The Islamic State released a video Tuesday purporting to show a young boy executing a Palestinian from Palestine 48 who it claimed infiltrated the group in Syria to spy for Israel.
In the video, a youth identifying himself as 19-year-old Mohammed Said Ismail Musallam recounts how he was recruited by Israeli intelligence.
More here.
Publicat a l’Ara (Eugeni García Gascón)
K., la història d’un col·laboracionista a Gaza
Israel fa servir informadors per localitzar els objectius
“La captació de col·laboracionistes es fa sovint per telèfon i molt sovint mitjançant dones. Un patró pot ser el següent: una noia truca a un noi i li diu que s’identifica amb la causa palestina i que està a favor de la resistència. Li diu que pot visitar-la a Israel i que el seu pare pot ajudar-lo a sortir de Gaza. I més tard el noi s’assabenta que el suposat pare de la noia és en realitat un agent del Shin Bet [servei d’intel·ligència i seguretat interior israelià]”.
H. treballa en una ONG que només té un any de vida, l’Agència Nacional per a l’Atenció de les Famílies (ANAF), i la seva feina consisteix a rehabilitar els col·laboracionistes, un petit exèrcit imprescindible per localitzar objectius per als avions de guerra israelians i per identificar en temps real la ubicació dels líders de les milícies i dels responsables de les organitzacions polítiques palestines que controlen la franja de Gaza.
Però l’exèrcit d’informants no ha tingut èxit durant l’operació Marge Protector. El 24 de juliol es va anunciar la mort d’un líder de la Jihad Islàmica a Khan Iunis, que va morir amb els seus tres fills adolescents, però ha sigut un anunci estrany, gens freqüent en les últimes setmanes, ja que les milícies i les organitzacions polítiques han adoptat tot un seguit de precaucions estrictes per evitar la vigilància dels col·laboracionistes.
La història de K. estarà marcada tota la seva vida per un incident que va passar ara fa cinc anys. K. militava a les Brigades Al-Quds, les milícies de la Jihad Islàmica. Un bon dia va rebre una trucada d’una persona que estava al cas de les dificultats que afectaven la seva família i s’oferia a ajudar-lo econòmicament. Uns dies després K. va rebre una segona trucada en què li demanaven informació sobre la Jihad Islàmica i li comunicaven que al costat d’una cisterna de la mesquita que freqüentava hi havia una petita ajuda. K. va anar al lloc indicat i va trobar 600 sicles (120 euros).
Després de la segona trucada, K. va sentir remordiments i va revelar el que havia passat al seu superior. L’endemà K. va rebre una altra trucada anònima : “Ahir vas estar amb el teu superior a les Brigades Al-Quds i li vas dir això i això”. K. es va espantar i de seguida va córrer la notícia que era un col·laboracionista.
Va ser jutjat i condemnat a set anys de presó. Va passar quatre anys entre reixes i finalment va ser alliberat per bona conducta. A la presó es va assabentar que el seu cap va ser detingut i condemnat a una llarga pena de presó per haver col·laborat amb Israel. Durant la investigació es va saber que el seu superior era qui havia informat Israel de les dificultats econòmiques que passava K. i qui va comunicar immediatament a Israel el que el jove li havia dit confidencialment.
Estigma i rehabilitació
Amb 27 anys, d’ulls clars i de nas aguilenc, K. està casat i té quatre fills. Es considera rehabilitat, tot i que molts dels seus coneguts no volen saludar-lo. Per evitar problemes amb els veïns, resa a casa seva i no a la mesquita. Resideix a Shuiaia però ara viu amb 26 membres de la seva família en un petit garatge de la ciutat de Gaza, on ha arribat fugint de les bombes.
En situacions de conflicte, la feina dels col·laboracionistes és més urgent per a Israel. A Hamàs ho saben i des del començament de l’operació Marge Protector un nombre elevat de sospitosos han estat obligats a quedar-se a casa i no sortir al carrer.
Segons el diari Al-Quds de Jerusalem, en els deu primers dies de l’operació Marge Protector, que va començar el 8 de juliol, Hamàs va executar quatre col·laboracionistes i en va detenir 13. La major part dels detinguts estan acusats de “disseminar rumors per crear pànic” entre la població de Gaza. K. té sort que ara hi ha l’ANAF. L’organització assisteix els excol·laboracionistes de quatre maneres diferents: els ajuda a acabar amb l’estigma que pesa sobre ells i sobre les seves famílies, els rehabilita psicològicament, els troba una feina perquè tinguin ingressos i els soluciona els problemes socials derivats del seu passat.
L’ANAF té informes de 144 excol·laboracionistes. Es finança amb l’ajuda de diverses faccions palestines, d’homes de negocis i mitjançant contractes indirectes del govern palestí. “Una bona part dels col·laboracionistes són membres de Fatah [l’organització del president Mahmud Abbas] que informen telefònicament responsables del partit a Ramal·lah, i aquests informen Israel”, explica H., l’empleat de l’ANAF. “Molts ni tan sols saben que estan col·laborant amb Israel mitjançant Fatah”.
A partir del 2012 Hamàs va encetar una campanya dirigida als col·laboracionistes. Els va prometre perdonar-los si deixaven de passar informació a Israel. A més a més, els va garantir que no es farien públics els seus noms. No hi ha xifres exactes de quants han acceptat aquesta oferta, però s’estima que almenys desenes de col·laboracionistes s’han acollit a la campanya en els últims dos anys.
El càstig: presó o la forca
Als acusats de col·laboracionisme se’ls jutja i quan es prova que han participat en l’assassinat d’algun palestí se’ls condemna a mort i se’ls executa mitjançant un escamot o la forca. La resta de col·laboracionistes són condemnats a penes de presó més o menys llargues, en funció de la culpa.
Dues dones van ser detingudes recentment a Khan Iunis, al sud de Gaza. Simulaven buscar un pis de lloguer i invariablement preguntaven si la zona era segura i no perillosa, és a dir, si no hi vivien a prop dirigents de les organitzacions polítiques palestines o de les milícies. D’aquesta manera localitzaven per a Israel els domicilis dels líders palestins.
Marking Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, Samer Issawi, a Palestinian detained by Israel who has been in hunger strike since August 1, has called for “rage and solidarity”. Issawi, from Isawiya in East Jerusalem, was granted amnesty in the October 2011 prisoners swap between Israel and Hamas, but he was rearrested on July 7, 2012 on the grounds he had violated his release terms by leaving East Jerusalem and entering the West Bank.
In a letter sent through his lawyer from his hospital bed, where he spends most of the day chained, Issawi wrote:
Greetings to all without exception. I urge all the noble people of our Arab and Muslim nation as well as the free people of the world to turn April 17, 2013 into a day of rage and solidarity with Palestinian prisoners all over the world. The voice of those heroes who have sacrificed and are still making sacrifices for the sake of the freedom of their people and land, and in defense for Muslim and Christian holy places in the holiest spot on the globe, should be heard.
Issawi has denounced that Israeli forces continued to breach international conventions and to exert pressure on detainees to frustrate them. According to him, they want prisoners to feel they are fighting their battle alone and that their own people have forgotten them. Issawi also said that “All prisoners must be released before conducting any negotiations with the occupation regardless of how fruitful these negotiations could be” and addressing his fellow prisoners, he called for unity.
Palestinian Authority prisoners minister, Issa Qaraqe, said 17 April that officers of Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency were in intense negotiations with Issawi at the Kaplan Medical Center. According to some sources, Issawi was offered to be exiled to another country. However, he has stressed that he will only agree to a deal that allows him to return to his hometown of Isawiya.
The authopsy of Arafat Jaradat, a 30 years old male from the village of Sa’ir in Hebron, has revealed he has died on Saturday 23 February 2013 of “extreme torture in Israeli custody” while imprisoned in Israel’s Megiddo prison.
On Saturday, Israeli authorities reported he died of a heart attack. However, the autopsy concluded his heart was perfectly healthy and revealed several broken bones and damaged muscles all over his body.
He was arrested the night of 18 February 2013 for allegedly being involved in the stone-throwing that had wounded an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank.
Jaradat’s wife Dalal reported that when he was detained he was allowed to return to his home for a moment to say goodbye to his family. She considers this to be an indicator that his death in the prison was premeditated.
He was since then interrogated and tortured by Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet, also known as the Shabak.
He leaves two children and a wife, who is expecting a baby this June.
It is still early to know to what extend the around 2,500 individual prisoners on hunger strike will stick to the deal backed by Egypt and reached few hours ago. Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, on their 77th day without food today, are still in a very critical situation and some reports say they will not stop fasting unless they are actually released from their administrative detentions.
It is worth remembering that the demands from the prisoners are nothing exceptional: permission to receive family visits, end of solitary confinement and end to detentions without charge. None of these should be asked for: according to the law they must all be granted to all prisoners in any corner of the world since their denial goes against the most basic human rights.
Israel has shown once more their disrespect for human rights forcing the situation to the extreme and reaching for an agreement only hours before Nakba day. This is no coincidence. But as usual, no one outside will do anything to stop them from terrorising Palestinians inside and outside their stolen borders. For sure some might even thank them for what they will see as an example of compassion. The international community has shown again their complicity with the Zionist state playing once more the game of voicing insulting empty words when what is needed are concrete actions. Their words, when not their silence, are a truly killing weapon that allows for the mediatised crime that is going on in Palestine for more than 64 years.
By DIAA HADID, Associated Press
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners agreed Monday to end a weekslong hunger strike after winning concessions from Israel to improve their conditions and limit detentions without trial, the two sides announced, resolving a standoff that united Palestinians behind one of their most emotional causes.
The deal ended one of the largest prison protests ever staged by the Palestinians. Two men had refused food for 77 days, the longest ever Palestinian hunger strike, leaving them in life-threatening conditions, according to their supporters.
With the Palestinians set to hold an annual day of mourning on Tuesday, both sides were eager to wrap up a deal to lower tensions. The Palestinians are marking what they call the “nakba,” or “catastrophe,” the term they use in describing the suffering that resulted from Israel’s establishment 64 years ago.
Both Israeli and Palestinian officials, as well as representatives of Palestinian militant groups, confirmed the deal had been signed on Monday afternoon. Egyptian mediators had brokered the deal, in which Palestinian officials from the West Bank, militant leaders and prisoner representatives participated over several days.
Two men launched the strike on Feb. 27, and were joined by hundreds of others on April 17.
Among their demands: permission to receive family visits from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and an end to solitary confinement.
More ambitiously, they also demanded an end to an Israeli policy of “administrative detention,” under which suspected militants are held for months, and sometimes years, without being charged. Israel has defended the policy as a necessary security measure.
Israel said it had granted many of the requests, including new limits on administrative detention. While the policy wasn’t scrapped, detentions cannot be extended if Israel does not present additional intelligence information to a military court, according to the Shin Bet security agency.
The Shin Bet also said the roughly 400 prisoners from Gaza will now be allowed to receive family visits, like their West Bank brethren. The visits from Gaza were halted in 2006 after Hamas-linked militants in Gaza captured an Israeli soldier. After the soldier was released in a prisoner swap last October, the Palestinians said the ban should be lifted.
Israel also said it would halt its punitive policy of placing prisoners in solitary confinement and allow prisoners to make phone calls to relatives. Palestinian officials said prisoners would also be permitted to pursue academic studies.
The Shin Bet said in return, the prisoners pledged “to absolutely stop terror activity from inside Israeli jails.” It also said militant group’s commanders outside the jails made a commitment “to prevent terror activity.” It said militant violence or resumed prisoner strikes would “annul the Israeli commitment.”
The two longest strikers, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, who have gone 77 days without food, had said they would not start eating again until their administrative detentions are lifted.
Diab has been held without charge since last August, and Halahleh has been in administrative detention since June 2010, and spent an additional six and a half years in administrative detention last decade.
Israel has not said what they are suspected of doing. Both men are members of Islamic Jihad, a violent Palestinian militant group that has killed hundreds and maimed many more in suicide bombings, shootings and other attacks.
It was not immediately known whether the pair would be released. Another Islamic Jihad militant, Khader Adnan, staged a 66-day hunger strike earlier this year that ended after Israel agreed to free him.
Israel said some 1,600 prisoners, or more than a third of the 4,500 Palestinians held by Israel, joined the hunger strike. Palestinians said the number was closer to 2,500.
The fate of the prisoners is an emotional issue in Palestinian society, where nearly everyone has a neighbor or relative who has spent time in an Israeli jail. As the strike dragged on, hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets of the West Bank and Gaza to demonstrate in solidarity.
For families of the prisoners, any deal that did not win freedom of the prisoners fell short.
“Will they release Bilal? Is it over?” asked Missadeh Diab, the elderly mother of Diab, one of the prisoners who refused food for 77 days. “May God give your demands and freedom.”
Israeli officials expressed hope that the prisoner deal would help bring President Mahmoud Abbas back to the negotiating table. Abbas has refused to engage in peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding that Israel halt construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Ofir Gendleman, a spokesman for Netanyahu, said as an additional gesture, Israel would return to the Palestinians the bodies of 100 militants killed in combat against Israel.
Haitham Hamad in Ramallah, West Bank, and Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This is how Michal Vexler explains it:
Michal Vexler is a designer and an activist. This work – a part of a series of infographics regarding the effect of the occupation on the Palestinian civilian population. (+972 Blog)
* Note: According to Addameer, the number of Palestinian administrative detainees as from April 1 is of 322 (and not 320 as it is showed here).
[من فلسطين] 