Palestinian/ Israeli update 8/23/2016..Vladimir Putin is willing to host peace talks in Moscow between Israel and Palestine

Protests Rock West Bank City After Prisoner Dies

Nablus, the second largest city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was gripped by violent protests on Tuesday after the death of a Palestinian detainee shortly after he was seized by Palestinian security forces.
Hundreds of protesters, some throwing stones, marched through the city to denounce the death of Ahmed Halawa, who was seized during a police raid that followed the death of two police officers last week.
Halawa was killed after he was taken to Juneid prison in Nablus, he said, although the exact circumstances of his death were not clear. Akram Al-Rjoub, the governor of Nablus, said Halawa was beaten to death by members of the security forces.
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah promised a full investigation, describing the incident as “rare”.

Palestinian suspect in police killings ‘beaten to death’

A Number of Palestinians Hurt in Clashes with Israeli Soldiers

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At least five Palestinians sustained injuries in clashes with Israeli military forces in the central part of the occupied West Bank. Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli soldiers raided a number of houses in the city of Bethlehem, South of Jerusalem al-Quds, to arrest several Palestinian men early on Tuesday, Arabic-language al-Aqsa television network reported. According to Press tv, scuffles erupted when several Palestinian youths hurled stones at Israeli troopers, who fired rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas canisters and stun grenades to disperse the crowd. Five people, including a woman and her little daughter, were injured during the mayhem.

Separately, Israeli military forces carried out overnight raids against several Palestinian houses across the West Bank and detained at least 15 people. Israeli soldiers also arrested Salim Yousef al-Rajoub in the town of Dura, Southwest of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the raid on his house. A Palestinian man was arrested in the city of ad-Dhahiriya, Southwest of al-Khalil, while the rest were rounded up in other districts of al-Khalil. Early on Tuesday, a large number of illegal settlers, accompanied by Israeli military soldiers, stormed Joseph’s Tomb on the outskirts of Nablus, desecrating the site venerated by Jews, Christians and Muslims. Palestinian security sources and local residents said the settlers arrived at the site on board a number of buses, and broke into the tomb amid protection by Israeli troopers.

Shortly afterwards, skirmishes broke out between a group of Palestinian youths and Israeli forces in the vicinity of the tomb. No reports about the exact number of casualties were immediately available. The occupied territories have witnessed fresh tensions ever since Israeli forces restricted the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015. More than 230 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the tensions since the beginning of last October.

UN Urges Israel to Decide Fate of Palestinian Prisoners

Irish People Show Solidarity with Palestinian Hunger Striker

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The Irish people joined global anti-Israeli protests and took to the streets of Dublin to condemn Israel’s continued detention of Bilal Kayed, a Palestinian prisoner who is on his 70th day of hunger strike. Several dozens of Irish people took part in an hour long protest organized by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) in a show of solidarity with Bilal. Kayed was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to 14 and a half years in prison for crimes related to his affiliation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Immediately upon his nominal release on June 15, he was placed in administrative detention. Despite London’s traditional alliance and support for the Israeli regime, a growing number of people in the commonwealth of nations are coming out in support of the Palestinian cause.

People in England, Scotland and Wales have displayed their solidarity with the Palestinians contrary to the pro-Israel policies adopted by London, extending growing support for the BDS (Boycot-Divestment-Sanction) movement against the Israeli occupiers. In a recent move, fans of the Scottish Celtic Football Club waved Palestinian flags during an international playoff game for qualification for the UEFA Champions League tournament against the Israeli Hapoel Beersheba club in August. Entire sections of Celtic supporters brought Palestinian flags to the Celtic Park stadium in Glasgow, in spite of threats of arrest by Scottish police should it deem that flags and banners displayed at the match constitute “criminality”, Ma’an reported. “When someone is representing Israeli institutions, it is sadly never merely a game,” a statement by the group Celtic Fans for Palestine, which organized the event on social media, read ahead of the game. “Football, UEFA and Celtic FC are being used to whitewash Israel’s true nature and give this rogue state an air of normality and acceptance it should not and cannot enjoy until its impunity ends and it is answerable to international law and faces sanctions for the countless UN resolutions it had breached.” “Until there is end to the brutal occupation and medieval siege of the West Bank and Gaza, until the Palestinian citizens of current day Israel have the chains of apartheid lifted from them and until all Palestinian refugees are allowed to return to their homeland, we will always be visually and openly in support of the Palestinians and opposed to their Israeli colonizers and oppressors,” the statement added. “We are with you Palestine. You will never walk alone.”

Kayed’s case is a part of a recent trend of other cases of Palestinian prisoners who served their jail terms, were due to be released, but were instead shifted to administrative detention by Israel. Administrative detention involves judicial proceedings without standard trial and evidentiary procedures, with only the judge overseeing the case getting to see all of the classified evidence and the defendant receiving a mere paraphrase. Most of the world criticizes such proceedings as failing to give the detainees a fair chance to defend themselves. A UN official denounced Israel’s holding of the Palestinian hunger striker while in administrative detention as “egregious.” “I am deeply concerned about the deteriorating health of Palestinian detainee Bilal Kayed, after 67 days of a hunger strike protesting his detention without charge or trial,” Robert Piper, the UN’s resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, said in a statement on Saturday. According to his doctors, Kayed is currently suffering deterioration of his health: he suffers from chest, kidney, eye, ear and leg pain as well as headache. His vision is blurred, his body is numb and he has lost hair; his skin is yellow and peeling.

He was told by a doctor following his case that he is entering a very critical stage due to loss of fluids and salts and is suffering from dehydration. In another case, which has not been publicized in the Israeli media, Iyad Alharimi of Bethlehem in the West Bank, who had served 14 years in prison, was rearrested based on an administrative detention order. He began a hunger strike on July 13 and is being held in the medical infirmary at the Ramle prison. In a third case, Sufian Abdu of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal Mukkaber was rearrested days after having completed a 14-year jail sentence.

FREE Bilal Kayed – Palestinian Hunger Striker

‘Thank you Celtic’: Wave of support for football club waving Palestine flags

Israel: No Palestinian flags fly as Hapoel Be’er Sheva beats Celtic 2-0

Security personnel performed thorough security checks to prevent an escalation of the football match between Israel’s Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Celtic Glasgow in Beersheba on Tuesday night, after last week’s first-leg qualifier resulted in Celtic fans waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans in support of Palestine

Palestinian sums up Celtic supporters

Palestine: Children and Activists Demand Release of Charity Manager

Israel denies entry to American activist and secretary of Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor

West Bank Palestinians Struggle With Water Shortage, As Blame Game Rumbles On

Iran raps Israel over Gaza blitz

Egyptian President: Putin willing to host talks

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has said that Vladimir Putin is willing to host peace talks in Moscow between Israel and Palestine. The Egyptian leader said his country supports the Israel-Palestine peace process, and also urged Palestinians to reconcile in building an independent Palestinian state. Earlier this year, Israel turned down a French invitation for peace talks, saying the country preferred direct talks with the Palestinians. The last round of peace negotiations between the two sides was sponsored by the United States two years ago, but the talks ended with no agreements reached.