had gone off, and left their meeting rooms to gather in the building's corridors. . . . According to a recently released report exposing the shoddy standard of construction in the country, a quake of 6.0 or over on the Richter scale is expected to flatten an untold number of buildings, leaving tens of thousands of Israelis dead - possibly many more. . . . A quake that big could have catastrophic results throughout Israel, where the towns and cities almost all encroach on one another. . . . Active fault lines run throughout the small Jewish state due to the active tectonic structure of the Dead Sea Rift that runs the full length of Israel. . . . According to the Risk Management Solutions' (RMS) Israel Earthquake Model, the Jordan Valley Fault in the north of the country "has a high probability of generating a major earthquake." . . . The RMS believes that a large earthquake there "could create damaging ground motions in every major population center, all located within 70 km of the rift." . . . "Research suggests," says the RMS website, "that the Jordan Valley Fault generates magnitude 7 or larger earthquakes every 1000 years. The last major event on this segment occurred in 1033, increasing the current probability of a major earthquake." . . . It is estimated the worst-case scenario of the next major quake would cause Israel over $30 billion in economic damages and an unknown number of casualties. . . . The Hebrew prophet Zechariah foretells a final, cataclysmic earthquake when the Messiah comes to Jerusalem, an event that will split the Mount of Olives in two, from east to west, creating an enormous valley. . . . The book of Revelation speaks of a coming earthquake such as "had not occurred since men were on the earth."

posted by LoZo 10:43 AM

 

Palestinian malnutrition at African levels under Israeli curbs, say MPs
(Ben Russell, The Independent, 05 February 2004)
Malnutrition rates in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank are as bad as those in sub-Saharan Africa, MPs said yesterday. They warned that the Israeli security fence around the occupied territories was "destroying the Palestinian economy and creating widespread poverty". . . . The all-party Commons International Development Committee called for European Union trade sanctions to be imposed on Israel until it allowed the free export of goods from the West Bank and Gaza. . . . The committee's report also condemned suicide bombings as "morally abhorrent" and "a catastrophic tactic that has done great harm to the Palestinian cause". . . . The MPs, who carried out a fact-finding trip to Israel as part of their six-month inquiry, criticised corruption and mismanagement by the Palestinian Authority, but also condemned the actions of the Israeli government. . . . They said they understood why the Israeli government had decided to build its 425-mile security fence, but added that it had displaced Palestinian homes, destroyed farms and severely disrupted trade. . . . Tony Baldry, the Conservative chairman of the committee, said: "Our report is a balanced assessment of the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. It shows that Israel's security policy is having a marked impact on everyday life. . . . "Key measures, such as the construction of a security barrier, may bring the mirage of immediate security to Israelis, but the level of despair felt by ordinary Palestinians at being denied an ordinary life can only increase the supply of suicide bombers. Nor is it likely to elicit any concessions from the Palestinian leaders." . . . MPs said that the Israeli government and many ordinary Israelis regarded all Palestinians as potential suicide bombers, but said that "it is tragically the case that for a number of Palestinians, the harder the Israeli Defence Force bears down on them the more they feel obliged to resist by force of arms". . . . The MPs said that the barrier "destroyed the viability of a Palestinian state" and risked having an irreversible effect on the Palestinian people. . . . They said: "Rates of malnutrition in Gaza and parts of the West Bank are as bad as anything one would find in sub-Saharan Africa. The Palestinian economy has all but collapsed. Unemployment rates are in the region of 60 to 70 per cent. "The EU should not shy away from using economic pressure to gain political leverage with Israel." . . . The report said that Palestinian farmers had land confiscated, crops damaged and were "plagued" by problems in getting goods to market. . . . MPs condemned the Israeli government for preventing the free export of goods from the West Bank and Gaza, and urged the EU to suspend Israel's preferential tariff rates until they allow Palestinians free access to European markets. They said: "It is hard to avoid the conclusion that there is a deliberate Israeli strategy of putting the lives of ordinary Palestinians under stress as part of a strategy to bring the population under heel.

posted by LoZo 3:22 PM