5 feb 2017
The Moroccan Commission to Support the Nation’s Causes slammed the Palestinian Authority (PA), chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, for handing over the al-Mascoubiya Church to the Russians.
PA police used teargas to disband hundreds of protesters in al-Sabta area and cordoned off the environs of the al-Mascoubiya church, after they declared it a closed military zone. Several protesters were also arrested on claims of inciting riots.
The decision by the PA to hand over a church built on Palestinian land to an envoy of the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Occupied Jerusalem sparked widespread furor among the Muslim and Christian communities across the occupied Palestinian territories and overseas.
The forfeited church covers an area of 73 dunums of Islamic land in the southern occupied West Bank province of al-Khalil. It dates back to hundreds of years ago and has long been known as part of endowments offered by Tamim Ibn Aws al-Dari, one of the companions of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad.
The Moroccan Commission expressed its concern over the move, saying there is undeniable historical proof that Prophet Muhammad tasked his companion Tamim Bin Aws al-Dari, who was among the first people who adhered to Islam in Palestine, to use the land in favor of all generations of Muslims setting up roots in the area.
“The commission expresses its firm rejection of the decision by Mahmoud Abbas to hand over an Islamic property to the Russian missionaries,” the statement further read.
The commission called on Arabs and Muslims across the world to take urgent action as regards such an “unacceptable move.”
PA police used teargas to disband hundreds of protesters in al-Sabta area and cordoned off the environs of the al-Mascoubiya church, after they declared it a closed military zone. Several protesters were also arrested on claims of inciting riots.
The decision by the PA to hand over a church built on Palestinian land to an envoy of the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Occupied Jerusalem sparked widespread furor among the Muslim and Christian communities across the occupied Palestinian territories and overseas.
The forfeited church covers an area of 73 dunums of Islamic land in the southern occupied West Bank province of al-Khalil. It dates back to hundreds of years ago and has long been known as part of endowments offered by Tamim Ibn Aws al-Dari, one of the companions of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad.
The Moroccan Commission expressed its concern over the move, saying there is undeniable historical proof that Prophet Muhammad tasked his companion Tamim Bin Aws al-Dari, who was among the first people who adhered to Islam in Palestine, to use the land in favor of all generations of Muslims setting up roots in the area.
“The commission expresses its firm rejection of the decision by Mahmoud Abbas to hand over an Islamic property to the Russian missionaries,” the statement further read.
The commission called on Arabs and Muslims across the world to take urgent action as regards such an “unacceptable move.”
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) on Saturday evening handed over the body of 24-year-old slain youth Hussein Abu Ghush, after withholding it for over 10 days.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said they received the body of Hussein Salem Abu Ghush at the Ofer military checkpoint, near Ramallah’s western town of Beitunya.
Abu Ghush’s body was transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah pending his transfer to his family home.
The casualty’s family is expected to bid him last farewell at noontime Sunday in the Qalandiya refugee camp, in northern Occupied Jerusalem. His funeral procession is expected to be held on the same day.
Abu Ghush was fatally gunned down by the Israeli occupation soldiers on January 25, 2017 near Mekhmas village, to the east of Ramallah province, after his car accidentally hit an Israeli bus station.
The occupation army claimed Abu Ghush attempted to carry out an anti-occupation car-ramming attack against Israeli soldiers deployed near the bus station. No injuries were, however, reported among the Israelis.
At least 284 Palestinian youths were murdered by the Israeli occupation army since the start of the anti-occupation Intifada in early April 2015, seven among whom killed since the start of 2017.
Probes launched by human rights NGOs and watchdogs into the killings found out that they have been mostly cases of extrajudicial murder.
The bodies of seven slain Palestinians have, meanwhile, been held by the occupation authorities, preventing their families from bidding them last farewell.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said they received the body of Hussein Salem Abu Ghush at the Ofer military checkpoint, near Ramallah’s western town of Beitunya.
Abu Ghush’s body was transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah pending his transfer to his family home.
The casualty’s family is expected to bid him last farewell at noontime Sunday in the Qalandiya refugee camp, in northern Occupied Jerusalem. His funeral procession is expected to be held on the same day.
Abu Ghush was fatally gunned down by the Israeli occupation soldiers on January 25, 2017 near Mekhmas village, to the east of Ramallah province, after his car accidentally hit an Israeli bus station.
The occupation army claimed Abu Ghush attempted to carry out an anti-occupation car-ramming attack against Israeli soldiers deployed near the bus station. No injuries were, however, reported among the Israelis.
At least 284 Palestinian youths were murdered by the Israeli occupation army since the start of the anti-occupation Intifada in early April 2015, seven among whom killed since the start of 2017.
Probes launched by human rights NGOs and watchdogs into the killings found out that they have been mostly cases of extrajudicial murder.
The bodies of seven slain Palestinians have, meanwhile, been held by the occupation authorities, preventing their families from bidding them last farewell.
4 feb 2017
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) revealed that Israeli police imposed new arbitrary and provocative restrictions east of occupied Jerusalem.
Overnight raid and search campaigns are regularly carried out in the occupied city especially in Ras Khamis neighborhood, the association reported.
ACRI lawyer Nesrin Alian warned of the serious implications of such violations, saying that Israeli police work to impose a new status quo in the city.
Alian called for putting an end to the Israeli police’s provocative measures which clearly violate the citizens’ privacy and dignity.
Overnight raid and search campaigns are regularly carried out in the occupied city especially in Ras Khamis neighborhood, the association reported.
ACRI lawyer Nesrin Alian warned of the serious implications of such violations, saying that Israeli police work to impose a new status quo in the city.
Alian called for putting an end to the Israeli police’s provocative measures which clearly violate the citizens’ privacy and dignity.
2 feb 2017
Palestinians in Bir Nabala town in Occupied Jerusalem on Thursday bade farewell to the minor martyr Mohammad Zidan, 16, who was killed by Israeli forces last October.
Martyr Zidan was killed at the hands of Israeli soldiers who shot him at an Israeli military checkpoint while he was going to hospital for kidney failure treatment.
Israeli authorities detained the martyr’s body for three months before releasing it on Wednesday evening.
Martyr Zidan was killed at the hands of Israeli soldiers who shot him at an Israeli military checkpoint while he was going to hospital for kidney failure treatment.
Israeli authorities detained the martyr’s body for three months before releasing it on Wednesday evening.
1 feb 2017
The Palestinian Authority (PA) apparatuses late on Tuesday evening kidnapped the Palestinian jail-breaker Samer Bani Awdeh, a couple of days after he managed to break out of an Israeli lock-up.
A PIC news correspondent said the PA forces kidnapped 32-year-old Samer Bani Awdeh after they broke into his family home in Tulkarem’s northern area of al-Jaroushiya.
The detainee was transferred to the PA lock-up in Jericho pending his transfer to an Israeli jail.
Bani Awdeh managed to escape from an Israeli prison on Sunday while he was being transferred to the HaEmek Hospital in Afoula to undergo medical check-ups.
The arrest of Bani Awdeh is a sign of ongoing security coordination between the PA, chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli occupation authorities.
A PIC news correspondent said the PA forces kidnapped 32-year-old Samer Bani Awdeh after they broke into his family home in Tulkarem’s northern area of al-Jaroushiya.
The detainee was transferred to the PA lock-up in Jericho pending his transfer to an Israeli jail.
Bani Awdeh managed to escape from an Israeli prison on Sunday while he was being transferred to the HaEmek Hospital in Afoula to undergo medical check-ups.
The arrest of Bani Awdeh is a sign of ongoing security coordination between the PA, chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli occupation authorities.
January 2017, was one of Jerusalem intifada’s (uprising) important junctures that had seen paradigmatic resistance operations and counterattacks against the Israeli occupation.
According to a report released by Intifada website, 90 acts of resistance against Israeli soldiers and settlers happened last January, including shootings, stabbings, and attacks using vehicles, Molotov cocktails, explosive devices and stones.
The most heroic operation was the vehicle-ramming operation that had been carried out by martyr Fadi Qunbar and led to the killing of four Israeli soldiers and the injury of many others.
Eight Palestinian young men were killed in those operations and other incidents during that month while 247 others suffered injuries in different events related to the intifada.
According to a report released by Intifada website, 90 acts of resistance against Israeli soldiers and settlers happened last January, including shootings, stabbings, and attacks using vehicles, Molotov cocktails, explosive devices and stones.
The most heroic operation was the vehicle-ramming operation that had been carried out by martyr Fadi Qunbar and led to the killing of four Israeli soldiers and the injury of many others.
Eight Palestinian young men were killed in those operations and other incidents during that month while 247 others suffered injuries in different events related to the intifada.
The Israeli Knesset on Tuesday lifted a ban prohibiting its members from visiting the Aqsa Mosque, which has been exposed to growing desecration by Jewish settlers and officials since 2015.
According to Israel’s Channel 2, the ethics committee at the Knesset called on MKs to coordinate with the Israeli police and follow their instructions before visiting the Islamic holy site.
The committee made this decision in response to a request submitted by Knesset member Yehuda Glick, an extremist Jewish rabbi.
The channel noted that the decision was also politically motivated by the Israeli government.
The Knesset members were banned from entering the Aqsa Mosque compound in 2015 following a police warning that visits to the Islamic holy place by politicians could provoke violence.
According to Israel’s Channel 2, the ethics committee at the Knesset called on MKs to coordinate with the Israeli police and follow their instructions before visiting the Islamic holy site.
The committee made this decision in response to a request submitted by Knesset member Yehuda Glick, an extremist Jewish rabbi.
The channel noted that the decision was also politically motivated by the Israeli government.
The Knesset members were banned from entering the Aqsa Mosque compound in 2015 following a police warning that visits to the Islamic holy place by politicians could provoke violence.
31 jan 2017
An Israeli project to prop up ties between West Bank illegal settlements outposts has been underway, Israeli sources reported Tuesday.
According to the Hebrew-speaking Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the Israeli occupation authorities made a plan to enhance transportation, excavate tunnels, establish new access roads, and expand the light railway network in an attempt to slash travel time and cost between West Bank settlements and Tel Aviv, Gush Dan, and Occupied Jerusalem.
$5 billion will be invested to enhance infrastructure and the transportation network and also to construct more settlement units in Beit Shemesh, Tsur, and Hadassah, in Occupied Jerusalem.
The plan will enable Israeli buses to pass through the Gush Etzion settlement to Tel Aviv through Occupied Jerusalem and also to establish settlement projects in Maaleh Adumim worth 1 billion shekels and an access road for Israeli buses worth 30 million shekels.
Earlier, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, approved a bid to construct 2,500 illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank, a couple of days after he had signaled the go-ahead for the construction of 600 settlement units in Occupied Jerusalem.
The pace of Israel’s illegal settlement activity has grown remarkably following the swearing-in of the U.S. President, Donald Trump, despite a resolution by the UN Security Council last month outlawing Israeli settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories.
According to the Hebrew-speaking Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the Israeli occupation authorities made a plan to enhance transportation, excavate tunnels, establish new access roads, and expand the light railway network in an attempt to slash travel time and cost between West Bank settlements and Tel Aviv, Gush Dan, and Occupied Jerusalem.
$5 billion will be invested to enhance infrastructure and the transportation network and also to construct more settlement units in Beit Shemesh, Tsur, and Hadassah, in Occupied Jerusalem.
The plan will enable Israeli buses to pass through the Gush Etzion settlement to Tel Aviv through Occupied Jerusalem and also to establish settlement projects in Maaleh Adumim worth 1 billion shekels and an access road for Israeli buses worth 30 million shekels.
Earlier, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, approved a bid to construct 2,500 illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank, a couple of days after he had signaled the go-ahead for the construction of 600 settlement units in Occupied Jerusalem.
The pace of Israel’s illegal settlement activity has grown remarkably following the swearing-in of the U.S. President, Donald Trump, despite a resolution by the UN Security Council last month outlawing Israeli settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories.
30 jan 2017
The Washington Post newspaper disclosed that the new US president Donald Trump along with a number of his associates are among donors who fund Beit El settlement near Ramallah.
The American newspaper reported that Jewish settlers of Beit El are happy for Trump's inauguration as the US President and started development projects in Beit El settlement, which was established on Palestinian lands in 1977. Beit El settlers have recently opened a religious school regardless of the controversy on constructing any new building in the settlement.
The report pointed out that many of Trump’s retinue have strong bonds with Israeli extremist right wing figures including David Friedman, who was nominated by Trump as the US ambassador to Israel. He also occupies the position of Head of the American Friends of Beit El Institution, which collects annual donations for the settlement estimated at 2 million American dollars.
The American newspaper reported that Jewish settlers of Beit El are happy for Trump's inauguration as the US President and started development projects in Beit El settlement, which was established on Palestinian lands in 1977. Beit El settlers have recently opened a religious school regardless of the controversy on constructing any new building in the settlement.
The report pointed out that many of Trump’s retinue have strong bonds with Israeli extremist right wing figures including David Friedman, who was nominated by Trump as the US ambassador to Israel. He also occupies the position of Head of the American Friends of Beit El Institution, which collects annual donations for the settlement estimated at 2 million American dollars.
Director of the holy al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani, warned of new Israeli schemes and break-in tactics pursued at the site in an attempt to impose a new fait accompli.
Speaking in an interview with PIC, Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani said that by the end of 2016 and the start of 2017, Israeli Haredim gangs, commonly known as the “blacks” in reference to their black clothes and dogmatic doctrines, have been allowed to break into the al-Aqsa Mosque and perform their Talmudic rituals in the presence of Israeli cops.
“In the wake of the latest UNESCO resolution denying Israeli ties to Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque, the Israeli intelligence and police opted for other tactics to hold sway over the site and violate Muslims’ freedom of worship,” noted al-Kiswani.
He added that in the wake of UNESCO bid, new Israeli settler gangs and fanatic hordes, including the Haredims, have forced their way into the site and carried out sacrilegious rituals, most notably wailing, dress tearing, and barefoot break-ins.
Al-Kiswani said he believes that an Israeli resolution is being currently weaved against the al-Aqsa Mosque in response to the UNESCO resolution.
“Israeli break-ins reached a peak on Sunday as 35 settlers stormed the site in the morning shift while 20 Israelis, mostly dressed in black attire, broke into the al-Aqsa place of worship in the afternoon shift,” al-Kiswani warned.
He added that the Israeli settlers burst into hysterics and carried out rituals violating the sanctity of the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Quoting al-Aqsa supervision staff, al-Kiswani said: “A horde of 15 Israeli settlers have been storming the mosque on a daily basis and performing the same rituals as if they were carrying out an official mission dictated by their leaders.”
Al-Kiswani further spoke out against the crackdowns, abductions, and tough restrictions imposed by the Israeli police against the Muslim worshipers at the entrance gates to the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. It is a highly sacred place for the adherents of the Islamic faith across the occupied Palestinian territories and across the other parts of the globe.
Speaking in an interview with PIC, Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani said that by the end of 2016 and the start of 2017, Israeli Haredim gangs, commonly known as the “blacks” in reference to their black clothes and dogmatic doctrines, have been allowed to break into the al-Aqsa Mosque and perform their Talmudic rituals in the presence of Israeli cops.
“In the wake of the latest UNESCO resolution denying Israeli ties to Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque, the Israeli intelligence and police opted for other tactics to hold sway over the site and violate Muslims’ freedom of worship,” noted al-Kiswani.
He added that in the wake of UNESCO bid, new Israeli settler gangs and fanatic hordes, including the Haredims, have forced their way into the site and carried out sacrilegious rituals, most notably wailing, dress tearing, and barefoot break-ins.
Al-Kiswani said he believes that an Israeli resolution is being currently weaved against the al-Aqsa Mosque in response to the UNESCO resolution.
“Israeli break-ins reached a peak on Sunday as 35 settlers stormed the site in the morning shift while 20 Israelis, mostly dressed in black attire, broke into the al-Aqsa place of worship in the afternoon shift,” al-Kiswani warned.
He added that the Israeli settlers burst into hysterics and carried out rituals violating the sanctity of the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Quoting al-Aqsa supervision staff, al-Kiswani said: “A horde of 15 Israeli settlers have been storming the mosque on a daily basis and performing the same rituals as if they were carrying out an official mission dictated by their leaders.”
Al-Kiswani further spoke out against the crackdowns, abductions, and tough restrictions imposed by the Israeli police against the Muslim worshipers at the entrance gates to the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. It is a highly sacred place for the adherents of the Islamic faith across the occupied Palestinian territories and across the other parts of the globe.
