22 apr 2020
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates today announced that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s remarks on Israel’s move to annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territories reaffirm the extent of the US complicity in the expansionist Israeli settler-colonialism.
The ministry condemned Pompeo’s statements that it was Israel’s decision whether to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and the US will offer its views on this to the new Israeli government in private.
Pompeo’s remarks “reaffirm the extent of the extent of the United States’ complicity in the expansionist Israeli settler-colonialist project in the occupied Palestinian territories and participation in this rancid cooking –in reference to the Israeli annexation scheme- which completely contradicts international legitimacy and its decisions, and aggressively violates international law,” said the ministry.
The Ministry added that Pompeo's statements are deemed “a furtherance of the US undermining of the pillars of the international system and disregard for international peace references, particularly the land for peace the two-state solution principles.”
“Despite Pompeo's attempt to reduce the aggressiveness of his position when he indicated that the US will offer its views on this to Israel in private, this manipulation will not disguise the fact that the US is completely biased towards Israel, and the so-called deal of the Century is a proof of this,” it added.
The Ministry concluded that Pompeo’s remarks “fall within the scope of the US administration’s attempt to replace the peace and negotiations approach with the policy of blackmail and diktats, which should provoke the United Nations, the international community, and countries that claim keenness to achieve peace on the basis of a two-state solution.
The ministry condemned Pompeo’s statements that it was Israel’s decision whether to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and the US will offer its views on this to the new Israeli government in private.
Pompeo’s remarks “reaffirm the extent of the extent of the United States’ complicity in the expansionist Israeli settler-colonialist project in the occupied Palestinian territories and participation in this rancid cooking –in reference to the Israeli annexation scheme- which completely contradicts international legitimacy and its decisions, and aggressively violates international law,” said the ministry.
The Ministry added that Pompeo's statements are deemed “a furtherance of the US undermining of the pillars of the international system and disregard for international peace references, particularly the land for peace the two-state solution principles.”
“Despite Pompeo's attempt to reduce the aggressiveness of his position when he indicated that the US will offer its views on this to Israel in private, this manipulation will not disguise the fact that the US is completely biased towards Israel, and the so-called deal of the Century is a proof of this,” it added.
The Ministry concluded that Pompeo’s remarks “fall within the scope of the US administration’s attempt to replace the peace and negotiations approach with the policy of blackmail and diktats, which should provoke the United Nations, the international community, and countries that claim keenness to achieve peace on the basis of a two-state solution.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday it was an Israeli decision whether to annex parts of the West Bank and that the United States will offer its views on this to the new Israeli government in private.
"As for the annexation of the West Bank, the Israelis will ultimately make those decisions," Pompeo told a press conference. "That's an Israeli decision. And we will work closely with them to share with them our views of this in (a) private setting."
Pompeo also said he was happy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and centrist rival Benny Gantz signed a deal on Monday to form a national emergency government, saying he did not think a fourth consecutive election was in Israel's interest.
The coalition agreement states that while the new government will strive for peace and regional stability, plans to extend Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements in the West Bank could be promoted.
The move would mean a de-facto annexation of territory that Israel seized in the Six-Day War in 1967 and that is presently under Israeli military control. It would have to be greenlighted by the United States, after which Netanyahu would be permitted to advance plans from July 1, the agreement says.
The Palestinians and many countries consider settlements to be illegal under the Geneva Conventions that bar settling on land captured in war. Israel disputes this, citing security needs and biblical, historical, and political connections to the land.
Last January, U.S. President Donald Trump presented a peace plan proposal, cited as "The Deal of the Century", at the White House in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue & White Chairman Benny Gantz.
Netanyahu's surroundings claimed annexation was closer than ever. However, such a move is yet to be approved by the government since, and U.S. officials have made it clear that they will oppose its execution before a new Israeli government is formed.
After the presentation of the peace plan, Netanyahu said in a government briefing that the annexation of West Bank territories will be carried out in two steps, but a few hours later, the program's architect - senior advisor to President Trump Jared Kushner - said he did not believe the move would take place anytime soon.
When asked whether the U.S. government supports the annexation plan, Kushner replied that the only agreement with Israel was on the establishment of a committee that will put together an orderly roadmap.
Pompeo also said Iran needs to be held accountable for the successful launch by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of the country's first military satellite into orbit.
"I think Iran needs to be held accountable for what they've done. They have now had a military organization that the United States has designated a terrorist attempt to launch a satellite," Pompeo said.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in remarks aired on Wednesday that his administration would regard agreements with Israel and the United States "completely canceled" if Israel annexes land in the West Bank.
"We have informed the relevant international parties, including the American and the Israeli governments, that we will not stand hand-cuffed if Israel announces the annexation of any part of our land," Abbas said on Palestine TV.
"As for the annexation of the West Bank, the Israelis will ultimately make those decisions," Pompeo told a press conference. "That's an Israeli decision. And we will work closely with them to share with them our views of this in (a) private setting."
Pompeo also said he was happy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and centrist rival Benny Gantz signed a deal on Monday to form a national emergency government, saying he did not think a fourth consecutive election was in Israel's interest.
The coalition agreement states that while the new government will strive for peace and regional stability, plans to extend Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements in the West Bank could be promoted.
The move would mean a de-facto annexation of territory that Israel seized in the Six-Day War in 1967 and that is presently under Israeli military control. It would have to be greenlighted by the United States, after which Netanyahu would be permitted to advance plans from July 1, the agreement says.
The Palestinians and many countries consider settlements to be illegal under the Geneva Conventions that bar settling on land captured in war. Israel disputes this, citing security needs and biblical, historical, and political connections to the land.
Last January, U.S. President Donald Trump presented a peace plan proposal, cited as "The Deal of the Century", at the White House in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue & White Chairman Benny Gantz.
Netanyahu's surroundings claimed annexation was closer than ever. However, such a move is yet to be approved by the government since, and U.S. officials have made it clear that they will oppose its execution before a new Israeli government is formed.
After the presentation of the peace plan, Netanyahu said in a government briefing that the annexation of West Bank territories will be carried out in two steps, but a few hours later, the program's architect - senior advisor to President Trump Jared Kushner - said he did not believe the move would take place anytime soon.
When asked whether the U.S. government supports the annexation plan, Kushner replied that the only agreement with Israel was on the establishment of a committee that will put together an orderly roadmap.
Pompeo also said Iran needs to be held accountable for the successful launch by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of the country's first military satellite into orbit.
"I think Iran needs to be held accountable for what they've done. They have now had a military organization that the United States has designated a terrorist attempt to launch a satellite," Pompeo said.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in remarks aired on Wednesday that his administration would regard agreements with Israel and the United States "completely canceled" if Israel annexes land in the West Bank.
"We have informed the relevant international parties, including the American and the Israeli governments, that we will not stand hand-cuffed if Israel announces the annexation of any part of our land," Abbas said on Palestine TV.
Israeli attorney general Avichai Mandelblit has approved a measure to seize a tract of land belonging to the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil city at the pretext of expanding and developing the holy site.
Last year, when Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu desecrated the Ibrahimi Mosque, he expressed his approval to confiscate the Islamic holy site’s lands — over which the Islamic Awqaf Authority has jurisdiction — in order to build paths and projects for Jews in the area.
Following Mandelblit’s approval, Likud’s Knesset member Keti Shitrit sent a letter to security minister Gilad Erdan asking him to sign the decree that okays the confiscation of a swath of land near the Ibrahimi Mosque in order to build a path for Jews to the holy site.
For its part, the Palestinian ministry of Awqaf and religious affairs has condemned the Israeli decision to seize a piece of land belonging to the Mosque, describing it as flagrant aggression against the Muslims’ exclusive ownership of the holy site and its real estate in al-Khalil.
Deputy Awqaf minister Husam Abul-Rab called on UNESCO to necessary intervene to stop the Israeli government’s violations against the Islamic holy sites in the occupied territories, affirming that the Awqaf ministry would not stand idly by watching such Israeli practices and would firmly move to curb them.
Last year, when Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu desecrated the Ibrahimi Mosque, he expressed his approval to confiscate the Islamic holy site’s lands — over which the Islamic Awqaf Authority has jurisdiction — in order to build paths and projects for Jews in the area.
Following Mandelblit’s approval, Likud’s Knesset member Keti Shitrit sent a letter to security minister Gilad Erdan asking him to sign the decree that okays the confiscation of a swath of land near the Ibrahimi Mosque in order to build a path for Jews to the holy site.
For its part, the Palestinian ministry of Awqaf and religious affairs has condemned the Israeli decision to seize a piece of land belonging to the Mosque, describing it as flagrant aggression against the Muslims’ exclusive ownership of the holy site and its real estate in al-Khalil.
Deputy Awqaf minister Husam Abul-Rab called on UNESCO to necessary intervene to stop the Israeli government’s violations against the Islamic holy sites in the occupied territories, affirming that the Awqaf ministry would not stand idly by watching such Israeli practices and would firmly move to curb them.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday evening stormed al-Thawri neighborhood in Silwan town in Jerusalem and raided a number of Palestinian homes.
Local sources said the IOF broke into several Palestinian homes and wreaked havoc on them.
Meanwhile, the IOF stormed al-Khader town in the West Bank district of Bethlehem and ordered the demolition of a Palestinian home under construction.
Activist Hasan Breijiya said that the IOF handed the Palestinian citizen Saleh al-Mahsiri an order asking him to evacuate the home within 96 hours in preparation for its demolition under the pretext of being unlicensed.
Local sources said the IOF broke into several Palestinian homes and wreaked havoc on them.
Meanwhile, the IOF stormed al-Khader town in the West Bank district of Bethlehem and ordered the demolition of a Palestinian home under construction.
Activist Hasan Breijiya said that the IOF handed the Palestinian citizen Saleh al-Mahsiri an order asking him to evacuate the home within 96 hours in preparation for its demolition under the pretext of being unlicensed.
20 apr 2020
An Israeli army force today raided the village of Twaneh, in Masafer Yatta in the south of the West Bank and ordered a local resident to remove his residential tent, according to a local activist.
The soldiers ordered Jamal Ribie to remove his tent under the pretext he did not have a permission to set it up, said Fouad Imour, the activist.
He said Ribie had set up the tent to house his family of six people, who will now find themselves without a shelter if the tent is removed.
The soldiers ordered Jamal Ribie to remove his tent under the pretext he did not have a permission to set it up, said Fouad Imour, the activist.
He said Ribie had set up the tent to house his family of six people, who will now find themselves without a shelter if the tent is removed.
Israeli settlers today planted trees in a Palestinian-owned land in an area south of the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem in a prelude to taking it over, according to a local official.
Hasan Breijieh, director of the Bethlehem office of the Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission, told WAFA that settlers planted olive trees in a land owned by Zeinab Abu Sneineh in an area near the village of Irtas. This step is usually a prelude to seizing the land.
He said the Israeli army had previously seized land in the same area and considered it state-owned.
Meanwhile, Israeli army bulldozers razed land south of Bethlehem located between the illegal settlements of Migdal Oz and Ifrat, said Breijieh.
He said the 2-dunum plot is located near the entrance to Migdal Oz and is owned by a local Palestinian family that has the official ownership land deeds.
Hasan Breijieh, director of the Bethlehem office of the Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission, told WAFA that settlers planted olive trees in a land owned by Zeinab Abu Sneineh in an area near the village of Irtas. This step is usually a prelude to seizing the land.
He said the Israeli army had previously seized land in the same area and considered it state-owned.
Meanwhile, Israeli army bulldozers razed land south of Bethlehem located between the illegal settlements of Migdal Oz and Ifrat, said Breijieh.
He said the 2-dunum plot is located near the entrance to Migdal Oz and is owned by a local Palestinian family that has the official ownership land deeds.
The Israeli army demolished today a shack and a section of a tourist structure north of the West Bank, according to Palestinian sources.
Mayor of the archeological village of Sebastia said the army demolished part of structure built to accommodate tourists visiting the site.
In the nearby village of Burqa, soldiers demolished a shack a local resident has built after the army has demolished his home few months ago, according to Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official monitoring Israeli settlement activities in the north of the West Bank.
Mayor of the archeological village of Sebastia said the army demolished part of structure built to accommodate tourists visiting the site.
In the nearby village of Burqa, soldiers demolished a shack a local resident has built after the army has demolished his home few months ago, according to Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official monitoring Israeli settlement activities in the north of the West Bank.
The Israeli army today informed a Palestinian farmer in a village in the south of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that a structure he had set up on his land will be demolished due to lack of a building permit, according to a local official.
Hasan Breijieh, director of the Bethlehem office of the Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission, told WAFA that the army handed Mohammad Abu Hammad in Jourat al-Shamaa village, south of Bethlehem, a demolition notice for his 120-square-meter agricultural structure under the pretext it was built without a permit.
Hasan Breijieh, director of the Bethlehem office of the Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission, told WAFA that the army handed Mohammad Abu Hammad in Jourat al-Shamaa village, south of Bethlehem, a demolition notice for his 120-square-meter agricultural structure under the pretext it was built without a permit.
18 apr 2020
Israeli settlers attacked today Palestinian farmers as they were working in their lands in Masafer Yatta in the south of the West Bank, according to Fouad Amour, a local activist.
He told WAFA that settlers attacked the farmers in Khirbet al-Khrouba as they were harvesting their crops and attacked an activist who was with the farmers and seized his camera while he was filming the attack.
Israeli soldiers in the area gave cover to the settlers and intervened only to force the farmers to leave their land.
Settlers also attacked residents in another village in Masafer Yatta, said Amour.
He said the settlers attacked the village of Khirbet Maghayer el-Abeed, beat one resident and stole his donkey before leaving it.
Residents of the villages sterilized the area where the settlers and soldiers were after they left it fearing they brought coronavirus with them.
He told WAFA that settlers attacked the farmers in Khirbet al-Khrouba as they were harvesting their crops and attacked an activist who was with the farmers and seized his camera while he was filming the attack.
Israeli soldiers in the area gave cover to the settlers and intervened only to force the farmers to leave their land.
Settlers also attacked residents in another village in Masafer Yatta, said Amour.
He said the settlers attacked the village of Khirbet Maghayer el-Abeed, beat one resident and stole his donkey before leaving it.
Residents of the villages sterilized the area where the settlers and soldiers were after they left it fearing they brought coronavirus with them.
Israel demolished, seized or dismantled 18 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C of the occupied West Bank in the first two weeks of April citing the lack of building permits despite large scale appeals to stop this policy in light of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories.
It said in its biweekly report on Protection of Civilians in the occupied territories covering the period between 31 March and 13 April that of particular concern was the ongoing demolition of water and hygiene-related structures, which could undermine efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus disease, COVID-19.
“Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the Israeli authorities have largely halted the demolition of inhabited homes, but continued targeting livelihood and service-related structures,” said OCHA.
During the reporting period, the Israeli authorities requisitioned two mobile latrines and damaged two water tanks in the herding community of al Taybe in the Hebron district in the south of the West Bank, and demolished three water cisterns in Kafr Nimeh village near Ramallah. During the latter incident, Israeli forces also uprooted about 1,200 trees, on grounds that the land was declared 'state land’.
OCHA also said the during the reporting period, eight Palestinians were injured and extensive property, including more than 670 trees, was vandalized by assailants believed to be Israeli settlers.
The injuries occurred in three incidents: in the Israeli-controlled H2 area of Hebron city, where two men, one of whom is mentally disabled, were pepper-sprayed; near Kobar village in the Ramallah district, where three farmers were beaten with rifles while working their land; and in the Ramat Eshkol settlement of East Jerusalem, where three Palestinian workers were physically assaulted, including one stabbed and severely injured.
Another four incidents entailed the uprooting or vandalizing of over 670 olive saplings and trees in al Tuwani in Hebron district, Turmus Ayya in Ramallah district and al Khader in Bethlehem district. In the latter village, since the beginning of the year around 1,450 trees belonging to farmers from al Khader village have been vandalized.
Residents from Umm al Kheir herding community reported that settlers poisoned over 20 almond trees. In Ein Qiniya village near Ramallah, settlers ran with motorbikes over land planted with cucumbers, while in Yanun in the Nablus area and al-Jaba in the Bethlehem district, they herded sheep on, and damaged, cultivated land. In another two incidents, settlers raided the outskirts of Qusra village in Nablus district and al Mazra al Qibliya village in Ramallah district and vandalized property.
Since the beginning of March, the weekly average of settler attacks resulting in Palestinian injuries or damage to their property increased by 80 per cent and reached nine incidents compared with an average during January-February of five incidents, said OCHA.
It said that Israeli forces carried out 53 search and arrest operations across the West Bank and arrested 45 Palestinians. Half of these operations and around 60 per cent of arrests were registered in East Jerusalem, 10 in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron city (H2) and nine in the Ramallah governorate.
This represents an over 50 per cent decline compared to the bi-weekly average of such operations in the first quarter of the year.
In the Gaza Strip, said OCHA, on 6 April Israeli airplanes sprayed herbicides on agricultural land near the border fence, east of Gaza city, the third such incident reported this year, resulting in damage to crops.
It said in its biweekly report on Protection of Civilians in the occupied territories covering the period between 31 March and 13 April that of particular concern was the ongoing demolition of water and hygiene-related structures, which could undermine efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus disease, COVID-19.
“Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the Israeli authorities have largely halted the demolition of inhabited homes, but continued targeting livelihood and service-related structures,” said OCHA.
During the reporting period, the Israeli authorities requisitioned two mobile latrines and damaged two water tanks in the herding community of al Taybe in the Hebron district in the south of the West Bank, and demolished three water cisterns in Kafr Nimeh village near Ramallah. During the latter incident, Israeli forces also uprooted about 1,200 trees, on grounds that the land was declared 'state land’.
OCHA also said the during the reporting period, eight Palestinians were injured and extensive property, including more than 670 trees, was vandalized by assailants believed to be Israeli settlers.
The injuries occurred in three incidents: in the Israeli-controlled H2 area of Hebron city, where two men, one of whom is mentally disabled, were pepper-sprayed; near Kobar village in the Ramallah district, where three farmers were beaten with rifles while working their land; and in the Ramat Eshkol settlement of East Jerusalem, where three Palestinian workers were physically assaulted, including one stabbed and severely injured.
Another four incidents entailed the uprooting or vandalizing of over 670 olive saplings and trees in al Tuwani in Hebron district, Turmus Ayya in Ramallah district and al Khader in Bethlehem district. In the latter village, since the beginning of the year around 1,450 trees belonging to farmers from al Khader village have been vandalized.
Residents from Umm al Kheir herding community reported that settlers poisoned over 20 almond trees. In Ein Qiniya village near Ramallah, settlers ran with motorbikes over land planted with cucumbers, while in Yanun in the Nablus area and al-Jaba in the Bethlehem district, they herded sheep on, and damaged, cultivated land. In another two incidents, settlers raided the outskirts of Qusra village in Nablus district and al Mazra al Qibliya village in Ramallah district and vandalized property.
Since the beginning of March, the weekly average of settler attacks resulting in Palestinian injuries or damage to their property increased by 80 per cent and reached nine incidents compared with an average during January-February of five incidents, said OCHA.
It said that Israeli forces carried out 53 search and arrest operations across the West Bank and arrested 45 Palestinians. Half of these operations and around 60 per cent of arrests were registered in East Jerusalem, 10 in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron city (H2) and nine in the Ramallah governorate.
This represents an over 50 per cent decline compared to the bi-weekly average of such operations in the first quarter of the year.
In the Gaza Strip, said OCHA, on 6 April Israeli airplanes sprayed herbicides on agricultural land near the border fence, east of Gaza city, the third such incident reported this year, resulting in damage to crops.
17 apr 2020
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Friday ordered the removal of several Palestinian agricultural facilities in the villages of Jiftlik and Furush Beit Dajan in the northern Jordan Valley.
Activist Aref Daraghmeh, who monitors IOF violations in the Jordan Valley, said that the IOF stormed the two villages and handed the owners of the facilities military orders asking them to dismantle the structures within a short time.
Israel is banning almost all kinds of Palestinian agricultural, industrial and housing development in the Jordan Valley. All falls in a line with a long-term plan to annex the area which makes up about one third of the West Bank.
Activist Aref Daraghmeh, who monitors IOF violations in the Jordan Valley, said that the IOF stormed the two villages and handed the owners of the facilities military orders asking them to dismantle the structures within a short time.
Israel is banning almost all kinds of Palestinian agricultural, industrial and housing development in the Jordan Valley. All falls in a line with a long-term plan to annex the area which makes up about one third of the West Bank.
Israeli bulldozers on Thursday evening embarked on razing a vast tract of Palestinian agricultural land in Burin town, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
Eyewitnesses said that the bulldozers razed the land under military protection in the area near the house of Umm Ayman Sufan family.
Such measure means that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA), as always, gave itself the right to seize the land for a settlement expansion project.
The IOA carries out bulldozing activities almost on a daily basis in different Palestinian areas of the West Bank.
Eyewitnesses said that the bulldozers razed the land under military protection in the area near the house of Umm Ayman Sufan family.
Such measure means that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA), as always, gave itself the right to seize the land for a settlement expansion project.
The IOA carries out bulldozing activities almost on a daily basis in different Palestinian areas of the West Bank.
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