31 jan 2016
When the “intifada of the knives” set off in October, last year, Western reporters flooded into Jerusalem to cover the new “escalation,” to interview people from “both sides of the conflict”, and to raise several variations of the old question: “Is this the beginning of a third intifada?”
Inevitably, the journalists left, once a massive crackdown significantly reduced the number of deadly attacks against Israelis in the city. It is an all too familiar pattern for Palestinians, who know, by now, that it’s only an “escalation” when there are dead or wounded Israelis. Deaths, injuries, arrests and home demolitions inflicted on Palestinians, by Israel, are deemed business as usual, not worthy of further inquiry. The daily acts of collective punishment suffered by Palestinians in Jerusalem, and their slow ethnic cleansing, are too routine to be considered newsworthy.
The temporary checkpoints, closures and concrete blocks imposed during the crackdown may have gone, and the numbers of Israeli troops on the streets may have been reduced. Yet, the Israeli repression — and Palestinian resistance — remains.
Holding the dead hostage
One of Israel’s most troubling tactics is its withholding of the bodies of slain Palestinians.
In mid-October, the Israeli security cabinet endorsed several measures to quell the unrest. One involved reviving a decades-long policy of withholding the bodies of Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks. Since then, more than 80 bodies have been withheld. Israel began gradually releasing the bodies in late December, after weeks of mass protests, most notably in Hebron, but the bodies of 10 Palestinian Jerusalemites remain in Israeli morgues.
The families of Bahaa Alayan, Thaer Abu Ghazaleh, Hassan Manasra, Alaa Abu Jamal, Ahmad Abu Shaaban, Mutaz Uweisat, Omar Iskafi, Abd al-Mohsen Hassouna, Musab al-Ghazali and Muhammad Nimer are still battling for the right to lay their children to rest.
Exploiting the geographic and political isolation of Palestinians in Jerusalem, Israel has attached repressive conditions to the release of the bodies. Their families must bury them on the opposite side of the wall Israel has built around the city, limit the number of mourners present at burial, bury the dead only at certain late hours, and pay a surety in lieu of those conditions.
International apathy
Bahaa Alayan’s father Muhammad has led the popular campaign in Jerusalem protesting these measures.
“We are being deprived of our right to mourn, and Israel is using the dead bodies of our children to break us,” Alayan told The Electronic Intifada. “Yet the issue is not receiving a fraction of the coverage and attention it deserves.”
The 60-year-old lawyer believes that the families of Jerusalem’s martyrs have been completely abandoned by the Palestinian Authority. He struggles to understand the apathy of the Western media. None of the Western journalists who had approached him following his son’s killing, to ask why such a bright young man should carry out a knife attack, have bothered to come back and ask about Bahaa’s body, Muhammad said.
Had they done so, they would have found the Alayans sleeping in a makeshift tent next to the rubble of their house. The Alayan home is one of several demolished by Israel in retaliation for individual attacks. The policy of punitive home demolitions was also contained in the package of measures approved by Israel’s security cabinet in October, and has been endorsed by Israel’s high court.
Pushed to mobilize
The policies to withhold bodies of alleged attackers and demolish their families’ homes constitute some of the most egregious human rights violations against Palestinians in Jerusalem. But, they have also pushed the community to mobilize.
On 1 December, youth held a concert at the Palestinian National Theatre — also known as El-Hakawati — in support of parents with children in prison and those waiting for the release of their children’s bodies. The theater’s largest hall was filled to capacity; revenues were allocated to home reconstruction.
The communal solidarity, organized by residents in Jerusalem’s Shuafat refugee camp following the destruction of Ibrahim Akari’s home, was replicated throughout the West Bank, notably in Ramallah and Nablus.
There has been direct action, too. Inspired by Bahaa Alayan’s idea of forming a human chain, back in March of 2014, Palestinians did just that on 26 December. The chain encircled the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, with participants demanding the return of martyrs’ bodies before the peaceful protest was violently dispersed by Israeli forces.
Mobilizing mass protests, in the face of Israel’s extreme repression, has become even harder for Palestinians in Jerusalem, since October. Israel has deliberately targeted leading activists in the city by jailing them, putting them under house arrest, threatening arrest, or handing down orders to expel them from the city.
These measures did not stop Hijazi Abu Sbeih and Samer Abu Eisheh from setting up a protest tent in the yard of the International Committee of the Red Cross building, in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. While the tent was initially erected to provide the two with shelter, when they rejected Israel’s order to banish them from Jerusalem, it was soon transformed into a vibrant space of civil disobedience.
Moment of freedom
For nearly two weeks, the tent brimmed with energy and revolutionary spirit, free of factional divisions. Concerts were held there, along with public lectures and discussions.
More than providing support for the two protesters, those who attended were imbued with a rare sense of genuine, if short-lived, freedom. Here, they were able to sing, raise their voices against Israeli oppression, chant “I am not leaving,” immerse themselves in debate, and organize.
Palestinians are often asked about an alternative to their corrupt and failed leadership. Those who visited the tent could get a glimpse of what that could be like.
On 6 January, both Abu Eisheh and Abu Sbeih were arrested by special Israeli police units, on the Red Cross premises. The two have been charged with defying military orders and inciting violence via Facebook, Abu Eisheh’s lawyer, Mahmoud Hassan, told The Electronic Intifada.
The protest tent, and Israel’s arrest raid there, did not capture the attention of international journalists, even though these nonviolent forms of resistance and Israel’s crackdown on them are at the heart of Jerusalem’s story.
One cannot yet speak of an organized mass movement among Palestinians. But, this current uprising has much more to it than knife attacks waged by individuals. And, Israel’s repression goes far beyond bullets and checkpoints.
Inevitably, the journalists left, once a massive crackdown significantly reduced the number of deadly attacks against Israelis in the city. It is an all too familiar pattern for Palestinians, who know, by now, that it’s only an “escalation” when there are dead or wounded Israelis. Deaths, injuries, arrests and home demolitions inflicted on Palestinians, by Israel, are deemed business as usual, not worthy of further inquiry. The daily acts of collective punishment suffered by Palestinians in Jerusalem, and their slow ethnic cleansing, are too routine to be considered newsworthy.
The temporary checkpoints, closures and concrete blocks imposed during the crackdown may have gone, and the numbers of Israeli troops on the streets may have been reduced. Yet, the Israeli repression — and Palestinian resistance — remains.
Holding the dead hostage
One of Israel’s most troubling tactics is its withholding of the bodies of slain Palestinians.
In mid-October, the Israeli security cabinet endorsed several measures to quell the unrest. One involved reviving a decades-long policy of withholding the bodies of Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks. Since then, more than 80 bodies have been withheld. Israel began gradually releasing the bodies in late December, after weeks of mass protests, most notably in Hebron, but the bodies of 10 Palestinian Jerusalemites remain in Israeli morgues.
The families of Bahaa Alayan, Thaer Abu Ghazaleh, Hassan Manasra, Alaa Abu Jamal, Ahmad Abu Shaaban, Mutaz Uweisat, Omar Iskafi, Abd al-Mohsen Hassouna, Musab al-Ghazali and Muhammad Nimer are still battling for the right to lay their children to rest.
Exploiting the geographic and political isolation of Palestinians in Jerusalem, Israel has attached repressive conditions to the release of the bodies. Their families must bury them on the opposite side of the wall Israel has built around the city, limit the number of mourners present at burial, bury the dead only at certain late hours, and pay a surety in lieu of those conditions.
International apathy
Bahaa Alayan’s father Muhammad has led the popular campaign in Jerusalem protesting these measures.
“We are being deprived of our right to mourn, and Israel is using the dead bodies of our children to break us,” Alayan told The Electronic Intifada. “Yet the issue is not receiving a fraction of the coverage and attention it deserves.”
The 60-year-old lawyer believes that the families of Jerusalem’s martyrs have been completely abandoned by the Palestinian Authority. He struggles to understand the apathy of the Western media. None of the Western journalists who had approached him following his son’s killing, to ask why such a bright young man should carry out a knife attack, have bothered to come back and ask about Bahaa’s body, Muhammad said.
Had they done so, they would have found the Alayans sleeping in a makeshift tent next to the rubble of their house. The Alayan home is one of several demolished by Israel in retaliation for individual attacks. The policy of punitive home demolitions was also contained in the package of measures approved by Israel’s security cabinet in October, and has been endorsed by Israel’s high court.
Pushed to mobilize
The policies to withhold bodies of alleged attackers and demolish their families’ homes constitute some of the most egregious human rights violations against Palestinians in Jerusalem. But, they have also pushed the community to mobilize.
On 1 December, youth held a concert at the Palestinian National Theatre — also known as El-Hakawati — in support of parents with children in prison and those waiting for the release of their children’s bodies. The theater’s largest hall was filled to capacity; revenues were allocated to home reconstruction.
The communal solidarity, organized by residents in Jerusalem’s Shuafat refugee camp following the destruction of Ibrahim Akari’s home, was replicated throughout the West Bank, notably in Ramallah and Nablus.
There has been direct action, too. Inspired by Bahaa Alayan’s idea of forming a human chain, back in March of 2014, Palestinians did just that on 26 December. The chain encircled the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, with participants demanding the return of martyrs’ bodies before the peaceful protest was violently dispersed by Israeli forces.
Mobilizing mass protests, in the face of Israel’s extreme repression, has become even harder for Palestinians in Jerusalem, since October. Israel has deliberately targeted leading activists in the city by jailing them, putting them under house arrest, threatening arrest, or handing down orders to expel them from the city.
These measures did not stop Hijazi Abu Sbeih and Samer Abu Eisheh from setting up a protest tent in the yard of the International Committee of the Red Cross building, in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. While the tent was initially erected to provide the two with shelter, when they rejected Israel’s order to banish them from Jerusalem, it was soon transformed into a vibrant space of civil disobedience.
Moment of freedom
For nearly two weeks, the tent brimmed with energy and revolutionary spirit, free of factional divisions. Concerts were held there, along with public lectures and discussions.
More than providing support for the two protesters, those who attended were imbued with a rare sense of genuine, if short-lived, freedom. Here, they were able to sing, raise their voices against Israeli oppression, chant “I am not leaving,” immerse themselves in debate, and organize.
Palestinians are often asked about an alternative to their corrupt and failed leadership. Those who visited the tent could get a glimpse of what that could be like.
On 6 January, both Abu Eisheh and Abu Sbeih were arrested by special Israeli police units, on the Red Cross premises. The two have been charged with defying military orders and inciting violence via Facebook, Abu Eisheh’s lawyer, Mahmoud Hassan, told The Electronic Intifada.
The protest tent, and Israel’s arrest raid there, did not capture the attention of international journalists, even though these nonviolent forms of resistance and Israel’s crackdown on them are at the heart of Jerusalem’s story.
One cannot yet speak of an organized mass movement among Palestinians. But, this current uprising has much more to it than knife attacks waged by individuals. And, Israel’s repression goes far beyond bullets and checkpoints.
The Israeli occupation government is set to vote on Sunday on a proposed bill to expand the Buraq Wall Square. According to the Israeli Nrg news site the government is expected to vote on a bill for a set of construction and reconstruction projects at the Buraq Square.
The 35-million-shekel cost for erecting the new prayer space will be paid by the Prime Minister’s Office and the ministries of Diaspora Affairs and Tourism and Finance. No Israeli rabbi will be consulted for approval over such a projected bid, the same source added.
The project makes part of new Israeli Judaization projects across the holy occupied city of Jerusalem and Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque so as to wipe out the city’s Islamic identity.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on early Sunday morning prevented the reconstruction committee at the Endowment Department from renovating a terrace near the Silsila Gate at al-Aqsa Mosque.
Director of the al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar Kiswani, slammed the Israeli occupation for meddling in the affairs of the Endowment Department, saying such misdemeanors aim at holding sway over the Mosque.
Eyewitnesses said the IOF cordoned off the reconstruction scene and prevented the staff from carrying out their work, forcing them out of the area. The IOF also cracked down on the Muslim worshipers at al-Aqsa and provocatively took pictures of them. The occupation troops further seized the IDs of Muslim women and youths at the main entrances to al-Aqsa.
The 35-million-shekel cost for erecting the new prayer space will be paid by the Prime Minister’s Office and the ministries of Diaspora Affairs and Tourism and Finance. No Israeli rabbi will be consulted for approval over such a projected bid, the same source added.
The project makes part of new Israeli Judaization projects across the holy occupied city of Jerusalem and Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque so as to wipe out the city’s Islamic identity.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on early Sunday morning prevented the reconstruction committee at the Endowment Department from renovating a terrace near the Silsila Gate at al-Aqsa Mosque.
Director of the al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar Kiswani, slammed the Israeli occupation for meddling in the affairs of the Endowment Department, saying such misdemeanors aim at holding sway over the Mosque.
Eyewitnesses said the IOF cordoned off the reconstruction scene and prevented the staff from carrying out their work, forcing them out of the area. The IOF also cracked down on the Muslim worshipers at al-Aqsa and provocatively took pictures of them. The occupation troops further seized the IDs of Muslim women and youths at the main entrances to al-Aqsa.
The Quds University slammed on Saturday the Israeli occupation for having assaulted the campus and wreaked havoc on its properties, vowing that its academic mission will keep going despite Israeli vandalism.
The Quds University administration said in a press conference in al-Bireh the Israeli occupation army has stormed the campus on several earlier occasions and used bullet fire and explosives, inflicting remarkable material damage on the university.
Vice President of the Quds University for Communication and Development, Hassan Dweik, said Israeli assaults on the campus make part of preplanned schemes against Jerusalem’s only university.
Dweik warned of the serious repercussions of such attacks on the students’ intellectual potentials and academic career. Earlier, on Friday morning, the Israeli occupation patrols rolled into the Quds University, in Abu Dis, and rummaged into the campus after they locked up the supervision staff in a single classroom.
The Quds University administration said in a press conference in al-Bireh the Israeli occupation army has stormed the campus on several earlier occasions and used bullet fire and explosives, inflicting remarkable material damage on the university.
Vice President of the Quds University for Communication and Development, Hassan Dweik, said Israeli assaults on the campus make part of preplanned schemes against Jerusalem’s only university.
Dweik warned of the serious repercussions of such attacks on the students’ intellectual potentials and academic career. Earlier, on Friday morning, the Israeli occupation patrols rolled into the Quds University, in Abu Dis, and rummaged into the campus after they locked up the supervision staff in a single classroom.
National factions in the occupied West Bank cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh on Saturday called for keeping up the anti-occupation uprising and resistance until the Israeli occupation is ousted.
Palestinian national factions said in a joint statement following a meeting in Ramallah that Palestinians’ national struggle against the Israeli occupation will continue no matter how aggressive the Israeli policies and practices turn out to be.
The statement spoke out against Israel’s cold-blooded mass-murder of Palestinian youths and the striking surge in illegal settlement construction across the occupied Palestinian territories. “None of such crimes shall prevent our people from making a step forward until all of our legitimate rights to freedom and independence see the day,” the statement read.
It called on the international community to immediately step in and urge the Israeli occupation to cease its aggressions against the Palestinians by mobilizing mass support for the boycott campaigns and imposing sanctions on the Israeli occupation.
Meanwhile, the meeting culminated in the announcement of a series of protest moves in solidarity with the Palestinian journalist Muhammad al-Qeiq, whose hunger-strike has entered its 67th day in protest at being held administratively in Israeli jails. The factions further called for stepping up protests and confrontations across all flashpoints on Friday in response to the simmering wave of terror by the occupation army and settlers.
The groups hailed the Palestinians in 1948 Occupied Palestine on the occasion of the International Day to support the rights of Palestinians in the territories which Israel occupied in 1948.
Palestinian national factions said in a joint statement following a meeting in Ramallah that Palestinians’ national struggle against the Israeli occupation will continue no matter how aggressive the Israeli policies and practices turn out to be.
The statement spoke out against Israel’s cold-blooded mass-murder of Palestinian youths and the striking surge in illegal settlement construction across the occupied Palestinian territories. “None of such crimes shall prevent our people from making a step forward until all of our legitimate rights to freedom and independence see the day,” the statement read.
It called on the international community to immediately step in and urge the Israeli occupation to cease its aggressions against the Palestinians by mobilizing mass support for the boycott campaigns and imposing sanctions on the Israeli occupation.
Meanwhile, the meeting culminated in the announcement of a series of protest moves in solidarity with the Palestinian journalist Muhammad al-Qeiq, whose hunger-strike has entered its 67th day in protest at being held administratively in Israeli jails. The factions further called for stepping up protests and confrontations across all flashpoints on Friday in response to the simmering wave of terror by the occupation army and settlers.
The groups hailed the Palestinians in 1948 Occupied Palestine on the occasion of the International Day to support the rights of Palestinians in the territories which Israel occupied in 1948.
29 jan 2016
Israeli forces, on Thursday, closed a main road west of Ramallah city, which connects 20 villages to the economic and cultural hub, the mayor of Ramallah said.
Ras Karqar Bahjat Samhan said Israeli troops closed the road with large concrete blocks without prior notice, preventing residents from being able to access Ramallah city, in the central occupied West Bank. He added that the closure affects 45,000 Palestinians from 20 villages and neighborhoods from reaching their families, work, universities and schools.
A spokesperson with Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) did not immediately respond for comment on the closure, according to Ma'an.
On Sunday, the mayor said Israeli forces also closed the road between Beit Owr junction and route 443 which separates five other villages from Ramallah city.
Roadblocks, temporary checkpoints, and security checks upon entrance and exit into many Palestinian villages and towns are among the increased restrictions that Israeli forces have initiated since a wave of unrest swept the region at the start of October.
Israel’s security cabinet in November 2015 gave the Israeli army the liberty to seal Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank without first receiving approval from the government.
A senior Israeli official told Israeli daily Haaretz, at the time, that military commanders would be authorized to independently implement the total closures while “searching for suspected terrorists.”
The military was already carrying out the decision without such approval prior to the cabinet's meeting, the report added.
Ras Karqar Bahjat Samhan said Israeli troops closed the road with large concrete blocks without prior notice, preventing residents from being able to access Ramallah city, in the central occupied West Bank. He added that the closure affects 45,000 Palestinians from 20 villages and neighborhoods from reaching their families, work, universities and schools.
A spokesperson with Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) did not immediately respond for comment on the closure, according to Ma'an.
On Sunday, the mayor said Israeli forces also closed the road between Beit Owr junction and route 443 which separates five other villages from Ramallah city.
Roadblocks, temporary checkpoints, and security checks upon entrance and exit into many Palestinian villages and towns are among the increased restrictions that Israeli forces have initiated since a wave of unrest swept the region at the start of October.
Israel’s security cabinet in November 2015 gave the Israeli army the liberty to seal Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank without first receiving approval from the government.
A senior Israeli official told Israeli daily Haaretz, at the time, that military commanders would be authorized to independently implement the total closures while “searching for suspected terrorists.”
The military was already carrying out the decision without such approval prior to the cabinet's meeting, the report added.
Preacher of the holy al-Aqsa Mosque and the Head of the Islamic Supreme Council, Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, warned, on Wednesday, of an Israeli plan to knock down over 30,000 Palestinian homes in the holy occupied city of Jerusalem.
Sabri said in an exclusive statement to the PIC, the Israeli occupation demolished five Palestinian homes over the past couple of days and arrested dozens of Palestinian youths.
Sheikh Sabri spoke out against the preplanned demolition policies pursued by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian homes under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
He further denounced the demolition of the family homes of slain Palestinian anti-occupation activists, dubbing it a policy of collective punishment against the Palestinians.
The preacher added that 54 Palestinian homes had been subjected to arbitrary demolition since the start of 2016. Sheikh Sabri said a popular campaign is set to kick off on February 8, to collect donations for the reconstruction of the demolished homes. He further warned of the ongoing Israeli aggression and sacrilegious schemes on Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sabri said in an exclusive statement to the PIC, the Israeli occupation demolished five Palestinian homes over the past couple of days and arrested dozens of Palestinian youths.
Sheikh Sabri spoke out against the preplanned demolition policies pursued by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian homes under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
He further denounced the demolition of the family homes of slain Palestinian anti-occupation activists, dubbing it a policy of collective punishment against the Palestinians.
The preacher added that 54 Palestinian homes had been subjected to arbitrary demolition since the start of 2016. Sheikh Sabri said a popular campaign is set to kick off on February 8, to collect donations for the reconstruction of the demolished homes. He further warned of the ongoing Israeli aggression and sacrilegious schemes on Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
Hamas on Thursday called on the Palestinian masses to rally around armed resistance and rebuff all forms of security coordination with the Israeli occupation.
Speaking in a statement to mourn the seven resistance fighters who died when a tunnel they were rebuilding collapsed, Hamas urged Arabs and Muslims to back up the Palestinian resistance with all means possible and speak up against Gaza’s enemies.
“These men died as they were preparing for anti-occupation resistance. They have sacrificed their souls to defend their land and holy sites,” the statement read.
“They are the source of the nation’s honor,” Hamas said, adding that those who have remained mum over the Israeli crimes and have been propping up security coordination are the nation’s true enemies.
“Armed resistance is the only road towards the liberation of Palestine. Our people’s sacrifices shall never go in vain,” the group further stated.
Seven members of Hamas's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, died when a tunnel built for fighting against the Israeli occupation forces collapsed this week in the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The group identified those who died in the tunnel as Thabet al-Rifi, 25, Ghazwan al-Shubaki, 25, Izz al-Din Qassem, 21, Wassim Hassouneh, 19, Mahmoud Basal, 25, Nidal Odeh, 24, and Jaafar Hamadeh, 23, all of whom had been working on rebuilding the tunnel at the time of the accident.
Speaking in a statement to mourn the seven resistance fighters who died when a tunnel they were rebuilding collapsed, Hamas urged Arabs and Muslims to back up the Palestinian resistance with all means possible and speak up against Gaza’s enemies.
“These men died as they were preparing for anti-occupation resistance. They have sacrificed their souls to defend their land and holy sites,” the statement read.
“They are the source of the nation’s honor,” Hamas said, adding that those who have remained mum over the Israeli crimes and have been propping up security coordination are the nation’s true enemies.
“Armed resistance is the only road towards the liberation of Palestine. Our people’s sacrifices shall never go in vain,” the group further stated.
Seven members of Hamas's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, died when a tunnel built for fighting against the Israeli occupation forces collapsed this week in the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The group identified those who died in the tunnel as Thabet al-Rifi, 25, Ghazwan al-Shubaki, 25, Izz al-Din Qassem, 21, Wassim Hassouneh, 19, Mahmoud Basal, 25, Nidal Odeh, 24, and Jaafar Hamadeh, 23, all of whom had been working on rebuilding the tunnel at the time of the accident.
28 jan 2016
Israel has accused UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of encouraging "terror" by suggesting that alleged knife attacks by Palestinian youth were a natural reaction to Israel’s heavy-handed occupation.
"The UN lost its neutrality and moral force a long time ago and the secretary-general's remarks do not improve the situation," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
"The Palestinian murderers do not want to build a state -- they want to destroy a state," he added. Israel insists that an ongoing wave of violence seen since last October -- in which more than 160 Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli forces after alleged attacks or during protests -- was the result of "incitement" on social media.
Over the same period, 30 Israelis and foreigners have been killed in the violence, Anadlou/Al Ray reports.
Ban, for his part, speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council, attributed the violence to mounting Palestinian frustration and a stalled peace process.
"It is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism," the UN chief said.
“Progress towards peace requires a freeze of Israel’s settlement enterprise,” Ban said in an address to the UN Security Council's periodic Middle East debate at the UN headquarters in New York, on Tuesday.
Ban also described the Tel Aviv regime’s continued settlement activities "an affront to the Palestinian people and to the international community."
According to Press TV, the UN chief also expressed concern over plans by the Israeli regime to build over 150 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and to confiscate 380 acres (154 hectares) of agricultural land in the Jordan Valley, near the West Bank city of Jericho.
“These provocative acts are bound to increase the growth of settler populations, further heighten tensions and undermine any prospects for a political road ahead,” he added.
Over half a million Israelis now live in more than 230 illegal settlements built, since the 1967 Israeli occupation.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settler units as illegal.
Ban’s comments were welcomed by Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, who called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its occupation. "Israel must be held to account for its actions if the international community wants to preserve the two-state solution [based on] on the 1967 borders," he said.
"[Israel] carries out a plan to destroy the two-state option and replace it with a country with two systems of apartheid," Erekat added.
In recent months, Israel has become enmeshed in a growing war of words with the international community, which has recently stepped up criticism of Israeli policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians and settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Last week, Israeli officials slammed U.S. Ambassador Daniel Shapiro for accusing the Jewish state of employing a "two-tier" legal system.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom also drew Israeli ire, earlier this month, after calling for an investigation into whether alleged Palestinian attackers had been victims of extrajudicial murder by Israeli forces.
The biggest falling out, however, has been that between Israel and the EU after the latter approved new rules for designating imported goods produced in illegal West Bank settlements.
Last week, EU foreign ministers ratified a resolution approving the new rules and deeming ongoing Israeli settlement activity on confiscated Palestinian land as illegal.
Israel, for its part, responded by threatening to bar the EU from playing a role in the stalled peace process.
- Anees Barghouti contributed to this report from Ramallah.
"The UN lost its neutrality and moral force a long time ago and the secretary-general's remarks do not improve the situation," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
"The Palestinian murderers do not want to build a state -- they want to destroy a state," he added. Israel insists that an ongoing wave of violence seen since last October -- in which more than 160 Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli forces after alleged attacks or during protests -- was the result of "incitement" on social media.
Over the same period, 30 Israelis and foreigners have been killed in the violence, Anadlou/Al Ray reports.
Ban, for his part, speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council, attributed the violence to mounting Palestinian frustration and a stalled peace process.
"It is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism," the UN chief said.
“Progress towards peace requires a freeze of Israel’s settlement enterprise,” Ban said in an address to the UN Security Council's periodic Middle East debate at the UN headquarters in New York, on Tuesday.
Ban also described the Tel Aviv regime’s continued settlement activities "an affront to the Palestinian people and to the international community."
According to Press TV, the UN chief also expressed concern over plans by the Israeli regime to build over 150 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and to confiscate 380 acres (154 hectares) of agricultural land in the Jordan Valley, near the West Bank city of Jericho.
“These provocative acts are bound to increase the growth of settler populations, further heighten tensions and undermine any prospects for a political road ahead,” he added.
Over half a million Israelis now live in more than 230 illegal settlements built, since the 1967 Israeli occupation.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settler units as illegal.
Ban’s comments were welcomed by Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, who called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its occupation. "Israel must be held to account for its actions if the international community wants to preserve the two-state solution [based on] on the 1967 borders," he said.
"[Israel] carries out a plan to destroy the two-state option and replace it with a country with two systems of apartheid," Erekat added.
In recent months, Israel has become enmeshed in a growing war of words with the international community, which has recently stepped up criticism of Israeli policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians and settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Last week, Israeli officials slammed U.S. Ambassador Daniel Shapiro for accusing the Jewish state of employing a "two-tier" legal system.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom also drew Israeli ire, earlier this month, after calling for an investigation into whether alleged Palestinian attackers had been victims of extrajudicial murder by Israeli forces.
The biggest falling out, however, has been that between Israel and the EU after the latter approved new rules for designating imported goods produced in illegal West Bank settlements.
Last week, EU foreign ministers ratified a resolution approving the new rules and deeming ongoing Israeli settlement activity on confiscated Palestinian land as illegal.
Israel, for its part, responded by threatening to bar the EU from playing a role in the stalled peace process.
- Anees Barghouti contributed to this report from Ramallah.
Hamas has launched calls for mass participation in a rally set to be staged Friday in solidarity with the Palestinian hunger-striker Muhammad al-Qeiq and in support for the anti-occupation uprising.
The solidarity rally is set to kick off after noon prayers from al-Haras Mosque in support for prisoner al-Qeiq, whose hunger strike has entered its 65th day.
A rally was, meanwhile, held in Nablus on Thursday by the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) and the Prisoners’ Committee, among other human rights institutions, in solidarity with al-Qeiq.
Ex-hunger-striking detainee Muhammad Allan said al-Qeiq is on the verge of death as his health status has entered a critical downturn.
Allan called on the Palestinian Authority and the international human rights bodies to urgently step in and urge the Israeli occupation to release al-Qeiq before it is too late.
Allan further called on the Palestinian resistance in Gaza to exert pressure on the Israeli occupation and hold it responsible for al-Qeiq’s life.
Head of the PPS in Nablus, Raed Amer, also said that the Israeli occupation authorities have been dragging their feet over al-Qeiq’s case despite his very critical health status.
The solidarity rally is set to kick off after noon prayers from al-Haras Mosque in support for prisoner al-Qeiq, whose hunger strike has entered its 65th day.
A rally was, meanwhile, held in Nablus on Thursday by the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) and the Prisoners’ Committee, among other human rights institutions, in solidarity with al-Qeiq.
Ex-hunger-striking detainee Muhammad Allan said al-Qeiq is on the verge of death as his health status has entered a critical downturn.
Allan called on the Palestinian Authority and the international human rights bodies to urgently step in and urge the Israeli occupation to release al-Qeiq before it is too late.
Allan further called on the Palestinian resistance in Gaza to exert pressure on the Israeli occupation and hold it responsible for al-Qeiq’s life.
Head of the PPS in Nablus, Raed Amer, also said that the Israeli occupation authorities have been dragging their feet over al-Qeiq’s case despite his very critical health status.
Saudi Arabia asked the UN Security Council to approve a program of international protection in the occupied Palestinian territories including Occupied Jerusalem in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention and the related international legislative resolutions.
The permanent representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Abdallah bin Yahya Al-Moallimi affirmed, in a speech before the Security Council Tuesday night on the Middle East file including the Palestinian Question, that the Palestinian Question has always been on top of the interests of Saudi Arabia.
He asked the UN Security Council to condemn the Israeli systematic terrorism of killing Palestinians by the Israeli army as well as Israeli practices of Judaization, settlement building, ceaseless ethnic cleansing, and war crimes against humanity.
Moallimi affirmed that Israel has been carrying on the use of lethal force against Palestinians in addition to torture and abuse of women and children as a result of not prosecuting Israeli leaders.
He also slammed the continuation of the siege on Gaza as well as the Judaization of Occupied Jerusalem and Palestinians’ holy places.
Moallimi called on the Security Council to support the efforts being exerted to put a time schedule to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian land and occupied territories in Lebanon and the Syrian Golan Heights.
The permanent representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Abdallah bin Yahya Al-Moallimi affirmed, in a speech before the Security Council Tuesday night on the Middle East file including the Palestinian Question, that the Palestinian Question has always been on top of the interests of Saudi Arabia.
He asked the UN Security Council to condemn the Israeli systematic terrorism of killing Palestinians by the Israeli army as well as Israeli practices of Judaization, settlement building, ceaseless ethnic cleansing, and war crimes against humanity.
Moallimi affirmed that Israel has been carrying on the use of lethal force against Palestinians in addition to torture and abuse of women and children as a result of not prosecuting Israeli leaders.
He also slammed the continuation of the siege on Gaza as well as the Judaization of Occupied Jerusalem and Palestinians’ holy places.
Moallimi called on the Security Council to support the efforts being exerted to put a time schedule to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian land and occupied territories in Lebanon and the Syrian Golan Heights.
Director of Hamas's international relations Osama Hamdan has said that al-Quds intifada (uprising) has exceeded all timescales set by the occupation to end it.
In press remarks, Hamdan stated that the current intifada had offered so many martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the holy sites.
"The most important idea in this uprising that it has shattered the belief that there is a vincible Palestinian generation because the occupation wagered on breaking the will of the Palestinian generations," the Hamas official said.
He also slammed the recent remarks made by Palestinian Authority intelligence director Majed Faraj about his security collaboration with the Israeli occupation and described it as "shameful."
Hamdan also criticized president Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) for his meeting with mothers and families of Israeli settlers and soldiers killed in martyrdom or resistance attacks.
"Abu Mazen has mourned his people's killers, while we did not hear that he or his authority conducted meetings with the families of al-intifada martyrs," he said.
In press remarks, Hamdan stated that the current intifada had offered so many martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the holy sites.
"The most important idea in this uprising that it has shattered the belief that there is a vincible Palestinian generation because the occupation wagered on breaking the will of the Palestinian generations," the Hamas official said.
He also slammed the recent remarks made by Palestinian Authority intelligence director Majed Faraj about his security collaboration with the Israeli occupation and described it as "shameful."
Hamdan also criticized president Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) for his meeting with mothers and families of Israeli settlers and soldiers killed in martyrdom or resistance attacks.
"Abu Mazen has mourned his people's killers, while we did not hear that he or his authority conducted meetings with the families of al-intifada martyrs," he said.
Qatar has warned of Israel's persistence in blockading the Gaza Strip, expanding its settlements, and Judaizing the holy sites in Jerusalem, and committing many violations against the Palestinians and their land.
Qatar demanded the UN Security Council to compel Israel to respect the international law, to express its rejection clearly of all Israeli illegal practices, and to necessarily take all measures to stop such violations, and provide the Palestinian people with international protection.
This came in a statement read on Wednesday by ambassador Alya Al Thani, Qatar's permanent representative to the UN, during a session held by the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East and Palestine.
Qatar expressed its deep concern that Israel's ongoing violations would escalate the tension in Palestine and undermine any chance for a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The statement underlined that Qatar had spared no effort to achieve peace and stability in the region and employed its different capabilities to provide humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians and deal with the impacts of Israel's aggression and blockade in Gaza.
The statement also highlighted the projects which Qatar had accomplished in Gaza, including the hospital of Sheikh Hamed, hundreds of housing units, and roads.
Qatar urged the Security Council to assume its responsibilities towards achieving a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East and work on ending Israel's occupation of all Arab lands and restoring the Palestinian people's rights.
Qatar demanded the UN Security Council to compel Israel to respect the international law, to express its rejection clearly of all Israeli illegal practices, and to necessarily take all measures to stop such violations, and provide the Palestinian people with international protection.
This came in a statement read on Wednesday by ambassador Alya Al Thani, Qatar's permanent representative to the UN, during a session held by the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East and Palestine.
Qatar expressed its deep concern that Israel's ongoing violations would escalate the tension in Palestine and undermine any chance for a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The statement underlined that Qatar had spared no effort to achieve peace and stability in the region and employed its different capabilities to provide humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians and deal with the impacts of Israel's aggression and blockade in Gaza.
The statement also highlighted the projects which Qatar had accomplished in Gaza, including the hospital of Sheikh Hamed, hundreds of housing units, and roads.
Qatar urged the Security Council to assume its responsibilities towards achieving a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East and work on ending Israel's occupation of all Arab lands and restoring the Palestinian people's rights.
27 jan 2016
Safa press agency on Tuesday quoted local sources as saying that there is an agreement between former leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Palestinian Authority intelligence apparatus for the sake of creating disorders and living crises in preparation for civil disobedience in Gaza.
The sources, who asked not to be identified, said that the agreement comes within organized moves to end Jerusalem Intifada and resistance in the West Bank.
Safa agency pointed out that a prominent PFLP leader is leading a committee formed by him along with some of the former officials of the movement as well as other Palestinian figures toward this goal.
The plan includes organization of marches in Gaza Strip to influence the public opinion as well as playing mutual roles with the PA’s intelligence apparatus in the West Bank in creating several crises in Gaza in the fields of electricity, gas, health, and Rafah border crossing.
The sources, who asked not to be identified, said that the agreement comes within organized moves to end Jerusalem Intifada and resistance in the West Bank.
Safa agency pointed out that a prominent PFLP leader is leading a committee formed by him along with some of the former officials of the movement as well as other Palestinian figures toward this goal.
The plan includes organization of marches in Gaza Strip to influence the public opinion as well as playing mutual roles with the PA’s intelligence apparatus in the West Bank in creating several crises in Gaza in the fields of electricity, gas, health, and Rafah border crossing.
Israeli military court of Salem a few days ago sentenced the Palestinian citizen Mamdouh Abdulhaq, 25, from Nablus, with 14 months of actual imprisonment and 18 months of suspended sentence for the charge of incitement on Facebook.
The father of the captive told the PIC reporter that the court convicted his son with 21 charges including belonging to Hamas Movement and incitement against occupation by publishing Sheikh Ahmad Yassin's photos as well as posting calls for participation in anti-occupation marches on his Facebook page.
The Palestinian captive Abdulhaq was arrested after storming his home on November, 30, 2015. He is an ex-detainee as he served two years of imprisonment under administrative detention with no trial or charge in Israeli jails.
The father of the captive told the PIC reporter that the court convicted his son with 21 charges including belonging to Hamas Movement and incitement against occupation by publishing Sheikh Ahmad Yassin's photos as well as posting calls for participation in anti-occupation marches on his Facebook page.
The Palestinian captive Abdulhaq was arrested after storming his home on November, 30, 2015. He is an ex-detainee as he served two years of imprisonment under administrative detention with no trial or charge in Israeli jails.
26 jan 2016
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) warned on Monday of underway attempts to suppress the Jerusalem Intifada, calling for keeping up anti-occupation activism and developing resistance tools.
During the group’s regular meeting in Jenin, DFLP leader and former minister Majda al-Masri spoke out against ongoing calls and attempts to put the lid on the uprising under the pretext of “an alertness to Israeli schemes,” in reference to the statements released by Palestinian Authority leaders as regards ongoing security coordination and suppression of anti-occupation activism.
DFLP leader Ramzi Rabah called for a massive participation and strategic engagement in the activities held in support for the anti-occupation uprising so as to prop up activism and mobilize national and international support for the uprising and the legitimate Palestinian cause.
Speaking during the meeting, DFLP activist Qays Abdul Kareem also said: “At this stage, we urge the Palestine Liberation Organization to make up its mind and work out its shilly-shallying vis-à-vis the implementation of the decisions adopted by the organization’s Central Council so as to cancel all oppressive deals imposed by the Israeli occupation.”
According to Abdul Qareem, the intifada has well contributed in rehabilitation the merits and popularity of popular resistance in the face of the Israeli occupation.
During the group’s regular meeting in Jenin, DFLP leader and former minister Majda al-Masri spoke out against ongoing calls and attempts to put the lid on the uprising under the pretext of “an alertness to Israeli schemes,” in reference to the statements released by Palestinian Authority leaders as regards ongoing security coordination and suppression of anti-occupation activism.
DFLP leader Ramzi Rabah called for a massive participation and strategic engagement in the activities held in support for the anti-occupation uprising so as to prop up activism and mobilize national and international support for the uprising and the legitimate Palestinian cause.
Speaking during the meeting, DFLP activist Qays Abdul Kareem also said: “At this stage, we urge the Palestine Liberation Organization to make up its mind and work out its shilly-shallying vis-à-vis the implementation of the decisions adopted by the organization’s Central Council so as to cancel all oppressive deals imposed by the Israeli occupation.”
According to Abdul Qareem, the intifada has well contributed in rehabilitation the merits and popularity of popular resistance in the face of the Israeli occupation.