9 dec 2016
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) on Friday threatened the demolition of Palestinian civilian homes near the holy al-Aqsa Mosque, in Occupied Jerusalem.
According to a PIC news correspondent, Israeli municipality personnel, escorted by an army patrol, notified the demolition of a number of Palestinian family homes in Silwan town, to the south of the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
The demolition notifications targeted al-Bustan neighborhood, whose residents have permanently come under Israeli threats to knock down their 88 homes in favor of illegal settlement expansion and Judaization schemes near the al-Aqsa Mosque.
According to a PIC news correspondent, Israeli municipality personnel, escorted by an army patrol, notified the demolition of a number of Palestinian family homes in Silwan town, to the south of the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
The demolition notifications targeted al-Bustan neighborhood, whose residents have permanently come under Israeli threats to knock down their 88 homes in favor of illegal settlement expansion and Judaization schemes near the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Beit Yehudi Chief Naftali Bennett reached an agreement to postpone a bid legitimizing illegal settlement outposts until Trump is sworn into office, an Israeli newspaper revealed Friday.
According to the Hebrew-language Maariv newspaper, the agreement comes as Netanyahu and Bennett raised fears that Obama would get in the way of an Israeli bid to legalize settlement homes built on Palestinian land across the occupied West Bank.
A bid meant to legalize 4,000 Israeli illegal settlement houses passed a first reading in the Knesset on Wednesday.
The bill was approved with 58 in favor and 51 opposed
As soon as final voting in favor of the bid sees the day, Israel will find no obstacles legitimizing 60 illegal outposts and giving go-ahead signs to 4,000 illegal settlement units which were built on Palestinian lands occupied in 1967. Israel will also hold sway over 8,000 dunums of Palestinian land.
According to the Hebrew-language Maariv newspaper, the agreement comes as Netanyahu and Bennett raised fears that Obama would get in the way of an Israeli bid to legalize settlement homes built on Palestinian land across the occupied West Bank.
A bid meant to legalize 4,000 Israeli illegal settlement houses passed a first reading in the Knesset on Wednesday.
The bill was approved with 58 in favor and 51 opposed
As soon as final voting in favor of the bid sees the day, Israel will find no obstacles legitimizing 60 illegal outposts and giving go-ahead signs to 4,000 illegal settlement units which were built on Palestinian lands occupied in 1967. Israel will also hold sway over 8,000 dunums of Palestinian land.
7 dec 2016
Israeli authorities, on Tuesday, prevented Dr. Isabel Perry from entering into the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), claiming she is an activist of the World Council of Churches, which supports the boycott movement against Israel.
Local media said, according to Al Ray, that it is the first time the Israeli occupation prevented a tourist because of activity in the boycott movement.
The Interior Minister of Israel, Arye Deri, and the Minister of the Public Security and Strategic Affairs, Gilad Erdan, were responsible for making the decision of blocking Perry’s entry.
Dr. Isabel Perry, a citizen from Malawi and an expert in religious affairs, arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on Monday.
A bill preventing supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement from entering Israel was authorized in early November, for its first reading in the Knesset.
Deri considers approval of Perry’s request to enter the oPt to be encouragement for activities which are in opposition to Israel’s policies.
Local media said, according to Al Ray, that it is the first time the Israeli occupation prevented a tourist because of activity in the boycott movement.
The Interior Minister of Israel, Arye Deri, and the Minister of the Public Security and Strategic Affairs, Gilad Erdan, were responsible for making the decision of blocking Perry’s entry.
Dr. Isabel Perry, a citizen from Malawi and an expert in religious affairs, arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on Monday.
A bill preventing supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement from entering Israel was authorized in early November, for its first reading in the Knesset.
Deri considers approval of Perry’s request to enter the oPt to be encouragement for activities which are in opposition to Israel’s policies.
6 dec 2016
Jared Kushner
US tax records indicate that Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, directs with his siblings a family foundation which has donated tens of thousands of dollars to settlement organizations in the West Bank.
US tax records show that President-elect Donald Trump's son-in-law co-directs a family foundation that has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Jewish settlement organizations in the West Bank.
Trump has said Jared Kushner, who serves as a close adviser, could help negotiate a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The donations by Kushner's parents' foundation raise questions about Trump's previous statements in which he said that his administration would endeavor to remain neutral in any mediation efforts.
Risa Heller, a spokeswoman for the Kushner companies, declined to comment on the donations to the settlement groups. She says the family is "extremely generous" and has given away over $100 million to charitable causes.
US tax records indicate that Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, directs with his siblings a family foundation which has donated tens of thousands of dollars to settlement organizations in the West Bank.
US tax records show that President-elect Donald Trump's son-in-law co-directs a family foundation that has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Jewish settlement organizations in the West Bank.
Trump has said Jared Kushner, who serves as a close adviser, could help negotiate a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The donations by Kushner's parents' foundation raise questions about Trump's previous statements in which he said that his administration would endeavor to remain neutral in any mediation efforts.
Risa Heller, a spokeswoman for the Kushner companies, declined to comment on the donations to the settlement groups. She says the family is "extremely generous" and has given away over $100 million to charitable causes.
The Israeli Knesset approved late Monday the controversial settlement bill which would recognize West Bank settlement outposts built on Palestinian private lands.
The bill, passing with 60 voting in favor and 49 against, would see thousands of dunums of privately-owned Palestinian land seized and dozens of illegal Israeli outposts in the occupied West Bank retroactively legalized.
However, the bill would not be applicable to Amona.
A clause demanding that the symbolic Amona outpost be retroactively legalized was removed from the bill, according to Israeli media sources.
Following the vote, the bill will be brought to a first reading in the Knesset on Tuesday.
The revised version allows the "state of Israel" to give settlers “usage rights” to privately-owned Palestinian land, but not ownership rights, while Palestinians who can prove ownership of land would receive “compensation,” according to the Hebrew daily Haaretz.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov reacted immediately to the passage of the bill, saying that the bill will annex parts of the West Bank to Israel.
Such steps would undermine any chance for peace, he added.
Human rights groups and international leaders have strongly condemned Israel’s settlement construction, saying it is a strategic maneuver to prevent the establishment of a contiguous, independent Palestinian state by changing the facts on the ground.
The bill, passing with 60 voting in favor and 49 against, would see thousands of dunums of privately-owned Palestinian land seized and dozens of illegal Israeli outposts in the occupied West Bank retroactively legalized.
However, the bill would not be applicable to Amona.
A clause demanding that the symbolic Amona outpost be retroactively legalized was removed from the bill, according to Israeli media sources.
Following the vote, the bill will be brought to a first reading in the Knesset on Tuesday.
The revised version allows the "state of Israel" to give settlers “usage rights” to privately-owned Palestinian land, but not ownership rights, while Palestinians who can prove ownership of land would receive “compensation,” according to the Hebrew daily Haaretz.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov reacted immediately to the passage of the bill, saying that the bill will annex parts of the West Bank to Israel.
Such steps would undermine any chance for peace, he added.
Human rights groups and international leaders have strongly condemned Israel’s settlement construction, saying it is a strategic maneuver to prevent the establishment of a contiguous, independent Palestinian state by changing the facts on the ground.
Christian religious figures have called for necessarily protecting the Arab identity of Jerusalem and its Christian and Islamic holy sites against Israel’s Judaization policy.
This came during a symposium on Jerusalem and its Christian holy sites organized in Beirut by al-Quds International Institution as part of the activities of the 60th International Arab Book Fair.
The symposium, which was attended by religious, political and intellectual figures, was introduced by head of the media department at al-Quds Institution Mohamed Tarboush, who described the Christian presence in Jerusalem as a “deeply-rooted part of the Arab identity of the city.”
In his speech, father Antoine Daou, secretary-general of the Episcopal Commission of the Islamic-Christian Dialogue in Lebanon, stressed the importance of upholding the Arab identity of Jerusalem to protect its history, presence and future against Israel's Judaization activities.
For his part, Greek-Orthodox church Bishop Luke Khoury said that “the Christians in Palestine and Jerusalem are exposed to cruel persecution by the Israeli occupation,” which he accused of seizing their lands and properties and attacking churches and monasteries.
“The Zionist occupation’s measures have displaced the majority of Christians from their towns and villages and forced others to migrate under the yoke of obnoxious occupation, while a group of them are still steadfast living in very harsh political, security and economic conditions,” he said.
Palestinian factions condemn cutting off Bishop Hanna’s salary
Palestinian factions have condemned the decision of the Greek Patriarch Theophilos to cut off the salary of Palestinian archbishop Atallah Hanna due to his outspokenness and principled stances on Palestinian rights.
Such a measure would not help solving problems, a statement by the factions said and expressed solidarity with the archbishop.
The factions called for addressing the differences in a spirit of fraternity.
On the other hand, the national factions expressed gratitude for the Palestinian Christians who refused Israel’s Adhan ban bill in occupied Jerusalem.
The statement also hailed Father Manuel Musallam’s national position after he raised Adhan in a church in a bid to protest against the Israeli bill which would prohibit mosques from using loudspeakers for delivering call to prayer (Adhan) in occupied Jerusalem.
This came during a symposium on Jerusalem and its Christian holy sites organized in Beirut by al-Quds International Institution as part of the activities of the 60th International Arab Book Fair.
The symposium, which was attended by religious, political and intellectual figures, was introduced by head of the media department at al-Quds Institution Mohamed Tarboush, who described the Christian presence in Jerusalem as a “deeply-rooted part of the Arab identity of the city.”
In his speech, father Antoine Daou, secretary-general of the Episcopal Commission of the Islamic-Christian Dialogue in Lebanon, stressed the importance of upholding the Arab identity of Jerusalem to protect its history, presence and future against Israel's Judaization activities.
For his part, Greek-Orthodox church Bishop Luke Khoury said that “the Christians in Palestine and Jerusalem are exposed to cruel persecution by the Israeli occupation,” which he accused of seizing their lands and properties and attacking churches and monasteries.
“The Zionist occupation’s measures have displaced the majority of Christians from their towns and villages and forced others to migrate under the yoke of obnoxious occupation, while a group of them are still steadfast living in very harsh political, security and economic conditions,” he said.
Palestinian factions condemn cutting off Bishop Hanna’s salary
Palestinian factions have condemned the decision of the Greek Patriarch Theophilos to cut off the salary of Palestinian archbishop Atallah Hanna due to his outspokenness and principled stances on Palestinian rights.
Such a measure would not help solving problems, a statement by the factions said and expressed solidarity with the archbishop.
The factions called for addressing the differences in a spirit of fraternity.
On the other hand, the national factions expressed gratitude for the Palestinian Christians who refused Israel’s Adhan ban bill in occupied Jerusalem.
The statement also hailed Father Manuel Musallam’s national position after he raised Adhan in a church in a bid to protest against the Israeli bill which would prohibit mosques from using loudspeakers for delivering call to prayer (Adhan) in occupied Jerusalem.
5 dec 2016
Khadija Abu Doula 75
Israeli police prevented on Monday the burial of a Palestinian woman in Bab al-Rahmah cemetery near to al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem, alleging that the grave is located on an Israeli-owned land.
According to Quds Press agency, the Israeli police forces besieged the cemetery and denied the burial of Khadija Abu Doula after the funeral prayer was performed in al-Aqsa Mosque.
Tension heightened in the area as Israeli policemen ordered the dead woman's family to find another grave since the grave prepared previously was now part of an Israeli land, the agency added.
It said that Israeli policemen arrested two Jerusalemite young men participating in the funeral and took them to Qishleh center for investigation.
The Israeli practice is part of dozens of attacks on the cemetery by either the Israeli police forces or the members of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority who regularly storm the cemetery and demolish its gravestones.
Israeli police prevented on Monday the burial of a Palestinian woman in Bab al-Rahmah cemetery near to al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem, alleging that the grave is located on an Israeli-owned land.
According to Quds Press agency, the Israeli police forces besieged the cemetery and denied the burial of Khadija Abu Doula after the funeral prayer was performed in al-Aqsa Mosque.
Tension heightened in the area as Israeli policemen ordered the dead woman's family to find another grave since the grave prepared previously was now part of an Israeli land, the agency added.
It said that Israeli policemen arrested two Jerusalemite young men participating in the funeral and took them to Qishleh center for investigation.
The Israeli practice is part of dozens of attacks on the cemetery by either the Israeli police forces or the members of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority who regularly storm the cemetery and demolish its gravestones.
The Israeli police decided Monday to provocatively increase the visiting hours of settlers to al-Aqsa Mosque.
The PIC reporter quoted local sources as saying that an hour has been added to the settlers’ visiting time to al-Aqsa.
The new timing will extend settlers’ presence in al-Aqsa from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Meanwhile, a group of Israeli settlers, escorted by police officers, stormed the plazas of the holy al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday morning.
The settlers broke into the Mosque via the Israeli-controlled Magharibeh gate under a tight security shield by heavily-armed Israeli cops.
The Israeli fanatics reportedly tried to perform Talmudic rituals in the compound in total provocation to the Muslim worshipers and sit-inners.
Meanwhile, a group of Jerusalemites including women were denied access into the compound.
The Jerusalem center for Israeli and Palestinian affairs affirmed in a new report that 1,226 Israelis stormed al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem over the past month.
996 Israeli settlers stormed the holy shrine during November along with 148 Israeli policemen and soldiers in their military uniform, in addition to 182 Jewish students.
The report pointed out that 28,985 tourists visited the holy shrine during the same period.
According to the sources, the number of extremist settlers breaking into Al-Aqsa Mosque has decreased during November in comparison with October during which more than 3,000 Israelis stormed the compound especially during the Jewish holidays.
The PIC reporter quoted local sources as saying that an hour has been added to the settlers’ visiting time to al-Aqsa.
The new timing will extend settlers’ presence in al-Aqsa from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Meanwhile, a group of Israeli settlers, escorted by police officers, stormed the plazas of the holy al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday morning.
The settlers broke into the Mosque via the Israeli-controlled Magharibeh gate under a tight security shield by heavily-armed Israeli cops.
The Israeli fanatics reportedly tried to perform Talmudic rituals in the compound in total provocation to the Muslim worshipers and sit-inners.
Meanwhile, a group of Jerusalemites including women were denied access into the compound.
The Jerusalem center for Israeli and Palestinian affairs affirmed in a new report that 1,226 Israelis stormed al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem over the past month.
996 Israeli settlers stormed the holy shrine during November along with 148 Israeli policemen and soldiers in their military uniform, in addition to 182 Jewish students.
The report pointed out that 28,985 tourists visited the holy shrine during the same period.
According to the sources, the number of extremist settlers breaking into Al-Aqsa Mosque has decreased during November in comparison with October during which more than 3,000 Israelis stormed the compound especially during the Jewish holidays.
3 dec 2016
The Old City of Jerusalem, which is exposed to ongoing Judaization activities, has been listed recently by the UNESCO among its endangered world heritage sites.
55 out of 1,052 heritage sites around the world, including the Old City in Jerusalem, feature on the UN cultural organization’s List of World Heritage in Danger.
The sites in danger also include the archaeological city of Samarra, Tomb of Askia in Mali, and the ancient cities of Sana’a, Damascus and Aleppo.
Conflicts, natural disasters, pollution, poaching, uncontrolled urbanization and unchecked tourism development pose major problems to these world heritage sites, UNESCO says.
These sites are exposed to two types of dangers, either ascertained or potential threats, according to its classification.
55 out of 1,052 heritage sites around the world, including the Old City in Jerusalem, feature on the UN cultural organization’s List of World Heritage in Danger.
The sites in danger also include the archaeological city of Samarra, Tomb of Askia in Mali, and the ancient cities of Sana’a, Damascus and Aleppo.
Conflicts, natural disasters, pollution, poaching, uncontrolled urbanization and unchecked tourism development pose major problems to these world heritage sites, UNESCO says.
These sites are exposed to two types of dangers, either ascertained or potential threats, according to its classification.
A right-wing Knesset member intends to submit a “racist” bill calling for economically punishing families of Palestinian children and teenagers who are convicted of throwing stones and launching attacks against Israelis.
According to Walla news website, the bill, which was prepared by MK Miki Zohar (Likud), will be referred to the Knesset’s ministerial commission for legislation on Sunday in order to obtain approval for tabling it for vote by Knesset members.
Zohar claimed that making families responsible for their children’s actions is part of what he described as Israel’s fight against terrorism.
He also said that Israel should deprive families of Palestinian attackers of all national insurance allowances, including unemployment benefits, pensions and work-injury payments.
This new legislation is only aimed at the Palestinians. The Israeli authorities have never taken any punitive measures, such as demolition of homes, against Jewish families, whose relatives were convicted of attacking Palestinians.
According to Walla news website, the bill, which was prepared by MK Miki Zohar (Likud), will be referred to the Knesset’s ministerial commission for legislation on Sunday in order to obtain approval for tabling it for vote by Knesset members.
Zohar claimed that making families responsible for their children’s actions is part of what he described as Israel’s fight against terrorism.
He also said that Israel should deprive families of Palestinian attackers of all national insurance allowances, including unemployment benefits, pensions and work-injury payments.
This new legislation is only aimed at the Palestinians. The Israeli authorities have never taken any punitive measures, such as demolition of homes, against Jewish families, whose relatives were convicted of attacking Palestinians.