Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – An officer of the Israeli internal intelligence agency Shin Bet forced a Palestinian youth at gunpoint to drink a bottle of wine, a Palestinian source said on Wednesday. Mohammed Ayyad Awad, spokesman of Popular Committee Against the Wall in Hebron area, said that Israeli soldiers manning a military checkpoint at the entrance of the town of Beit Ommar, to the north of Hebron, stopped 24-year-old Mohammed Khalil Abu Dayyeh late Tuesday. The soldiers questioned Abu Dayyeh about the names of participants in anti-occupation rallies in the area. When Abu Dayyeh refused to provide the names, a Shin Bet officer given the Arab name of “Abu Sodqi” was called to the scene. The officer violently interrogated Abu Dayyeh. The officer forced the Palestinian youth to enter the nearby military tower and forced him at gunpoint to drink a bottle of wine. According to Awad, the Palestinian youth lost consciousness for at least two hours during which he remained lying on the tower's ground. After he regained consciousness, the spokesman said, the Israeli soldier threw him out. The Israeli occupation forces used similar measures against Palestinians in recent years. In one incident, a female Israeli soldier forced a Palestinian to drink a bottle of cleaning fluid at gunpoint. In two other incidents, the soldiers forced Palestinian youths to drink their urine and sewage water. Meanwhile, the Israeli army said that the Palestinian attacks against Israeli targets in the West Bank was on the rise. The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot quoted the Israeli Military Advocate General (MAG) as saying that the number of indictments filed against West Bank Palestinians on charges of the so-called “terror acts” has risen by 20 percent in 2012, compared to 2011. According to the report, the charges pertain to security issues and include planning of “terror attacks” and possession of weapons with intent to execute “terror attacks” but not public disturbances. The Israeli army said that the rise indicates a change from the five-year period between 2006 and 2011, which were considered quiet with regard to security issues in the West Bank. According to the data, if the rise continues at the same pace recorded since the beginning of 2013, the increase will hike to 50 percent as compared to 2011. The report said that the MAG objected to an Israeli Knesset initiative according to which Jewish occupiers suspected of “price tag” attacks against Palestinians will face trial in military court.
