EXCLUSIVE PICTURES

Yesterday evening (31.08.2010), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) held a Ramadan soiree in the gardens of the Nablus library where it hosted a gathering of personalities from religious, political and community leaders to institution heads and the media.

Following a visit yesterday to some young prisoners being held at the Megiddo Prison, lawyers for the Ministry of Detainees have stated that the young prisoners testified under oath that they had been interrogated and systematically electrocuted and tortured by Israeli intelligence officers in settlements near to Palestinian cities.

According to Salim Redouane who was arrested near Qalqilya on 08.05.2010, he was kept in a camp near Tzofin for 3 hours before being transferred to the settlement of Ariel where he was questioned by Shin Bet interrogators. His head was repeatedly hit against the prison room wall in an effort to get him to confess and he was beaten severely. The investigators threatened to burn his skin if he did not confess to the accusations against him.

Mohammad Baraka, an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, has described Prime Minister Netanyahu's demand for the "recognition of Israel as a Jewish state" as tragic and crude and reflects the absurdity of negotiations that are devoid of any reference of legitimacy at all.
 
In an exclusive statement to "Quds Press" commenting on the near start of the Israeli-Palestinian direct negotiations, Baraka said that the problem does not lie in the negotiations, as the Palestinian leadership have embarked on them for a long time, but the question is on what basis is this particular negotiation being founded and on what points of reference?

Baraka added that the negotiations which are being initiated and conducted under international pressure, specifically American pressure, as well as the unfortunate and shameful decision of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, which includes 13 Arab countries, has no foundation, and are therefore futile amounting to no more than playing in Obama and Netanyahu's playground.

Israeli military sources confirmed that Jewish settlers are now preparing to swamp the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem with thousands of housing units. This will come into effect immediately after the declaration of the decision to end the "freeze" of the construction of settlements.

Maariv newspaper quoted Israeli army command as saying that Jewish circles intend to launch huge campaigns to build in all of the Palestinian territories after the settlement freeze expires on 26th September.

The leadership in the so-called "central region" of the occupation army confirmed that the settlers are set to carry out "widespread acts of sabotage on the one hand, and settlement building throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, on the other".

Source: Quds Press