Palestinian kid forced to drink sewage

6ssraeli soldiers have beaten up and made a Palestinian child drink sewage water after they caught him for alleged stone throwing in the West Bank City of al-Khalil.

According to a report published by the Palestinian Information Center on Thursday, the 15-year-old Sabri Awad was seized at the entrance to Beit Ummar Village, north of al-Khalil (Hebron), where a tight blockade has been imposed since last week.

All entries into the region have been sealed by interlocking concrete blocks and new military check points set up.

"Israeli troops handcuffed me and dragged me into an army jeep. They then hit me for nearly two hours before using me as a human shield to ward off stone throwing youths," Awad said.

He added that the troopers questioned him about hurling stones at Israeli forces, which he denied. After that, the adolescent forced him to drink sewage water. He vomited and the soldiers beat him again.

Sabri said Israeli soldiers finally threw him out of the jeep with a teargas canister and drove away.

Israel is holding captive 300 children in its detention facilities under harsh and life-threatening conditions.

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Vineyard flooded with settlement sewage

Hebron – Ma'an – Israeli settlers opened a sewage pipe running toward the Hebron-area town of Beit Ummar on Wednesday night, flooding a Palestinian vineyard with wastewater, local officials said.

By opening the sewage pipe, residents of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc destroyed some 70,000 square meters of the vineyard belonging to the Sabarneh family, experts visiting the site said.

The land, in the Wad Shakhat area of northern Beit Ummar, was ruined by the flood of sewage, along with the crop after it was contaminated by the untreated wastewater, land experts who arrived at the scene along with the village mayor said.

An Israeli Civil Administration representative confirmed the incident, saying a pump from the Kfar Etzion settlement stopped working due to a power malfunction and sewage overflowed from the network. The official said the matter was a mistake, and as soon as the Beit Ummar governor notified officials of the issue the problem was rectified.

Military officials said compensation for the mistake would likely have to be sought in court.

Residents of Beit Ummar said the mayor informed Israel's Civil Administration office of the incident, and that he asked Israeli police to investigate what was behind the disaster.

"As far as I know, the mayor of Kfar Etzion called and apologized," the Civil Administration representative said.