There are more than 6,500 Palestinians now languishing in detention facilities throughout Israel, according to official Palestinian figures. More than 20 bodies of stabbing suspects have not been returned to families for burial.
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According to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronot, the Israeli army arrested 1,553 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem – and inside Israel itself – since the beginning of October.
The watchdog said that while press violations had not reached last year’s proportions, when 17 Palestinian journalists were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, violations had “witnessed an enormous escalation this year”.
Renewed violence erupted last month after Israel imposed restrictions on worshipers at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
The recent confrontation takes place at a time when occupied Palestinian territories have been the scene of heightened tensions between both sides.
One of the most memorable images of the current Israeli-Palestinian confrontations shows a young Palestinian lawyer in dark shades, a suit and formal legal robe as he kicks away an Israeli tear gas canister, his legs flying high above billowing white gas.
The government called upon the UN Security Council and General Assembly to oblige Israel to remove settlement outposts in the old city of Hebron, and re-opening Shuhada street that once resembled the heart of the city’s economy.
The product labeling, Herzog said, “is a prize that Europe is giving for terror and is something that will not help bring about the two-state solution, and it will cause serious economic harm to tens of thousands of Palestinians who are employed in factories in Judea and Samaria under suitable conditions and who bring income home to their families”.
Israel should offer the Palestinians alternatives to a final, negotiated arrangement, including a new peace plan or control over more West Bank territory under an interim deal, Yadlin said.
Israeli human rights group Yesh Din says Israeli police have an 85 percent failure rate in investigating ideologically-motivated crimes by Israelis against Palestinians. The truth is that Palestinian youth are far more driven to violence by dire poverty, military occupation, and utter hopelessness than by fundamentalist Islam.
“The numbers that we see are grim and they don’t get any better”, said Neta Patrick, the head of Yesh Din.
Ascherman said he was attacked while accompanying Palestinians on an olive harvest that was coordinated and secured by police.
The videos – a few of which have been captured by smartphone users – include one showing troops shooting a wounded Palestinian at close range.
“It is not a sterile environment here, but each incident has a weapon”, she said. He warned that years of unchecked extremist violence is creeping up against Jews as well.
“Say a prayer before leaving your house, dress in your best clothing”.
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Now let us imagine what would happen if a Palestinian leader were to go from studio to studio in Europe, spewing anti-Semitic hatred and comparing the Jews to bloodthirsty animals, much like Lapid and Netanyahu are doing to the Palestinians.
