21 oct 2014
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday rounded up a Palestinian student from the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil, demolished civilian structures in Occupied Jerusalem, and threatened to knock down Palestinians’ family homes in Yatta. A PIC correspondent quoted local sources in al-Khalil as reporting that the IOF troops, stationing at the Wadi al-Nar (Container) checkpoint, near Bethlehem, stopped a civilian car moments before they forced the Palestinian student Iyad Omar al-Salibi out of the vehicle and dragged him to an unknown destination.
Dozens of Palestinian students and civilians have lately been arrested at the Container checkpoint, pitched between Bethlehem and al-Khalil city, while they have been heading to their universities and workplaces.
Meanwhile, the IOF patrols stormed Azmout village, east of Nablus city, to the north of the West Bank, and launched a frenzy-stricken combing operation, spreading a state of panic among children and women.
The Israeli occupation soldiers further broke into Palestinians’ family homes in the area and ransacked them after having locked up the native citizens in single rooms.
The IOF attacks culminated in the abrupt demolition of a number of Palestinian residential and agricultural structures set up east of Occupied Jerusalem under pretext of illegal construction.
The Wadi Helwa Information Center in Silwan city said the invading IOF troops razed three Palestinian homes and agricultural barracks in al-Tur neighborhood to the ground using a drove of bulldozers and military kits, without any prior notifications.
The targeted structures owned by al-Zur’ee family and covering an overall area of more than 200 Km2, are a home to at least some 23 Palestinian citizens, all of whom have gone homeless due to such an unexpected move.
Observers said the Palestinian land owners have been the only native inhabitants of the area and have set up roots in the spot since the early 1980’s, before the Israeli occupation authorities ordered them to leave the area in 2003, soon after Israel’s launch of the construction process of the Apartheid Wall.
Similar attacks cropped up in Beit Hanina, north of occupied Jerusalem, where the IOF knocked down the wall of a Palestinian home in an attempt to open up a new passageway leading into an Israeli settlement outpost.
The IOF further issued a set of demolition threats targeting two Palestinian houses and livestock structures in Yatta, in al-Khalil, coordinator of the popular committee against settlement in Yatta, Raed Jabour, reported.
Dozens of Palestinian students and civilians have lately been arrested at the Container checkpoint, pitched between Bethlehem and al-Khalil city, while they have been heading to their universities and workplaces.
Meanwhile, the IOF patrols stormed Azmout village, east of Nablus city, to the north of the West Bank, and launched a frenzy-stricken combing operation, spreading a state of panic among children and women.
The Israeli occupation soldiers further broke into Palestinians’ family homes in the area and ransacked them after having locked up the native citizens in single rooms.
The IOF attacks culminated in the abrupt demolition of a number of Palestinian residential and agricultural structures set up east of Occupied Jerusalem under pretext of illegal construction.
The Wadi Helwa Information Center in Silwan city said the invading IOF troops razed three Palestinian homes and agricultural barracks in al-Tur neighborhood to the ground using a drove of bulldozers and military kits, without any prior notifications.
The targeted structures owned by al-Zur’ee family and covering an overall area of more than 200 Km2, are a home to at least some 23 Palestinian citizens, all of whom have gone homeless due to such an unexpected move.
Observers said the Palestinian land owners have been the only native inhabitants of the area and have set up roots in the spot since the early 1980’s, before the Israeli occupation authorities ordered them to leave the area in 2003, soon after Israel’s launch of the construction process of the Apartheid Wall.
Similar attacks cropped up in Beit Hanina, north of occupied Jerusalem, where the IOF knocked down the wall of a Palestinian home in an attempt to open up a new passageway leading into an Israeli settlement outpost.
The IOF further issued a set of demolition threats targeting two Palestinian houses and livestock structures in Yatta, in al-Khalil, coordinator of the popular committee against settlement in Yatta, Raed Jabour, reported.
Israeli Forces Demolish Houses in Jerusalem, Jordan Valley, Settler Outposts Constructed near Nablus
Continued impositions on Hebron shepherds
Three Palestinian homes and three structures used for livestock in al-Tur, to the east of the Old City of Jerusalem, were demolished by Israeli bulldozers on Tuesday.
According to residents. bulldozers from the Beit El settlement municipality were escorted by Israeli forces into al-Tur, where they demolished homes belonging to the al-Zari family, leaving 23 Palestinians homeless.
"Israeli forces broke the main doors, forcibly evicted us and did not allow us to take out furniture or any possessions, but instead gave their workers 30 minutes to take our possessions out of the houses," homeowner al-Zari told Ma'an News Agency, adding that several pieces of furniture were still inside the houses as they were demolished.
Mr. Al-Zari says that the houses and structures were built in the 1980s, and that the family had been attempting to obtain the necessary permits and licenses from the Israeli civil administration for years.
The family has apparently paid over 150,000 shekels (about $40,000) for lawyers and engineers in the attempt to evade the impending demolition, "but to no avail."
A spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry unit in charge of civil administration in the Palestinian territories, told Ma'an via email correspondence that the 6 buildings in al-Tur "were illegal and were built without the necessary permits in a zone which is forbidden for construction because of security reasons, near the seam zone.
"The decision on the demolition was taken after demolition orders were delivered and after an enforcement process was completed. We would like to note that the Supreme Court of Justice rejected the appeal submitted by the owners of some of the buildings."
In regard to the belongings which were destroyed along with the homes, the spokesperson gave no comment.
Israeli forces regularly implement a policy of demolishing Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, under the pretext that the residents did not have the necessary permits.
Palestinians are rarely granted permits to build in areas under Israeli control and, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Israeli bulldozers have destroyed some 359 structures in the West Bank, in 2014 alone.
Also in occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinians reportedly threw a number of Molotov cocktails at a Silwan apartment building, just hours after it was taken over by Jewish settlers.
No serious damage was caused, no arrests were made and no injuries were reported.
However, the building was one of two structures housing 10 apartments that were taken over by Jewish settlers before dawn on Monday, sparking fierce local opposition.
Only three weeks ago, clashes erupted when settlers moved into more than 25 apartments in another area of Silwan.
A right-wing Israeli organization aiming to increase the Jewish presence in occupied East Jerusalem, called Ateret Cohanim, stated that the acquisitions would double the number of Jews living in that part of Silwan.
Ateret Cohanim claims that this particular area was inhabited by Jews from Yemen in the late 19th century.
Israel seized East Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967, subsequently annexing it in a move never recognized by the international community. Some 200,000 Israelis now live there, alongside 300,000 Palestinians, according to Ma'an.
The area is a constant flashpoint for violent confrontations between Palestinian residents and Israelis who regard the entire city as its "undivided capital" and refuse to acknowledge the construction or purchase of houses in the occupied eastern sector as "settlement activity".
However, Palestinians, along with supporters from the international community, continue to envision East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
While Israeli government policy is the driving force behind major construction efforts in the area, the state claims that it has no say over private real-estate deals in occupied east Jerusalem.
Earlier this week, Israeli President and Likud party member Reuven Rivlin spoke out against such deals conducted between Palestinian sellers and extreme right-wing groups.
See also: 10/02/14 Bennet Says Taking Over Palestinian Houses a "Historic Achievement"
West Bank
Israeli settlers, on Tuesday, set up two new outposts in the Israeli-occupied northern West Bank after confiscating hundreds of dunams of land, an official told Ma'an.
According to Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the region, told Ma'an that Israeli settlers had constructed two steel structures in the al-Dawa area of Khirbet Yanun near the Palestinian town of Aqraba.
Additionally, settlers also started razing Palestinian lands in preparation to build a road.
Daghlas accused the settlers and the Israeli government of using "all possible means ... to empty Khirbet Yanun of its (Palestinian) residents."
A spokeswoman for COGAT did not answer calls seeking comment.
In the southern Hebron village of at-Tuwani, on Tuesday, the Israeli army notified a local resident to remove two tents and a shed, according to an activist.
WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency reports that Rateb Jabour, of Hebron's Anti-Settlement Committee, said that an Israeli army force, accompanied by staff from the Israeli Civil Administration, invaded the village and ordered local resident Mohammad Jabarin to remove the two tents which were sheltering his family, in addition to a shed being used to house animals.
Residents of at-Tuwani depend upon animal husbandry as their main source of livelihood. Yet, the village has fallen prey to a recurrent Israeli crackdown, according to WAFA.
On April 2 of this year, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) reported the demolition of six Palestinian owned shelters by Israeli army forces in the village.
A similar incident occurring on March 16 was also reported by ISM, when Israeli settlers attacked four Palestinian shepherds from the nearby village of Qawawis, as they were grazing their flocks to south of the illegal 'Mitzpe Yair' Israeli outpost.
Over 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in direct negligence of international law.
Israeli colonial settlers often act without approval to expand settlements or create new ones in the West Bank, constructing outposts which are illegal even according to official Israeli policy, and with no intervention from civil authorities.
In some cases, these settlement outposts are "legalized" by Israel, and only in the most rare of cases are they ever dismantled.
Furthermore, Palestinians are rarely granted permission to build in the 60 percent of the West Bank which remains under full Israeli military control, or in East Jerusalem.
Overnight, Israeli bulldozers demolished 4 houses including two small barracks, the village of Jifiltik, near the Jordan Valley, also under the pretext that the structures had been built without construction licenses.
The demolished houses were property of Mohammed Abu Arram and his son Ihab, Qadri Bani Odeh, Suleiman Daraghmeh and Faisal Bisharat, according to the PNN.
Eyewitnesses said that Abu Arram family is made up of 13 persons, 9 of which are children now homeless. Abu Arram's sheep will stay in the open air after demolishing their barrack.
Daraghmeh's barrack has now reportedly been demolished for the third time.
Three Palestinian homes and three structures used for livestock in al-Tur, to the east of the Old City of Jerusalem, were demolished by Israeli bulldozers on Tuesday.
According to residents. bulldozers from the Beit El settlement municipality were escorted by Israeli forces into al-Tur, where they demolished homes belonging to the al-Zari family, leaving 23 Palestinians homeless.
"Israeli forces broke the main doors, forcibly evicted us and did not allow us to take out furniture or any possessions, but instead gave their workers 30 minutes to take our possessions out of the houses," homeowner al-Zari told Ma'an News Agency, adding that several pieces of furniture were still inside the houses as they were demolished.
Mr. Al-Zari says that the houses and structures were built in the 1980s, and that the family had been attempting to obtain the necessary permits and licenses from the Israeli civil administration for years.
The family has apparently paid over 150,000 shekels (about $40,000) for lawyers and engineers in the attempt to evade the impending demolition, "but to no avail."
A spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry unit in charge of civil administration in the Palestinian territories, told Ma'an via email correspondence that the 6 buildings in al-Tur "were illegal and were built without the necessary permits in a zone which is forbidden for construction because of security reasons, near the seam zone.
"The decision on the demolition was taken after demolition orders were delivered and after an enforcement process was completed. We would like to note that the Supreme Court of Justice rejected the appeal submitted by the owners of some of the buildings."
In regard to the belongings which were destroyed along with the homes, the spokesperson gave no comment.
Israeli forces regularly implement a policy of demolishing Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, under the pretext that the residents did not have the necessary permits.
Palestinians are rarely granted permits to build in areas under Israeli control and, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Israeli bulldozers have destroyed some 359 structures in the West Bank, in 2014 alone.
Also in occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinians reportedly threw a number of Molotov cocktails at a Silwan apartment building, just hours after it was taken over by Jewish settlers.
No serious damage was caused, no arrests were made and no injuries were reported.
However, the building was one of two structures housing 10 apartments that were taken over by Jewish settlers before dawn on Monday, sparking fierce local opposition.
Only three weeks ago, clashes erupted when settlers moved into more than 25 apartments in another area of Silwan.
A right-wing Israeli organization aiming to increase the Jewish presence in occupied East Jerusalem, called Ateret Cohanim, stated that the acquisitions would double the number of Jews living in that part of Silwan.
Ateret Cohanim claims that this particular area was inhabited by Jews from Yemen in the late 19th century.
Israel seized East Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967, subsequently annexing it in a move never recognized by the international community. Some 200,000 Israelis now live there, alongside 300,000 Palestinians, according to Ma'an.
The area is a constant flashpoint for violent confrontations between Palestinian residents and Israelis who regard the entire city as its "undivided capital" and refuse to acknowledge the construction or purchase of houses in the occupied eastern sector as "settlement activity".
However, Palestinians, along with supporters from the international community, continue to envision East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
While Israeli government policy is the driving force behind major construction efforts in the area, the state claims that it has no say over private real-estate deals in occupied east Jerusalem.
Earlier this week, Israeli President and Likud party member Reuven Rivlin spoke out against such deals conducted between Palestinian sellers and extreme right-wing groups.
See also: 10/02/14 Bennet Says Taking Over Palestinian Houses a "Historic Achievement"
West Bank
Israeli settlers, on Tuesday, set up two new outposts in the Israeli-occupied northern West Bank after confiscating hundreds of dunams of land, an official told Ma'an.
According to Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the region, told Ma'an that Israeli settlers had constructed two steel structures in the al-Dawa area of Khirbet Yanun near the Palestinian town of Aqraba.
Additionally, settlers also started razing Palestinian lands in preparation to build a road.
Daghlas accused the settlers and the Israeli government of using "all possible means ... to empty Khirbet Yanun of its (Palestinian) residents."
A spokeswoman for COGAT did not answer calls seeking comment.
In the southern Hebron village of at-Tuwani, on Tuesday, the Israeli army notified a local resident to remove two tents and a shed, according to an activist.
WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency reports that Rateb Jabour, of Hebron's Anti-Settlement Committee, said that an Israeli army force, accompanied by staff from the Israeli Civil Administration, invaded the village and ordered local resident Mohammad Jabarin to remove the two tents which were sheltering his family, in addition to a shed being used to house animals.
Residents of at-Tuwani depend upon animal husbandry as their main source of livelihood. Yet, the village has fallen prey to a recurrent Israeli crackdown, according to WAFA.
On April 2 of this year, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) reported the demolition of six Palestinian owned shelters by Israeli army forces in the village.
A similar incident occurring on March 16 was also reported by ISM, when Israeli settlers attacked four Palestinian shepherds from the nearby village of Qawawis, as they were grazing their flocks to south of the illegal 'Mitzpe Yair' Israeli outpost.
Over 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in direct negligence of international law.
Israeli colonial settlers often act without approval to expand settlements or create new ones in the West Bank, constructing outposts which are illegal even according to official Israeli policy, and with no intervention from civil authorities.
In some cases, these settlement outposts are "legalized" by Israel, and only in the most rare of cases are they ever dismantled.
Furthermore, Palestinians are rarely granted permission to build in the 60 percent of the West Bank which remains under full Israeli military control, or in East Jerusalem.
Overnight, Israeli bulldozers demolished 4 houses including two small barracks, the village of Jifiltik, near the Jordan Valley, also under the pretext that the structures had been built without construction licenses.
The demolished houses were property of Mohammed Abu Arram and his son Ihab, Qadri Bani Odeh, Suleiman Daraghmeh and Faisal Bisharat, according to the PNN.
Eyewitnesses said that Abu Arram family is made up of 13 persons, 9 of which are children now homeless. Abu Arram's sheep will stay in the open air after demolishing their barrack.
Daraghmeh's barrack has now reportedly been demolished for the third time.
Palestinian specialist in settlement affairs Khalil Tufkaji warned that the Israeli occupation state is seeking to take over as many Palestinian homes and properties as possible in east Jerusalem, especially in Silwan district, in order to accomplish what it describes as the "holy basin" project. Commenting on settlers' occupation of Palestinian homes recently in Silwan, Tufkaji said in press remarks to the Palestinian information center (PIC) that seizing such real estate means that the Israeli side has started to intensify its Judaization activities in Silwan in order to present it as a Jewish-owned area and thus resolve the issue of the so-called holy basin.
"To them (Israelis), the holy basin represents the heart of the Judaization project in Jerusalem city, particularly from Ras Al-Amoud, which includes Ma'ale Hazeitim and Givat Zimal settlements, to Beit Yehonatan outpost," the specialist explained.
He affirmed that the Israeli occupation has managed so far to create 45 Jewish outposts in Silwan district, comprised of about 60 housing units, and plans to seize more Palestinian homes and demolish 88 others in Silwan in order to Judaize the whole district.
"To them (Israelis), the holy basin represents the heart of the Judaization project in Jerusalem city, particularly from Ras Al-Amoud, which includes Ma'ale Hazeitim and Givat Zimal settlements, to Beit Yehonatan outpost," the specialist explained.
He affirmed that the Israeli occupation has managed so far to create 45 Jewish outposts in Silwan district, comprised of about 60 housing units, and plans to seize more Palestinian homes and demolish 88 others in Silwan in order to Judaize the whole district.
20 oct 2014
Forces, on Monday, demolished a Palestinian-owned shed being used as a car wash shop in the town of al-Khader, to the south of Bethlehem, according to security sources.
The car wash, belonging to one Mr. Eyad Isa is located at the eastern entrance of the town, was destroyed under the pretext of construction without permit.
A closure was also imposed on the entrance and residents’ movements obstructed.
WAFA reports that Israeli forces regularly target residential homes and livelihoods in an aim to force them to leave their homes as a prelude to take over the land.
While settler violence is overlooked and even facilitated by Israeli authorities, Palestinians are rarely ever allowed proper construction permits to build or simply add on to pre-existing structures.
The car wash, belonging to one Mr. Eyad Isa is located at the eastern entrance of the town, was destroyed under the pretext of construction without permit.
A closure was also imposed on the entrance and residents’ movements obstructed.
WAFA reports that Israeli forces regularly target residential homes and livelihoods in an aim to force them to leave their homes as a prelude to take over the land.
While settler violence is overlooked and even facilitated by Israeli authorities, Palestinians are rarely ever allowed proper construction permits to build or simply add on to pre-existing structures.
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The Israeli parliament of the Knesset is expected to decide on a new bill, this coming month, which would impose both a temporal and spatial division of al-Aqsa Mosque compound between Muslims and Jews, said Israeli sources. In the South Hebron Hills, Israeli forces continue to deny Palestinians access to their land. while illegally allowing colonial settlers to build there.
According to WAFA correspondence, the bill will give Jews permission to pray at al-Aqsa Mosque as part of a proposed motion of equal right to worship for both Muslims and Jews. However, the bill aims to specify certain times and places for Jews to perform prayers and Talmudic rituals. |
The bill additionally calls for banning protests against Jewish entry into the compound and imposing penalties upon whoever organizes or participates in such actions.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue with their policy of denying Palestinians access to their land in the Southern Hebron Hills, attacking owners and activists and illegally allowing Israeli settlers to take over and build structures on Palestinian-owned land, according to a press release by Operation Dove.
Palestinians in the region have been denied access to their land since 2001, as forces repeatedly declare the areas to be ‘closed military zones’.
In solidarity with the community, Jewish and international activists have joined Palestinians in non-violent demonstrations in protest of the illegal Israeli measures.
Such demostrations are routinely suppressed, as Israeli force attack and abduct peaceful protesters under the pretext of entering ‘restricted areas’.
On October 18th of this year, Israeli forces were reported to have violently suppressed two non-violent actions organized by the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee.
The first of these incidents took place in the area of Umm al-Arayes, located near the illegal Israeli outpost of Mitzpe Yair, while the second occurred in the village of Susiya, near the Suseya settlement.
These protests were organized in demand of the right for Palestinians to access their own land, which is under constant threat of dispossession for the sole benefit of settlement expansion.
In Umm al-Arayes, Palestinian landowners, accompanied by Israeli activists and international volunteers, gathered in demand of the right to access their land. Forces blocked protesters, declaring the area as a closed military zone, while abducting two Palestinians and four Israeli activists.
During a similar action on Saturday, Israeli activists were brutally attacked by settlers from ‘Mitzpe Yair’ settlement, as seen in the video.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue with their policy of denying Palestinians access to their land in the Southern Hebron Hills, attacking owners and activists and illegally allowing Israeli settlers to take over and build structures on Palestinian-owned land, according to a press release by Operation Dove.
Palestinians in the region have been denied access to their land since 2001, as forces repeatedly declare the areas to be ‘closed military zones’.
In solidarity with the community, Jewish and international activists have joined Palestinians in non-violent demonstrations in protest of the illegal Israeli measures.
Such demostrations are routinely suppressed, as Israeli force attack and abduct peaceful protesters under the pretext of entering ‘restricted areas’.
On October 18th of this year, Israeli forces were reported to have violently suppressed two non-violent actions organized by the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee.
The first of these incidents took place in the area of Umm al-Arayes, located near the illegal Israeli outpost of Mitzpe Yair, while the second occurred in the village of Susiya, near the Suseya settlement.
These protests were organized in demand of the right for Palestinians to access their own land, which is under constant threat of dispossession for the sole benefit of settlement expansion.
In Umm al-Arayes, Palestinian landowners, accompanied by Israeli activists and international volunteers, gathered in demand of the right to access their land. Forces blocked protesters, declaring the area as a closed military zone, while abducting two Palestinians and four Israeli activists.
During a similar action on Saturday, Israeli activists were brutally attacked by settlers from ‘Mitzpe Yair’ settlement, as seen in the video.
Dozens of armed Israeli settlers and soldiers occupied, on Monday at dawn, two apartment buildings and a land, in the Batn al-Hawa area, in Silwan town, south of the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
The two buildings consist of 10 apartments; the attack took place around 2 a.m., the Wadi Hilweh Information Center (Silwanic) said.
It added that groups of settlers invaded the Central neighborhood in the town, and took over the two vacant buildings, and the land.
The first building belongs to resident Salah Rajabi, while the second belongs to Omran al-Qawasmi. Each building consists of five apartments.
Silwanic said the families sold their buildings to a resident, identified as Shams ed-Deen Qawasmi, who is believed to be involved in underground deals with settlement groups.
The Rajabi building also has a piece of land estimated by 700 square/meters.
The families had to leave their apartments nearly four months ago.
Shams ed-Deen was also a renter of a flat in an apartment building belonging to Beidoun family, but the building was also leaked to the settlers, with his help, in August this year.
The Center said settlement groups, in cooperation with the Israeli government, are trying to fully control all Arab buildings in the Central neighborhood in Silwan, under several claims, including “state land” claim, and under Israel’s “Absentee Property Law," while a few individuals have sold their residencies to the settlers.
Local sources said the buildings belong to the families of Rajabi and al-Qawasmi, adding that the buildings seem to have been leaked to the settlers in illegal underground deals, similar what happened to an apartment building in the town.
Several years ago, the Elad right-wing fundamentalist settlement group, heavily supported by groups, mainly in the United States, managed to occupy a large Palestinian building in the same area, and turned it into a settlement outpost known as Bit Yonan settlement (the first settlement outpost in Silwan), and Beit al-‘Asal building that was taken over in 2004.
The settlers now have four illegal settlement outposts in the center of Silwan.
Quoting an Israeli Councilman of the Jerusalem City Council, Israeli Channel 7, Artuz Sheva said “the number of settlers in Silwan has doubled this morning.”
At least 500.000 Israeli settlers live in different parts of the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
Israel’s illegitimate settlement activities, in direct violation of International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The two buildings consist of 10 apartments; the attack took place around 2 a.m., the Wadi Hilweh Information Center (Silwanic) said.
It added that groups of settlers invaded the Central neighborhood in the town, and took over the two vacant buildings, and the land.
The first building belongs to resident Salah Rajabi, while the second belongs to Omran al-Qawasmi. Each building consists of five apartments.
Silwanic said the families sold their buildings to a resident, identified as Shams ed-Deen Qawasmi, who is believed to be involved in underground deals with settlement groups.
The Rajabi building also has a piece of land estimated by 700 square/meters.
The families had to leave their apartments nearly four months ago.
Shams ed-Deen was also a renter of a flat in an apartment building belonging to Beidoun family, but the building was also leaked to the settlers, with his help, in August this year.
The Center said settlement groups, in cooperation with the Israeli government, are trying to fully control all Arab buildings in the Central neighborhood in Silwan, under several claims, including “state land” claim, and under Israel’s “Absentee Property Law," while a few individuals have sold their residencies to the settlers.
Local sources said the buildings belong to the families of Rajabi and al-Qawasmi, adding that the buildings seem to have been leaked to the settlers in illegal underground deals, similar what happened to an apartment building in the town.
Several years ago, the Elad right-wing fundamentalist settlement group, heavily supported by groups, mainly in the United States, managed to occupy a large Palestinian building in the same area, and turned it into a settlement outpost known as Bit Yonan settlement (the first settlement outpost in Silwan), and Beit al-‘Asal building that was taken over in 2004.
The settlers now have four illegal settlement outposts in the center of Silwan.
Quoting an Israeli Councilman of the Jerusalem City Council, Israeli Channel 7, Artuz Sheva said “the number of settlers in Silwan has doubled this morning.”
At least 500.000 Israeli settlers live in different parts of the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
Israel’s illegitimate settlement activities, in direct violation of International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
19 oct 2014
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Saturday forced a Jerusalemite citizen to demolish his house with his own hands at the pretext of unlicensed construction, Palestinian local sources said. The sources explained that Amin Abdul-Haq, from Ras Al-Amoud area near the Aqsa Mosque, found himself forced to knock down his own house after the IOA threatened to make him pay an exorbitant fine if he did not do it himself.
The IOA in occupied Jerusalem prevents the Palestinian natives from getting construction licenses under many flimsy pretexts and sometimes demands them to fulfil extremely hard conditions and pay hefty fees in order to allow them to build on their own lands or expand their property.
The IOA in occupied Jerusalem prevents the Palestinian natives from getting construction licenses under many flimsy pretexts and sometimes demands them to fulfil extremely hard conditions and pay hefty fees in order to allow them to build on their own lands or expand their property.
16 oct 2014
The prominent American linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky warned, during a special meeting staged by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, that the Israeli occupation would continue to tear up the Occupied West Bank and transform it into cantons as long as the U.S. provides it with the necessary back-up. More than 130 countries recognize the state of Palestine when they took the step in the General Assembly in November 2012, Chomsky said, pointing to the Swedish and British parliaments that had recently voted in favor of doing the same.
“The Swedish vote had broken the logjam for the West,” he declared. “While the British vote had not been a government decision, it reflected a shift in understanding and attitudes and could lead to a viable two-state settlement.”
On what the United States should do, he said that the country should have been called upon by its own citizens to conform to its own laws which barred sending weapons to any military units involved in consistent rights violations.
There wasn’t any doubt that the Israeli army was involved in such violations, Chomsky stated as he slammed the United States government for allowing tax-exempt United States organizations to carry out activities in the West Bank.
Chomsky hailed the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and reiterated hope that they will ultimately win the battle and regain their rights, just as Vietnamese and South Africans, among other ex-colonized peoples, did not long time ago.
“The Swedish vote had broken the logjam for the West,” he declared. “While the British vote had not been a government decision, it reflected a shift in understanding and attitudes and could lead to a viable two-state settlement.”
On what the United States should do, he said that the country should have been called upon by its own citizens to conform to its own laws which barred sending weapons to any military units involved in consistent rights violations.
There wasn’t any doubt that the Israeli army was involved in such violations, Chomsky stated as he slammed the United States government for allowing tax-exempt United States organizations to carry out activities in the West Bank.
Chomsky hailed the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and reiterated hope that they will ultimately win the battle and regain their rights, just as Vietnamese and South Africans, among other ex-colonized peoples, did not long time ago.
12 oct 2014
Village of Yasuf
Israeli forces notified residents of al-Khader, to the south of Bethlehem, Saturday, of their intention to seize about 80 dunams of Palestinian-owned cropland, according to local activist Ahmad Salah. Also on Saturday, Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinian olive harvesters in Yasuf, near Salfit.
Mr. Salah, who coordinates the al-Khader local committee against the wall and settlement, said that forces announced their decision to seize 79 dunums (approximately 20 acres) of cropland in Ras Salah and al-Thaghra area, located just adjacent to the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of "Daniel".
The seized lands are intended for the construction of settlement units, parks, a synagogue and agricultural roads, according to WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency.
Furthermore, Israeli forces gave Palestinian landowners 60 days to appeal at the Israeli Supreme Court to stop the decision.
WAFA notes that forces have denied landowners from accessing their lands for the last 20 days.
To the northeast of Salfit, in the vilage of Yasuf, seven Israeli settlers descended from the illegal Israeli settlement of Tafuh, built on land seized from the villagers, and assaulted several Palestinian farmers who were harvesting olives in the Khallet al-‘Ayn area.
Settlers brutally assaulted 30-year-old Hana’ Fathi ‘Atyani, inflicting injuries in her leg, in addition to vandalizing her husband’s vehicle.
An armed settler shot three bullets in the air, in an attempt to intimidate the harvesters, but no further injuries were reported.
The attack comes less than a week after Israeli settlers destroyed about 100 olive trees in Yasuf, as the Palestinian olive harvesting season gets underway, this month.
Settlers have been systematically assaulting Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank, WAFA further reports. The attackers often set fire to entire orchards or chop them down and release wild pigsonto the lands, causing extensive destruction to crops. Such assaults are ignored by Israeli forces, who frequently protect the settlers or simply stand by watching.
The attacks are meant to intimidate Palestinian farmers, disenfranchise and dispossess them in order to expand and facilitate further construction of illegal Jewish-only settlements.
Israeli forces notified residents of al-Khader, to the south of Bethlehem, Saturday, of their intention to seize about 80 dunams of Palestinian-owned cropland, according to local activist Ahmad Salah. Also on Saturday, Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinian olive harvesters in Yasuf, near Salfit.
Mr. Salah, who coordinates the al-Khader local committee against the wall and settlement, said that forces announced their decision to seize 79 dunums (approximately 20 acres) of cropland in Ras Salah and al-Thaghra area, located just adjacent to the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of "Daniel".
The seized lands are intended for the construction of settlement units, parks, a synagogue and agricultural roads, according to WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency.
Furthermore, Israeli forces gave Palestinian landowners 60 days to appeal at the Israeli Supreme Court to stop the decision.
WAFA notes that forces have denied landowners from accessing their lands for the last 20 days.
To the northeast of Salfit, in the vilage of Yasuf, seven Israeli settlers descended from the illegal Israeli settlement of Tafuh, built on land seized from the villagers, and assaulted several Palestinian farmers who were harvesting olives in the Khallet al-‘Ayn area.
Settlers brutally assaulted 30-year-old Hana’ Fathi ‘Atyani, inflicting injuries in her leg, in addition to vandalizing her husband’s vehicle.
An armed settler shot three bullets in the air, in an attempt to intimidate the harvesters, but no further injuries were reported.
The attack comes less than a week after Israeli settlers destroyed about 100 olive trees in Yasuf, as the Palestinian olive harvesting season gets underway, this month.
Settlers have been systematically assaulting Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank, WAFA further reports. The attackers often set fire to entire orchards or chop them down and release wild pigsonto the lands, causing extensive destruction to crops. Such assaults are ignored by Israeli forces, who frequently protect the settlers or simply stand by watching.
The attacks are meant to intimidate Palestinian farmers, disenfranchise and dispossess them in order to expand and facilitate further construction of illegal Jewish-only settlements.
10 oct 2014
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) expelled on Friday evening Palestinian farmers from their fields in Qaryout town south of the West Bank city of Nablus, local sources reported. The Israeli forces ordered the farmers to leave their fields within an hour; otherwise they will be expelled by force. The farmers, however, refused to do so, the sources added.
The cultivated land lots are located at the southern entrance to the town between Shilo and Eilih settlements.
The villagers declared their total rejections to meet the Israeli racist and unfair restrictions that aim to displace Palestinians and confiscate their lands for settlement expansion.
The Israeli restrictions came in response to Israeli settlers’ demands, the sources charged.
The cultivated land lots are located at the southern entrance to the town between Shilo and Eilih settlements.
The villagers declared their total rejections to meet the Israeli racist and unfair restrictions that aim to displace Palestinians and confiscate their lands for settlement expansion.
The Israeli restrictions came in response to Israeli settlers’ demands, the sources charged.
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Thursday annexed Palestinian-owned agricultural lands located within the boundaries of Al-Khader and Nahalin towns, southwest of Bethlehem. Ibrahim Shakarna, head of the municipal council in Nahalin, said that the IOA notified the Palestinian owners that it had seized their lands in Nahalin and Khader town.
Shakarna added that an Israeli company started to bulldoze about three dunums of land (3,000 square meters) in the appropriated area near Daniel settlement and placed a notice board reading in Hebrew that a public park will be established there for Jewish settlers.
The municipal official noted that the IOA intends to build the park for southern settlements on 400 dunums of land belonging to several Palestinian families from the towns of Nahalin and Khader towns.
He added that the IOA claims that the annexed lands are located within a sacred Jewish area.
Shakarna added that an Israeli company started to bulldoze about three dunums of land (3,000 square meters) in the appropriated area near Daniel settlement and placed a notice board reading in Hebrew that a public park will be established there for Jewish settlers.
The municipal official noted that the IOA intends to build the park for southern settlements on 400 dunums of land belonging to several Palestinian families from the towns of Nahalin and Khader towns.
He added that the IOA claims that the annexed lands are located within a sacred Jewish area.
9 oct 2014
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Thursday, Palestinian agricultural lands belonging to residents of al-Khader and Nahhalin town, southwest of Bethlehem, and declared them a closed military zone.
Ghassan Najajra, a nonviolent activist with the Popular Resistance Committees against the Wall and Settlements, stated that the army confiscated by force three Dunams of Palestinian lands in Sirb at-Teen area, close to the illegal Daniel settlement, built on lands belonging to al-Khader.
Najajra added that the soldiers bulldozed the lands, and placed signs declaring them a “closed military zone” and another sign stating that Israel will be building “public gardens” for Jewish settlers living in nearby illegal settlements.
He further noted that the army informed the owners that their lands are now “state-owned,” and off-limits to the Palestinians.
Eight months ago, the soldiers confiscated around 900 Dunams of lands belonging to al-Khader, Nahhalin, Beit Ummar and a number of nearby Palestinian villages. (One Dunam = 0.247 Acres)
Ghassan Najajra, a nonviolent activist with the Popular Resistance Committees against the Wall and Settlements, stated that the army confiscated by force three Dunams of Palestinian lands in Sirb at-Teen area, close to the illegal Daniel settlement, built on lands belonging to al-Khader.
Najajra added that the soldiers bulldozed the lands, and placed signs declaring them a “closed military zone” and another sign stating that Israel will be building “public gardens” for Jewish settlers living in nearby illegal settlements.
He further noted that the army informed the owners that their lands are now “state-owned,” and off-limits to the Palestinians.
Eight months ago, the soldiers confiscated around 900 Dunams of lands belonging to al-Khader, Nahhalin, Beit Ummar and a number of nearby Palestinian villages. (One Dunam = 0.247 Acres)
8 oct 2014
Israeli authorities distributed, on Wednesday, eviction notices to 19 Palestinian families in the area of the northern Jordan Valley, as a prelude to using the lands for military purposes.
Head of Al-Maleh Valley Local Council, Aref Daraghmeh, told PNN that Israeli forces served 16 families in the Al-Ras Al-Ahmar region with eviction notices, as they intend to use the area for military exercises from the 19th to the 21st of this month.
Forces also notified 3 other families in the area of Al-Burj, of similar plans for military training, from the 22nd to the 29th. The military training starts at 6 AM until 7 PM.
Mr. Daraghmeh added that this was not the first time valley residents were threatened with evicition, as hundreds of families were evicted last year as well.
Head of Al-Maleh Valley Local Council, Aref Daraghmeh, told PNN that Israeli forces served 16 families in the Al-Ras Al-Ahmar region with eviction notices, as they intend to use the area for military exercises from the 19th to the 21st of this month.
Forces also notified 3 other families in the area of Al-Burj, of similar plans for military training, from the 22nd to the 29th. The military training starts at 6 AM until 7 PM.
Mr. Daraghmeh added that this was not the first time valley residents were threatened with evicition, as hundreds of families were evicted last year as well.
Several Israeli military jeeps invaded, on Tuesday evening, the Wadi an-Nees area, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and handed nine families military orders to demolish their under-construction homes under the pretext of being built without construction permits.
Head of the Wadi an-Nees village council Yousef Abu Hammad said dozens of soldiers invaded the village, and handed the warrants to the families, informing them they have 45 days to file official appeals with the Israeli Supreme Court.
Abu Hammad added that similar orders were handed to the families eight days ago, on September 30.
The homes belong to residents Nasri Mohammad Abu Hammad, Issa Mohammad Abu Hammad, Osama Naji Abu Hammad, Anwar Saqer Abu Hammad, Rateb Mohammad Ahmad Abu Hammad, Ali Ahmad Mousa Abu Hammad and Salah Na’im Abdullah Abu Hammad.
Israeli largely denies construction permits to Palestinian families in their own lands, in Area C (approximately 61% of the West Bank) under full Israeli military and security control.
While the Palestinians are losing their lands and orchards in Area C, are largely denied access to what is left of their lands that became isolated behind the Annexation Wall, and are denied the right to build, Tel Aviv continues its illegitimate policies of the construction and expansion of Jewish settlements.
Head of the Wadi an-Nees village council Yousef Abu Hammad said dozens of soldiers invaded the village, and handed the warrants to the families, informing them they have 45 days to file official appeals with the Israeli Supreme Court.
Abu Hammad added that similar orders were handed to the families eight days ago, on September 30.
The homes belong to residents Nasri Mohammad Abu Hammad, Issa Mohammad Abu Hammad, Osama Naji Abu Hammad, Anwar Saqer Abu Hammad, Rateb Mohammad Ahmad Abu Hammad, Ali Ahmad Mousa Abu Hammad and Salah Na’im Abdullah Abu Hammad.
Israeli largely denies construction permits to Palestinian families in their own lands, in Area C (approximately 61% of the West Bank) under full Israeli military and security control.
While the Palestinians are losing their lands and orchards in Area C, are largely denied access to what is left of their lands that became isolated behind the Annexation Wall, and are denied the right to build, Tel Aviv continues its illegitimate policies of the construction and expansion of Jewish settlements.
7 oct 2014
Hordes of Israeli extremist settlers on Monday launched rounds of abrupt mass-assaults on the West Bank cities of Nablus and Salfit and wreaked havoc on Palestinians’ cultivated lands. A PIC correspondent said the settler bunches have deliberately ravaged Palestinians’ olive groves and expropriated loads of the reaped crops right after having raided Bourin and Ourata towns, south of Nablus, and Yasouf village, to the east of Salfit.
Israeli settler attacks, stepped up during the olive season, often culminated in forced kicking out of Palestinian farmers, expropriation of cultivated harvest, and chopping down dozens of fruitful trees, as has already been the case many times before.
Israeli settler attacks, stepped up during the olive season, often culminated in forced kicking out of Palestinian farmers, expropriation of cultivated harvest, and chopping down dozens of fruitful trees, as has already been the case many times before.
6 oct 2014
A high-ranking Bulgarian official, on Monday, condemned new Israeli settlement plans and confirmed that his country would be attending the Gaza reconstruction conference.
Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Valentin Poriazov confirmed that a Bulgarian delegation will attend the Gaza reconstruction conference to be hosted by Cairo on October 12, WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency reports. The delegation will be headed by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov.
During a meeting with Palestinian Ambassador to Bulgaria, Ahmad al-Madbuh, Mr. Poriazov expressed his country’s condemnation of recent Israeli plans to construct 2,610 settlement units in the illegal settlement of 'Givat Hamatos’, as well as that of the recent takeover of several Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan by Elad (Ir David) Association.
Poriazov called Israel to reverse its decisions, which jeopardize any prospects for realizing a two-state solution in the region, and to commit itself to achieving a peaceful settlement.
He additionally stated that his country will not recognize unilateral steps taken to change the pre1967 borders, including changes in occupied East Jerusalem, outside of those agreed upon by the parties.
He also stressed that to upgrade his country’s relations with Israel would be contingent upon Israel’s commitment to make peace based on that two-state solution.
See also: PLO Welcomes Swedish Recognition of Palestine
Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Valentin Poriazov confirmed that a Bulgarian delegation will attend the Gaza reconstruction conference to be hosted by Cairo on October 12, WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency reports. The delegation will be headed by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov.
During a meeting with Palestinian Ambassador to Bulgaria, Ahmad al-Madbuh, Mr. Poriazov expressed his country’s condemnation of recent Israeli plans to construct 2,610 settlement units in the illegal settlement of 'Givat Hamatos’, as well as that of the recent takeover of several Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan by Elad (Ir David) Association.
Poriazov called Israel to reverse its decisions, which jeopardize any prospects for realizing a two-state solution in the region, and to commit itself to achieving a peaceful settlement.
He additionally stated that his country will not recognize unilateral steps taken to change the pre1967 borders, including changes in occupied East Jerusalem, outside of those agreed upon by the parties.
He also stressed that to upgrade his country’s relations with Israel would be contingent upon Israel’s commitment to make peace based on that two-state solution.
See also: PLO Welcomes Swedish Recognition of Palestine
