14 mar 2017
Israeli forces stormed Tuesday morning the office of Khalil Tufkaji, Director of Cartographic Section of the Arab Studies Society, in Beit Hanina town, north of occupied Jerusalem, and ordered its closure.
The decision to shut down the office was issued by the Israeli Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan.
According to a statement issued by the Israeli police, the office threatens Israel’s settlement ambitions as it was dedicated to the research of land in the Palestinian territories including settlement monitoring, soil surveys, land confiscation. It further threatens "Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem", according to the statement.
The Arab Studies Society was established in 1980, registered in Israel as a public institute and was located in the historic Orient House building. Like any think tank, the society organized lectures and conferences and housed a big public library.
Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli forces arrested Tufakji and confiscated all computers in the Society along with numerous files.
The decision to shut down the office was issued by the Israeli Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan.
According to a statement issued by the Israeli police, the office threatens Israel’s settlement ambitions as it was dedicated to the research of land in the Palestinian territories including settlement monitoring, soil surveys, land confiscation. It further threatens "Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem", according to the statement.
The Arab Studies Society was established in 1980, registered in Israel as a public institute and was located in the historic Orient House building. Like any think tank, the society organized lectures and conferences and housed a big public library.
Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli forces arrested Tufakji and confiscated all computers in the Society along with numerous files.
13 mar 2017
The leader in the Hamas Movement, Ismail Radwan, said on Monday that Israel is trying, through internationalizing the issue of Gaza, to evade granting the Palestinian people their rights and to bypass the new reality imposed by the resistance in the Gaza Strip during the recent years.
Radwan affirmed during a political seminar organized by al-Aqsa University on the internationalization of Gaza that Hamas does not oppose establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders. However, he added, this does not mean recognizing Israel because the entire land of historical Palestine belongs to the Palestinian and Muslim generations.
He stressed Hamas's absolute rejection of the negotiations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel, pointing to the deadlock they have reached after 23 years of negotiations.
He emphasized that the negotiations achieved nothing for the Palestinian cause, but instead, they aggravated the pain of the Palestinian people by arresting and pursuing resistance fighters.
The Hamas leader accused the PA of covering up the Israeli crimes with its security coordination, noting that Israel is the biggest beneficiary of the Oslo Agreement which led to differences and divisions in the Palestinian arena.
Radwan asserted that no state will be established in Gaza, and no Palestinian state will be established without Gaza, noting that Hamas is keen on the unity of the Palestinian lands and people.
Regarding the news published by some media outlets about establishing a Palestinian state in Gaza that extends to the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, Radwan said that Hamas does not accept any replacement for Palestine.
Radwan affirmed during a political seminar organized by al-Aqsa University on the internationalization of Gaza that Hamas does not oppose establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders. However, he added, this does not mean recognizing Israel because the entire land of historical Palestine belongs to the Palestinian and Muslim generations.
He stressed Hamas's absolute rejection of the negotiations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel, pointing to the deadlock they have reached after 23 years of negotiations.
He emphasized that the negotiations achieved nothing for the Palestinian cause, but instead, they aggravated the pain of the Palestinian people by arresting and pursuing resistance fighters.
The Hamas leader accused the PA of covering up the Israeli crimes with its security coordination, noting that Israel is the biggest beneficiary of the Oslo Agreement which led to differences and divisions in the Palestinian arena.
Radwan asserted that no state will be established in Gaza, and no Palestinian state will be established without Gaza, noting that Hamas is keen on the unity of the Palestinian lands and people.
Regarding the news published by some media outlets about establishing a Palestinian state in Gaza that extends to the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, Radwan said that Hamas does not accept any replacement for Palestine.
A mass rally swept Ramallah streets, in the central occupied West Bank, afternoon Monday, calling for bringing the Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas before court.
Reporting from the scene, a PIC news correspondent said the rally goers spoke out against the aggressions carried out by the PA forces against the Palestinian protesters and called for ceasing all forms of security cooperation with the Israeli occupation.
The demonstrators pushed for prosecuting Abbas and all those involved in crackdowns against Palestinian anti-occupation activists.
Islamic Jihad leader in the West Bank Sheikh Sa’id Nakhla said the PA suppressive policies and monopolization of decision-making are likely to bring about a state of unpredictable turmoil that will turn the de facto situation upside down.
Nakhla added that the investigation committee announced by the PA is only “an anesthesia needle” that aims to “pull the wool over Palestinians’ eyes.”
The Islamic Jihad leader urged the PA to halt security coordination with the Israeli occupation, dubbing it a “gallows on Palestinians’ neck.”
Other Palestinian factions and NGOs condemned, in the strongest terms, the oppressive policies pursued by the PA and crackdowns on the Palestinian protesters in a Sunday rally staged outside the PA courts in protest at the trial of slain anti-occupation youth Basil al-A’raj and his fellows.
Reporting from the scene, a PIC news correspondent said the rally goers spoke out against the aggressions carried out by the PA forces against the Palestinian protesters and called for ceasing all forms of security cooperation with the Israeli occupation.
The demonstrators pushed for prosecuting Abbas and all those involved in crackdowns against Palestinian anti-occupation activists.
Islamic Jihad leader in the West Bank Sheikh Sa’id Nakhla said the PA suppressive policies and monopolization of decision-making are likely to bring about a state of unpredictable turmoil that will turn the de facto situation upside down.
Nakhla added that the investigation committee announced by the PA is only “an anesthesia needle” that aims to “pull the wool over Palestinians’ eyes.”
The Islamic Jihad leader urged the PA to halt security coordination with the Israeli occupation, dubbing it a “gallows on Palestinians’ neck.”
Other Palestinian factions and NGOs condemned, in the strongest terms, the oppressive policies pursued by the PA and crackdowns on the Palestinian protesters in a Sunday rally staged outside the PA courts in protest at the trial of slain anti-occupation youth Basil al-A’raj and his fellows.
The Israeli Minister of Culture, Miri Regev, and Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Environment Protection, Ze’ev Elkin pushed for the establishment of a so-called “Temple Mount Legacy Fund” to prop up Jews’ alleged ties to holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
The bid advanced by Regev and Elkin calls for allocating a budget of two million shekels per annum so as to promote a media campaign on Jews’ alleged ties to al-Aqsa Mosque—the third holiest site in Islam.
The bid will be brought into a government debate sometime soon, in response to a UNESCO resolution issued last October denying Jewish ties to al-Aqsa place of worship.
The Israeli ministers claimed the projected fund aims to spread awareness about the history of the Temple Mount via printed and online multi-lingual circulars and social media network activities.
On Sunday Regev and Elkin said the fund is the right response to the UNESCO resolution.
The bid advanced by Regev and Elkin calls for allocating a budget of two million shekels per annum so as to promote a media campaign on Jews’ alleged ties to al-Aqsa Mosque—the third holiest site in Islam.
The bid will be brought into a government debate sometime soon, in response to a UNESCO resolution issued last October denying Jewish ties to al-Aqsa place of worship.
The Israeli ministers claimed the projected fund aims to spread awareness about the history of the Temple Mount via printed and online multi-lingual circulars and social media network activities.
On Sunday Regev and Elkin said the fund is the right response to the UNESCO resolution.
11 mar 2017
Palestinian activists called for organizing protest sit-ins under the theme “Basel will hold them to account” in occupied Palestinian territories and in a number of countries in coincidence with the Palestinian Authority (PA) trial of martyr Basel al-A’raj along with five of his imprisoned companions in Israeli jails over the charge of illegal weapon possession. The trial is scheduled to be held in Ramallah on Sunday.
According to a call launched over social media websites, the protesters are going to take to the streets in Palestinian and Arab cities of Ramallah, Gaza, Haifa, Amman, Tunis and Rabat in addition to a number of European cities. The event aims at protesting the trial of martyr al-A’raj whose body is still detained by the Israeli occupation authorities as well as condemning the PA policy of political detention.
The main sit-in will be staged in front of the courts compound in al-Baloa area in Ramallah city on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The lawyer of martyr al-A’raj, Muhannad Karaja, pointed out that the trial sessions have not been completed yet since the release of al-A’raj and his colleagues on bail (2000 Jordanian dollars each). The hearings are still periodically held in their case despite being arrested by Israeli occupation forces who rounded them up few days after their release from the PA prisons where they had been detained for months over the charge of planning to form a resistance cell.
Al-A’raj, a pharmacist and a prominent anti-occupation activist from al-Walaja town in Bethlehem, was fatally gunned down by Israeli occupation soldiers in a house in Ramallah at dawn last Monday.
According to a call launched over social media websites, the protesters are going to take to the streets in Palestinian and Arab cities of Ramallah, Gaza, Haifa, Amman, Tunis and Rabat in addition to a number of European cities. The event aims at protesting the trial of martyr al-A’raj whose body is still detained by the Israeli occupation authorities as well as condemning the PA policy of political detention.
The main sit-in will be staged in front of the courts compound in al-Baloa area in Ramallah city on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The lawyer of martyr al-A’raj, Muhannad Karaja, pointed out that the trial sessions have not been completed yet since the release of al-A’raj and his colleagues on bail (2000 Jordanian dollars each). The hearings are still periodically held in their case despite being arrested by Israeli occupation forces who rounded them up few days after their release from the PA prisons where they had been detained for months over the charge of planning to form a resistance cell.
Al-A’raj, a pharmacist and a prominent anti-occupation activist from al-Walaja town in Bethlehem, was fatally gunned down by Israeli occupation soldiers in a house in Ramallah at dawn last Monday.
8 mar 2017
The Israeli Knesset passed Wednesday afternoon first reading of the edited motion of Adhan ban bill.
Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation had earlier approved an amendment to the contested Adhan ban bill, which seeks to impose limits on the Muslim call to prayer within the Green Line and in occupied Jerusalem, paving the way for the bill to be voted on in the Knesset.
The bill was modified to prevent the use of loudspeakers by mosques only between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., after ultra-Orthodox Israeli Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman filed an appeal against the draft law in November out of fear that it could also affect use of sirens for the weekly Jewish call for Shabbat.
Violations of the ban on loudspeakers during those hours will be fined 10,000 shekels ($2,665).
The bill will be submitted to the Knesset and will have to go through three rounds of votes before it can pass into law.
Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation had earlier approved an amendment to the contested Adhan ban bill, which seeks to impose limits on the Muslim call to prayer within the Green Line and in occupied Jerusalem, paving the way for the bill to be voted on in the Knesset.
The bill was modified to prevent the use of loudspeakers by mosques only between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., after ultra-Orthodox Israeli Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman filed an appeal against the draft law in November out of fear that it could also affect use of sirens for the weekly Jewish call for Shabbat.
Violations of the ban on loudspeakers during those hours will be fined 10,000 shekels ($2,665).
The bill will be submitted to the Knesset and will have to go through three rounds of votes before it can pass into law.
The Israeli police on Wednesday morning prevented al-Aqsa Mosque personnel from repairing the gate of the Qibli place of worship and arrested two staff members.
The Israeli police arrested al-Aqsa staff members Issa al-Dabagh and engineer Basam al-Halaq as they headed to the Qibli Mosque to repair its entrance gate.
At the same time, 23 Israeli settlers, escorted by police troops, stormed the plazas of al-Aqsa Mosque via the Maghareba Gate as part of the morning break-in shift.
The Israeli settlers performed sacrilegious rituals at the holy site, stirring furor among the Muslim worshipers and sit-inners.
Meanwhile, the Israeli forces broke into al-Rahma Cemetery, adjacent to al-Aqsa Mosque, and prevented Palestinian mourners from digging a grave to bury their Muslim relative.
The Israeli police arrested al-Aqsa staff members Issa al-Dabagh and engineer Basam al-Halaq as they headed to the Qibli Mosque to repair its entrance gate.
At the same time, 23 Israeli settlers, escorted by police troops, stormed the plazas of al-Aqsa Mosque via the Maghareba Gate as part of the morning break-in shift.
The Israeli settlers performed sacrilegious rituals at the holy site, stirring furor among the Muslim worshipers and sit-inners.
Meanwhile, the Israeli forces broke into al-Rahma Cemetery, adjacent to al-Aqsa Mosque, and prevented Palestinian mourners from digging a grave to bury their Muslim relative.
7 mar 2017
An Israeli court in Haifa city on Monday sentenced a Palestinian young man to one year in prison on charges of incitement and supporting a resistance group on social media.
According to Quds Press, the ruling was issued following a compromise between the defense lawyer and the Israeli prosecutor.
The indictment claimed that 20-year-old Khaled Mawasi, from I'billin village in the Galilee, published postings on Facebook and Instagram that incited to violence and terrorism (acts of resistance against the occupation) and supported Hamas.
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, recently enacted legislation criminalizing anyone who incite against Israel on social media outlets and allowing the competent authorities to give orders to providers of social networking services to remove postings inciting against Israel.
There was also a special agreement last year between Facebook and Israel over disabling pages that antagonize Israel and incite against it.
More than 150 Palestinians had been arrested and jailed after they expressed opinions against Israel on their social media pages since the outbreak of al-Aqsa intifada (uprising) in October 2015.
According to Quds Press, the ruling was issued following a compromise between the defense lawyer and the Israeli prosecutor.
The indictment claimed that 20-year-old Khaled Mawasi, from I'billin village in the Galilee, published postings on Facebook and Instagram that incited to violence and terrorism (acts of resistance against the occupation) and supported Hamas.
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, recently enacted legislation criminalizing anyone who incite against Israel on social media outlets and allowing the competent authorities to give orders to providers of social networking services to remove postings inciting against Israel.
There was also a special agreement last year between Facebook and Israel over disabling pages that antagonize Israel and incite against it.
More than 150 Palestinians had been arrested and jailed after they expressed opinions against Israel on their social media pages since the outbreak of al-Aqsa intifada (uprising) in October 2015.