Several prisoners in Israeli jails are still on hunger strike, officials said Thursday, days after a deal was struck to end a mass hunger strike movement.

Israeli Prisons Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman told Ma’an that Mahmoud al-Sarsak and Akram al-Rekhawi are refusing food. They are being held in Ramle prison clinic, she said.

Al-Sarsak has been on hunger strike for 60 days and is protesting his detention without charge or trial. A soccer player, al-Sarsak was detained in July 2009 while leaving the Gaza Strip to join the national team in the West Bank.

He being held under Israel’s “unlawful combatant” law and has not been informed of any charges against him.

The prisoner rights group Addameer told Ma’an that al-Sarsak is the only prisoner held under the policy. Addameer says al-Sarsak was told he would be released on July 1 but the offer was retracted.

His next judicial review is due on Aug. 22. Detention orders of six months are indefinitely renewable under the “unlawful combatant” law.

Al-Rekhawi was held in Ramle’s prison clinic prior to launching his hunger strike and is still refusing food in protest at inadequate medical treatment. He has been on hunger strike since April 17.

The 38-year-old suffers from asthma, diabetes and cataracts, a lawyer for the ministry of prisoners in Ramallah, Fadi Abedat, told Ma’an.

Abedat said another prisoner Mohammad Abu Libda was still on hunger strike and being held in Ramle clinic along with Sarsak and Rekhawi.

Abu Libda, 35, who is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair, has been detained since 2000 and was sentenced to 12 years. He has been on hunger strike since April 17.

Addameer told Ma’an that another prisoner, Mohammad Taj is also continuing his hunger strike, demanding to be treated as a prisoner of war.

Taj, an officer in the Palestinian Authority security forces, went on hunger strike on March 18. He briefly stopped his strike over the weekend but resumed it on Tuesday. He is being held in solitary confinement in al-Jalameh prison and was beaten by prison guards on Wednesday, his relatives told Addameer.

Weizman, the spokeswoman for Israel’s Prison Service, told Ma’an the continued strikes would not affect a deal reached on Monday to end a mass hunger strike by around 2,000 detainees.

Prisoner representatives signed a deal Monday to end the mass strike in exchange for Israeli “facilitation” on policies toward solitary confinement, family visits and living conditions.

Ofir Gendelman, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Ma’an on Monday that all prisoners must end the hunger strike within 72 hours, and not later refuse food, for the deal to hold.

But Weizman told Ma’an Thursday that the prisoners still on strike were not part of the mass movement and their cases would not affect the deal

Mahmoud Sarsak who is on day 60 of his hunger strike

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=486762&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

This year’s CRH Annual General Meeting in Dun Laoghaire on Wednesday, 9th May, was again the scene of calls for the company to divest from its Israeli business interests which are involved in building the illegal wall and settlements in Palestine.

Two Palestinian women made impassioned pleas from the floor asking CRH to heed the 10,000 signature strong petition calling for CRH to “Stop Cementing Misery in Palestine”. The petition and demonstration were organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC).

Outside, over 50 human rights activists created a colourful spectacle along Marine Road. 33 activists each held a single placard with one letter of the campaign slogan calling on CRH to divest while others held aloft 25 feet high Palestinian flags and 30 feet long Palestinian banners.

John Dorman, Divestment Officer of the IPSC, said that the intervention was because:

“CRH owns 25% of the Israeli company Mashav Initiative and Development Ltd, which in turn owns Israel’s sole cement producer Nesher Cement Enterprises Ltd. Nesher provide up to 90% of all cement sold in Israel, including cement used in the construction of Israel’s illegal separation wall in Palestine and illegal settlements and checkpoints.”

Palestinian human rights lawyer, Huwaida Arraf, drew a round of applause in the meeting after her heartfelt entreaty to CRH, which left board members stony-faced and decidedly awkward looking. In her speech, Ms Arraf implored CRH to divest from Israel. She said,

“I am here to plead with you not be complicit in building Israel’s ghettos of the 21st Century that my family is living in right now. You say that CRH has no control over the end use of the cement that the Nesher company produces. I’m sorry but Palestinians simply can’t accept that. We cannot accept it because you knowingly invested in this company, and you are aware that the company has built this wall and these settlements, declared by the World Court to be a violation of international law.

Ms Arraf concluded with a warning for CRH and its shareholders, saying that:

 ”CRH should divest from Israel like other companies are doing right now, or else they face the loss of massive contracts as companies like G4S and Veolia have seen recently as a result of their complicity with Israeli apartheid. It is tainting the reputation of your company, so please do as other companies, who care morally and ethically about their investors and investments, have done and divest”.

Next to speak on the issue was Fatin Al Tamimi, a Palestinian woman from Hebron in the West Bank. Ms Tamimi pointed out that:

“her hometown is now an apartheid city because of the illegal settlements and checkpoints in its centre, built with cement from Nesher. CRH says it is committed to the highest standards of ethical, legal and moral standards. All I have to do is look at my home town, and CRH’s facilitation of Israel’s apartheid regime of occupation in Palestine, to see that this is a hollow claim. And I am not the only one.”

To prove her point, Ms Tamimi concluded: that she

“would like to present the Board of Directors with a petition which has over ten thousand signatures calling on CRH to stop cementing misery in Palestine and to divest from its Israeli business interests. While most signatories are Irish, there are names here from Jacksonville to Johannesburg to Jerusalem, all united behind this call. The question is, will you listen CRH?”

At this point the petition was handed to the Board in cardboard boxes decorated to represent the Apartheid Wall, while Ms Tamimi held aloft a large placard calling on CRH to listen to the call.

During his intervention, John Dorman of the IPSC questioned whether falling profit rates for CRH were due to their continued investment in Israel. He also noted that the IPSC would be distributing a “CRH Annual Comic” in the lobby, but that it came with a health warning that “you may not find it funny that CRH profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestine”. 200 copies were distributed and the comic is available to download here:

http://www.ipsc.ie/docs/crh/ipsc_crh_comic_2012.pdf

Video report from the demonstration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WepflKjMlIA

John Dorman addresses the CRH board of directors

“Welcome To Palestine” organisers say that the 50 passengers detained by Israeli forces solely for wanting to visit Palestinians are going on hunger strike tonight, starting at midnight Palestine time (which is 10pm UK time).

They have been in detention 36 hours or more now and are now in Givon prison near Tel Aviv. They are refusing to be deported, as they want to continue with their travel plans to Bethlehem. 

Please show your support  by contacting the media, and spreading the message. Tell your local MP to demand the UK Government gets all UK and International citizens released and allowed to continue with their journey to Palestine immediately.

British airline company, Jet2.com, have become the latest airline to cancels tickets for those who intend travelling to Tel Aviv on Sunday, en route to Palestine. Today, Lufthansa and Air Brussels also caved into Israeli pressure to cancel tickets.

Below is a copy of a letter from Jet2.com sent to a customer who had a reservation to fly with them:

From: “CustomerCare”

Date: Apr 13, 2012 10:21 AM
Subject: Jet2.com – LS907 Manchester – Tel Aviv – Booking reference 2FNCTM
Jet2.com Flight LS907 Manchester to Tel Aviv Sunday 15th April 2012

Dear XXX XXXXX

Jet2.com is required by the Israeli authorities to provide Advance Passenger Information in relation to all passengers that it carries on flights to Israel. Advance Passenger Information includes a passenger’s name, date of birth, passport number and nationality.

In accordance with Article 7 of its Terms and Conditions, Jet2.com has provided Advance Passenger Information in respect of your flight from Manchester to Israel. As a result of providing that Information, Jet2.com has been informed by the Israeli authorities that you will not be not permitted to enter Israel. Consequently, if Jet2.com carries you to Israel, you will be refused entry and Jet2.com will be liable for both a fine and your return to Manchester.

As a result, and in accordance with Article 24 of its Terms and Conditions, Jet2.com: “may refuse to carry you where such action is necessary for reasons of safety and/or security and/or to comply with any applicable laws, regulations or orders of any country to be flown from, into or over including laws or regulations relating to Advance Passenger Information requirements.” We regret that, in light of the decision taken by the Israeli authorities, we are unable to accept you for carriage to Israel on this occasion and your booking with Jet2.com has been cancelled.

In accordance with Article 26.3 of its Terms and Conditions, Jet2.com is a non-refundable airline and we will therefore be unable to offer any refund, with the exception of a refund of the applicable taxes paid, as a result of the decision taken by the Israeli authorities.

Jet2.com would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by the cancellation of your booking, which we hope you will appreciate is totally beyond our control.

Yours sincerely

Jet2.com Customer Care Team

Lufthansa German Airlines canceled the plane tickets of dozens of passengers planning to participate in the “flytilla” attempt to land en masse at Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday, #Airflotilla2 website reported Friday.

The pro-Palestinian website uploaded a scanned image of one of the canceled tickets that a passenger had received, and reported that the same notification had been sent to dozens of activists on Thursday, informing them that their reservation had been canceled “by order of Israel.” 

#Airflotilla2 is an online campaign supporting “Welcome to Palestine 2012,” the umbrella organization overseeing the initiative.  

According to the campaign organizers, Lufthansa informed the passengers that “Israel produced a list of names of persons to whom this country denies entry,” and that their names were on the list.

The message quoted by #Airflotilla2 stated that their tickets had been canceled and they would be refunded. According to “Welcome to Palestine 2012,” some of the people whose flights were canceled are not associated with the campaign. 

Campaigners said that those who had received the notifications had not committed any offense and “do not accept these mafia-methods favored by governments complicit in the imprisonment of the Palestinian people.” Therefore, they said they would show up at their respective airports as scheduled to board flights to Tel Aviv.

The Public Security Ministry and the Israel Police are making final preparations  ahead of the scheduled event on Sunday, anticipating that the activists will try to cause disturbances. Police will beef up their presence at the airport and single out activists when they deplane with the intention of arresting them and deporting them back to their point of origin as quickly as possible, with minimum disruption to ordinary passengers in the airport.

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch told Channel 1 news on Monday evening that Israel hopes it will succeed in preventing many of the travelers from boarding planes in their home countries, by sending blacklists with activists’ names to foreign airports like it did last year.

“Welcome to Palestine 2012,” calls on activists to “challenge Israel’s policy of isolating the West Bank while the settler paramilitaries and army commit brutal crimes against a virtually defenseless Palestinian civilian population,” according to a message posted on the group’s website.

The group has received endorsements from Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, former South African politician Ronnie Kasrils and linguist Noam Chomsky, among others.

In July, police arrested and deported 124 activists from the US, Spain, Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

A small number of activists managed to bypass police and walk out of the airport, though the police intercepted the majority of them. Beforehand, blacklisted activists were prevented from boarding Israel-bound passenger flights at European airports.

The organizers of this year’s effort said that they received promises from several European airports not to prevent travelers from boarding the planes, since this involves reimbursing passengers for the ticket prices.

Article courtesy of JP:

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=265927

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian official says a female prisoner held by Israel has agreed to end a hunger strike after 44 days.

Qadoura Fares, who heads a group representing Palestinian prisoners, says Hana Shalabi agreed to be expelled to the Gaza Strip for three years under a compromise reached with Israel on Thursday.

Shalabi, 30, a supporter of the militant Islamic Jihad group, launched the strike to protest “administrative detention,” an Israeli military policy that kept her jailed without formal charges.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

The following is the latest report from Al-Haq, Addameer and HRF about Hana Shalabi.

Hana Shalabi on Her 36th Day of Hunger Strike: Israeli Prison Service Refusing to Transfer Her to Hospital Despite Immediate Risk of Death 

Joint Statement, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and Al-Haq

“To all the free and loyal Palestinian people, I direct my words to you—while I and all my brothers and sisters in the occupier’s prisons are on hunger strike, we call on you to continue your solidarity and for the issue of prisoners to be on the highest priority list […] I call on  foreign states to continue action in applying pressure [on Israel] towards the release of all our courageous prisoners.” -Hana Shalabi, 16 March 2012   Ramallah-Jaffa, 20 March 2012 –

Addameer, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-Israel) and Al-Haq express their grave concern for the health of Hana Shalabi, who is at immediate risk of death on her 34th day of hunger strike. As of today, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) is refusing to transfer Ms. Shalabi to the hospital, despite yesterday’s urgent reports by her doctor that she should be transferred immediately. Addameer, PHR-Israel and Al-Haq are certain that the quality and facilitation of medical care administered by the IPS is not adequate to attend to her current condition. Meanwhile, today, the Israeli military judge of the Court of Appeals postponed yet again making a decision regarding Ms. Hana Shalabi’s four-month administrative detention order following a meeting with her lawyers and the military prosecution.

Following an urgent report issued by the PHR-Israel doctor who examined Ms. Shalabi yesterday, 19 March, which concluded that Ms. Shalabi is in immediate mortal danger and should be immediately transferred to a hospital for close observation, Ms. Shalabi was transferred to the civilian Meir Hospital last night. However, for unknown reasons, she was not admitted to the hospital and the IPS transferred Ms. Shalabi back to the IPS medical center in Ramleh Prison Hospital later on the same night. Ms. Shalabi’s doctor was not informed of this transfer until today. Addameer, PHR-Israel and Al-Haq share fears regarding the adequacy and timeliness of the medical care available in Ramleh, especially given the growing concern about her rapidly deteriorating condition.

Today, the chairman of PHR-Israel has been pushing on all possible fronts for her immediate transfer to a hospital.  When he asked the IPS why they are refusing to transfer her, IPS Chief Medical Officer Dini Orkin informed him that the commissioner of the IPS—who is not a medical official—said that Ms. Shalabi’s doctor would have to return to Ramleh and provide another medical opinion before they would even consider her transfer, despite her urgent report from yesterday. Furthermore, and even more troubling, Ms. Shalabi reported to the PHR-Israel doctor that during her various transfers yesterday, she was handled violently, including being “dragged across the floor”.

Her PHR-Israel doctor is particularly worried about Ms. Shalabi in light of this mistreatment, which undoubtedly is having an effect on her already-fragile state. Any further deterioration or aggravation of her condition, including emotionally, could cause a heart attack.

Addameer, PHR-Israel and Al-Haq also condemn the IPS’ latest actions regarding its role in pressuring Ms. Shalabi to end her hunger strike. During a visit by Addameer lawyer Muna Neddaf on 16 March, Ms. Shalabi stated that the IPS’ attempts to get her to end her hunger strike have included continuing to deny her family visits for the next month from 13 March; pressure from a Muslim cleric who is a member of the IPS “Ethics Committee”; and attempts to undermine her confidence and trust in her PHR-Israel doctor, including providing her with misinformation and telling her the doctor does not care about her.

The IPS continues to consider force-feeding in disregard to the principles of medical ethics and the guidelines of the World Medical Association and the Israeli Medical Association.   In legal proceedings, today’s meeting followed her original appeal hearing on 7 March, during which the military judge stated that he would make his decision on 11 or 12 March in order to give the military prosecution ample time to “revise its position” and to allow for any negotiations on a “deal” between the military prosecution and the committee of lawyers representing Ms. Shalabi. He noted that his intention was for any such “deal” to occur at the Appeals Court level and not after, as in the case of Khader Adnan.

No decision was made on 11 or 12 March in this regard. Today’s meeting with the Israeli prosecutor and Ms. Shalabi’s lawyers was called for by the military judge to discuss developments on the matter. However, the negotiations have not resulted in any agreement as of today.

As a result, the judge stated that he will be announcing his decision soon, but did not specify when. The judge requested a detailed medical report on Ms. Shalabi’s health condition, which has been prepared by the PHR-Israel doctor and submitted to the court.

Commenting on the discussions, Addameer lawyer Mahmoud Hassan stated that “the Israeli military prosecution’s concern is to get Hana to end her hunger strike as opposed to seriously considering the reasons underlying Hana’s protest, including the infringement on her right to fair trial and right to an effective defense.”

At least 23 other Palestinian political prisoners are currently on hunger strike to protest the use of administrative detention as an indefinite form of detention without charge or trial, including 72-year-old Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmad Al-Hajj Ali.

Since the beginning of March, a number of administrative detainees have refused to acknowledge the military court and refused to participate in legal discussions of their cases. Due to Israel’s use of administrative detention, and the lack of due process afforded to Palestinians in the military court system, a hunger strike serves as a non-violent and sole tool available to administrative detainees and other political prisoners to fight for their basic human rights.

Addameer, PHR-Israel and Al-Haq are gravely concerned for the life of Hana Shalabi and call for her immediate transfer to a hospital, with adequate care that is uninterrupted by frequent and unnecessary transfers. Addameer, PHR-Israel and Al-Haq also appeal to the local and international communities to take every action in applying pressure on Israel to seriously address the underlying reasons behind the growing protests of Palestinian political prisoners and to end the large scale practice of internment without charge or trial.

This practice is indicative of willful deprivation of the right to fair trial afforded to protected persons, in addition to the well-documented systematic policy of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment as methods of intimidation and coercion that Israel employs.     Background:   Legal information:

• Ms. Hana Shalabi, 30 years old and resident of Burqin village near Jenin, was re-arrested on 16 February 2012 and is being held in Hasharon Prison.  She has been on hunger strike since 16 February in protest of her violent arrest, the harmful and degrading ill-treatment she suffered following her arrest and of her administrative detention. She was previously held for over two years in administrative detention and released in the exchange deal on 18 October 2011.
• On 23 February, the Israeli Military Commander issued a six month detention order for Ms. Shalabi.
• On 29 February, the Judge convened a meeting at the Ofer military court to discuss her detention. Neither Ms. Shalabi nor her lawyers were present.
• On 4 March the military court declared that Ms. Shalabi’s administrative detention order would be reduced from six to four months.
• On 7 March, an appeal hearing was held. The military judge stated that a decision would be expected around 11 March. During this time the judge urged that any agreement between the prosecution and defense should be reached at this level. No agreement was reached and no decision was announced on that date.
• On 20 March, the judge of the Court of Appeals summoned the Israeli military prosecution and the lawyers’ committee representing Ms. Shalabi in a meeting to review the developments towards an agreement. No agreement was reached, therefore the judge is expected to announce his decision, yet no specific time was given.

Medical attention:

• On 27 February Ms. Shalabi stated that she would not accept medical attention from the IPS, and that she would only accept to be examined by an independent doctor from PHR-Israel. IPS denied PHR-Israel doctors permission to visit Ms. Shalabi.
• On 4 March, PHR-Israel filed a petition to the District Court in Petach Tikva demanding that the IPS approve without delay a visit by PHR-Israel doctors to Hana.
• On 7 March the Israeli District Court ruled on the case brought by PHR-Israel that the IPS should allow a PHR-Israel doctor permission to visit and examine Hana Shalabi.
• On 8, 12, 19 March a PHR-Israel volunteer doctor has been able to examine Hana Shalabi.
• On 13 March the IPS Ethics Committee held a meeting to discuss the possibility of force-feeding a detainee on hunger strike.
• On 19 March, she was transferred to a hospital and then transferred back to the prison hospital. Her doctor is very worried about her as a result of the mistreatment.

A vigil will take palce in Derry, Ireland, on Wednesday 21st March. It aims to draw a link between Palestinian hunger-striker Hana al-Shalabi and Irish Republican prisoner Marian Price.

Hana Shalabi, 30, has been on hunger strike since being seized by Israeli troops in the West Bank on February 14th. She is being held in “administrative detention” and has not been charged with any offence. She is a political activist in the Islamic Jihad group. She denies any connection with violence.

Marian Price, 58, a member of the 32-County Sovereignty Movement, has been imprisoned since last May when NI Secretary of State Owen Patterson declared a pardon granted 32 years ago cancelled, and ordered her to serve out a life sentence. She had been force-fed throughout a 200-day hunger-strike in the 1970s.

Marian described the ordeal she had to endure when been force fed in an interview years later:

“Four male prison officers tie you into the chair so tightly with sheets you can’t struggle,” says Price. “You clench your teeth to try to keep your mouth closed but they push a metal spring device around your jaw to prise it open. They force a wooden clamp with a hole in the middle into your mouth. Then, they insert a big rubber tube down that. They hold your head back. You can’t move. They throw whatever they like into the food mixer – orange juice, soup, or cartons of cream if they want to beef up the calories. They take jugs of this gruel from the food mixer and pour it into a funnel attached to the tube. The force-feeding takes 15 minutes but it feels like forever. You’re in control of nothing. You’re terrified the food will go down the wrong way and you won’t be able to let them know because you can’t speak or move. You’re frightened you’ll choke to death.”

Spokesperson for the organisers, Betty Doherty, said: “The parallels are obvious. Both Hana and Marian are in prison without charge or trial on the say-so of politicians. Both are political prisoners. Both have felt compelled to resort to hunger-strike to ensure that the demand for their release is heard.”

“Linking the cases reminds us that the struggle for justice is the same the whole world over. We ask people to bring banners and placards, but most of all to bring themselves.”

The vigil in Guildhall Square Derry will begin at five pm.

Over 100 people attended a vigil for Hana Shalabi in Belfast tonight in a beautiful demonstration of solidarity for Hana, her family, and the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Palestine.

Everyone assembled at the freshly painted mural which honors Khader Adnan and Hana Shalabi.  The Mural, which was painted on the International Peace Wall in West Belfast will be seen by thousands of tourists who visit Belfast, and will no doubt raise awareness for not only Khader and Hana, but the brutal practice of Administrative Detention.

Hana had previously been held in administrative detention at the HaSharon prison in Israel for a 30 month period between 2009 and 2011, being released in the prisoner exchange of four months ago that freed 1027 Palestinians and the lone Israeli soldier captive, Gilad Shalit. Since her release she has been trying to recover from the deep sense of estrangement she experienced in prison, and rarely left her home or the company of her family. As she was returning to normalcy she was re-arrested in an abusive manner, which allegedly included a strip-search by a male soldier.

On February 16, 2012, the day of this renewal of her administrative detention, Hana Shalabi indicated her resolve to start a hunger strike to protest her own treatment and to demand an end of administrative detention now relied upon by Israel to hold at least 309 Palestinian in prison. Her parents have been denied visitation rights, Hana Shalabi has been placed in solitary confinement, and her health has deteriorated to the point of concern for her life. Impressively, her parents have committed themselves to a hunger strike for as long as their daughter remains under administrative detention. Her mother, Badia Shalabi, has made a video in which she says that even to see food makes her cry considering the suffering of her daughter.

The death toll in Gaza over 4 days of sustained attacks from Israel has now reached 26, as  Ghassan Mughrabi died this morning from injuries he received following an airstrike on the Al Zaytoon area.  Ghassan was only 7 years of age.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, several Israeli airstrikes damaged several buildings, many of them catching fire and were destroyed in the resulting blaze.

Late on Monday, 2 Palestinian men were killed. They died in Shejaeyah in Gaza city as Israeli warplanes carried out more air strikes, They have been named as Basam Ejlah, aged 20, and  Mohamamd Daher aged 21.

Also on Monday, a father and daughter were killed in a fresh airstrike near Tal Zaatar School in Northern Gaza. According to local reports, Mohammed Al Husseini 65, and his daughter Faiza Al Husseini 35, were killed instantly after been hit by an Israeli missile.

A motorcycle was attacked early on Monday morning  in Qarara  east of Khan Younis, killing 24-year old Rafat Abu Eid. Meanwhile, Salman Abu Metleg, 24-year old man killed in a drone attack in Abasan east of Khan Younis.  A 15 year old boy has also died from injuries received in an explosion.

2 houses, including a 4-story building was directly hit injuring over 35 family members. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society headquarters in Jabalia sustained severe damage in the same attack.

In 2 seperate Drone attacks on Sunday, a 12 year old boy was killed in Jabalia, and in Gaza city, a 60 year old man also died.

Earlier on Sunday, in the Al Zaytoon area in eastern Gaza. 2 others were injured in continuing airstrikes on Gaza. In the attack, Ahmad Deeb Salem was killed. Only 2 days ago he was married.

Israeli air raids killed at least one person and injured 2 others in Rafah in the south of the Gaza strip earlier on Saturday. Their motorcycle was hit by a missile fired from a drone

The latest deaths came as Israeli drones fired missiles in Khan Younis killing  Mansour Abu Nusaira and Hussein Hamad earlier that morning.

Israeli troops have opened fire at the funeral procession of some of those killed last night. 4 people have been shot and injured at the cemetery.

Last night Israeli warplanes hit the Palestinian legislative council, and 3 people were  killed in this attack…

In an air raid in central Gaza city on Friday night, missiles hit a garage in Yarmouk Street. 4 people have been injured in this attack.

Another aid raid targeted a house in northern Gaza.

A statement from EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the bloc “is following with concern the recent escalation of violence in Gaza and in the south of Israel”.

“I very much deplore the loss of civilian life. It is essential to avoid further escalation and I urge all sides to re-establish calm.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has condemned the rockets fired towards Israel from the Gaza Strip in retaliation to the murders.

Clinton said in a meeting with Opposition leader Tzipi Livni in New York that “Israel has the right to defend itself”

France also called for restraint and a return to calm in a statement issued by foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero.

Paris was “greatly concerned by the new episode of violence in Gaza and southern Israel,” especially as civilians were at risk, the statement said.

“We condemn the firing of rockets and the humanitarian consequences of this violence and deplore the civilian casualties,” it added.

Egypt on Saturday condemned the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, calling on Israel to immediately end the air strikes that have claimed the lives of at least 15 Palestinians since Friday.

Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said “Egypt is deeply alarmed” by the Israeli attacks and demands that they immediately stop

On Friday, an Israeli F16 airstrike on a car in the Tal el hawa district resulted in the death of 2 Palestinians, and left one critically injured. One of those murdered was Mahmoud Hanani, who was one of the 1,000 people freed in the recent prisoner swap. Mahmoud was 44 and was the secretary general of the Palestinian Resistance Committee.

Names of the Palestinians killed Gazans so far in the latest attacks:
Zuhair Al-Qaysi, 49 years old and his son in law Mahmoud Hanani 44 years old.
Yahya Dahshan 27,
Mohammad Haraha, 24
Obid Al-Gharabliu, 22
Hazem Qureqi, 22
Shadi Seeqali, 27.
Fayeq Sameer, 28
Motasem Hajjaj, 22
Ahmad Hajjaj, 22
Moahamd Al-Mogari, 25.
Mahmoud Nejam, 22
Moahamamd Al-Ghamri, 26
Hussain Barham, 51
Kamala Nusirah, 21

Mahdi Abu Shawish

Rafat Abu Eid, 24

Salman Abu Metleg , 24

This news is from Yousef Al-Helou, a freelance reporter in Gaza.

Yousef can be contacted on 00970 59969 7254

In the past hour, an Israeli F16 airstrike on a car in the Tal el hawa district resulted in the death of 2 Palestinians, and left one critically injured. One of those murdered was Mahmoud Ahmed Hunein, who was one of the 1,000 people freed in the recent prisoner swap. Mahmoud was 44. The 2nd casuality has been named as Zuhair Qaisi.

The 3 men were travelling in their car when it was hit by the F16 air strike. Such was the force of the explosion, the car was destroyed, and a nearby building caught fire.

Palestinian women rallied across Gaza and the West Bank on International Women’s Day on Thursday, calling for the release of a female prisoner on hunger strike in an Israeli jail.

In Gaza City, around 1,000 women attended a demonstration that marched to the Red Cross headquarters to call for the release of Hanaa al-Shalabi, who has been on hunger strike for 22 days.

“Yes to the immediate release of Hanaa Shalabi!” they chanted, holding pictures of the 30-year-old, who has been ordered jailed for four months without charge by an Israeli military court.

Shalabi’s incarceration was also the focus of several other rallies, one at Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah and another outside the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

At Qalandia, hundreds of women arrived by bus from across the West Bank for a rally organised by women’s groups and local unions.

They carried posters of Shalabi, who has accused Israeli forces of mistreating her and imprisoning her without evidence.

Israeli troops used water cannons against the protesters and also utilised the “scream truck,” a military vehicle that emits a high-pitched noise intended to disperse demonstrations.

Towards the end of the demonstration, a handful of youths began throwing stones at Israeli forces, who responded by firing tear gas.

Meanwhile in Jerusalem, around 100 women waving Palestinian flags gathered near Damascus Gate alongside a handful of men.

The Palestinian Authority has for several years marked Women’s Day as a national holiday, with schools and government offices closing for the day.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jrr4nRM_bjJxpg9FsZsaWCCnMUmg?docId=CNG.2de3721c1511715c144ede79b374253d.71

Women rally in Gaza