ISRAELI POLICE KIDNAPS AL-AQSA MOSQUE GUARD
Jerusalem, 18 Rajab 1434/29 May 2013 (MINA) – Israeli police officers kidnapped, Tuesday (28/5), one of the guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem, after he tried to stop some extremist Israeli settlers from breaking into the yards of the mosque through the Al-Magharba Gate.
Eyewitnesses have reported that the police kidnapped Samer Qweider, after he asked the settlers to leave the mosque area as they marched in the provocative manner, the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) reported.
They added that the settlers were marching in the eastern yard of the Al-Aqsa mosque, and were heading to towards the mosque itself.
The Police attacked Qweider, cuffed him, and took him to a nearby Israeli Police station, International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
In related news, Israeli Policemen invaded the Dome of the Rock mosque, near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and obstructed renovation work conducted by personnel of the Department of Islamic Waqf and Endowment, the Palestinians News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported.
293 Palestinian Children Kidnapped In The First Quarter Of 2013
Meanwhile according to reports by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), based in Gaza, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, in Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers continued their aggression against the Palestinian children, kidnaped 28 children, dozens of children have been injured by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the first half of this month.
On May 2, the army invaded Hares village, near the central West Bank city of Salfit, and kidnapped Ali Shamlawi, 16, Mahmoud Sultan, 15, and Ayoub Kleib, 18.
On May 3, the army invaded Azzoun, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, and kidnapped Abdul-Rahman Radwan, 16, and Yahia Adwan, 17, after violently attacking and beating them.
On May 5, the army invaded Aboud village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and kidnapped one teenager, identified as Jihad Dar Saleh, 18, before taking him to the Ofer detention center, west of the city.
On May 6, the army invaded Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem, and kidnapped Ehab Thawabta, 16.
On May 7, the army invaded the Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem, and kidnapped Saleh and Srour, 18.
On the same day, the army invaded Yatta town, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and kidnapped Ahmad Morr, 16, and Suleiman Morr, 17.
In Jerusalem, the army kidnapped three children between the ages of seven and eight, during a nonviolent procession.
On May 8, the army and the police kidnapped Abdul-Rahim Barbar, 15, from Ras Al-Amoud, in occupied East Jerusalem, as he was heading to school.
On May 9, soldiers invaded Borqeen village, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and kidnapped four children between the ages of 16-18.
The soldiers also invaded Abu Dis, in Jerusalem, and kidnapped Mahmoud Jaffal, 15, and Mohammad Jaffal, 14.
The army further kidnapped Asef Mahmoud, 18, Qusai Moqada, 18, Lutfi Abu Laila, 18, and Naseem Shqier, in the Az-Zawiya village, near Salfit.
On May 10, the Israeli Police kidnapped Mohammad Al-‘Awra, 15, in Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem.
On May 14, the army kidnapped Said Sabarna, 18, and Hakam Al-Allami, 16, from Beit Ummar town, near Hebron.
On May 15, the army kidnapped Mousa Halaiqa, 13, in Beit Einoun village, east of Hebron.
Children injured By Israeli fire:
May 2, two children identified as Ghassan Ikhlayyil, 17, and ‘Ala Ikhlayyil, 17, were shot by rubber-coated metal bullets fired by the army in Beit Za’ta area, in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron.
May 3, Israeli soldiers attacked and injured several children in Nabi Saleh village, near Ramallah, during the weekly protest against the Wall and Settlements.
May 11, seven children, between the ages of 10 and 13, have been injured after being attacked by Israeli soldiers in At-Tour neighborhood, in occupied East Jerusalem.
May 14, Hanin Bassem Al-Ja’bary, 7, was injured after a settler rammed her with his vehicle close to the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the Old City of Hebron. The settler fled the scene.
One the same day, dozens of school students have been treated for the effects of teargas inhalation in Al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem.
May 15, dozens of children have been injured after being violently attacked by Israeli soldiers in different parts of the West Bank as the Palestinians marked the Nakba anniversary when the Israeli armed forces and militias occupied the historic land of Palestine in 1948.
Statistic about detained children:
Palestinian Researcher, specialized in detainees’ affairs, former detainee, Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated that the Israeli army kidnapped nearly 9500 Palestinian children since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in late September 2000, until May 7 2013.
Farawna said that statistics reveal that Israel kidnaps approximately 760 children a year, and added that there are currently 243 Palestinian children under the age of 18, including 42 children under the age of 16, who are still imprisoned by Israel.
Farawna further stated that the army kidnapped 881 children in 2012, a %26 increase of the number of arrests targeting children in 2011.
The researcher said that this year witnessed a sharp increase and escalation in the Israeli violations against Palestinian children, as the Israeli army and the police kidnapped 293 Palestinian children in the first quarter of 2013.
He said that the number shows a %9.3 increase in the arrests targeting the children when compared to the same timeframe of last year, and a %34.4 increase of the same timeframe of 2011.
Two months ago, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) reported that the Israeli army is subjecting the detained Palestinian children to widespread and systematic abuse in direct violation of International Law.
The UNICEF said that approximately 700 Palestinian children, between the ages of 12 and 17, are kidnapped, detained and interrogated by the Israeli army, the Police and security agents in the West Bank every year, Reuters said.
It further stated that the detained children are subject to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and are punished in direct violation of the Convention on the Right of the Child, and the Convention against Torture. (T/P03/E1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
