Civilian Deaths | The American Task Force on Palestine

'Heinous act against Jewish worshipers'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Attila Somfalvi - April 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Shooting attack or unintentional mishap? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned on Sunday evening the shooting incident at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus that killed 24-year-old Ben-Yosef Livnat and injured two other Hasidim, calling it a "terrorist attack." In his statement, Netanyahu urged the Palestinian Authority "to take harsh steps against the perpetrators who committed this heinous act against Jewish worshipers who were on their way to prayer."

Palestinian Police Kill Israeli Visiting West Bank Holy Site
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - April 24, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian police shot and killed one Israeli and wounded four others early Sunday after the Israelis surreptitiously visited a Jewish holy site inside a Palestinian-controlled area, officials on both sides said. The shooting occurred outside Joseph’s Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus after three carloads of religious Israeli Jews visited the site to pray, without coordinating their plans through the Israeli Army. Twice-monthly trips to the tomb have been organized with army escorts for the past four years without incident.

PA official: Settler shoots Palestinian near Nablus
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 20, 2011 - 12:00am

A Palestinian man was moderately injured Tuesday after settlers opened fire south of Nablus, officials said. Ghassan Doughlas, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors settlements in the West Bank, told Ma'an that a group of settlers from the illegal Brakha settlement, near Burin village in the northern West Bank, fired at civilians and tried to break into a house. Other villagers intervened but one Palestinian was shot in the hand and stomach, the official said. The victim, who was not immediately identified, was taken to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, Doughlas said.

Rattling the Cage: Kids are innocent, settlements aren’t
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) April 20, 2011 - 12:00am

When settlers are suspected of murdering Palestinians, do the IDF, Shin Bet and police trash their settlements and beat up their neighbors until someone confesses, which is what just happened in the village next to Itamar?

State funeral for Italian activist slain in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian civilians joined members of the Hamas police and security forces on Monday for a funeral to mourn the death of an Italian activist killed by a Salafist group last week. Hundreds of people gathered in Gaza City and at the Rafah border crossing to pay to their respects to Vittorio Arrigoni, 36, who was found hanged in an empty house in northern Gaza on Friday, hours after he was kidnapped. His body was carried from Gaza City's Shifa Hospital in a wooden coffin draped in a Palestinian flag and strewn with rose petals.

Fatah man dies days after Hamas arrested him
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

A Palestinian from Fatah party has died Tuesday in a prison run by rival Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, local sources said. The detainee, Adel Rezeq, has been held at one of Hamas' internal security detention facilities since Thursday, sources from local rights groups added. The sources noted that a call for an investigation would be issued soon, as the circumstances behind the death are still unknown. The 50-year-old man was not suffering from any illness "and was in a very good condition when he was arrested," his brother, Muin, told Xinhua.

A needless death in Gaza, and one less witness to its plight
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Charles Glass - April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

The spectacle of a European or North American hostage - shackled and blindfolded - has been a recurring sight in the Middle East since kidnapping became a political weapon in Lebanon in 1982. More often than not, the culprits claimed their captives were spies, soldiers or agents of foreign powers. That was usually, though not always, a lie. The reason most foreigners within the grasp of, say, Hizbollah in Lebanon or extremists in Gaza, remained in the danger zone was to help the victims of occupation. Their own humanity was their undoing.

Hamas Captures Suspect in Italian’s Killing; 2 Others Dead
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram - April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Two of the extremists suspected of killing an Italian activist died and a third was captured on Tuesday when Hamas security troops stormed a building in central Gaza where the men were hiding, according to the Gazan Interior Ministry. A ministry statement said that one of the hunted men, who had Jordanian citizenship, threw a grenade at the other two — both Palestinians — to prevent them from surrendering. One was fatally injured. The Jordanian then killed himself with a gunshot to the head, the statement said. The third man, who was injured, was taken into custody.

GAZA STRIP: Suspect in killing of Italian activist dies in standoff
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Ahmed al-Dabba - April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday that a man suspected of killing an Italian pro-Palestinian activist in the territory committed suicide during a tense police standoff. The suspect, a Jordanian citizen, shot himself after he hurled a grenade at two of his partners, critically injuring one of them, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said in a statement published on its website. Three policemen were injured during an exchange of fire, the statement added.

The Goldstone reversal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Aryeh Neier - (Opinion) April 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Justice Richard Goldstone was condemned by many apologists for Israel’s human rights record for his conclusion that Israel intentionally targeted Palestinian civilians as a matter of policy during the 2008-9 Gaza war. Goldstone’s United Nations-backed report accused both Israelis and Palestinians of war crimes, and called on both sides to investigate, prosecute and punish their own personnel.

Video: Inside ATFP Gala 2013

Photo Gallery: ATFP Gala 2013

Recent News