Gideon Levy: Swedish article on organ harvesting was cheap and harmful journalism

The bizarre Swedish report led to a no-less-bizarre Israeli response. Bad and irresponsible journalism crossed paths with bad and irresponsible diplomacy. Instead of simply denying the report, Lieberman, true to form, acted like a bully. In his fiery response – from his disrespectful mention of the Holocaust to identifying every criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism, to his ludicrous demand that the Swedish Foreign Ministry condemn the article – Lieberman caused great diplomatic damage to Israel. He even scandalously attacked Norway for marking the 150th birthday of its greatest author. However, the article’s damage to the fight against the occupation cannot be ignored.

For full article, visit http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1110401.html

True or False: Shin Bet guards top Palestinian leaders in parts of West Bank?

The security Israel provides for Abbas and Fayyad is meant to prevent either of two possible scenarios. One is an assassination attempt by Palestinian extremists, such as the Hamas cell that was recently arrested for allegedly planning an attack on Abbas. The other is an assassination attempt by right-wing Israeli extremists.

For full article, visit http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1108777.html

“This news is not true,” Ad-Dameri said over the phone, “the Israeli media says so to misrepresent and to harm the status of the Palestinian Authority.” He assured Israel has “nothing to do with the security of the Palestinian President.”

For full article, visit http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=220414

‘Israel could have made peace with Hamas under Yassin’

“We turned Kuntar into God-knows-what – the murderer of Danny Haran and his daughter, Einat. The man who smashed in the girl’s head. That’s nonsense. A story. A fairy tale. He told me he didn’t do it and I believe him. I investigated the event within the framework of the next book I am writing, about hostage-taking incidents. As far as I am concerned, it was no more than a newspaper report. I sat with him; he was very intelligent. He was a squad commander at 17. He told me that his motive for infiltrating Nahariya was to take hostages. He said [his organization] knew that would both humiliate Israel and get them media publicity.

“He told me: ‘If I had wanted to kill Danny and his daughter, I would have shot them in the house. I took them to the boat because I wanted hostages. I had no interest in hurting them. After I got them into the boat, wild gunfire started and I went back to help my squad on the shore. Danny, the father, kept shouting, “Stop firing, you crazy people.” He and his daughter were found shot in the boat. I was on a small rise, shooting at your forces, and the boat was 20 meters away in the water, with Danny and the girl.’”

For full article, visit http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1078849.html

Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association: Torture of Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons

Terror: This is usually done in the first stages of torture, by displaying the tools of torture to the prisoner, or threatening to use physical  torture. Throughout history, it has been documented that this is often enough to get a prisoner to confess. Palestinian child prisoner Wajdi Salem Najajra (17 years old), in a sworn affidavit, reported the following:

“The interrogator “Ibrahim” said to me that he had two ways to get me to confess, one was human and the other was barbaric, and he gave me the opportunity to choose one of them. When I denied the accusations he was making against me, he told me that it was time to start using the barbaric methods. He started beating me on my face and head. He then pulled me by my hair and started hitting me on my throat. After that, he picked up two electrical wires and rubbed them against each other to create a spark. He told me he would use the wires on me if I didn’t confess. He blindfolded me and cuffed my hands behind my back. Then a soldier lif ted up my shirt and Captain “Ibrahim” put the two wires on my nipples. I started shaking and screaming. Then he removed the wires and asked me if I rethought my answer. I told him that I had nothing to say. He then put the wires back onto my nipples, and I started shaking and screaming again.”

To download full report, click here.

Court: Dichter cannot be sued in U.S. over 2002 Gaza bombing

A New York federal appeals court said on Thursday that former Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter cannot be sued in the United States for 15 deaths in a Gaza City bombing. The court said the former security official was immune under common law from being held responsible for the July 2002 bombing of an apartment complex.

For full article, visit http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1078829.html

The target of the bombing was Hamas leader Saleh Shehada, but the strike also killed 14 civilians.

US District Judge William H. Pauley III said in a written decision that he ”cannot ignore the potential impact of this litigation on the Middle East’s delicate diplomacy.”

For full article, visit http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3395161,00.html

Israel fears extremists will try to avenge Bat Ayin axe-murder

Security sources said on Thursday that right-wing extremists are likely to attempt to avenge the terror attack in the West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin, in which an axe-wielding Palestinian killed a 13-year-old boy and left another boy, 7, moderately hurt.

The attacker apparently entered Bat Ayin, located between Jerusalem and the southern West Bank city of Hebron, unhindered. The religious settlers have refused to build a security fence around their community – standard practice in most settlements – saying it would be a sign of weakness.

For full article, visit http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1076122.html

Bat Ayin teen killed, child hurt in ax attack, terrorist escapes; Israeli forces overrun nearby villages

A 13-year old boy was murdered yesterday and a seven-year old boy lightly injured when an ax-wielding terrorist attacked them in the settlement of Bat Ayin in Gush Etzion yesterday.

A local man fought the terrorist and managed to pry the ax away from him, but the assailant managed to escape. The murdered youth, Shlomo Nativ, was laid to rest at the regional cemetery of Gush Etzion, not far from Kfar Etzion. The funeral procession, attended by hundreds of people, was relatively quiet.

For full article, visit http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1076212.html

Israel’s Magen David ambulance service attempted to rescue the 16-year-old but failed. The seven-year-old child injured in the attack was taken to Hadassah Hospital in East Jerusalem.

According to news reports the alleged attacker managed to flee.

In the nearby Palestinian village of Safa, Israeli forces overran the town, imposing a curfew and raiding houses. According to witnesses, more than 50 military vehicles have invaded the village. According to witnesses in the village, 28 Palestinians have been detained. It is not known where they are held.

There were also reports Israeli troops were firing in the air and that Israeli forces also invaded the town of Surif.

For full article, visit http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36829

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to the Fatah faction led by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, claimed responsibility in a statement, citing Israeli “crimes of occupation”.

Emergency services described the attack as a Palestinian “terrorist attack”.

Police said they had launched a manhunt for the assailant, who is believed to have been attacked by security guards.

Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said the attacker used the axe and a knife in the assault in Bat Ayin, a settlement south of Jerusalem.

For full article, visit http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/04/200942112127779385.html

Bat Ayin is home to religious settlers who have refused to build a security fence around their community, as is the rule in most other settlements, saying fences are a sign of insecurity.

There was no word on whether the attacker acted alone.

Less than an hour after the attack, the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. A murky terrorist group calling itself the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh also claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail sent to the Associated Press.

For full article, visit http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1238562890875

“I managed to block his arm, we fell to the ground and struggled but he managed to run away. I called for help, another resident fired at him, but missed.

“When I got up I saw a child wounded in the head. I cried to warn his mother, who ran towards him.”

For full article, visit http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6021615.ece

Shin Bet: Nearly 70 tons of explosives smuggled into Gaza since IDF op

According to Diskin, Egyptian efforts to curtail the smuggling across its shared border with Gaza have improved, and several successes have been recorded. “When Israel provides intelligence on smuggling that is about to happen, or is happening, they respond quickly and effectively,” he said. However, Diskin added, since the end of Operation Cast Lead, the express goal of which was to bring an end to rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, 45 tons of raw materials for the production of weapons have been smuggled into the Strip, along with 22 tons of standard explosives, as well as dozens of rockets, mortar shells, and anti-aircraft missiles.

For full article, visit http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1074682.html

Amos Harel: Cast Lead expose / What did the IDF think would happen in Gaza?

A large part of the operation was conducted by remote control. “The Palestinians are completely transparent to us,” says A., a reservist whose brigade was posted in the Gaza Strip. “The Shin Bet has people everywhere. We observe the whole area from the air and usually the Shin Bet coordinator can also tell you who lives in what house.” The Shin Bet defines the enemy and, for the most part, someone who belongs to Hamas’ civilian welfare organizations (the da’awa) is treated the same way as a member of its military wing, the Iz al-Din al-Qassam.

For full article, visit http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1074218.html