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Jenin report: During Ramadan Israeli forces impose roadblocks 1/2 hour before breakfast
13.09.08 - 12:00
Jenin / Ali Samoudi - Israeli forces hit the northern West Bank’s Jenin Governorate just before dawn Saturday, descending on Jenin City and the nearby towns of Tubas and Tamoun. Families were gathering for Suhur, the early morning meal before the day of Ramadan fasting begins.
Dozens of Palestinians were detained at checkpoints around the governorate depriving them of arriving home for Iftar, the meal to break the fast at sundown.
Although it is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israeli forces contended that they would not close checkpoints as early as usual, the repressive tactics remain in place. The Palestinian Prisoner Society reported that since the beginning of the month Israeli forces have arrested 20 Palestinians during the early morning hours while Suhur was being prepared.
In this context a Palestinian security source said that Israeli forces invaded the town of Tamoun and arrested a citizen early this morning. They also prepared ambushes in alleys and streets for several hours waiting for people on the list of the ‘wanted.’
For two days residents of Jenin’s Central District have been deprived of the early morning meal. Israeli forces brought in a bulldozer and surrounded several homes while storming others. A resident named Khalid said, “The soldiers create an atmosphere of terror and anxiety among people during the invasions which lingers. They overtake the roofs and deprive families of their pre-dawn meal.”
The Israeli forces claim to have found one explosive device in the neighborhood which is used as the reason for the ongoing invasions.
After Israeli forces raided the home of Mohammad Hassan of Al Yamoun he said, “The occupation deprived us of the beauty of the month of Ramadan. We were their captives and they prevented me from bringing my children a drink of water even though it was time for Suhur.” Eyewitnesses report at least 10 military vehicles at his home in Al Yamoun, west of Jenin City, during a three hour campaign.
Throughout the governorate residents are reporting intensified measures by Israeli forces at military checkpoints. Since the beginning of Ramadan on 1 September Israeli forces imposed barriers on main streets and at intersections causing strain during Ramadan. People are being held for hours under the blazing sun. Several roads between Jenin and Tubas are blocked with barriers.
On Thursday evening dozens of Jenin residents were detained as Israeli soldiers refused to allow them to go home to break the fast.
Witnesses report several additional checkpoints near Yabed in southern Jenin, to the southwest in Tamoun and Tubas. The main roads linking the city and governorate villages were all compromised.
Taxi driver Mahmoud Suleiman had worked the line between the city and outlying villages to the south since the morning. At 5:00 pm he was heading home for Iftar. He said that he was surprised to see a barrier, one that had not been there before. “Soldiers were making all vehicles stop under the pretext of inspection, which was conducted deliberately slowly in order to not let us pass until after the Athan so we would all be late for breakfast.”
Driver Khalil Abdul Rahman who runs the line between Jenin and Ramallah, said that he arrived to the area around Jenin’s Fara Refugee Camp half an hour before breakfast, but discovered that the soldiers had closed the street with a barrier. He added, “They deliberately held us there until 6:30 and would not allow us to go into the camp and buy water in order to break our fast.”
An official report by the Jenin Commission indicates that Israeli forces are setting up barriers a half hour before Iftar and conducting very slow search procedures in order to deprive citizens of reaching their destinations to break the fast on time.
Jenin Governor Qaddura Musa refers to the Israeli actions as “unacceptable,” and is demanding a stop to “all arbitrary and provocative practices that exacerbate the suffering of the people particularly during the month of Ramadan.”
He said that the sanctity of the month cannot be destroyed but the “occupation insists on imposing as much pain as possible on our people. There is no justification for these raids and barriers. The occupation is working to not only destroy our will, but to thwart efforts by the Palestinian Authority to have real security in our cities and towns.” The Governor is calling on international humanitarian organizations to help demand an adherence to international law and Declaration of Human Rights which guarantee the right of all people to practice their religion freely. “By denying Palestinian citizens the ability to practice their religion freely, by detaining them while fasting and depriving citizens of their evening and pre-dawn meals, the occupation is making clear that it wishes to only put obstacles in the way of the peace process.”
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3528&Itemid=1
13.09.08 - 12:00
Jenin / Ali Samoudi - Israeli forces hit the northern West Bank’s Jenin Governorate just before dawn Saturday, descending on Jenin City and the nearby towns of Tubas and Tamoun. Families were gathering for Suhur, the early morning meal before the day of Ramadan fasting begins.
Dozens of Palestinians were detained at checkpoints around the governorate depriving them of arriving home for Iftar, the meal to break the fast at sundown.
Although it is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israeli forces contended that they would not close checkpoints as early as usual, the repressive tactics remain in place. The Palestinian Prisoner Society reported that since the beginning of the month Israeli forces have arrested 20 Palestinians during the early morning hours while Suhur was being prepared.
In this context a Palestinian security source said that Israeli forces invaded the town of Tamoun and arrested a citizen early this morning. They also prepared ambushes in alleys and streets for several hours waiting for people on the list of the ‘wanted.’
For two days residents of Jenin’s Central District have been deprived of the early morning meal. Israeli forces brought in a bulldozer and surrounded several homes while storming others. A resident named Khalid said, “The soldiers create an atmosphere of terror and anxiety among people during the invasions which lingers. They overtake the roofs and deprive families of their pre-dawn meal.”
The Israeli forces claim to have found one explosive device in the neighborhood which is used as the reason for the ongoing invasions.
After Israeli forces raided the home of Mohammad Hassan of Al Yamoun he said, “The occupation deprived us of the beauty of the month of Ramadan. We were their captives and they prevented me from bringing my children a drink of water even though it was time for Suhur.” Eyewitnesses report at least 10 military vehicles at his home in Al Yamoun, west of Jenin City, during a three hour campaign.
Throughout the governorate residents are reporting intensified measures by Israeli forces at military checkpoints. Since the beginning of Ramadan on 1 September Israeli forces imposed barriers on main streets and at intersections causing strain during Ramadan. People are being held for hours under the blazing sun. Several roads between Jenin and Tubas are blocked with barriers.
On Thursday evening dozens of Jenin residents were detained as Israeli soldiers refused to allow them to go home to break the fast.
Witnesses report several additional checkpoints near Yabed in southern Jenin, to the southwest in Tamoun and Tubas. The main roads linking the city and governorate villages were all compromised.
Taxi driver Mahmoud Suleiman had worked the line between the city and outlying villages to the south since the morning. At 5:00 pm he was heading home for Iftar. He said that he was surprised to see a barrier, one that had not been there before. “Soldiers were making all vehicles stop under the pretext of inspection, which was conducted deliberately slowly in order to not let us pass until after the Athan so we would all be late for breakfast.”
Driver Khalil Abdul Rahman who runs the line between Jenin and Ramallah, said that he arrived to the area around Jenin’s Fara Refugee Camp half an hour before breakfast, but discovered that the soldiers had closed the street with a barrier. He added, “They deliberately held us there until 6:30 and would not allow us to go into the camp and buy water in order to break our fast.”
An official report by the Jenin Commission indicates that Israeli forces are setting up barriers a half hour before Iftar and conducting very slow search procedures in order to deprive citizens of reaching their destinations to break the fast on time.
Jenin Governor Qaddura Musa refers to the Israeli actions as “unacceptable,” and is demanding a stop to “all arbitrary and provocative practices that exacerbate the suffering of the people particularly during the month of Ramadan.”
He said that the sanctity of the month cannot be destroyed but the “occupation insists on imposing as much pain as possible on our people. There is no justification for these raids and barriers. The occupation is working to not only destroy our will, but to thwart efforts by the Palestinian Authority to have real security in our cities and towns.” The Governor is calling on international humanitarian organizations to help demand an adherence to international law and Declaration of Human Rights which guarantee the right of all people to practice their religion freely. “By denying Palestinian citizens the ability to practice their religion freely, by detaining them while fasting and depriving citizens of their evening and pre-dawn meals, the occupation is making clear that it wishes to only put obstacles in the way of the peace process.”
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3528&Itemid=1