15 jan 2015
Palestinian MP Fathi Hammad said Wednesday that the unity government and President Mahmoud Abbas are part of the siege on Gaza and an obstacle for reconstruction of the war-torn territory.
Hammad, a Hamas official, told Ma'an that the unity government must be held accountable for promising to hold elections within six months.
He also accused the unity government of failing to stand beside the people of Gaza and warned that the ongoing blockade could lead to a "popular explosion."
A Gaza-West Bank government was agreed upon by Hamas and the Fatah-led PLO in April, and was sworn in in June, ending seven years of political discord.
After it won legislative elections across Palestine in 2006 and violent clashes broke out between the movement and its rival Fatah party in 2007, Hamas declared sovereignty over Gaza.
Israel then severely tightened its restrictions on the Strip, leading to frequent humanitarian crises and outbreaks of violence between Gaza militants and Israeli forces.
Hammad, a Hamas official, told Ma'an that the unity government must be held accountable for promising to hold elections within six months.
He also accused the unity government of failing to stand beside the people of Gaza and warned that the ongoing blockade could lead to a "popular explosion."
A Gaza-West Bank government was agreed upon by Hamas and the Fatah-led PLO in April, and was sworn in in June, ending seven years of political discord.
After it won legislative elections across Palestine in 2006 and violent clashes broke out between the movement and its rival Fatah party in 2007, Hamas declared sovereignty over Gaza.
Israel then severely tightened its restrictions on the Strip, leading to frequent humanitarian crises and outbreaks of violence between Gaza militants and Israeli forces.
Israeli troops stationed in towers along the borders with the southern Gaza Strip near Khan Younis opened fire on Thursday at Palestinian fields while farmers were tending their lands, witnesses told Ma’an.
The Israeli soldiers reportedly fired from heavy machine guns at Palestinian fields in the outskirts of Khuza, al-Farahin and al-Qarara in eastern Khan Younis. No injuries have been reported but the farmers were forced to immediately leave their fields.
Israeli soldiers open fire across the borders almost every day because Palestinians allegedly come too close to a border fence. In many cases Palestinian farmers have been killed or injured.
Separately, Israeli soldiers at Erez crossing in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip detained a Gaza merchant as he tried to pass through the crossing. Locals identified him as Hassan Shirafi.
The Israeli soldiers reportedly fired from heavy machine guns at Palestinian fields in the outskirts of Khuza, al-Farahin and al-Qarara in eastern Khan Younis. No injuries have been reported but the farmers were forced to immediately leave their fields.
Israeli soldiers open fire across the borders almost every day because Palestinians allegedly come too close to a border fence. In many cases Palestinian farmers have been killed or injured.
Separately, Israeli soldiers at Erez crossing in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip detained a Gaza merchant as he tried to pass through the crossing. Locals identified him as Hassan Shirafi.
Member of Hamas's political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk said that placing obstacles in the way of reconstructing the Gaza Strip is aimed at forcing his Movement to yield to the Israeli occupation.
"The obstacles to the reconstruction of Gaza is aimed at forcing us to go to the Zionist entity," Abu Marzouk stated during a symposium on the rights of civil servants in Gaza on Wednesday evening.
"We have a severe water crisis in the Gaza Strip, and we probably will not find water to drink in 2020," the Hamas official said.
The besieged Strip suffers from multiple crises, most notably the lack of fuel, long hours of power outages, and the closure of border crossings before passengers and vital needs.
"The obstacles to the reconstruction of Gaza is aimed at forcing us to go to the Zionist entity," Abu Marzouk stated during a symposium on the rights of civil servants in Gaza on Wednesday evening.
"We have a severe water crisis in the Gaza Strip, and we probably will not find water to drink in 2020," the Hamas official said.
The besieged Strip suffers from multiple crises, most notably the lack of fuel, long hours of power outages, and the closure of border crossings before passengers and vital needs.
14 jan 2015
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided the northern area of the besieged strip of Gaza on Tuesday evening.
Eyewitnesses told a PIC reporter that a number of Israeli military vehicles advanced late yesterday to the east of the martyrs cemetery in Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli incursion was accompanied with heavy gunfire and overflights of reconnaissance drones in Gaza airspace, the sources added.
The Israeli army has notably intensified violations of the ceasefire agreement reached on August 26, between the IOF and resistance factions in Gaza under Egyptian auspices.
Eyewitnesses told a PIC reporter that a number of Israeli military vehicles advanced late yesterday to the east of the martyrs cemetery in Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli incursion was accompanied with heavy gunfire and overflights of reconnaissance drones in Gaza airspace, the sources added.
The Israeli army has notably intensified violations of the ceasefire agreement reached on August 26, between the IOF and resistance factions in Gaza under Egyptian auspices.
13 jan 2015
Israeli forces, on Tuesday, opened fire at Palestinian farmers and bird hunters east of Khan Younis, said witnesses.
Soldiers were deployed in vehicles along the border fence in the al-Fakhari area, southern Gaza Strip, where they fired at farmers.
No injuries were reported, according to Ma'an News Agency.
Ma'an further reports that, on Jan. 2, a 25-year-old man was shot in both feet from one of the watchtowers near the border with Israel, east of Jabaliya, in northern Gaza.
Israeli forces frequently shoot at farmers and other civilians inside the Gaza Strip, should they approach the large swathes of land near the border which the Israeli military has deemed off-limits to Palestinians.
The "security buffer zone" extends between 500 meters and 1,500 meters into the Strip, effectively turning local farms into no-go zones.
See related: 05/11/14 Farming Under Siege: Working the Land in Gaza
According to the UNOCHA, 17 percent of Gaza's total land area and 35 percent of its agricultural land were within the buffer zone, as of 2010, directly affecting the lives and livelihoods of more than 100,000 Gazans.
Soldiers were deployed in vehicles along the border fence in the al-Fakhari area, southern Gaza Strip, where they fired at farmers.
No injuries were reported, according to Ma'an News Agency.
Ma'an further reports that, on Jan. 2, a 25-year-old man was shot in both feet from one of the watchtowers near the border with Israel, east of Jabaliya, in northern Gaza.
Israeli forces frequently shoot at farmers and other civilians inside the Gaza Strip, should they approach the large swathes of land near the border which the Israeli military has deemed off-limits to Palestinians.
The "security buffer zone" extends between 500 meters and 1,500 meters into the Strip, effectively turning local farms into no-go zones.
See related: 05/11/14 Farming Under Siege: Working the Land in Gaza
According to the UNOCHA, 17 percent of Gaza's total land area and 35 percent of its agricultural land were within the buffer zone, as of 2010, directly affecting the lives and livelihoods of more than 100,000 Gazans.
Fadi Qudeih 18 months
After three infant deaths as a result of severe winter weather in the Gaza Strip, one and a half year-old Fadi Qudeih passed away on Tuesday, in a caravan house where his family lives.
According to the PNN, the child's home was demolished during the Israeli attacks on Gaza this past summer, upon which his family moved to live in a caravan, in the region of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.
The infant was found dead of severe cold, and moved to Nasser hospital.
The snow storm, Huda, which recently hit the region with temperatures that plummeted to some -4 degrees, has so far caused the deaths of at least five Palestinians, four of whom were infants between the ages of 1 month to 1.5 years old.
On Saturday, three-month-old Salma Al-Masri froze to death in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza.
Local sources also reported that a baby named Adel Al-Laham (one month old), who lived with his family in similar housing, died after the dramatic drop in temperature.
On Friday, two-month old Rahaf Abu-Assi died following the drop in temperature, after a snow storm hit the area last Tuesday.
Ahmed Lahham, age 22, from southern Gaza also died as a result of inappropriate housing, after the Israeli attack on Gaza which left half a million Gazans with no shelter.
Gaza Civil defense spokesman, Mohammed Meidane, said Saturday that the winter temperature fall caused the flooding of numerous homes, adding that about 152 homes were evacuated from the southern part of the Gaza Strip after water flooded their houses, adding that civil defense was able to protect only 47 homes threatened by floods.
After three infant deaths as a result of severe winter weather in the Gaza Strip, one and a half year-old Fadi Qudeih passed away on Tuesday, in a caravan house where his family lives.
According to the PNN, the child's home was demolished during the Israeli attacks on Gaza this past summer, upon which his family moved to live in a caravan, in the region of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.
The infant was found dead of severe cold, and moved to Nasser hospital.
The snow storm, Huda, which recently hit the region with temperatures that plummeted to some -4 degrees, has so far caused the deaths of at least five Palestinians, four of whom were infants between the ages of 1 month to 1.5 years old.
On Saturday, three-month-old Salma Al-Masri froze to death in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza.
Local sources also reported that a baby named Adel Al-Laham (one month old), who lived with his family in similar housing, died after the dramatic drop in temperature.
On Friday, two-month old Rahaf Abu-Assi died following the drop in temperature, after a snow storm hit the area last Tuesday.
Ahmed Lahham, age 22, from southern Gaza also died as a result of inappropriate housing, after the Israeli attack on Gaza which left half a million Gazans with no shelter.
Gaza Civil defense spokesman, Mohammed Meidane, said Saturday that the winter temperature fall caused the flooding of numerous homes, adding that about 152 homes were evacuated from the southern part of the Gaza Strip after water flooded their houses, adding that civil defense was able to protect only 47 homes threatened by floods.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo affirmed his
country’s commitment to supporting reconstruction of the Gaza Strip,
lifting the siege and accelerating the rebuilding process.
The Spanish top diplomat told a press conference held on Tuesday in Gaza City, “We are working on lifting the siege on the Strip to enable its people to live in dignity.
“We are also committed to supporting the reconstruction process”, he said.
Garcia-Margallo expressed regret regarding the humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza Strip, calling on the international community to act immediately to achieve peace and stability in the region.
During his brief stay, he visited one UNRWA-run school that is sheltering families displaced by Israel's devastating offensive on Gaza last summer.
United Nations for Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl, for his part, said many Gazans felt disappointed and frustrated by the slow pace of reconstruction.
“There are 15,000 Palestinians who are still sheltered in UNRWA schools waiting for their homes to be rebuilt. This has led to big disappointment”, he said.
He championed a speedy end to the siege on the Strip, noting that Israeli officials should be held accountable for the violations against Palestinians during Israel's seven-week military onslaught.
The UNRWA Commissioner General pointed out that the reconstruction of Gaza should not continue in the same slow pace, stressing the need that the year of 2015 should be a year of change.
Last July, Israel waged a seven week war on Gaza Strip where more than 2,000 were killed and 11,000 others injured.
The Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing announced that the total housing units affected by the Israeli war were estimated at 28,366.
The Spanish top diplomat told a press conference held on Tuesday in Gaza City, “We are working on lifting the siege on the Strip to enable its people to live in dignity.
“We are also committed to supporting the reconstruction process”, he said.
Garcia-Margallo expressed regret regarding the humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza Strip, calling on the international community to act immediately to achieve peace and stability in the region.
During his brief stay, he visited one UNRWA-run school that is sheltering families displaced by Israel's devastating offensive on Gaza last summer.
United Nations for Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl, for his part, said many Gazans felt disappointed and frustrated by the slow pace of reconstruction.
“There are 15,000 Palestinians who are still sheltered in UNRWA schools waiting for their homes to be rebuilt. This has led to big disappointment”, he said.
He championed a speedy end to the siege on the Strip, noting that Israeli officials should be held accountable for the violations against Palestinians during Israel's seven-week military onslaught.
The UNRWA Commissioner General pointed out that the reconstruction of Gaza should not continue in the same slow pace, stressing the need that the year of 2015 should be a year of change.
Last July, Israel waged a seven week war on Gaza Strip where more than 2,000 were killed and 11,000 others injured.
The Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing announced that the total housing units affected by the Israeli war were estimated at 28,366.
Economic Expert Omar Shaban called on the Norwegian government to bear its legal and moral responsibility toward the slow pace of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip as it was the country that took the initiative for the international donor conference Gaza reconstruction.
Shaban said, in a press release on Tuesday, the Norwegian government in general and its foreign minister in particular should have noticed the shameful slow pace in Gaza reconstruction.
He charged the government of Norway with handing the responsibility of a national task to the UN, thus making the Palestinian political system lose a golden opportunity to serve its people.
He pointed out that the Norwegian foreign minister was the first to call for and to sponsor the Donor Conference held in Cairo on October 12 last year.
The government of Norway should withdraw from this task in case it could not maintain its political stands in this regard, he concluded.
Shaban said, in a press release on Tuesday, the Norwegian government in general and its foreign minister in particular should have noticed the shameful slow pace in Gaza reconstruction.
He charged the government of Norway with handing the responsibility of a national task to the UN, thus making the Palestinian political system lose a golden opportunity to serve its people.
He pointed out that the Norwegian foreign minister was the first to call for and to sponsor the Donor Conference held in Cairo on October 12 last year.
The government of Norway should withdraw from this task in case it could not maintain its political stands in this regard, he concluded.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo arrived Tuesday morning in the Gaza Strip on a few hours visit to the Strip as part of his Middle East tour.
Quds Press reported that the Spanish FM Garcia-Margallo entered the Strip through Erez border crossing with Israel. He was accompanied with United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl and a Spanish media delegation of 25 pressmen.
For his part, the Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Ziyad Abu Amer along with high level figures welcomed Minister Garcia-Margallo at the Crossing.
The Spanish Minister is expected to check on the Palestinian refugees, who are being sheltered in Bahrain school in western Gaza due to the latest Israeli aggression.
The top Spanish diplomat is also expected to hold talks with ministers of the Palestinian unity government at the council of ministers’ headquarters in Gaza.
The Spanish foreign minister had visited the Gaza Strip in 2013 and got acquainted with conditions of Gaza’s people.
Recently, a number of European foreign ministers made visits to the Gaza Strip.
Quds Press reported that the Spanish FM Garcia-Margallo entered the Strip through Erez border crossing with Israel. He was accompanied with United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl and a Spanish media delegation of 25 pressmen.
For his part, the Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Ziyad Abu Amer along with high level figures welcomed Minister Garcia-Margallo at the Crossing.
The Spanish Minister is expected to check on the Palestinian refugees, who are being sheltered in Bahrain school in western Gaza due to the latest Israeli aggression.
The top Spanish diplomat is also expected to hold talks with ministers of the Palestinian unity government at the council of ministers’ headquarters in Gaza.
The Spanish foreign minister had visited the Gaza Strip in 2013 and got acquainted with conditions of Gaza’s people.
Recently, a number of European foreign ministers made visits to the Gaza Strip.
Head of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) Raji Sourani stated Monday that UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry’s plan for the reconstruction of Gaza institutionalizes Israel’s siege on the Strip.
During his meeting with the German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office Christoph Strässer, Sourani confirmed that the UN plan for the reconstruction of Gaza in coordination with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities is a new attempt to “institutionalize the siege”.
He warned that the siege has become strategic, saying that Gaza’s reconstruction is an impossible mission in light of the continued blockade.
The Palestinian human rights activist accused the unity government of not bearing its responsibilities towards the besieged Strip.
He also pointed out that the Egyptian authorities’ closure of the Rafah crossing has doubled the suffering of the people of Gaza.
Four months have passed since the end of Israeli summer aggression on Gaza, however nothing has been achieved as far as the reconstruction is concerned, he continued.
He briefed the German delegation about the human rights violations reported in the Strip after the last aggression, pointing to his center’s efforts along with a number of Palestinian human rights centers to prosecute Israeli war criminals and to document human rights violations with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He said that Israel has practiced and is still practicing “the law of the jungle” against the people of Gaza.
Sourani pointed to the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the besieged Strip, stressing the urgent need to provide international protection for the civilians in Gaza during times of war according to international laws and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
During his meeting with the German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office Christoph Strässer, Sourani confirmed that the UN plan for the reconstruction of Gaza in coordination with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities is a new attempt to “institutionalize the siege”.
He warned that the siege has become strategic, saying that Gaza’s reconstruction is an impossible mission in light of the continued blockade.
The Palestinian human rights activist accused the unity government of not bearing its responsibilities towards the besieged Strip.
He also pointed out that the Egyptian authorities’ closure of the Rafah crossing has doubled the suffering of the people of Gaza.
Four months have passed since the end of Israeli summer aggression on Gaza, however nothing has been achieved as far as the reconstruction is concerned, he continued.
He briefed the German delegation about the human rights violations reported in the Strip after the last aggression, pointing to his center’s efforts along with a number of Palestinian human rights centers to prosecute Israeli war criminals and to document human rights violations with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He said that Israel has practiced and is still practicing “the law of the jungle” against the people of Gaza.
Sourani pointed to the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the besieged Strip, stressing the urgent need to provide international protection for the civilians in Gaza during times of war according to international laws and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
U.S. President Barck Obama Monday briefed the Israeli premier on Washington’s positions vis-à-vis the latest Palestinian request to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Barack Obama spoke by phone on Monday with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu about ongoing nuclear talks with Iran and about the Palestinian move to join the ICC, the White House said.
"President Obama underscored that the United States does not believe Palestinian accession to the ICC is a constructive way forward," the White House said in a statement, reiterating the U.S. position that the Palestinian Authority is not a sovereign state and does not legally qualify to join the Rome Statute.
"The United States continues to strongly oppose actions by both parties that undermine trust, and encourages both sides to seek ways to deescalate tensions," the statement read.
Earlier, on Friday, the Palestinian delegation to the UN delivered the paperwork to Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Stephen Mathias, asking for membership in the ICC.
The Palestinians moved quickly to join the court after suffering a defeat at the U.N. Security Council, which rejected a resolution that would have set a three-year deadline for the end of the Israeli occupation.
Barack Obama spoke by phone on Monday with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu about ongoing nuclear talks with Iran and about the Palestinian move to join the ICC, the White House said.
"President Obama underscored that the United States does not believe Palestinian accession to the ICC is a constructive way forward," the White House said in a statement, reiterating the U.S. position that the Palestinian Authority is not a sovereign state and does not legally qualify to join the Rome Statute.
"The United States continues to strongly oppose actions by both parties that undermine trust, and encourages both sides to seek ways to deescalate tensions," the statement read.
Earlier, on Friday, the Palestinian delegation to the UN delivered the paperwork to Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Stephen Mathias, asking for membership in the ICC.
The Palestinians moved quickly to join the court after suffering a defeat at the U.N. Security Council, which rejected a resolution that would have set a three-year deadline for the end of the Israeli occupation.
Gaza’s Energy Authority Monday raised alarm bells over chronic power blackouts rocking the blockaded Gaza Strip due to acute shortages in fuel reserves.
Spokesperson for the Energy Authority, Ahmad Abu al-Amarein, said only 1.5 million liters of fuel were shipped last week to Gaza’s power plant, half of whose electricity generators need at least 300,000 liters per day to function properly.
“The quantity dispatched last week meets the requirements of no more than five days,” he warned.
“Hadn’t we been resorting to rationing as the ultimate emergency way-out of the crisis, Gaza’s power plant would cease to function starting on Thursday,” he added.
Al-Amarein further drew attention to the huge amounts of fuel and funds needed to work out the power crisis in besieged Gaza, saying that inflation in the price of Israeli fuel and the taxes imposed by the Ramallah-based authorities, along with the shrinkage in collected bill rates and the latest Israeli offensive on Gaza, have sparked an urgent appeal for emergency supplies.
Acute shortages in fuel have forced Gaza’s plant to work along the “12 hours off, six hours on” emergency schedule as a last resort aimed at assuaging the rolling electricity outages rocking the blockaded enclave.
Spokesperson for the Energy Authority, Ahmad Abu al-Amarein, said only 1.5 million liters of fuel were shipped last week to Gaza’s power plant, half of whose electricity generators need at least 300,000 liters per day to function properly.
“The quantity dispatched last week meets the requirements of no more than five days,” he warned.
“Hadn’t we been resorting to rationing as the ultimate emergency way-out of the crisis, Gaza’s power plant would cease to function starting on Thursday,” he added.
Al-Amarein further drew attention to the huge amounts of fuel and funds needed to work out the power crisis in besieged Gaza, saying that inflation in the price of Israeli fuel and the taxes imposed by the Ramallah-based authorities, along with the shrinkage in collected bill rates and the latest Israeli offensive on Gaza, have sparked an urgent appeal for emergency supplies.
Acute shortages in fuel have forced Gaza’s plant to work along the “12 hours off, six hours on” emergency schedule as a last resort aimed at assuaging the rolling electricity outages rocking the blockaded enclave.
Truce violations List of names Pictures of martyrs
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