IDF kills four unarmed Palestinians in West Bank

Two Palestinians were killed by Israel Defense Forces fire yesterday morning south of the West Bank city of Nablus, the second such incident in a 24-hour period in which four Palestinians were killed by IDF fire.

Troops apprehended the Palestinians, both 19, after settlers alerted them to the men's presence. The sergeant in charge said he fired the fatal shots after one of the men lunged at him with a glass bottle, and the other with a syringe he had found on the ground. The army will likely launch an investigation into at least one of the incidents. Advertisement


The incident occurred yesterday morning when Avri Ran, a settler living in the settlement outpost of Gidonim, spotted two Palestinians passing nearby. Ran alerted the outpost security coordinator, who in turn contacted the military.

An IDF Humvee arrived carrying four soldiers from Kfir's Nachshon Battalion under the command of a sergeant. The troops apprehended the Palestinians and seized two pickaxes they were carrying (one witness said the security coordinator himself confiscated them).

The Palestinians said they had been searching for metal next to a waterway with the intention of selling it. The sergeant asked for identification, but was told they had none. Instead, the Palestinians told him their identification numbers and he radioed them in to headquarters.

Read Full Report

Islamic Banks Unaffected by Global Financial Crisis

General Manager and board member of the Arab Finance House Dr. Fouad Nadim Matraji explained that Islamic banks have not been affected by the mortgage crisis that afflicted the international financial markets and that they are largely immune against such crisis thanks to inherent factors within Islamic banking. The most important of these factors is the prohibition of debt trading, taking precautions against money laundering, as well as the official and professional restraints upon which banks are based such as caution against embarking upon projects that entail financial difficulties and risks.

Dr. Matraji explained that Islamic banks have several alternatives [to conventional banking products] such as Ijarah Bitamlik [a renting contract that ends in ownership], Murabaha etc. which demonstrate that Islamic banking is a sound and systematic alternative banking system that others should take as an example. Islamic finance is expected to increase on the international level and its number of customers is also expected to rise as they search for an alternative [banking system].

Matraji added that Islamic banking is distinguished by a commitment to uphold integrity and its distancing from risky projects. He pointed out that this crisis has caused significant global inflation in world banks because they buy debts and enlarge accounts without tangible transactions taking place or without brokers being aware of them, highlighting that Islamic banks do not engage in such ventures.

Matraji added that only the profits of Islamic banks could be affected by the international financial crisis, but not the capital, which is protected by Islamic banking unlike conventional banks.

Full Article

Sallam Alaykum / Peace be unto you

Please share