Category Archives: Palestine

Everyday harassment! The Israeli Army closes central vegetable market near Nablus

The Israeli Occupation Forces closed the central vegetable market this morning in Baita, a village south of  Nablus. They also prevented vegetable containers from entering and leaving the market under the pretext of  stone throwing at Israeli settlers’ cars in Hwara street .

The Head of Baita Municipality, Uthman Dweekat, said that  the Israeli Army raided the  village, closed the central vegetable market and prevented the vegetable containers’ access to the market. He also added that the market provides a number of West Bank cities with vegetables and fruit, not only the nearby towns and villages.

In related context, eyewitnesses reported that the  Israeli army set up a checkpoint by the main entrance of the  village and checked the passengers’ IDs.

via The Israeli Army closes central vegetable market near Nablus.

Just plain meanness! Israeli demolition of dairy factory in Hebron

Israeli bulldozers are reported to have inflicted considerable damage in demolishing a dairy farm and factory owned by Hebron’s Islamic Charitable Society in al-Rama neighbourhood in the north of the city. Eyewitnesses report that Israeli soldiers accompanied two bulldozers and two excavators at the site.

The Chair of the Islamic Charitable Society’s Board of Directors, Hatim al-Bakri, estimated the cost of the damages in the region of “2 million US dollars”. The “services the Charitable Society offers to orphans in the Hebron district will be badly affected”, he added. The factory employs around 52 members of staff.

This is not the first time the factory has been targeted. Israeli forces confiscated the factory’s contents in early July, during Ramadan, after the Israeli Council for Planning alleged that the plant was built without a license.

via Israeli demolition of dairy factory in Hebron.

No class, no shame for stealing property – just because they can! Israel approves Jewish yeshiva in heart of East Jerusalem | Maan News Agency

Israel’s Jerusalem municipality has approved plans to build a Jewish religious school in the heart of occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian activists and Israeli media said.

The Ohr Somayach yeshiva will occupy a nine-story building in the middle of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, Haaretz reported.

The plan was reportedly approved six months ago by Jerusalem’s Municipal Planning and Building Committee and given the go ahead on Wednesday.

A Ma’an reporter said the building will occupy 1,900 square meters and have three underground floors.

The religious school will be located between the al-Hayat Medical Center and the Nasif gas station.

Activist and Sheikh Jarrah resident Salih Diab told Ma’an that the building of a Jewish religious school, and the implementation of evacuation orders against Palestinian residents, will turn Sheikh Jarrah into a “Jewish neighborhood.”

The land was reportedly confiscated in the 1980s under Israel’s Absentee Property Law of 1950, which had been used as a tool to annex Palestinian land.

A 2013 report prepared by the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem said that the law has been used extensively in Jerusalem to confiscate property and land owned by West Bank Palestinians, who were technically considered “absentee” after Israel unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem.

via Israel approves Jewish yeshiva in heart of East Jerusalem | Maan News Agency.

Abbas announces Israel-Gaza ceasefire | Maan News Agency

President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday announced a long-term ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.

In a short televised address, Abbas said the agreement would go into effect at 7 p.m.

“We confirm complete appreciation to the Egyptian efforts which started long ago seeking to satisfy all sides. Qatar also played a role in that. We also would like to mention that (US Secretary of State John) Kerry was also in touch with us for the same purpose and so we thank all those who played roles,” Abbas said.

“We discussed several necessary things with Hamas leaders in Qatar in order to enable the national consensus government to do its job,” he continued.”

via Abbas announces Israel-Gaza ceasefire | Maan News Agency.

Right-wing Jews perform prayers in central West Bank village | Maan News Agency

Dozens of right-wing Israeli settlers raided the northern West Bank village of Kifl Haris in Salfit district in the central West Bank overnight escorted by Israeli troops and performed Jewish prayers.

Locals told Ma’an that the settlers arrived at the shrine of Muslim prophet Thul-Kifl which the Jews identify as the Biblical prophet Ezekiel.

They spent the night at the place, located in the center of Kifl Haris, performing Jewish prayers before leaving in the early morning hours.

via Right-wing Jews perform prayers in central West Bank village | Maan News Agency.

Witness in Gaza: Daughter of Leveled Building’s Owner Tells Us Her Story · Global Voices

“They never gave any reason. The IDF is saying that there was a Hamas operations room in the building. That is a lie. There is a resident on the rooftop who is pro-Hamas, but the building did not host any Hamas Operations Room. In fact, most of the residents that lived in the building are from Fatah.

And even if we accepted their story that there was an apartment used by Hamas, why would they bomb and bring down the whole building? The IDF never brought down civilian buildings simply because it hosted Hamas members. We thought that the IDF only targeted specific targets rather than whole buildings. Whatever reason they made up or will make up would never justify destroying a building housing 44 families. They are now all homeless.”

via Witness in Gaza: Daughter of Leveled Building’s Owner Tells Us Her Story · Global Voices.

Over 300 Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants Condemn Israel’s ‘Massacre of Palestinians in Gaza’ · Global Voices

As Jewish survivors and descendants of survivors and victims of the Nazi genocide we unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing occupation and colonization of historic Palestine. We further condemn the United States for providing Israel with the funding to carry out the attack, and Western states more generally for using their diplomatic muscle to protect Israel from condemnation. Genocide begins with the silence of the world.

We are alarmed by the extreme, racist dehumanization of Palestinians in Israeli society, which has reached a fever-pitch. In Israel, politicians and pundits in The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post have called openly for genocide of Palestinians and right-wing Israelis are adopting Neo-Nazi insignia.

Furthermore, we are disgusted and outraged by Elie Wiesel’s abuse of our history in these pages to justify the unjustifiable: Israel’s wholesale effort to destroy Gaza and the murder of more than 2,000 Palestinians, including many hundreds of children. Nothing can justify bombing UN shelters, homes, hospitals and universities. Nothing can justify depriving people of electricity and water.

We must raise our collective voices and use our collective power to bring about an end to all forms of racism, including the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people. We call for an immediate end to the siege against and blockade of Gaza. We call for the full economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel. “Never again” must mean NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE!

via Over 300 Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants Condemn Israel’s ‘Massacre of Palestinians in Gaza’ · Global Voices.

Bibi and Hamas – working together to preserve each other? Did Bibi choose to preserve Hamas to avoid talks with Abbas? – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Hasson:  The starting point in this claim is that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are like connected vessels, and it is impossible to separate them as part of the solution. Facing this, there are three approaches in Israeli politics on the conflict with the Palestinians: the faith-based approach of [Economy and Trade Minister Naftali] Bennett and his friends; the second approach, of the defense minister and maybe also the prime minister, is that the conflict with the Palestinians must be managed [instead of striving to resolve it]; and the third approach is that we must devise a solution to the conflict.

When I take a closer look at what is happening now, I can only conclude that the diplomatic approach that determined the manner and pace of our operational activity during Operation Protective Edge was the one that says that this conflict has no solution and must be managed instead, so we cannot push anything to the edge. In other words, we mustn’t push Hamas too far into a corner and improve Mahmoud Abbas’ standing, because if he gets stronger, we will eventually have to pay him back in diplomatic currency, a currency that we are not willing to lay out.

via Did Bibi choose to preserve Hamas to avoid talks with Abbas? – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

Israeli forces deliver ‘deportation order’ {just because they can} to PFLP lawmaker | Maan News Agency

Khalida Jarrar told Ma’an that dozens of soldiers raided her house in Ramallah early Wednesday and delivered a deportation order “by an Israeli court” to Jericho for an unspecified period of time.

Jarrar added that the place of residence in Jericho was specified in the order.

She said the order was in Hebrew and that she refused to sign it when soldiers told her to, and that she was also provided a map for her movement inside Jericho.

Jarrar added that the raid was a form of house arrest and that she was given 24 hours to move out of Ramallah to Jericho.

She said she will take the paper to relevant parties to determine the response.

via Israeli forces deliver ‘deportation order’ to PFLP lawmaker | Maan News Agency.