7 feb 2017
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) demolished on Tuesday a number of Palestinian facilities in the northern Jordan Valley near Tubas city.
Moataz Bsharat, who is in charge of the affairs of the northern Jordan Valley in Tubas, said that the IOA's vehicles razed more than 13 Palestinian facilities in a number of villages under the pretext of building without a permit.
Bsharat said in a press statement that the demolished facilities included tents for accommodation and others for sheep breeding belonging to two Palestinian families.
He pointed out that the IOA had recently escalated demolitions and distributed many demolition notices in the northern Jordan Valley within an Israeli plan to evict the Palestinian citizens from their lands.
According to international and humanitarian institutions, the continued Israeli harassment against the Palestinian families in the Jordan Valley either through demolitions or evictions for military exercises are part of an Israeli scheme targeting the area and aiming to evacuate its residents because it is considered a vital and strategic area on the agricultural and military levels.
Moataz Bsharat, who is in charge of the affairs of the northern Jordan Valley in Tubas, said that the IOA's vehicles razed more than 13 Palestinian facilities in a number of villages under the pretext of building without a permit.
Bsharat said in a press statement that the demolished facilities included tents for accommodation and others for sheep breeding belonging to two Palestinian families.
He pointed out that the IOA had recently escalated demolitions and distributed many demolition notices in the northern Jordan Valley within an Israeli plan to evict the Palestinian citizens from their lands.
According to international and humanitarian institutions, the continued Israeli harassment against the Palestinian families in the Jordan Valley either through demolitions or evictions for military exercises are part of an Israeli scheme targeting the area and aiming to evacuate its residents because it is considered a vital and strategic area on the agricultural and military levels.
On Tuesday, Several Israeli military vehicles, and bulldozers, invaded Beit Hanina neighborhood, north of occupied East Jerusalem, and demolished an under-construction building.
Media sources in Jerusalem said dozens of soldiers surrounded and invaded the area, after declaring it a “closed military zone.”
The soldiers then proceeded to demolish the building, in addition to detaining and interrogating several Palestinians.
In related news, the army invaded Kardala village, in the West Bank’s Northern Plains, and demolished several barns owned by a few shepherds.
Media sources in Jerusalem said dozens of soldiers surrounded and invaded the area, after declaring it a “closed military zone.”
The soldiers then proceeded to demolish the building, in addition to detaining and interrogating several Palestinians.
In related news, the army invaded Kardala village, in the West Bank’s Northern Plains, and demolished several barns owned by a few shepherds.
Palestinian and Israeli activists and human rights watchdogs lashed out at the Israeli government for passing a bill legalizing settlement outposts built on Palestinian land across the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian Authority (PA) spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaina, said the Knesset’s approval of the Regulation Bill in its second and third readings is “unacceptable” and one that stands in sharp contrast to the UN Security Council Resolution No. 2334 passed in December 2016.
The PA spokesperson urged the international community to take immediate action against the bill before it is too late.
Islamic Jihad leader Mohamed al-Hindi slammed the PA, chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, for failing to protect its citizens and lands.
“The PA has to step down and leave the floor for the Palestinian people so as to rise up against the Israeli occupation and protect their land and property,” said al-Hindi.
He wondered about the reason why Abbas has not plucked up his courage yet and filed a lawsuit against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The leftist Peace Now NGO also leveled heavy criticism at the bill, dubbing it “a scar of shame” on Israel’s face.
The Israeli Yesh Din organization described, in a tweet, the law as “illegal and immoral.”
B’Tselem human rights watchdog also spoke out against the bill, saying it rather seeks a legal cover for Israeli land grab.
B’Tselem added that the law “is a shameful scar on Israel’s face and its legislative body.”
The organization dubbed the bill “an Israeli slap in the face of the international community.”
The Israeli Knesset on Monday passed a law legalizing the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land, in what critics warned would mark the first step toward the annexation of parts of the West Bank, while paving the way for possible future prosecution of Israel for war crimes.
The UN in December passed a resolution condemning settlements and demanding that Israel halt illegal settlement activity immediately.
Palestinian Authority (PA) spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaina, said the Knesset’s approval of the Regulation Bill in its second and third readings is “unacceptable” and one that stands in sharp contrast to the UN Security Council Resolution No. 2334 passed in December 2016.
The PA spokesperson urged the international community to take immediate action against the bill before it is too late.
Islamic Jihad leader Mohamed al-Hindi slammed the PA, chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, for failing to protect its citizens and lands.
“The PA has to step down and leave the floor for the Palestinian people so as to rise up against the Israeli occupation and protect their land and property,” said al-Hindi.
He wondered about the reason why Abbas has not plucked up his courage yet and filed a lawsuit against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The leftist Peace Now NGO also leveled heavy criticism at the bill, dubbing it “a scar of shame” on Israel’s face.
The Israeli Yesh Din organization described, in a tweet, the law as “illegal and immoral.”
B’Tselem human rights watchdog also spoke out against the bill, saying it rather seeks a legal cover for Israeli land grab.
B’Tselem added that the law “is a shameful scar on Israel’s face and its legislative body.”
The organization dubbed the bill “an Israeli slap in the face of the international community.”
The Israeli Knesset on Monday passed a law legalizing the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land, in what critics warned would mark the first step toward the annexation of parts of the West Bank, while paving the way for possible future prosecution of Israel for war crimes.
The UN in December passed a resolution condemning settlements and demanding that Israel halt illegal settlement activity immediately.
The Israeli Knesset on Monday passed a law legalizing the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land.
Critics warned that the move would mark the first step toward the annexation of parts of the West Bank, while paving the way for possible future prosecution of Israel for war crimes.
In a late-evening vote, MPs ignored warnings from opposition lawmakers and the UN and passed second and third readings of the Regularization Bill, which will legalize illegal settler outposts scattered around the occupied West Bank.
The so-called Regulation Bill went before lawmakers at the Knesset and received 60 votes in favor opposed to just 52 against in its third reading.
International law views all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal for they are built on private land on which Palestinians have claims.
In the run-up to the law’s passage, Palestinian and Israeli critics described it as a land grab and said it would be viewed as a step toward the annexation of parts of the West Bank.
Earlier on Monday, Nicky Mladenov, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, warned that the law would “have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace”.
The vote comes at a pivotal time for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the calculus for which has changed since the swearing in last month of Donald Trump, who has promised to be the most pro-Israel US president ever and named supporters of the settlements as his Israel advisers.
In the debate leading up to the vote, Isaac Herzog, the center-left opposition leader, warned that the law could open the way for prosecutions of Israel for war crimes at the International Criminal Court.
“The train leaves from here [and] will only stop at The Hague,” Herzog said in remarks quoted by the Israeli paper Haaretz before the vote. “Its cars will carry international indictments against Israeli and Jewish soldiers and officers. This indictment will be signed by the prime minister of Israel.”
Herzog also said the legislation amounted to “de facto annexation”.
Avichai Mandelblit, Israel’s attorney-general, warned Netanyahu before the vote that he deemed the bill to be unconstitutional and was not prepared to defend it if it was challenged before Israel’s Supreme Court.
The UN in December passed a resolution condemning settlements and demanding that Israel halt illegal settlement activity immediately.
Critics warned that the move would mark the first step toward the annexation of parts of the West Bank, while paving the way for possible future prosecution of Israel for war crimes.
In a late-evening vote, MPs ignored warnings from opposition lawmakers and the UN and passed second and third readings of the Regularization Bill, which will legalize illegal settler outposts scattered around the occupied West Bank.
The so-called Regulation Bill went before lawmakers at the Knesset and received 60 votes in favor opposed to just 52 against in its third reading.
International law views all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal for they are built on private land on which Palestinians have claims.
In the run-up to the law’s passage, Palestinian and Israeli critics described it as a land grab and said it would be viewed as a step toward the annexation of parts of the West Bank.
Earlier on Monday, Nicky Mladenov, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, warned that the law would “have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace”.
The vote comes at a pivotal time for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the calculus for which has changed since the swearing in last month of Donald Trump, who has promised to be the most pro-Israel US president ever and named supporters of the settlements as his Israel advisers.
In the debate leading up to the vote, Isaac Herzog, the center-left opposition leader, warned that the law could open the way for prosecutions of Israel for war crimes at the International Criminal Court.
“The train leaves from here [and] will only stop at The Hague,” Herzog said in remarks quoted by the Israeli paper Haaretz before the vote. “Its cars will carry international indictments against Israeli and Jewish soldiers and officers. This indictment will be signed by the prime minister of Israel.”
Herzog also said the legislation amounted to “de facto annexation”.
Avichai Mandelblit, Israel’s attorney-general, warned Netanyahu before the vote that he deemed the bill to be unconstitutional and was not prepared to defend it if it was challenged before Israel’s Supreme Court.
The UN in December passed a resolution condemning settlements and demanding that Israel halt illegal settlement activity immediately.
6 feb 2017
Palestinian residents of the Nablus-area village of Burqa went to check on their farmlands on the outskirts of the village Monday to find some 700 olive and almond trees cut down, allegedly by Israeli settlers from a nearby illegal settlement.
Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement related activities in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that the trees, which belonged to Khalid Salah, Mahmoud Daghlas, and Khalid Nasser, were planted nine years ago in the al-Qubeibat and al-Qusour areas east of Burqa.
The trees, added Daghlas, were planted two years after the eviction of the nearby Homesh settlement which was located in northwest Nablus. He explained to Ma'an that after the eviction, the Palestinian land-owners obtained decisions from Israeli courts including the high court that neither settlers, nor Israeli forces would harass the land owners.
However, he said, in 2016 settlers started to "camp" in the area under protection of Israeli troops making it very difficult for farmers to tend their fields and water their trees.
One of the landowners, Khalid Salah, managed to reach his field on Monday and notified other farmers, as well as Daghlas, that Israeli settlers had chopped down all the trees they planted in 2007.
Daghlas added that Burqa villagers will organize a protest in the fields on Friday.
When asked if there were photos of the cut-down trees, Daghlas said the presence of Israeli troops and settlers made it difficult for farmers to reach the fields and take photos.
An Israeli spokesperson for COGAT, the agency responsible for implementing Israeli government policies in the occupied territory, was not immediately available for comment on the incident.
Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement related activities in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that the trees, which belonged to Khalid Salah, Mahmoud Daghlas, and Khalid Nasser, were planted nine years ago in the al-Qubeibat and al-Qusour areas east of Burqa.
The trees, added Daghlas, were planted two years after the eviction of the nearby Homesh settlement which was located in northwest Nablus. He explained to Ma'an that after the eviction, the Palestinian land-owners obtained decisions from Israeli courts including the high court that neither settlers, nor Israeli forces would harass the land owners.
However, he said, in 2016 settlers started to "camp" in the area under protection of Israeli troops making it very difficult for farmers to tend their fields and water their trees.
One of the landowners, Khalid Salah, managed to reach his field on Monday and notified other farmers, as well as Daghlas, that Israeli settlers had chopped down all the trees they planted in 2007.
Daghlas added that Burqa villagers will organize a protest in the fields on Friday.
When asked if there were photos of the cut-down trees, Daghlas said the presence of Israeli troops and settlers made it difficult for farmers to reach the fields and take photos.
An Israeli spokesperson for COGAT, the agency responsible for implementing Israeli government policies in the occupied territory, was not immediately available for comment on the incident.
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) late on Sunday seized Palestinian lands in Nablus’s southern town of Qaryout, in the northern West Bank.
Speaking with a PIC news correspondent, anti-settlement activist Bashar al-Qaryouti said the occupation soldiers stormed Qaryout late on Sunday evening and fenced off Palestinian land lots near the Israeli illegal settlement outpost of Hufal under the security pretext.
He pointed out that Palestinian lands in western Qaryout have been subjected to Israel’s land grab schemes, which have seen a swift rise over recent weeks.
Speaking with a PIC news correspondent, anti-settlement activist Bashar al-Qaryouti said the occupation soldiers stormed Qaryout late on Sunday evening and fenced off Palestinian land lots near the Israeli illegal settlement outpost of Hufal under the security pretext.
He pointed out that Palestinian lands in western Qaryout have been subjected to Israel’s land grab schemes, which have seen a swift rise over recent weeks.
Israeli soldiers invaded, Monday, seven Palestinian homes in different parts of occupied East Jerusalem, detained fourteen Palestinians and illegally confiscated large sums of cash and cars.
The Israeli army said it detained and summoned for interrogation fourteen Palestinians, after searching their homes in Jabal al-Mokabber, at-Tour, Ras al-‘Amoud and Shu’fat refugee camp.
Local sources said the soldiers invaded the home Mohammad Abu Jamal, 73, and abducted him after searching his property.
Abu Jamal is the father of Ghassan, 27, who was killed along with his cousin Odai, 22, on November 18, 2014, after they attacked the Synagogue of Har Nof settlement, in Jerusalem, and killed four Israelis, in addition to wounding 12 others.
The soldiers also invaded and searched the homes of political prisoners, identified as Ramadan Mashahra, Fahmi Mashahra, Ayman al-‘Abbassi, Emad al-‘Abbassi and Emad Sha’aar.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded the home Wisam Faraj, 20, who was killed by Israeli army fire in October 2015, and the family home of another slain Palestinian, identified as Hasan Naabi.
The Israeli army said it detained and summoned for interrogation 14 Palestinians, and confiscated nearly 200.000 Shekels, checkbooks, a truck and two cars, allegedly donated by Hamas to families of slain Palestinians and detainees, from East Jerusalem.
The Israeli army said it detained and summoned for interrogation fourteen Palestinians, after searching their homes in Jabal al-Mokabber, at-Tour, Ras al-‘Amoud and Shu’fat refugee camp.
Local sources said the soldiers invaded the home Mohammad Abu Jamal, 73, and abducted him after searching his property.
Abu Jamal is the father of Ghassan, 27, who was killed along with his cousin Odai, 22, on November 18, 2014, after they attacked the Synagogue of Har Nof settlement, in Jerusalem, and killed four Israelis, in addition to wounding 12 others.
The soldiers also invaded and searched the homes of political prisoners, identified as Ramadan Mashahra, Fahmi Mashahra, Ayman al-‘Abbassi, Emad al-‘Abbassi and Emad Sha’aar.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded the home Wisam Faraj, 20, who was killed by Israeli army fire in October 2015, and the family home of another slain Palestinian, identified as Hasan Naabi.
The Israeli army said it detained and summoned for interrogation 14 Palestinians, and confiscated nearly 200.000 Shekels, checkbooks, a truck and two cars, allegedly donated by Hamas to families of slain Palestinians and detainees, from East Jerusalem.
3 feb 2017
On Sunday, 15 January 2017, the Israeli occupation forces began uprooting olive trees and leveling land near the Palestinian villages of ‘Azzun and a-Nabi Elyas in Qalqilya, B’Tselem watchdog reported Wednesday.
According to B’Tselem, the work is being carried out as part of the decision made by the military and the Civil Administration to build a bypass road to replace the section of Route 55 that runs through a-Nabi Elyas.
Route 55 originally served as the main link between Nablus and Qalqilya and was one of the major traffic arteries in the West Bank. Over time, as settlements expanded, it also became essential to settlers, as it connects several large settlements with Israel’s coastal plains and central region, the same source added.
The decision to build the bypass road was first made in 1989, with the goal of sparing settlers the need to drive through the village of a-Nabi Elyas. However, it was not pursued until September 2013, when the Civil Administration planning institutions began the planning process.
In October 2015, the project was expedited due to pressure by the settler leadership: According to Israeli media reports , Prime Minister Netanyahu promised the heads of the settlement local councils that the road would be built.”
On 21 December 2015, the head of the Civil Administration issued an expropriation order for 10.4 hectares of land earmarked for the bypass road. The order noted that the new road will “serve the public good” and improve mobility between Nablus and Qalqilya.
In March 2016, the Palestinian village councils and landowners petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) against the expropriation, on the grounds that the road will not serve all residents of the area but only settlers. On 16 November 2016, the HCJ denied the petition after accepting the state’s claim that the road is intended to serve the entire population of the area.
B’Tselem said the seizure of the land and uprooting of olive trees have severely harmed the Palestinian landowners, who have lost a source of income and a major financial asset, as well as an open space that served all local residents for leisure and recreational activities.
“While Israel professes to act for the benefit of the occupied population, its policies routinely ignore this population’s needs,” the report read. “These facts, when taken together with false statements about seizing Palestinian land “for the public good” and pressure from the settler lobby, attest yet again to Israel’s policy and aims.”
According to B’Tselem, the work is being carried out as part of the decision made by the military and the Civil Administration to build a bypass road to replace the section of Route 55 that runs through a-Nabi Elyas.
Route 55 originally served as the main link between Nablus and Qalqilya and was one of the major traffic arteries in the West Bank. Over time, as settlements expanded, it also became essential to settlers, as it connects several large settlements with Israel’s coastal plains and central region, the same source added.
The decision to build the bypass road was first made in 1989, with the goal of sparing settlers the need to drive through the village of a-Nabi Elyas. However, it was not pursued until September 2013, when the Civil Administration planning institutions began the planning process.
In October 2015, the project was expedited due to pressure by the settler leadership: According to Israeli media reports , Prime Minister Netanyahu promised the heads of the settlement local councils that the road would be built.”
On 21 December 2015, the head of the Civil Administration issued an expropriation order for 10.4 hectares of land earmarked for the bypass road. The order noted that the new road will “serve the public good” and improve mobility between Nablus and Qalqilya.
In March 2016, the Palestinian village councils and landowners petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) against the expropriation, on the grounds that the road will not serve all residents of the area but only settlers. On 16 November 2016, the HCJ denied the petition after accepting the state’s claim that the road is intended to serve the entire population of the area.
B’Tselem said the seizure of the land and uprooting of olive trees have severely harmed the Palestinian landowners, who have lost a source of income and a major financial asset, as well as an open space that served all local residents for leisure and recreational activities.
“While Israel professes to act for the benefit of the occupied population, its policies routinely ignore this population’s needs,” the report read. “These facts, when taken together with false statements about seizing Palestinian land “for the public good” and pressure from the settler lobby, attest yet again to Israel’s policy and aims.”
2 feb 2017
The Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) issued Thursday demolition orders against Palestinian-owned facilities in the Jordan Valley under the pretext of being built without permit.
The local activist Mutaz Basharat affirmed that Israeli military crews handed over demolition notifications against four houses and tents in Bardala village in the Jordan Valley.
The Israeli forces threatened to start demolishing the notified facilities in the near future, claiming that they were built without Israeli permit.
Basharat also pointed out that Israeli authorities issued confiscation orders against agricultural lands in the village.
36 dunums were notified with confiscation as per the route of the apartheid wall, he added.
The local activist Mutaz Basharat affirmed that Israeli military crews handed over demolition notifications against four houses and tents in Bardala village in the Jordan Valley.
The Israeli forces threatened to start demolishing the notified facilities in the near future, claiming that they were built without Israeli permit.
Basharat also pointed out that Israeli authorities issued confiscation orders against agricultural lands in the village.
36 dunums were notified with confiscation as per the route of the apartheid wall, he added.
Jewish settlers on Wednesday seized and bulldozed 10 dunums of agricultural land in Jab’a village, west of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Local sources said that the settlers flattened the land and destroyed its trees, which belongs to a Palestinian citizen called Khaled Masha’ila.
They expressed their belief that the settlers would use the land as a road to connect the settlements of Gush Etzion with the military roadblock, which separates the village from the 1948 occupied territories.
They warned that the settlers might appropriate more Palestinian lands in the village for their own use.
Local sources said that the settlers flattened the land and destroyed its trees, which belongs to a Palestinian citizen called Khaled Masha’ila.
They expressed their belief that the settlers would use the land as a road to connect the settlements of Gush Etzion with the military roadblock, which separates the village from the 1948 occupied territories.
They warned that the settlers might appropriate more Palestinian lands in the village for their own use.