19 dec 2016
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) said that around 120 dunums of Palestinian lands in Silwad town to the east of Ramallah city in the central West Bank will be confiscated and allocated for the settlers evacuated from Amona outpost.
The mayor of Silwad, Abdulrahman Saleh, said that the IOA notified the village’s municipality of the confiscation of the lands owned by Palestinian citizens who have official documents proving that.
The Quds Press news agency said that Saleh warned on Monday of an Israeli scheme to relocate Amona settlers in Silwad. The municipality of Silwad filed an objection against the measure with an Israeli court.
He pointed out that the inhabitants of Silwad previously foiled two Israeli schemes to seize lands in the town after proving their ownership of the lands and that they are not state or absentee lands.
However, the mayor said that there are great concerns about the relocation of Amona settlers and their caravans to the confiscated lands, especially that the court's ruling may take months or years to be issued.
Amona outpost, built on a private Palestinian land to the northeast of Ramallah city, is inhabited by 40 Jewish families and considered an illegal settlement according to the international and Israeli laws.
Amona issue has ranked at the top of the Israeli government's agenda in the recent weeks, due to which many internal conflicts have emerged trying to find a solution that prevents the evacuation of the outpost. These conflicts led minister of education Naftali Bennett and his party "The Jewish Home" to abstain from supporting draft laws presented by the government.
Yedioth Ahronoth Hebrew newspaper said that 45 settlers from Amona outpost agreed on a compromise solution formula proposed by the Israeli government while 29 settlers opposed it. According to this proposal every family who lived in the settlement before 25th December 2014 will be given one million shekels as compensation.
The mayor of Silwad, Abdulrahman Saleh, said that the IOA notified the village’s municipality of the confiscation of the lands owned by Palestinian citizens who have official documents proving that.
The Quds Press news agency said that Saleh warned on Monday of an Israeli scheme to relocate Amona settlers in Silwad. The municipality of Silwad filed an objection against the measure with an Israeli court.
He pointed out that the inhabitants of Silwad previously foiled two Israeli schemes to seize lands in the town after proving their ownership of the lands and that they are not state or absentee lands.
However, the mayor said that there are great concerns about the relocation of Amona settlers and their caravans to the confiscated lands, especially that the court's ruling may take months or years to be issued.
Amona outpost, built on a private Palestinian land to the northeast of Ramallah city, is inhabited by 40 Jewish families and considered an illegal settlement according to the international and Israeli laws.
Amona issue has ranked at the top of the Israeli government's agenda in the recent weeks, due to which many internal conflicts have emerged trying to find a solution that prevents the evacuation of the outpost. These conflicts led minister of education Naftali Bennett and his party "The Jewish Home" to abstain from supporting draft laws presented by the government.
Yedioth Ahronoth Hebrew newspaper said that 45 settlers from Amona outpost agreed on a compromise solution formula proposed by the Israeli government while 29 settlers opposed it. According to this proposal every family who lived in the settlement before 25th December 2014 will be given one million shekels as compensation.
Israeli soldiers imposed, on Monday at dawn, a strict siege, and closed roads with concrete blocks and sand hills, isolating the village of Shuqba and Rantis villages, northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and prevented the Palestinians from entering or leaving them.
The soldiers first invaded Rantis village, before breaking into dozens of homes and violently searching then, and imposed a strict siege on it, preventing the residents, including workers, employees and students, from entering or leaving it.
The soldiers also installed a military roadblock on the western entrance of the village, the only road that wasn’t blockaded with sand hills and concrete blocks, and prevented the Palestinians from crossing.
Similar violations took place in Shuqba village, that was also left isolated and blockaded, while the soldiers stopped dozens of Palestinians, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
All workers, including teachers and healthcare professionals, were not allowed to enter or leave the village, especially since many teachers are from nearby villages, an issue that forced all schools, and many business shut.
The Israeli army claimed the closures were enforced after a shooting attack that left one Israeli colonist injured, near ‘Aboud village, northwest of Ramallah.
The soldiers invaded ‘Aboud, and searched homes, before surrounding and isolating it, including placing concrete blocks, and prevented the Palestinians from entering or leaving it.
The soldiers first invaded Rantis village, before breaking into dozens of homes and violently searching then, and imposed a strict siege on it, preventing the residents, including workers, employees and students, from entering or leaving it.
The soldiers also installed a military roadblock on the western entrance of the village, the only road that wasn’t blockaded with sand hills and concrete blocks, and prevented the Palestinians from crossing.
Similar violations took place in Shuqba village, that was also left isolated and blockaded, while the soldiers stopped dozens of Palestinians, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
All workers, including teachers and healthcare professionals, were not allowed to enter or leave the village, especially since many teachers are from nearby villages, an issue that forced all schools, and many business shut.
The Israeli army claimed the closures were enforced after a shooting attack that left one Israeli colonist injured, near ‘Aboud village, northwest of Ramallah.
The soldiers invaded ‘Aboud, and searched homes, before surrounding and isolating it, including placing concrete blocks, and prevented the Palestinians from entering or leaving it.
16 dec 2016
Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem, strongly denounced Washington’s plan to relocate the US embassy to the holy city, warning that such a step would be deemed “a declaration of war against Arabs and Muslims.”
In his Friday khutba (sermon) at the Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Sabri said that president-elect Donald Trump’s promise to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem was against the inalienable Muslim-Palestinian right to the holy city and violated the international resolutions that affirmed that “Jerusalem is an occupied city.”
The preacher added that Trump had made this promise during his election campaign to please the Jews in America and the world.
“If we assume that this alleged pledge has been realized and carried out, this means that America recognizes that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jews and has thus declared a new war against the people of Palestine, and also against the entire Arab and Muslim nations,” Sheikh Sabri stated.
In his Friday khutba (sermon) at the Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Sabri said that president-elect Donald Trump’s promise to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem was against the inalienable Muslim-Palestinian right to the holy city and violated the international resolutions that affirmed that “Jerusalem is an occupied city.”
The preacher added that Trump had made this promise during his election campaign to please the Jews in America and the world.
“If we assume that this alleged pledge has been realized and carried out, this means that America recognizes that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jews and has thus declared a new war against the people of Palestine, and also against the entire Arab and Muslim nations,” Sheikh Sabri stated.
An Israeli scheme to demolish dozens of Palestinian houses in the territories occupied in 1948 next week was revealed by Hebrew media on Friday.
The Hebrew website 0404 said that the scheme includes the demolition of "unauthorized" buildings in Wadi Ara, near Umm al-Fahm, the Triangle, Jerusalem, and Negev.
The website added that the scheme provides for the demolition of 47 houses according to the orders of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an attempt to appease the Israeli settlers since Amona settlement near Ramallah city is going to be evacuated soon.
Netanyahu has ordered the acceleration of the demolition process in the 1948 occupied territories and East Jerusalem under the pretext of building without permits.
He has ordered the responsible authorities to issue demolition orders for the unauthorized houses and expedite the implementation procedures in the cities of the 1948 occupied Palestine, especially in the Negev and occupied Jerusalem.
The Hebrew website 0404 said that the scheme includes the demolition of "unauthorized" buildings in Wadi Ara, near Umm al-Fahm, the Triangle, Jerusalem, and Negev.
The website added that the scheme provides for the demolition of 47 houses according to the orders of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an attempt to appease the Israeli settlers since Amona settlement near Ramallah city is going to be evacuated soon.
Netanyahu has ordered the acceleration of the demolition process in the 1948 occupied territories and East Jerusalem under the pretext of building without permits.
He has ordered the responsible authorities to issue demolition orders for the unauthorized houses and expedite the implementation procedures in the cities of the 1948 occupied Palestine, especially in the Negev and occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli transportation minister Yisrael Katz has called on his government to work on obtaining US recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights and giving the Palestinians some sort of self-rule in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Katz made the remarks at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center marking 35 years since the Knesset passed a bill to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
He added that the Israeli government should also increase the number of Jewish settlers in the Golan Heights to 100,000 residents in the following years and work to achieve that.
He also called for Israel to expand the borders of Jerusalem and extend its sovereignty over the settlements surrounding it, such as Maale Adumim, Betar Illit and Gush Etzion, "just as Menachem Begin did regarding the Golan Heights 35 years ago."
In addition, Katz pledged to construct a new railway station to serve residents of the Golan Heights.
Katz praised what he called Begin’s maintenance of Israeli sovereignty over a united Jerusalem and called for not stopping to expand and build settlements in the West Bank.
He proposed engaging in negotiations with neighboring Arab countries to grant some autonomy to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza in order to police themselves.
However, he expressed his rejection of the idea of creating a new Arab state in the West Bank and Jerusalem, calling it "a violation of the Jews’ historic rights to the land" and "a serious threat to Israel's security in the future."
The Israeli army occupied two-thirds of the Syrian Golan Heights region in the aftermath of the Six Day War in 1967 before the government of Begin extracted approval from the Knesset in 1981 for its decision to annex the Golan area to Israel.
Katz made the remarks at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center marking 35 years since the Knesset passed a bill to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
He added that the Israeli government should also increase the number of Jewish settlers in the Golan Heights to 100,000 residents in the following years and work to achieve that.
He also called for Israel to expand the borders of Jerusalem and extend its sovereignty over the settlements surrounding it, such as Maale Adumim, Betar Illit and Gush Etzion, "just as Menachem Begin did regarding the Golan Heights 35 years ago."
In addition, Katz pledged to construct a new railway station to serve residents of the Golan Heights.
Katz praised what he called Begin’s maintenance of Israeli sovereignty over a united Jerusalem and called for not stopping to expand and build settlements in the West Bank.
He proposed engaging in negotiations with neighboring Arab countries to grant some autonomy to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza in order to police themselves.
However, he expressed his rejection of the idea of creating a new Arab state in the West Bank and Jerusalem, calling it "a violation of the Jews’ historic rights to the land" and "a serious threat to Israel's security in the future."
The Israeli army occupied two-thirds of the Syrian Golan Heights region in the aftermath of the Six Day War in 1967 before the government of Begin extracted approval from the Knesset in 1981 for its decision to annex the Golan area to Israel.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump nominated David Friedman, a pro-settlement bankruptcy lawyer, to be the next US ambassador to Israel, Haaretz Hebrew newspaper revealed Friday.
David Friedman, who had more recently served on the president-elect’s advisory team on the Middle East, said that he looked forward to delivering Trump’s pledge to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the US embassy there.
Friedman, 57, serves as president of the American Friends of Bet El Institutions, which funds settlements in the West Bank.
He disagrees with the general international consensus that the settlements are illegal and he opposes a ban on settlement construction on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. And he has long supported an undivided Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
Friedman is also a fervent opponent to another orthodoxy of US foreign policy, the “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which the territory would be shared.
“That’s the ‘two-state solution’ – an illusion that serves the worst intentions of both the United States and the Palestinian Arabs. It has never been a solution, only a narrative. But even the narrative itself now needs to end,” Friedman wrote on the website for the religious Zionist network, Arutz Sheva.
The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, described Friedman’s views as being on the far right of the Israeli political spectrum, more hardline than Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
David Friedman, who had more recently served on the president-elect’s advisory team on the Middle East, said that he looked forward to delivering Trump’s pledge to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the US embassy there.
Friedman, 57, serves as president of the American Friends of Bet El Institutions, which funds settlements in the West Bank.
He disagrees with the general international consensus that the settlements are illegal and he opposes a ban on settlement construction on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. And he has long supported an undivided Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
Friedman is also a fervent opponent to another orthodoxy of US foreign policy, the “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which the territory would be shared.
“That’s the ‘two-state solution’ – an illusion that serves the worst intentions of both the United States and the Palestinian Arabs. It has never been a solution, only a narrative. But even the narrative itself now needs to end,” Friedman wrote on the website for the religious Zionist network, Arutz Sheva.
The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, described Friedman’s views as being on the far right of the Israeli political spectrum, more hardline than Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
13 dec 2016
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has announced a series of upcoming events to celebrate the so-called "Golden jubilee of Jerusalem's re-unification", which marks the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem.
For her part, Israel's minister of culture, Miri Regev, revealed that "an old newly-discovered tunnel" stretching from the south of the Old City in Silwan to al-Aqsa Mosque will be opened in conjunction with the launch of the golden jubilee's events in the Hanukkah, or the Jewish Festival of Lights.
Both Netanyahu and Regev attacked the UNESCO for its latest statement which confirms that there is no relation between Israel and Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque. Netanyahu claimed, "The Jews have ties with the entire land of Palestine and not only Jerusalem."
In the Israeli government's weakly statement, Netanyahu said, "Jerusalem is Israel's vibrant capital and it is being reconstructed." He also added, "The 50th anniversary of the re-unification of Jerusalem is a great event in the Jewish and Israeli history that will be properly celebrated."
Regev said that the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Antiquities Authority will inaugurate during Hanukkah festival one of Jerusalem's old streets where the Maccabees used to walk two thousand years ago.
She added that she considers the project of discovering the antiquities of the Old City and continuing the excavation works there as an important national project for Israel in general and the Ministry of Culture and Sports in particular.
The right-wing extremist minister pointed out that the excavation works led to finding a coin belonging to the series of currencies that had been minted between 66 and 70 AD. She claimed that Hebrew letters were engraved on one side of the coin saying "Liberty of Zion ".
For her part, Israel's minister of culture, Miri Regev, revealed that "an old newly-discovered tunnel" stretching from the south of the Old City in Silwan to al-Aqsa Mosque will be opened in conjunction with the launch of the golden jubilee's events in the Hanukkah, or the Jewish Festival of Lights.
Both Netanyahu and Regev attacked the UNESCO for its latest statement which confirms that there is no relation between Israel and Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque. Netanyahu claimed, "The Jews have ties with the entire land of Palestine and not only Jerusalem."
In the Israeli government's weakly statement, Netanyahu said, "Jerusalem is Israel's vibrant capital and it is being reconstructed." He also added, "The 50th anniversary of the re-unification of Jerusalem is a great event in the Jewish and Israeli history that will be properly celebrated."
Regev said that the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Antiquities Authority will inaugurate during Hanukkah festival one of Jerusalem's old streets where the Maccabees used to walk two thousand years ago.
She added that she considers the project of discovering the antiquities of the Old City and continuing the excavation works there as an important national project for Israel in general and the Ministry of Culture and Sports in particular.
The right-wing extremist minister pointed out that the excavation works led to finding a coin belonging to the series of currencies that had been minted between 66 and 70 AD. She claimed that Hebrew letters were engraved on one side of the coin saying "Liberty of Zion ".
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to meet with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom during her projected visit to the region, Haaretz reported Tuesday.
Margot Wallstrom will arrive in Israel on Thursday, but will be met by no Israeli official.
Israeli officials claimed the move is due to scheduling conflicts, but informed sources attributed the snub to Sweden’s pro-Palestine position.
The Swedish FM will not meet with any Israeli official during her stay, with the government effectively boycotting her over her controversial statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A Foreign Ministry official told Haaretz that while Wallstrom had reached out to try and arrange meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers, she had been informed that these would not be possible due to schedule considerations.
But the unnamed official added that the Israelis were simply uninterested in meeting with Wallstrom due to her government’s positions on the conflict as well as her own past comments.
“We’ve reached the conclusion that there’s no one to talk to and nothing to talk about,” he said.
The 61-year-old Social Democrat has repeatedly enraged Israel, starting with Sweden’s recognition of a Palestinian state shortly after she became foreign minister in October 2014.
In one of her retorts, she identified the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one of the factors explaining why “there are so many people who have become radicalized.”
In December of last year, she called on Israel to halt what she called “extrajudicial executions” against anti-occupation knife-wielding Palestinians, following up with a demand for “thorough” investigations into the killing of Palestinians by the Israeli occupation army.
Margot Wallstrom will arrive in Israel on Thursday, but will be met by no Israeli official.
Israeli officials claimed the move is due to scheduling conflicts, but informed sources attributed the snub to Sweden’s pro-Palestine position.
The Swedish FM will not meet with any Israeli official during her stay, with the government effectively boycotting her over her controversial statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A Foreign Ministry official told Haaretz that while Wallstrom had reached out to try and arrange meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers, she had been informed that these would not be possible due to schedule considerations.
But the unnamed official added that the Israelis were simply uninterested in meeting with Wallstrom due to her government’s positions on the conflict as well as her own past comments.
“We’ve reached the conclusion that there’s no one to talk to and nothing to talk about,” he said.
The 61-year-old Social Democrat has repeatedly enraged Israel, starting with Sweden’s recognition of a Palestinian state shortly after she became foreign minister in October 2014.
In one of her retorts, she identified the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one of the factors explaining why “there are so many people who have become radicalized.”
In December of last year, she called on Israel to halt what she called “extrajudicial executions” against anti-occupation knife-wielding Palestinians, following up with a demand for “thorough” investigations into the killing of Palestinians by the Israeli occupation army.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday confiscated a mobile clinic in Al-Khalil’s southern town of Yatta.
A PIC news correspondent said the IOF seized a mobile medical truck that started only three days ago to provide sick civilians with medical treatment.
The IOF soldiers, escorting a tractor and a crane, took away the mobile medical caravan to an unknown destination.
Funded by an Italian institution, the mobile clinic project was initiated by the Palestinian Health Ministry to provide health care for some 120 Palestinian patients in Yatta, in the southern occupied West Bank.
The Israeli occupation army has often cracked down on Palestinians in Yatta town, declaring Palestinian lands in the area zones of military drilling. At the same time, several Palestinian land lots have been seized in favor of illegal settlement expansion.
A PIC news correspondent said the IOF seized a mobile medical truck that started only three days ago to provide sick civilians with medical treatment.
The IOF soldiers, escorting a tractor and a crane, took away the mobile medical caravan to an unknown destination.
Funded by an Italian institution, the mobile clinic project was initiated by the Palestinian Health Ministry to provide health care for some 120 Palestinian patients in Yatta, in the southern occupied West Bank.
The Israeli occupation army has often cracked down on Palestinians in Yatta town, declaring Palestinian lands in the area zones of military drilling. At the same time, several Palestinian land lots have been seized in favor of illegal settlement expansion.