Israel/OPT
30.08.00
Urgent Interventions
Israel/Palestine: heavily armed Israeli occupying forces raided the village of Aseera Ashimalieh
Case ISR 300800
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Palestine Autonomous Areas (occupied by Israel).
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by information received from The Palestinian Society for the Protection for Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), a member of the network, that on 27 August 2000, heavily armed Israeli occupying forces, supported by helicopter air cover, raided the village of Aseera Ashimalieh in the district of Nablus, randomly opening fire and wounding Mahmoud Abu Hnoud and Nidal Daghlas, whose house they also demolished. The two men sustained medium to serious injuries. The occupying forces detained at least 5 village residents, including Nidal Daghlas as a form of collective punishment. According to eyewitnesses, those detained were: the imam of the village’s mosque, Dirar Hamadna, 42, Taisir Sawalma, Ahmad Yasin, and Shaher Bourini.
According to information gathered by LAW, special Israeli units, backed by helicopter cover, surrounded the village at 9:30 pm, banning entry to and exit from the village. The units opened random fire at a number of houses during a chase and fire exchange with Mahmoud Abu Hnoud.
According to affidavits given by the relatives of the victims, members of the special unit were deployed on the roof of the Abu Hnoud’s residence, located at the entrance of the village, and randomly opened fire at other houses nearby. As Nidal Daghlas, 36, alone in the house, tried to step out to see where the shots were coming from, he was hit 3 times. He sustained two injuries in the feet and one in the left arm. Daghlas pulled himself back inside the house and was left without medical attendance. The unit members surrounded the house and banned anyone from coming near, including the ambulance. Meanwhile, shots continued to be fired at the house. This lasted until 1:00 am. Daghlas tried to call the ambulance, the hospital and his neighbors for help, but no one was allowed entry. One ambulance finally managed to reach the vicinity of the house through an unpaved road via Area A, but the two paramedics, Mohammad Al Iker and Jamal Abu Hamda, were stopped and denied entry to the house. They were held until the early morning hours.
The village residents, by either crawling towards the house or shouting at the soldiers from nearby, managed to convince the soldiers to allow Daghlas out of the house. He did so while the soldiers directed spotlights at him, but fell to the ground, too weak to walk. The soldiers forced one of the residents to approach the victim, take off his clothes, and pull him towards them, upon which Daghlas was immediately handcuffed. A military doctor was summoned to administer first aid.
According to eyewitnesses Ahmad Abu Hnoud, 37, Mahmoud Rayan, 56 and Mustafa Abu Ayed, 29, the Israeli occupying forces interrogated Daghlas on the spot to obtain information on what he had seen. They beat him despite his serious injuries. The victim repeatedly asserted that he had not seen anything, but nonetheless continued to be interrogated for 4 hours. He was then later transferred in a helicopter to an unknown destination.
Meanwhile, at about 2:00 am, Israeli bulldozers tore down Daghlas’ one-story house, together with all the furniture, his personal documents, his wife’s jewellery and $3500 in savings. Daghlas’s wife and his 5 children were on a family visit to Jordan and were not witness to the incident. Eyewitnesses confirmed that the special unit members conducted searches in other houses while the helicopters hovered above the roofs and bullets were heard in the surrounding vicinity. LAW’s field researchers went to the village after the curfew was lifted and saw the ensuing results of the home demolition, the bullet holes in the houses and the traces of Daghlas’s blood. Meanwhile, village residents, including women, children, and the elderly were gathered out in the open, forced to take off their clothes and body searched. They were held until 4:00 am at gunpoint. The Sholi family stated that the Israeli soldiers would not allow them to cover their 3-month old baby with a blanket, despite their continuous pleas. The Abbas and Sabbah families complained of similar incidents.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that the occupying forces conducted house-to-house searches, hassling and terrorizing residents. Ahmad Abu Hnoud, Mahmoud’s brother, confirmed that his brother, who was wanted by the Israeli occupying forces, was hit by bullets during an exchange of fire but managed to escape to the town of Nablus where he was transferred to hospital for medical treatment. Mahmoud received a bullet in the right shoulder and another in the back. He stated that his brother was now in the Nablus Evangelical hospital being guarded by Palestinian forces.
Note: OMCT has not received any updated information regarding the situation of those persons identified as being detained in this appeal.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the inhabitants of Aseera Ashimalieh and order the immediate release, in the absence of valid charges, of those reportedly detained;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into these incidents, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee adequate compensation and rehabilitation to all injured people;
iv. ensure that all law enforcement agencies conform to international human rights standards and guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Ehud Barak, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street
Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007, Israel, Faxes: +972 2 566 4838 and +972 3 691 7915
Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 6285 438
Minister of Defense, Ministry of Defense, 7 "A" Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel. Fax: +972 3 697 62 18.
Minister of Police, Ministry of Police, PO Box 18182, 3 Sheikh Jarrah, Kiryat Hamemshala, Jerusalem 91181, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 5826 769.
The Embassy of Israel in your respective countries.
Geneva, September 1st, 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Palestine Autonomous Areas (occupied by Israel).
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by information received from The Palestinian Society for the Protection for Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), a member of the network, that on 27 August 2000, heavily armed Israeli occupying forces, supported by helicopter air cover, raided the village of Aseera Ashimalieh in the district of Nablus, randomly opening fire and wounding Mahmoud Abu Hnoud and Nidal Daghlas, whose house they also demolished. The two men sustained medium to serious injuries. The occupying forces detained at least 5 village residents, including Nidal Daghlas as a form of collective punishment. According to eyewitnesses, those detained were: the imam of the village’s mosque, Dirar Hamadna, 42, Taisir Sawalma, Ahmad Yasin, and Shaher Bourini.
According to information gathered by LAW, special Israeli units, backed by helicopter cover, surrounded the village at 9:30 pm, banning entry to and exit from the village. The units opened random fire at a number of houses during a chase and fire exchange with Mahmoud Abu Hnoud.
According to affidavits given by the relatives of the victims, members of the special unit were deployed on the roof of the Abu Hnoud’s residence, located at the entrance of the village, and randomly opened fire at other houses nearby. As Nidal Daghlas, 36, alone in the house, tried to step out to see where the shots were coming from, he was hit 3 times. He sustained two injuries in the feet and one in the left arm. Daghlas pulled himself back inside the house and was left without medical attendance. The unit members surrounded the house and banned anyone from coming near, including the ambulance. Meanwhile, shots continued to be fired at the house. This lasted until 1:00 am. Daghlas tried to call the ambulance, the hospital and his neighbors for help, but no one was allowed entry. One ambulance finally managed to reach the vicinity of the house through an unpaved road via Area A, but the two paramedics, Mohammad Al Iker and Jamal Abu Hamda, were stopped and denied entry to the house. They were held until the early morning hours.
The village residents, by either crawling towards the house or shouting at the soldiers from nearby, managed to convince the soldiers to allow Daghlas out of the house. He did so while the soldiers directed spotlights at him, but fell to the ground, too weak to walk. The soldiers forced one of the residents to approach the victim, take off his clothes, and pull him towards them, upon which Daghlas was immediately handcuffed. A military doctor was summoned to administer first aid.
According to eyewitnesses Ahmad Abu Hnoud, 37, Mahmoud Rayan, 56 and Mustafa Abu Ayed, 29, the Israeli occupying forces interrogated Daghlas on the spot to obtain information on what he had seen. They beat him despite his serious injuries. The victim repeatedly asserted that he had not seen anything, but nonetheless continued to be interrogated for 4 hours. He was then later transferred in a helicopter to an unknown destination.
Meanwhile, at about 2:00 am, Israeli bulldozers tore down Daghlas’ one-story house, together with all the furniture, his personal documents, his wife’s jewellery and $3500 in savings. Daghlas’s wife and his 5 children were on a family visit to Jordan and were not witness to the incident. Eyewitnesses confirmed that the special unit members conducted searches in other houses while the helicopters hovered above the roofs and bullets were heard in the surrounding vicinity. LAW’s field researchers went to the village after the curfew was lifted and saw the ensuing results of the home demolition, the bullet holes in the houses and the traces of Daghlas’s blood. Meanwhile, village residents, including women, children, and the elderly were gathered out in the open, forced to take off their clothes and body searched. They were held until 4:00 am at gunpoint. The Sholi family stated that the Israeli soldiers would not allow them to cover their 3-month old baby with a blanket, despite their continuous pleas. The Abbas and Sabbah families complained of similar incidents.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that the occupying forces conducted house-to-house searches, hassling and terrorizing residents. Ahmad Abu Hnoud, Mahmoud’s brother, confirmed that his brother, who was wanted by the Israeli occupying forces, was hit by bullets during an exchange of fire but managed to escape to the town of Nablus where he was transferred to hospital for medical treatment. Mahmoud received a bullet in the right shoulder and another in the back. He stated that his brother was now in the Nablus Evangelical hospital being guarded by Palestinian forces.
Note: OMCT has not received any updated information regarding the situation of those persons identified as being detained in this appeal.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the inhabitants of Aseera Ashimalieh and order the immediate release, in the absence of valid charges, of those reportedly detained;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into these incidents, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee adequate compensation and rehabilitation to all injured people;
iv. ensure that all law enforcement agencies conform to international human rights standards and guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Ehud Barak, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street
Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007, Israel, Faxes: +972 2 566 4838 and +972 3 691 7915
Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 6285 438
Minister of Defense, Ministry of Defense, 7 "A" Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel. Fax: +972 3 697 62 18.
Minister of Police, Ministry of Police, PO Box 18182, 3 Sheikh Jarrah, Kiryat Hamemshala, Jerusalem 91181, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 5826 769.
The Embassy of Israel in your respective countries.
Geneva, September 1st, 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.