By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – The Israeli authorities seized 365 acres of Palestinian land in the West Bank for Kibbutz Merivav, an agriculture community located inside Israel.  Israeli authorities have annexed land in the West Bank for Jewish settlers for decades, but the seizure of land for communities in Israel is unprecedented.

The Israeli authorities seized the tract of land from Bardaleh, a West Bank Palestinian village.  The village is located on the Israeli side of the Separation Barrier, a combination of fences and concrete walls designed to protect Israel from Palestinian attackers.  Some Palestinian farmland remains on the Israeli side of the Separation Barrier, and Palestinians will cross the barrier to tend to this land.

Although Kibbutz Merivav has tended to the land for years, Israel has just recently publicly stated the land belongs to Israel.  Palestinians fear this seizure will create a new precedent for West Bank land located on the Israeli side of the Separation Barrier.  The Separation Barrier has carved into 375 acres of Palestinian territory.

Guy Inbar, the Israeli military spokesperson, assured the people that although the kibbutz annexed the land, the seizure did not intent to establish a precedent.  However, Bardaleh villager Mohammed Sawafta reported the kibbutz started scaring the villagers off the land in the 1980s while the Israeli military prevented the villagers from gaining access to the land once the kibbutz began tending the land.

The Israeli government also planned to meet with construction prospects to develop 2,230 settlement units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem last week.  The Palestinian Authority strongly condemned Israel’s new settlement plans.  The Palestinian Authority Cabinet argued the public bids for new settlement properties “are a blatant example of Israel’s unilateral actions and noncommittal to international laws and understandings.”  The Palestinians called for the international community support to halt settlement activity and reiterated peace talks will only begin once Israel ceases building new settlements.

Throughout the Palestinian communities, this Jordan Valley land seizure dominated their news coverage.  The Israelis consider the seized land as absentee property, which Israeli authorities can allocate for settlement activities.

Research and activist against Jewish settlement in the West Bank Dror Etkes said, “Eventually, Israeli communities on the Israeli side of the Green Line will likely take land from Palestinians in the West Bank. . . .  It seems to be almost inevitable.”  The Green Line is the cease-fire line established prior to the 1967 Mideast War.

For more information, please see:

CBS – West Bank Land Seized by Israeli Kibbutz – 19 Nov 2011

Palestine News and Information Agency – Newspapers Review: Israeli Annexation of Jordan Valley Land Dominates Dailies – 19 Nov 2011

Press TV – Israel Continues to Confiscate Lands – 19 Nov 2011

Ma’an News – PA Cabinet Condemns Settlement Plans – 18 Nov 2011

By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey — A bus carrying Turkish pilgrims returning back from the hajj – the pilgrimage to Mecca and fifth pillar of Islam – came under attack at the Syrian border, resulting in two injured and a strong rebuke from the prime minister of Turkey.

Bus passengers report that they were told to disembark at a checkpoint by around 8 armed men who appeared to be Syrian soldiers, but their affiliation is still unclear.

A bus driver and a pilgrim were shot as the gunmen opened fire. They were treated in a hospital in Antakaya, just across the border in Turkey’s Hatay province.

The statement from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister of Turkey, warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that his time in power is limited. “You can maintain your grip on power in Syria with tanks and cannons, but one day you will be gone,” he said.

There have been rising tensions between Turkey and Syria since Ankara began becoming more vocal against the Syrian regimes brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

Turkey is one of the more important countries acting as part of the international pressure to enforce regime change in Syria.  The two countries share a 910 km border.  Turkey is currently considering economic sanctions against Assad’s regime.  Turkish officials have also said that there have been tentative plans made to create a buffer or no-fly zone inside Syrian territory to protect civilians from Assad’s forces.

William Hague, the British foreign secretary, said on Monday that the international community will do everything it can to increase the pressure on Syria.  The possibility of further sanctions has not been ruled out.

“The behavior of that regime is appalling and unacceptable and of course we will do what we can to support democracy in Syria in the future,” Hague said.

Russia has accused Western nations of undermining the chances of a peaceful resolution in Syria by attempting to get the opposition to not seek compromise with the government. Moscow believes that the Syrian opposition should shoulder shared responsibility for the violence and should face international pressure to enter peace talks.

On Sunday, the Arab League rejected a Syrian request to amend a plan that would end the Country’s growing crisis.  Walid al-Moallem said the plan “compromised the country’s sovereignty, but that Damascus had not rejected the mission.”

The Arab league meets again on Thursday to discuss the situation in Syria.

3,500 people have been killed in Syria since the protests began in mid-March.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Turkish bus ambushed by Syrian gunmen — 21 Nov. 2011

Jerusalem Post — Turkish bus attacked in Syria, two wounded — 21 Nov. 2011

Washington Post — Turkish prime minister warns Syria’s Assad he can’t oppress people with tanks and guns forever — 21 Nov. 2011

Voice of America — Turkish Bus Attacked in Syria, 2 Wounded — 21 Nov. 2011

 

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain–Thousands of mourners gathered in Bahrain for the funeral of a young protester whose life was taken by a police vehicle, as security forces attempted to dissipate demonstrators rallying against the nation’s leaders near a United States naval base, which is home to the Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

Ali Yussef Baddah, age 16, was killed on the spot when a police car struck him in the Al-Jufair suburb after midnight on Friday 18 November 2011, according to Al-Wefaq, the largest Shiite opposition group in Bahrain.

Ali Badgar, Ali’s uncle, stated that he rushed to the area with Ali’s father, but the police had the site quarantined off and would not allow anybody to approach the scene. Badgar shared this statement with Al-Jazeera about the situation concerning his deceased teenager nephew.

“Our boy was dead and they left him lying in the street for hours.”

According to the state-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA), the police vehicle that killed Ali Yussef Baddah skidded into a group of “rioters committing acts of sabotage” due to an oil spill on the road. The BNA report stated that authorities are investigating the incident that occurred just moments before 1AM local time on Sunday 20 November 2011.

The Interior Ministry disputed opposition claims that police purposefully drove the car into the crowd of protesters, stating that the anti-riot police was “ambushed” by demonstrators and lost control after driving on an oil slick spilled by the opposition. It released the following statement concerning the incident.

“Shortly after midnight, vandals had poured oil on Al Shabab road, causing the driver of a police patrol to lose control of the vehicle and hit the pedestrian, who died at the scene.”

This past March, Bahrain imposes martial law and invited some 1,500 troops from Saudia Arabi and other Gulf neighbors to enter its borders.

The country has endured several months of anti-government protests and subsequent crackdowns in the geographically significant Gulf nation, particularly for the United States. The unrest and uprisings commenced when the country’s Shia majority started campaigning for greater rights and freedoms. Many Shia professionals, including lawyers, doctors, and nurses have been detained and tried on anti-state charges in a special security court since the beginning of protests inspired and ignited by uprisings sweeping through the Arab world like a wildfire.

Despite the resolve of the nation’s leaders to not change a thing, critics of the government have continued to openly and publicly display their dissent. A march in the village of Aali on Friday 18 November 2011 is one of many recent demonstrations against the current regime’s reign.

In another instance according to Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq, a Shiite mosque was targeted by security forces, leavings large sections of it damaged. The group said that hundreds of people had been injured by security forces on Friday 18 November 2011 and Saturday 19 2011.

More than 30 individuals have lost their lives to the nation-wide protests. Opposition groups claim that more than 1,000 people, predominantly Shiites have been detained and some 2,000 have lost their jobs for allegedly taking part in the protests and demonstrations.

A report prepared by The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), which has been investigating the alleged abuses during the continued social uprising, is due this coming Wednesday 23 November 2011. Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, an Egyptian-born professor of international criminal law and a former member of the United Nations Human Rights panels, heads the five-member panel of the BICI preparing the investigation. The commission was established in July 2011 with the consent of Bahrain’s leaders.

In the months following the beginning of the uprisings, the panel has received well over 8,000 complaints, testimonies, and documents. Members of the panel have interviewed over 5,000 witnesses and alleged victims of violence. These witnesses and alleged victims include detainees, police personnel, doctors, and journalists. In the course of its information gathering, the panel has drawn controversy from various human rights groups for the way it has conducted its investigation.

The Bahrain Mirror, an e-newspaper operated by dissenters, published a report last week arguing that the BICI lacks the requisite credibility to conduct a valid report because it failed to consult civil society and Bahraini NGOs. The e-newspaper released the following statement concerning the BICI’s lack of credibility. It has also reported that the panel was created by the King Hamad al-Khalifa to avoid a UN fact-finding commission.

“The BICI chief repeatedly hailed the King of Bahrain, the Ministers and the government officials for their cooperation with the Commission, while he took harsh stance toward a number of victims whom were believed (even by the Commission itself) were subjected to violations or arbitrary arrest, torture, or unfair trials, even it amounted to explicit criminalization of one of those sentenced to death while final verdict has been issued against him yet.”

The U.S. State Department on Friday 18 November 2011 updated its travel alert on Bahrain, detailing the “potential for unrest” and states that all visitors face “increased scrutiny” from Bahraini authorities.

“Travel in and around Bahrain could become dangerous without advance warning.”

One can only hope that the government decides to hear and act on the demands of its citizens because they are substantially at more risk than travelers and tourists.

 

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Factbox: Arab Spring Momentum In Middle East, North Africa – 20 November 2011

Al-Jazeera – Bahrain Teenager Killed by Police Vehicle – 19 November 2011

Ahram – Bahrain Protester Killed By Police Vehicle – 19 November 2011

Bahrain Freedom Movement – Teenager Killed in Bahrain Amid High Tension – 19 November 2011

CNN – Clashes Break Out in Bahrain After Teen’s Death – 19 November 2011

Washington Post – Bahrain: Teen Killed When Police Car Skidded On Oil Slick During Protests – 19 November 2011

By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – On Friday, 18 November, tens of thousands of Islamists and young activists gathered at Tahrir Square to protest Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces’ (SCAF) attempt to grant themselves special powers for a future elected government.  The SCAF has ruled the country since Mubarak’s fall in February, but many Egyptians fear the military wants to ingrain its power after the elections that take place in ten days.

The rally, called “Friday of One Demand,” rested on the principle that the military should end their rule with a swift transfer of power to the elected president by April 2012.  This demonstration has been the largest since the 18-day revolt that spurred Mubarak’s fall.

The demonstrators in Cairo and Alexandria demanded the SCAF remove their proposed constitutional change to declare the military the guardian of “constitutional legitimacy”.  Critics suggest this wording implies the military could strongly influence major policies once Egypt elects a new president.  The SCAF also introduced constitutional clauses to limit civilian oversight of the military.

The SCAF promised to end its rule that began when Mubarak fell on 11 February after a six-month transitional period.  During their tenure, the SCAF has maintained a security vacuum, tried civilians in military court, and ignored the people’s demands from the January 25 Revolution while the national economy deteriorated.

Although both liberals and conservatives are vying for votes, both sides stand against the military.  The election victors will draft the new constitution to define post-revolutionary Egypt.

The demonstration population includes conservative Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party, their hardline Islamic Salafi rivals from several political parties, and young protesters who relied on social networking to lead the previous protests.

Social studies teacher Nahed Skukri commented that the diversity of ages, classes, and allegiances reminded her of Egyptian unity against Mubarak.  She said, “We are unified against people who try to take advantage of use. . . .  The [SCAF] is taking advantage of us now, and now we are regrouping.  I can see that we are one today.”

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s most organized political group expected to fare well in the elections, has dodged confrontation with the SCAF.  However, the Brotherhood warned the SCAF if it does not withdrawal its proposed constitutional powers, the protests would increase.

28-year-old Brotherhood member Hani Hegazi commented, “The army as no role in ruling people. . . .  Its only job is to protect the country.  We want civilian rule chosen through democracy.”

For more information, please see:

Ahram Online – Islamists Dominate Egypt’s Tahrir Square’s Dense Friday Protest – 18 Nov 2011

BBC – Egypt: Thousands Protest in Cairo Against Military – 18 Nov 2011

Seattle Post-Intelligencer – Egypt’s Islamists Confront Military, Vie For Votes – 18 Nov 2011

The Washington Post – In Egypt, Crowds Urge End to Military Rule – 18 Nov 2011