2 may 2018

The U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he may go to Occupied Jerusalem, where the United States is moving its embassy from Tel Aviv later this month after Trump broke with other world powers last year to recognize Occupied Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
According to the New York Times, Trump made the comment to reporters at the White House. The embassy is expected to open on May 14 at a provisional site until a more permanent location is built.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News in an interview that he would "love" to have the U.S. president attend.
Trump last month suggested he might help open the embassy, strengthened his bond with Netanyahu.
Recently, Israeli news outlets have said that Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, also Trump's senior adviser, are expected to attend the opening of the new US embassy in Occupied Jerusalem.
Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Occupied Jerusalem has outraged Palestinians and sparked criticism from around the world.
According to the New York Times, Trump made the comment to reporters at the White House. The embassy is expected to open on May 14 at a provisional site until a more permanent location is built.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News in an interview that he would "love" to have the U.S. president attend.
Trump last month suggested he might help open the embassy, strengthened his bond with Netanyahu.
Recently, Israeli news outlets have said that Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, also Trump's senior adviser, are expected to attend the opening of the new US embassy in Occupied Jerusalem.
Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Occupied Jerusalem has outraged Palestinians and sparked criticism from around the world.

Guatemala has started procedures to move its embassy in Israel to Occupied Jerusalem at the Malkha Technology Park, in a move set to flame tensions across the occupied Palestinian territories, Haaretz reported on Wednesday.
According to Haaretz, the official ceremony celebrating the move will take place on May 16, after the U.S. relocates its embassy from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem, with the likely attendance of Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated the move and welcomed Guatemala to Occupied Jerusalem.
“I was moved to see the flag of Guatemala waving in Jerusalem in advance of the opening of the Guatemalan embassy later this month. Dear friends, welcome back to our eternal capital," Netanyahu said.
Political sources in Romania, the Czech Republic, Paraguay and Honduras were quoted in recent months as saying that their countries are also considering moving their embassies to Occupied Jerusalem, but such a move has yet to take place.
Jimmy Morales, president of Guatemala, first announced the move in a speech at the AIPAC policy conference in Washington this March, saying they would move their embassy two days after the U.S. moved theirs.
Netanyahu met with Morales during AIPAC, where he thanked the Guatemalan president for recognizing Occupied Jerusalem as the capital of the self-proclaimed Israeli state.
Guatemala was one of seven states that voted with the U.S. in a UN vote to recognize Occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, along with Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Togo.
Guatemala’s embassy relocation is set to spark widespread condemnation and escalate protests by the Palestinians, who consider Jerusalem as their undivided and eternal capital.
According to Haaretz, the official ceremony celebrating the move will take place on May 16, after the U.S. relocates its embassy from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem, with the likely attendance of Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated the move and welcomed Guatemala to Occupied Jerusalem.
“I was moved to see the flag of Guatemala waving in Jerusalem in advance of the opening of the Guatemalan embassy later this month. Dear friends, welcome back to our eternal capital," Netanyahu said.
Political sources in Romania, the Czech Republic, Paraguay and Honduras were quoted in recent months as saying that their countries are also considering moving their embassies to Occupied Jerusalem, but such a move has yet to take place.
Jimmy Morales, president of Guatemala, first announced the move in a speech at the AIPAC policy conference in Washington this March, saying they would move their embassy two days after the U.S. moved theirs.
Netanyahu met with Morales during AIPAC, where he thanked the Guatemalan president for recognizing Occupied Jerusalem as the capital of the self-proclaimed Israeli state.
Guatemala was one of seven states that voted with the U.S. in a UN vote to recognize Occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, along with Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Togo.
Guatemala’s embassy relocation is set to spark widespread condemnation and escalate protests by the Palestinians, who consider Jerusalem as their undivided and eternal capital.
1 may 2018

Israeli occupation authorities decided, on Sunday, to strip four Jerusalemite MPs of their permanent residency, under the pretext of not being loyal to Israel.
Lawyer Fadi al-Qawasmi said that Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri decided to revoke the residency of MPs Mohammed Abu Tir, Ahmad Attoun, and Mohammed Toutah, as well as that of the former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Khaled abu-Arafa.
In a statement, Al-Qawasmi said that the decision came after the Knesset approved a new bill, earlier in March, that allows the interior minister to strip any Jerusalemite of their residency rights if they are involved in “terrorism” or “anti-Israel acts”.
According to al-Qawasmi, the Israeli Supreme Court, in mid-September of 2017, overturned a decision to revoke the residency of the Jerusalemite MPs.
However, it decided to give the Israeli government a time limit to enact a law that gives the interior ministry the power to strip any Jerusalemite of residency.
The Palestinian lawyer described the bill as “unfair” and “illegal,” adding that it was applied retroactively. He affirmed that he will return to Israeli courts, to oppose the decision.
Palestinians in East Jerusalem, along with the Druze in the Syrian Golan Heights, are considered “residents” — not citizens — by Israeli authorities.
Revoking their residency, according to the new bill, means expelling them permanently from these territories.
In 2006, Israeli authorities confiscated the ID cards of the four Jerusalemite MPs, after detaining them upon participation in a protest in Occupied Jerusalem. They spent several months in Israeli jails before they were deported to the West Bank.
Lawyer Fadi al-Qawasmi said that Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri decided to revoke the residency of MPs Mohammed Abu Tir, Ahmad Attoun, and Mohammed Toutah, as well as that of the former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Khaled abu-Arafa.
In a statement, Al-Qawasmi said that the decision came after the Knesset approved a new bill, earlier in March, that allows the interior minister to strip any Jerusalemite of their residency rights if they are involved in “terrorism” or “anti-Israel acts”.
According to al-Qawasmi, the Israeli Supreme Court, in mid-September of 2017, overturned a decision to revoke the residency of the Jerusalemite MPs.
However, it decided to give the Israeli government a time limit to enact a law that gives the interior ministry the power to strip any Jerusalemite of residency.
The Palestinian lawyer described the bill as “unfair” and “illegal,” adding that it was applied retroactively. He affirmed that he will return to Israeli courts, to oppose the decision.
Palestinians in East Jerusalem, along with the Druze in the Syrian Golan Heights, are considered “residents” — not citizens — by Israeli authorities.
Revoking their residency, according to the new bill, means expelling them permanently from these territories.
In 2006, Israeli authorities confiscated the ID cards of the four Jerusalemite MPs, after detaining them upon participation in a protest in Occupied Jerusalem. They spent several months in Israeli jails before they were deported to the West Bank.
26 apr 2018

The Commission of Prisoners’ and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs kept record of 300 cases of house arrest against Palestinian children living in Occupied Jerusalem since late 2015.
The commission’s chairman Issa Qaraqe denounced Israel's escalating crackdowns and abductions of Palestinian children and women in Occupied Jerusalem.
Speaking following visits to Palestinian children sentenced to house confinement, Qaraqe said 300 children have received house arrest orders since October 2015, 20 among whom are still confined inside their family homes.
Qaraqe added that most of the children he met were arrested right after they ended their house confinement terms, which ranged from six months to one year.
In such cases, Palestinian parents are forced to turn into their children’s jailers lest they get penalized, fined, or jailed by the Israeli occupation authorities.
“The policy of house arrest is a punishment both for the child and his/her parents,” warned Qaraqe. “It certainly inflicts serious repercussions on the child’s body and psyche, which affects his/her present as it does his/her future.”
The commission’s chairman Issa Qaraqe denounced Israel's escalating crackdowns and abductions of Palestinian children and women in Occupied Jerusalem.
Speaking following visits to Palestinian children sentenced to house confinement, Qaraqe said 300 children have received house arrest orders since October 2015, 20 among whom are still confined inside their family homes.
Qaraqe added that most of the children he met were arrested right after they ended their house confinement terms, which ranged from six months to one year.
In such cases, Palestinian parents are forced to turn into their children’s jailers lest they get penalized, fined, or jailed by the Israeli occupation authorities.
“The policy of house arrest is a punishment both for the child and his/her parents,” warned Qaraqe. “It certainly inflicts serious repercussions on the child’s body and psyche, which affects his/her present as it does his/her future.”
25 apr 2018

Preparations necessary to move the US embassy on May 14 from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem have completed.
Among the preparations are road signs, as well as an access road for an embassy building being built behind the current US consulate.
According to the Hebrew media, the new embassy will be an interim embassy facility in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem, partially converting what is currently used as a US consulate into a temporary embassy. It will house US Ambassador David Friedman's office, and a small portion of the staff currently located at the embassy in Tel Aviv.
The Arnona compound will be expanded, with the addition of a new annex, likely by the end of 2019.
The Hebrew media also claimed that US president Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner would represent the administration at the Embassy's opening ceremony.
Among the preparations are road signs, as well as an access road for an embassy building being built behind the current US consulate.
According to the Hebrew media, the new embassy will be an interim embassy facility in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem, partially converting what is currently used as a US consulate into a temporary embassy. It will house US Ambassador David Friedman's office, and a small portion of the staff currently located at the embassy in Tel Aviv.
The Arnona compound will be expanded, with the addition of a new annex, likely by the end of 2019.
The Hebrew media also claimed that US president Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner would represent the administration at the Embassy's opening ceremony.
18 apr 2018

Hebrew sources reported that the Israeli police on Wednesday arrested a Palestinian citizen at a checkpoint north of Occupied Jerusalem over alleged knife possession.
Hebrew website "0404" said that a force of border guards stationed at Qalandia military checkpoint north of Jerusalem arrested a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip.
The website, which is close to the Israeli army, claimed that the 32-year-old detainee was carrying a knife, and that is why he was taken for interrogation.
The Israeli police have arrested dozens of Palestinian youths at Qalandia checkpoint, which links Jerusalem with Ramallah, under the pretext that they were attempting attacks against Israeli soldiers.
Since the outbreak of the Jerusalem Intifada in October 2015, many Palestinians have carried out anti-occupation stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks near the same checkpoint.
Hebrew website "0404" said that a force of border guards stationed at Qalandia military checkpoint north of Jerusalem arrested a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip.
The website, which is close to the Israeli army, claimed that the 32-year-old detainee was carrying a knife, and that is why he was taken for interrogation.
The Israeli police have arrested dozens of Palestinian youths at Qalandia checkpoint, which links Jerusalem with Ramallah, under the pretext that they were attempting attacks against Israeli soldiers.
Since the outbreak of the Jerusalem Intifada in October 2015, many Palestinians have carried out anti-occupation stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks near the same checkpoint.
16 apr 2018

The Arab leaders participating in the 29th Arab League summit held in the Saudi city of Dhahran on Sunday confirmed the Arab identity of East Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Palestine.
In the concluding statement of the summit, named "Jerusalem Summit", the Arab leaders stressed the right of Palestine to sovereignty over all territories occupied since 1967 including East Jerusalem.
They called for peace as a strategic option and a way to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in accordance with the Arab peace initiative launched by Saudi Arabia in 2002.
They also expressed their rejection of the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the US embassy in Israel to the holy city. They announced the decision "null" and "void" and a "grave breach of international law".
Dhahran summit strongly condemned Israel's illegal settlement policy pursued in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 including East Jerusalem.
The summit pledged $100 million per month to support Palestine in light of the pressure and the financial crisis it is going through.
Earlier on Sunday, the 29th Arab League summit kicked off under the name "Jerusalem Summit, and it was attended by 14 Arab leaders.
In December 2017, the US president Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel sparking widespread international condemnation.
In the concluding statement of the summit, named "Jerusalem Summit", the Arab leaders stressed the right of Palestine to sovereignty over all territories occupied since 1967 including East Jerusalem.
They called for peace as a strategic option and a way to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in accordance with the Arab peace initiative launched by Saudi Arabia in 2002.
They also expressed their rejection of the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the US embassy in Israel to the holy city. They announced the decision "null" and "void" and a "grave breach of international law".
Dhahran summit strongly condemned Israel's illegal settlement policy pursued in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 including East Jerusalem.
The summit pledged $100 million per month to support Palestine in light of the pressure and the financial crisis it is going through.
Earlier on Sunday, the 29th Arab League summit kicked off under the name "Jerusalem Summit, and it was attended by 14 Arab leaders.
In December 2017, the US president Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel sparking widespread international condemnation.
15 apr 2018

Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Economy Conference which was held on April 13-15 in Istanbul city in Turkey announced $100-million investment fund for the support of the occupied city.
The conference was organized by the Union of Palestinian and Turkish Businessmen and a number of Palestinian businessmen in Palestine and diaspora as well as some institutions concerned with the support of Occupied Jerusalem.
The conference organizers urged Palestinian businessmen to invest in Occupied Jerusalem and announced the recommendations and achievements of the conference:
-An initiative to establish an investment company with a $100-million fund with the contribution of 20 businessmen.
-The Palestinian businessman Farouk al-Shami pledged $10-million portfolio for five years with a sum up to 50 million dollars, with major activities focusing on the agriculture sector.
-The Islamic Arab Bank allocated $50 million for funding investment projects in Jerusalem out of the Bank’s financial fund allocated for real estates and small and medium-sized enterprises.
-Reopening of 400 stores in the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem with a rate of $50,000 for each commercial shop with a total up to 20 million dollars.
-Launching the Noble Investor Network of 20 businessmen for information technology investments in Occupied Jerusalem.
It was also decided to hold Al-Quds 2nd Economy Conference in Occupied Jerusalem and to convene the follow up committee on April 28 inside Palestine in order to follow up the implementation of the conference’s decisions and recommendations.
The conference was organized by the Union of Palestinian and Turkish Businessmen and a number of Palestinian businessmen in Palestine and diaspora as well as some institutions concerned with the support of Occupied Jerusalem.
The conference organizers urged Palestinian businessmen to invest in Occupied Jerusalem and announced the recommendations and achievements of the conference:
-An initiative to establish an investment company with a $100-million fund with the contribution of 20 businessmen.
-The Palestinian businessman Farouk al-Shami pledged $10-million portfolio for five years with a sum up to 50 million dollars, with major activities focusing on the agriculture sector.
-The Islamic Arab Bank allocated $50 million for funding investment projects in Jerusalem out of the Bank’s financial fund allocated for real estates and small and medium-sized enterprises.
-Reopening of 400 stores in the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem with a rate of $50,000 for each commercial shop with a total up to 20 million dollars.
-Launching the Noble Investor Network of 20 businessmen for information technology investments in Occupied Jerusalem.
It was also decided to hold Al-Quds 2nd Economy Conference in Occupied Jerusalem and to convene the follow up committee on April 28 inside Palestine in order to follow up the implementation of the conference’s decisions and recommendations.
5 apr 2018

Jewish extremists and settlers carried out the biggest storming of the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem this week, under the protection of Israeli police.
The PIC reporter noted that about 500 extremist settlers stormed Aqsa Mosque on Thursday in just half an hour as the surrounding area of the Mosque saw the largest incursion of the Mosque since the beginning Passover, celebrated by Jews.
The PIC correspondent explained that a large number of Israeli police secured the settlers during the raids at the Aqsa Mosque and Al-Buraq Wall.
The Department of Public Relations and Information at the Awqaf of Jerusalem said that the number of extremist groups that stormed the Aqsa Mosque to mark the Jewish Passover, starting from Sunday was as follows:
“Sunday: 347 settlers, Monday: 386 settlers, Tuesday: 456 settlers, Wednesday: 546 settlers, and the total number of Jewish extremists who stormed the Aqsa this week reached 1,731 and it is expected to exceed 2,000 by the end of Thursday.”
March saw an upsurge in the number of settlers who stormed the Aqsa Mosque, due to ongoing Jewish calls for carrying out incursions into the Aqsa by the so-called Temple groups.
According to statistics published by the Jerusalem Center for Israeli and Palestinian Studies, about 2,133 Jewish settlers, including settlers from the so-called Students of the Temple, broke into the Aqsa Mosque from the Maghareba Gate under the protection of the occupation forces and its special units in March other than thousands of tourists.
Among the Israelis who broke into the Aqsa in March were the former Shin Bet chief and an Israeli antiquities expert.
The end of March marked the beginning of the Jewish Passover, which is exploited by the temple groups to incite against the Aqsa Mosque, by calling for performing Talmudic rituals there, in addition to successive attempts to bring the Passover sacrifices to the Aqsa for slaughter.
The Israeli violation of the sanctity of Islamic sites in Jerusalem continued, with the Temple groups threatening Muslims to forcibly evacuate the Aqsa Mosque on the last Friday of March, so that settlers could storm it and perform religious and Talmudic rituals there.
This came after an Israeli court issued a decision to allow settlers to perform their religious rituals at the gates of the Aqsa Mosque, which constitutes a blatant violation of the sacred sites of Muslims.
Israeli occupation policemen positioned at the gates of the Aqsa Mosque attacked Ali Arafat Najib, one of the Aqsa’s guards. The Israeli policemen also carried out military drills that imitate storming the Aqsa, completely closing the Old City of Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Center noted that the raids at the Aqsa Mosque has become a routine and take place on a daily basis at a time there is a decline in the media coverage of this vital issue. This is considered a systematic Israeli policy, aiming at imposing a new de facto situation on Jerusalemites without facing a strong reaction.
The director of the Jerusalem Center, Imad Abu Awad, pointed out that the year 2017 saw the storming of the Aqsa Mosque by 30,000 settlers, an increase of 100% compared to 2016, which saw the storming of 15,000 settlers of its yards, adding that the continuation of the situation as it is, without official or popular response, means that the year 2018 will see more settlers storming the Aqsa than the previous year.
Abu Awad called on Jordan, as the guardian of the holy sites in Jerusalem, to stop the deterioration of the situation there. He warned that Israel has finished many stages towards imposing a temporal division, and perhaps a geographical one, at the Aqsa Mosque, with Israeli police protecting settlers' religious rituals at the Aqsa, which was not allowed in the past.
Researcher and expert in Israeli affairs, Alaa Rimawi, pointed out that the danger associated with the number of incursions is the slogans raised by the Israeli extreme right, and the claim that the agreement signed in 1967 on the situation of the Aqsa after the occupation of Jerusalem, was not fair, thus more incursions into it is now required.
Rimawi noted that 600 Jewish rabbis, who used to oppose storming the Aqsa Mosque, for religious and political reasons, are now urging their followers to do so, after the Israeli right wing and national forces influenced them, pushing them to change their decrees.
The PIC reporter noted that about 500 extremist settlers stormed Aqsa Mosque on Thursday in just half an hour as the surrounding area of the Mosque saw the largest incursion of the Mosque since the beginning Passover, celebrated by Jews.
The PIC correspondent explained that a large number of Israeli police secured the settlers during the raids at the Aqsa Mosque and Al-Buraq Wall.
The Department of Public Relations and Information at the Awqaf of Jerusalem said that the number of extremist groups that stormed the Aqsa Mosque to mark the Jewish Passover, starting from Sunday was as follows:
“Sunday: 347 settlers, Monday: 386 settlers, Tuesday: 456 settlers, Wednesday: 546 settlers, and the total number of Jewish extremists who stormed the Aqsa this week reached 1,731 and it is expected to exceed 2,000 by the end of Thursday.”
March saw an upsurge in the number of settlers who stormed the Aqsa Mosque, due to ongoing Jewish calls for carrying out incursions into the Aqsa by the so-called Temple groups.
According to statistics published by the Jerusalem Center for Israeli and Palestinian Studies, about 2,133 Jewish settlers, including settlers from the so-called Students of the Temple, broke into the Aqsa Mosque from the Maghareba Gate under the protection of the occupation forces and its special units in March other than thousands of tourists.
Among the Israelis who broke into the Aqsa in March were the former Shin Bet chief and an Israeli antiquities expert.
The end of March marked the beginning of the Jewish Passover, which is exploited by the temple groups to incite against the Aqsa Mosque, by calling for performing Talmudic rituals there, in addition to successive attempts to bring the Passover sacrifices to the Aqsa for slaughter.
The Israeli violation of the sanctity of Islamic sites in Jerusalem continued, with the Temple groups threatening Muslims to forcibly evacuate the Aqsa Mosque on the last Friday of March, so that settlers could storm it and perform religious and Talmudic rituals there.
This came after an Israeli court issued a decision to allow settlers to perform their religious rituals at the gates of the Aqsa Mosque, which constitutes a blatant violation of the sacred sites of Muslims.
Israeli occupation policemen positioned at the gates of the Aqsa Mosque attacked Ali Arafat Najib, one of the Aqsa’s guards. The Israeli policemen also carried out military drills that imitate storming the Aqsa, completely closing the Old City of Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Center noted that the raids at the Aqsa Mosque has become a routine and take place on a daily basis at a time there is a decline in the media coverage of this vital issue. This is considered a systematic Israeli policy, aiming at imposing a new de facto situation on Jerusalemites without facing a strong reaction.
The director of the Jerusalem Center, Imad Abu Awad, pointed out that the year 2017 saw the storming of the Aqsa Mosque by 30,000 settlers, an increase of 100% compared to 2016, which saw the storming of 15,000 settlers of its yards, adding that the continuation of the situation as it is, without official or popular response, means that the year 2018 will see more settlers storming the Aqsa than the previous year.
Abu Awad called on Jordan, as the guardian of the holy sites in Jerusalem, to stop the deterioration of the situation there. He warned that Israel has finished many stages towards imposing a temporal division, and perhaps a geographical one, at the Aqsa Mosque, with Israeli police protecting settlers' religious rituals at the Aqsa, which was not allowed in the past.
Researcher and expert in Israeli affairs, Alaa Rimawi, pointed out that the danger associated with the number of incursions is the slogans raised by the Israeli extreme right, and the claim that the agreement signed in 1967 on the situation of the Aqsa after the occupation of Jerusalem, was not fair, thus more incursions into it is now required.
Rimawi noted that 600 Jewish rabbis, who used to oppose storming the Aqsa Mosque, for religious and political reasons, are now urging their followers to do so, after the Israeli right wing and national forces influenced them, pushing them to change their decrees.