31 july 2013
Hundreds have organized a human chain Tuesday evening in the northern city of Haifa in Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 in protest against Prawer plan. The protest was organized by Haifa popular committee against Prawer. The protesters closed Ben-Gurion Street for half an hour before heading to "Prisoner square".
For its part, the Democratic Student Assembly has called, in a statement, for mass participation in protests in Negev and Wadi Ara on Thursday against Prawer plan.
The assembly stated that the Israeli forces launched an arrest campaign against Palestinian youths inside the Green Line in an attempt to break their will and determination to escalate protests against Prawer plan.
Large number of assembly members were arrested and summoned including those responsible for the student movement Morad Hadad, the statement pointed out.
The statement stressed the assembly's determination to continue their struggle against the Israeli Judaization and demolition policy and the racist Prawer plan.
For its part, the Democratic Student Assembly has called, in a statement, for mass participation in protests in Negev and Wadi Ara on Thursday against Prawer plan.
The assembly stated that the Israeli forces launched an arrest campaign against Palestinian youths inside the Green Line in an attempt to break their will and determination to escalate protests against Prawer plan.
Large number of assembly members were arrested and summoned including those responsible for the student movement Morad Hadad, the statement pointed out.
The statement stressed the assembly's determination to continue their struggle against the Israeli Judaization and demolition policy and the racist Prawer plan.
29 july 2013
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Al-Sharabati family executed the court’s decision and removed the tin plates from the roof of their house in “Oqbat Al-Khaldiya” in the old city of Jerusalem to avoid evacuation.
Al-Sharabati family placed the tine plates on the top of their house almost 20 years ago to protect the rooms from the rain. Kayed Al-Sharabati said: “the Ateret Cohanim Association is continuously harassing us and they claimed that we had built a restroom inside the house, knowing that it was built with the house and is only 2.25 square meters, and we have paid 45 thousand NIS to the association, and 15 thousand NIS to the lawyer to prove that the restroom is an old construction, in addition to 20 thousand NIS that we paid several years ago to obtain an aerial photograph of the restroom.” |
Adnan Al-Sharabati, his wife, his four sons, his daughter and grandchildren have been living in the house for many years.
28 july 2013
Youth groups in the Palestinian 1948-occupied territories called for announcing next Thursday the first of August "a day of public anger" to protest against the Prawer plan The scheme threatens to confiscate more than eight hundred thousand dunums of lands in the Negev to the south of the Palestinian land, to demolish more than 35 Arab villages and to displace about 40 thousand Palestinian citizens.
The activists in a press release on Sunday called on all the Palestinians in the occupied territories to unite and participate in protests against the Prawer plan and announced the completion of the preparations for the 1st of August.
The Israeli Knesset has approved the Prawer law last month after the first reading.
The activists in a press release on Sunday called on all the Palestinians in the occupied territories to unite and participate in protests against the Prawer plan and announced the completion of the preparations for the 1st of August.
The Israeli Knesset has approved the Prawer law last month after the first reading.
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Palestinian youth groups in Israel on Saturday demonstrated against Israel's Prawer Plan, which will displace thousands of Bedouin families in the Negev desert.
Dozens of people gathered in Kafr Kanna, north of Nazareth, to protest the plan. Israeli police detained Majd Dahamsheh and Ibrahim Ammara, witnesses said. Head of Kafr Kanna's popular committee, Baker Awawdeh, was summoned by Israeli police, together with Abed al-Hakim Dahamsheh and Muhammad Ali Taha. Demonstrations also took place in the Galilee village of Rayna and Tarshiha, northeast of Acre. Dozens of protesters shouted slogans against the displacement plan and urged people to join an upcoming 'Day of Anger' planned on Aug. 1. |
The Israeli government approved the Prawer-Begin plan in 2011, in what it says was an attempt to address the problem of unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev desert of southern Israel.
The 2011 proposal was formulated without any consultation with the Bedouin community and rights groups slammed it as a major blow to Bedouin rights.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the plan will forcibly evict nearly 40,000 Bedouins and destroy their communal and social fabric, condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment.
Israel refuses to recognize 35 Bedouin villages in the Negev, which collectively house nearly 90,000 people.
The Israeli state denies them access to basic services and infrastructure, such as electricity and running water, and refuses to place them under municipal jurisdiction.
The 2011 proposal was formulated without any consultation with the Bedouin community and rights groups slammed it as a major blow to Bedouin rights.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the plan will forcibly evict nearly 40,000 Bedouins and destroy their communal and social fabric, condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment.
Israel refuses to recognize 35 Bedouin villages in the Negev, which collectively house nearly 90,000 people.
The Israeli state denies them access to basic services and infrastructure, such as electricity and running water, and refuses to place them under municipal jurisdiction.
27 july 2013
With an Israeli administrative system that has denied 94% of requests for permits to build in recent years, writes Miriam Pellicano, it is little wonder that Palestinians are taking matters into their own hands, often with dire consequences.
When others laugh at your misfortune
From the open front door of Muhammad Castiro’s recently erected caravan, the view of a towering mound of rubble obscures the landscape and the neighborhood. The piles of stones and snaking iron rods, which jut out of the mound, bury furniture, possessions and a life that once was.
“We spend our time picking up fragments from the rubble,” Nadia, mother of seven, tells Defense for Children International Palestine fieldworkers. “We pick up a splinter of wood and say, this came from my bed. This affects us emotionally a lot.”
When the army arrived to demolish their houses, in Beit Hanina, an East Jerusalem suburb, in February, they allowed the four families no time to salvage any of their belongings. They had time to retrieve money and jewelry and then were not able to enter the house again.
All the children left for school that morning, like any other morning, only to come home to their neighborhood hearing other children shouting “they are demolishing your home.”
“I was really angry and sad,” says Imran Castiro, 11, remembering the day of the demolition. “I could not believe what they were doing to my house and my memories.”
When Imran tried to get past the soldiers to get to his house, he said “they just laughed at me.” He recalls that there were three soldiers blocking him and laughing at him. This memory sits heavily with him. “I wake up at night panicking and cannot go back to sleep,” says Imran. “I am tired in the morning and cannot go to school.”
Blocked at every pass
Since the annexation of Jerusalem after the 1967 war, Israel’s Jerusalem municipality has employed a series of measures to fulfill the “demographic policy plan.” This plan aims to reach and maintain a ratio of a 70 percent majority Jewish population in Jerusalem.
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions states in a report, “as it stands, Israel has not updated the regional urban plan for East Jerusalem since its occupation and annexation in 1967, and no new Palestinian neighborhood has been created since.”
For the period of January to April, 2013, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports 90 people have been displaced in East Jerusalem, including 49 children, as well as 183 people being affected by a demolition, including 89 children.
While Jewish only settlements keep mushrooming throughout East Jerusalem, Palestinians routinely are denied permits to build, and with the population for this community quadrupling since 1967, they are left with little option but to build illegally to accommodate for the natural population growth rate.
The ongoing costs of a demolition
The threat and the execution of a demolition have far reaching impacts, beyond the financial. The spiraling physical and mental health issues that ensue affect all members of the family.
A study released by Save the Children-UK, the Palestinian Counseling Center and the Welfare Association states that “children who have had their home demolished fare significantly worse on a range of mental health indicators, including withdrawal, somatic complaints, depression/anxiety, social difficulties, higher rates of delusional, obsessive, compulsive and psychotic thoughts, attention difficulties, delinquency and violent behavior.”
Zakaria Castiro, 13, admits that since the demolition he has had a lot of difficulty concentrating and his grades at school have suffered. The family of nine live in a two room caravan, where the largest room, four meters (13 feet) by five meters (16 feet), serves as the lounge room, dining room, study area and bedroom for the seven children. “You cannot focus here,” says Zakaria, “there is no studying atmosphere and there are too many distractions.”
Imran also feels that he is not good at school anymore and because of this he doesn’t like any of the subjects he has to study. His mother, Ghada, can see a big difference in him. “He used to be smart and obedient,” she says. “Now he refuses to do his homework, he gets angry fast and he doesn’t listen.” Most strikingly, however, is that Imran describes himself as not having any joy. When he leaves the room, his mother emphasizes this point again.
As parents struggle through their own emotions and stress after a demolition, they may have the inability to prevent their children’s sadness from developing into depression. "Parents are so overwhelmed that they cannot contain their children's emotions,” says Anan Srour, clinical and educational psychologist at the Palestinian Counseling Center. “Sadness is a normal stage of the process, however if there is not a space for children to grieve, their sadness turns to anxiety and depression. Anxiety becomes a more difficult task to go through."
Branding a tragedy
Children become acutely aware of how they are perceived differently by their friends and peers at school after a home demolition. The children feel that they stand out and that people look at them with pity. It makes them feel like “outsiders.”
“One friend used to come here to play. She notices that the situation has changed and now she doesn’t visit here,” says Dana Castiro, 10. “I don’t visit my friend. I don’t want to play anymore.”
Emergency support is offered to families who have their homes demolished. As part of this aid package, efforts are undertaken to supply the children with resources in order to minimize any disruption to education.
The children display the notebooks, pencil cases and backpacks that UN agencies have supplied. The large agency branding is splashed all over the items, indicating clearly that the children are recipients of humanitarian aid.
“The UN helps the poor, victims, people whose lives have been destroyed,” say Imran, “we don’t want to be identified as such.” The children are highly sensitive to any disparity between themselves and their peers, and are reluctant to amplify this by branding their tragedy.
Living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
There can be large discrepancies in the time taken to enact a demolition order. Overwhelmingly families are given little if any time to lodge an appeal with the courts once an order has been issued. However, time can vary from 24 hours to a couple of months to a couple of years, leaving families in varying states of limbo.
“The child, on his way to school, is not sure that he will come back and find his house is still there,” says Srour, who has worked with families with pending demolition orders. "They don't know the date they will lose their home, so they are in a constant state of stress. It has implications on all of their daily functions and parents don't have the psychological energy to meet their children's demands."
Currently the Castiro families are living in three separate caravans on the edge of their demolished house, recently erected after living in tents for two months. They are trying to wage two legal battles, one to acknowledge their land rights and the second to stop the demolition orders that have been issued on their caravans.
Court orders family to demolish their own house, or face a three-year jail term
The Association for the Civil Rights in Israel reports that 79.5 percent of East Jerusalem residents and 85 percent of East Jerusalem children live below the poverty line. With families having to reimburse the municipality for the cost of demolishing their home, families are now taking to destroying their own homes with the hope of salvaging their belongings and cutting down on costs.
The Es’eed family of Beit Hanina, Jerusalem, is one such family. When Dahoud, 42, father of seven children, the youngest three months old, was faced with the ultimatum to destroy his own house or face either a 20,000 shekel fine (US$5,400) or a three-year jail sentence, he chose to demolish his own home. Over a period of five days, with help from his neighbors, he tore down his house.
When Ala Es’eed, 13, arrived home from school that first day, she was shocked to see her father and neighbors smashing the walls. Since this time, her mother states that Ala’s grades have dropped and she always cries.
“I have not been able to eat or drink well since that day,” Ala tells Defense for Children International Palestine fieldworkers. “I feel weak and cannot do anything. I want to help, but cannot. I am very angry because of this and because of my living conditions. I am exploding inside.”
Despite her father’s assurances that he will build her a better room, the family still remains homeless.
*Miriam Pellicano volunteers with the Accountability Program at Defense for Children International Palestine. A version of this article was originally published in Al-Monitor
When others laugh at your misfortune
From the open front door of Muhammad Castiro’s recently erected caravan, the view of a towering mound of rubble obscures the landscape and the neighborhood. The piles of stones and snaking iron rods, which jut out of the mound, bury furniture, possessions and a life that once was.
“We spend our time picking up fragments from the rubble,” Nadia, mother of seven, tells Defense for Children International Palestine fieldworkers. “We pick up a splinter of wood and say, this came from my bed. This affects us emotionally a lot.”
When the army arrived to demolish their houses, in Beit Hanina, an East Jerusalem suburb, in February, they allowed the four families no time to salvage any of their belongings. They had time to retrieve money and jewelry and then were not able to enter the house again.
All the children left for school that morning, like any other morning, only to come home to their neighborhood hearing other children shouting “they are demolishing your home.”
“I was really angry and sad,” says Imran Castiro, 11, remembering the day of the demolition. “I could not believe what they were doing to my house and my memories.”
When Imran tried to get past the soldiers to get to his house, he said “they just laughed at me.” He recalls that there were three soldiers blocking him and laughing at him. This memory sits heavily with him. “I wake up at night panicking and cannot go back to sleep,” says Imran. “I am tired in the morning and cannot go to school.”
Blocked at every pass
Since the annexation of Jerusalem after the 1967 war, Israel’s Jerusalem municipality has employed a series of measures to fulfill the “demographic policy plan.” This plan aims to reach and maintain a ratio of a 70 percent majority Jewish population in Jerusalem.
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions states in a report, “as it stands, Israel has not updated the regional urban plan for East Jerusalem since its occupation and annexation in 1967, and no new Palestinian neighborhood has been created since.”
For the period of January to April, 2013, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports 90 people have been displaced in East Jerusalem, including 49 children, as well as 183 people being affected by a demolition, including 89 children.
While Jewish only settlements keep mushrooming throughout East Jerusalem, Palestinians routinely are denied permits to build, and with the population for this community quadrupling since 1967, they are left with little option but to build illegally to accommodate for the natural population growth rate.
The ongoing costs of a demolition
The threat and the execution of a demolition have far reaching impacts, beyond the financial. The spiraling physical and mental health issues that ensue affect all members of the family.
A study released by Save the Children-UK, the Palestinian Counseling Center and the Welfare Association states that “children who have had their home demolished fare significantly worse on a range of mental health indicators, including withdrawal, somatic complaints, depression/anxiety, social difficulties, higher rates of delusional, obsessive, compulsive and psychotic thoughts, attention difficulties, delinquency and violent behavior.”
Zakaria Castiro, 13, admits that since the demolition he has had a lot of difficulty concentrating and his grades at school have suffered. The family of nine live in a two room caravan, where the largest room, four meters (13 feet) by five meters (16 feet), serves as the lounge room, dining room, study area and bedroom for the seven children. “You cannot focus here,” says Zakaria, “there is no studying atmosphere and there are too many distractions.”
Imran also feels that he is not good at school anymore and because of this he doesn’t like any of the subjects he has to study. His mother, Ghada, can see a big difference in him. “He used to be smart and obedient,” she says. “Now he refuses to do his homework, he gets angry fast and he doesn’t listen.” Most strikingly, however, is that Imran describes himself as not having any joy. When he leaves the room, his mother emphasizes this point again.
As parents struggle through their own emotions and stress after a demolition, they may have the inability to prevent their children’s sadness from developing into depression. "Parents are so overwhelmed that they cannot contain their children's emotions,” says Anan Srour, clinical and educational psychologist at the Palestinian Counseling Center. “Sadness is a normal stage of the process, however if there is not a space for children to grieve, their sadness turns to anxiety and depression. Anxiety becomes a more difficult task to go through."
Branding a tragedy
Children become acutely aware of how they are perceived differently by their friends and peers at school after a home demolition. The children feel that they stand out and that people look at them with pity. It makes them feel like “outsiders.”
“One friend used to come here to play. She notices that the situation has changed and now she doesn’t visit here,” says Dana Castiro, 10. “I don’t visit my friend. I don’t want to play anymore.”
Emergency support is offered to families who have their homes demolished. As part of this aid package, efforts are undertaken to supply the children with resources in order to minimize any disruption to education.
The children display the notebooks, pencil cases and backpacks that UN agencies have supplied. The large agency branding is splashed all over the items, indicating clearly that the children are recipients of humanitarian aid.
“The UN helps the poor, victims, people whose lives have been destroyed,” say Imran, “we don’t want to be identified as such.” The children are highly sensitive to any disparity between themselves and their peers, and are reluctant to amplify this by branding their tragedy.
Living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
There can be large discrepancies in the time taken to enact a demolition order. Overwhelmingly families are given little if any time to lodge an appeal with the courts once an order has been issued. However, time can vary from 24 hours to a couple of months to a couple of years, leaving families in varying states of limbo.
“The child, on his way to school, is not sure that he will come back and find his house is still there,” says Srour, who has worked with families with pending demolition orders. "They don't know the date they will lose their home, so they are in a constant state of stress. It has implications on all of their daily functions and parents don't have the psychological energy to meet their children's demands."
Currently the Castiro families are living in three separate caravans on the edge of their demolished house, recently erected after living in tents for two months. They are trying to wage two legal battles, one to acknowledge their land rights and the second to stop the demolition orders that have been issued on their caravans.
Court orders family to demolish their own house, or face a three-year jail term
The Association for the Civil Rights in Israel reports that 79.5 percent of East Jerusalem residents and 85 percent of East Jerusalem children live below the poverty line. With families having to reimburse the municipality for the cost of demolishing their home, families are now taking to destroying their own homes with the hope of salvaging their belongings and cutting down on costs.
The Es’eed family of Beit Hanina, Jerusalem, is one such family. When Dahoud, 42, father of seven children, the youngest three months old, was faced with the ultimatum to destroy his own house or face either a 20,000 shekel fine (US$5,400) or a three-year jail sentence, he chose to demolish his own home. Over a period of five days, with help from his neighbors, he tore down his house.
When Ala Es’eed, 13, arrived home from school that first day, she was shocked to see her father and neighbors smashing the walls. Since this time, her mother states that Ala’s grades have dropped and she always cries.
“I have not been able to eat or drink well since that day,” Ala tells Defense for Children International Palestine fieldworkers. “I feel weak and cannot do anything. I want to help, but cannot. I am very angry because of this and because of my living conditions. I am exploding inside.”
Despite her father’s assurances that he will build her a better room, the family still remains homeless.
*Miriam Pellicano volunteers with the Accountability Program at Defense for Children International Palestine. A version of this article was originally published in Al-Monitor
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) served five demolition notices in Yatta in Al-Khalil province on Saturday. Local sources told Quds Press that the IOA ordered the demolition of four houses and a water well at the pretext of lack of construction permits.
They said that two are mobile homes and two others are used to accommodate sheep in addition to the water well, adding that they are located in Mafkara hamlet near Yatta and owned by two citizens of the same family.
They said that two are mobile homes and two others are used to accommodate sheep in addition to the water well, adding that they are located in Mafkara hamlet near Yatta and owned by two citizens of the same family.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI), said that Israel’s railway plan is its ultimate attempt to annex the West Bank. The Israeli Civil Administration's approval to go ahead with the railway plan in the West Bank targets foiling any Palestinian attempt to establish a Palestinian state on West Bank territories, Barghouthi said.
He stressed that the Civil Administration's decision came in total disregard to the PA and the peace process and negotiations.
The railway plan is part of the Israeli racist policy in addition to the Apartheid wall, checkpoints, bypass roads, and the unfair military laws, he added.
MP Barghouthi stressed the need to address this Israeli racist plan through heading to the International Criminal Court, and not to negotiations.
The Israel Civil Administration revealed on Wednesday the grandiose railway plan that links all West Bank cities with one another and the Israeli settlements. The plan includes 473 kilometers of rail with 30 stations on 11 lines and dozens of bridges and tunnels.
He stressed that the Civil Administration's decision came in total disregard to the PA and the peace process and negotiations.
The railway plan is part of the Israeli racist policy in addition to the Apartheid wall, checkpoints, bypass roads, and the unfair military laws, he added.
MP Barghouthi stressed the need to address this Israeli racist plan through heading to the International Criminal Court, and not to negotiations.
The Israel Civil Administration revealed on Wednesday the grandiose railway plan that links all West Bank cities with one another and the Israeli settlements. The plan includes 473 kilometers of rail with 30 stations on 11 lines and dozens of bridges and tunnels.
25 july 2013
The civil administration of the Israeli army sanctioned a plan to establish a railway network throughout the West Bank, ignoring all Palestinian objections in this regard. According to Haaretz newspaper, this railway plan ignores all political borders and will limit future Palestinian building projects.
The railway will spread like a web all around the West Bank, further disconnecting Palestinian localities and devouring more Palestinian land.
The plan contains 473 kilometers of rail with 30 stations on 11 lines. Its final purpose is to connect all settlements within the West Bank. The plan will include dozens of bridges and tunnels according to the geographical terrain.
Israel Planning West Bank Settlement Railway
Despite PA rejection of the Israeli railway plan that would construct a 473 km long railway system running through most of the occupied West Bank, Israel pushes forward with the plan having already spent one million NIS on research and preparation.
The Israeli railway plan for the West Bank was proposed in 2012, and drew wide criticism.
The planned railway system would ignore all international borders; it is more than 473 km long, and consists of 11 separate tracks.
The PA strongly opposes to the plan as it would impose Israeli sovereignty over the Palestinian territories, and affirmed that the revival of the plan highlights Israel’s lack of interest in a two state solution.
The system is also seen as problematic since it foremost focuses on connecting the Israeli illegal settlements in the West Bank, and not the Palestinian cities.
The planning of the rail-system, described on Wednesday by Israeli newspaper Haaretz as “grandiose”, is on going, while Israel's Transportation Minister, Yisrael Katz estimates that by 2035 there will be as many as 30 million train rides a year.
International Law and various Human Rights resolutions prohibit occupying powers from changing the geography and demography of occupied territories.
Israel's settlements in occupied Palestine, and all constructions, including roads and railways, conducted by the occupying power are illegal.
Israel's ongoing settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and occupied Jerusalem as of he main obstacles to peace in the region.
Settlements and the illegal Annexation Wall are transforming the Palestinian territories into isolated ghettos separated from each other, and isolated the Palestinians from their lands.
The railway will spread like a web all around the West Bank, further disconnecting Palestinian localities and devouring more Palestinian land.
The plan contains 473 kilometers of rail with 30 stations on 11 lines. Its final purpose is to connect all settlements within the West Bank. The plan will include dozens of bridges and tunnels according to the geographical terrain.
Israel Planning West Bank Settlement Railway
Despite PA rejection of the Israeli railway plan that would construct a 473 km long railway system running through most of the occupied West Bank, Israel pushes forward with the plan having already spent one million NIS on research and preparation.
The Israeli railway plan for the West Bank was proposed in 2012, and drew wide criticism.
The planned railway system would ignore all international borders; it is more than 473 km long, and consists of 11 separate tracks.
The PA strongly opposes to the plan as it would impose Israeli sovereignty over the Palestinian territories, and affirmed that the revival of the plan highlights Israel’s lack of interest in a two state solution.
The system is also seen as problematic since it foremost focuses on connecting the Israeli illegal settlements in the West Bank, and not the Palestinian cities.
The planning of the rail-system, described on Wednesday by Israeli newspaper Haaretz as “grandiose”, is on going, while Israel's Transportation Minister, Yisrael Katz estimates that by 2035 there will be as many as 30 million train rides a year.
International Law and various Human Rights resolutions prohibit occupying powers from changing the geography and demography of occupied territories.
Israel's settlements in occupied Palestine, and all constructions, including roads and railways, conducted by the occupying power are illegal.
Israel's ongoing settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and occupied Jerusalem as of he main obstacles to peace in the region.
Settlements and the illegal Annexation Wall are transforming the Palestinian territories into isolated ghettos separated from each other, and isolated the Palestinians from their lands.
The UN human rights chief is criticizing an Israeli plan to demolish dozens of Bedouin villages and move up to 40,000 Arab residents to Israeli-built settlements.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that a bill working its way through the Knesset would wipe out legitimate land claims for the Bedouins in the Negev desert in southern Israel.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that a bill working its way through the Knesset would wipe out legitimate land claims for the Bedouins in the Negev desert in southern Israel.
24 july 2013
Palestinian residents of Gaza protest the "Prawer Plan" in al-Jundi square
THOUSANDS OF Palestinians amassed across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in mid-July to oppose the Prawer-Begin Bill, part of a broader Israeli assault popularly known as the "Prawer Plan."
Protests were staged in solidarity with Bedouin citizens of Israel from the Negev region, who are on the frontline of the latest assault on the Palestinian people. Huge rallies were held in Sakhnin, Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Be'er Sheva, and elsewhere, drawing the unified participation of Palestinians in the occupied territories as well as present-day Israel in defiance of the imposed colonial division of the indigenous population of historical Palestine.
Demonstrations were attacked either by Israeli police or occupation forces, depending on the locations. At the end of the day, at least 34 people were arrested, according to 972 Magazine. The report adds that police used excessive and unprovoked force under the false pretext that protesters had thrown stones.
Once fully implemented, the Adalah Legal Center estimates that the "Prawer Plan"--the latest phase of the forced takeover and ethnic cleansing of the Negev region--is projected to displace 70,000 people from 35 villages. The dispossessed will be relocated to Bantunistan-like townships in order to clear space for Jewish settlements, man-made forests, and military instillations.
The Israeli government, presently under the auspices of ultra-conservative Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, claims that these villages were illegally built and therefore must be demolished. In actuality, however, most residents were placed on the lands in question by the Israeli military after the 1948 "Nakba" (or "catastrophe") that resulted in the confiscation of their previous lands.
As Adalah notes, "This plan was completed without consultation from the local community, and is a gross violation of the rights of Arab Bedouin citizens to property, dignity, equality, adequate housing and freedom to choose their own residence."
Although to no avail, the disastrous plan has been denounced by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, and scrutinized by the UN Human Rights Committee and the European Union.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"UNRECOGNIZED" VILLAGES, as Israeli policy-makers crudely refer to them, are denied basic services: water, electricity, health care and education, among others. Vastly overcrowded and severely underfunded, the new townships displaced Bedouins are to be moved to don't fare much better.
One of the villages, al-Araqib, has been destroyed 53 times since July 2010, Ma'an News Agency reports. Despite the recurring tragedy, the villagers return and attempt to rebuild the village each time. Recently, several villagers were living in the graveyard as a desperate attempt to stay on their land by any means. It was not long before Israeli bulldozers demolished that as well, ensuring that the dispossession of Palestinians is not limited to the living.
Justifications for the plan are cloaked in the rhetoric of practicality or security, but expose a process of several-tiered citizenship based solely on ethnicity. As journalist and activist Ben White notes in Palestinians in Israel, "Small Jewish settlements of a few dozen families--or even single family farms--are not a problem; but a Bedouin village with a population of several hundred is 'impractical.'"
White also adds that, between June 1988 and 2008 over 3100 Bedouin homes in the Negev were demolished. As he tirelessly chronicles, Israeli officials employ explicitly racist rhetoric to justify these policies. Dr. Yitzhak Ravid of the Armament Development Authority, for instance, said, "the delivery rooms in Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva have turned in to a factory for the production of a backward population."
In 2009, former Housing Minister Ariel Atias said, "I see [it] as a national duty to prevent the spread of [the Arab] population."
Moshe Shohat, head of the Education Authority for Bedouins, said in 2001, "Bedouin are a bloodthirsty people who commit polygamy, have 30 children, and continue to expand their illegal settlements by taking over state lands. In their culture, they relieve themselves outdoors and don't even know how to use the toilet."
Despite their Israeli citizenship--which purportedly allots them all the same rights as their Jewish compatriots--their villages, homes, and lives are repeatedly demolished in operations that resemble military assaults. Hundreds of heavily armed "security" officers arrive in the dead of night, accompanied by armored bulldozers and helicopters, and proceed to reduce everything standing to ugly piles of jagged rubble and mangled steel.
As the mass dispossession of tens of thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel continues, alongside the expedited theft and settlement of occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, two stale myths are once again debunked: firstly, that occupation and colonization are simply necessary security measures, and secondly, that Arab citizens of Israel live as equals in a democratic state.
THOUSANDS OF Palestinians amassed across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in mid-July to oppose the Prawer-Begin Bill, part of a broader Israeli assault popularly known as the "Prawer Plan."
Protests were staged in solidarity with Bedouin citizens of Israel from the Negev region, who are on the frontline of the latest assault on the Palestinian people. Huge rallies were held in Sakhnin, Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Be'er Sheva, and elsewhere, drawing the unified participation of Palestinians in the occupied territories as well as present-day Israel in defiance of the imposed colonial division of the indigenous population of historical Palestine.
Demonstrations were attacked either by Israeli police or occupation forces, depending on the locations. At the end of the day, at least 34 people were arrested, according to 972 Magazine. The report adds that police used excessive and unprovoked force under the false pretext that protesters had thrown stones.
Once fully implemented, the Adalah Legal Center estimates that the "Prawer Plan"--the latest phase of the forced takeover and ethnic cleansing of the Negev region--is projected to displace 70,000 people from 35 villages. The dispossessed will be relocated to Bantunistan-like townships in order to clear space for Jewish settlements, man-made forests, and military instillations.
The Israeli government, presently under the auspices of ultra-conservative Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, claims that these villages were illegally built and therefore must be demolished. In actuality, however, most residents were placed on the lands in question by the Israeli military after the 1948 "Nakba" (or "catastrophe") that resulted in the confiscation of their previous lands.
As Adalah notes, "This plan was completed without consultation from the local community, and is a gross violation of the rights of Arab Bedouin citizens to property, dignity, equality, adequate housing and freedom to choose their own residence."
Although to no avail, the disastrous plan has been denounced by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, and scrutinized by the UN Human Rights Committee and the European Union.
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"UNRECOGNIZED" VILLAGES, as Israeli policy-makers crudely refer to them, are denied basic services: water, electricity, health care and education, among others. Vastly overcrowded and severely underfunded, the new townships displaced Bedouins are to be moved to don't fare much better.
One of the villages, al-Araqib, has been destroyed 53 times since July 2010, Ma'an News Agency reports. Despite the recurring tragedy, the villagers return and attempt to rebuild the village each time. Recently, several villagers were living in the graveyard as a desperate attempt to stay on their land by any means. It was not long before Israeli bulldozers demolished that as well, ensuring that the dispossession of Palestinians is not limited to the living.
Justifications for the plan are cloaked in the rhetoric of practicality or security, but expose a process of several-tiered citizenship based solely on ethnicity. As journalist and activist Ben White notes in Palestinians in Israel, "Small Jewish settlements of a few dozen families--or even single family farms--are not a problem; but a Bedouin village with a population of several hundred is 'impractical.'"
White also adds that, between June 1988 and 2008 over 3100 Bedouin homes in the Negev were demolished. As he tirelessly chronicles, Israeli officials employ explicitly racist rhetoric to justify these policies. Dr. Yitzhak Ravid of the Armament Development Authority, for instance, said, "the delivery rooms in Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva have turned in to a factory for the production of a backward population."
In 2009, former Housing Minister Ariel Atias said, "I see [it] as a national duty to prevent the spread of [the Arab] population."
Moshe Shohat, head of the Education Authority for Bedouins, said in 2001, "Bedouin are a bloodthirsty people who commit polygamy, have 30 children, and continue to expand their illegal settlements by taking over state lands. In their culture, they relieve themselves outdoors and don't even know how to use the toilet."
Despite their Israeli citizenship--which purportedly allots them all the same rights as their Jewish compatriots--their villages, homes, and lives are repeatedly demolished in operations that resemble military assaults. Hundreds of heavily armed "security" officers arrive in the dead of night, accompanied by armored bulldozers and helicopters, and proceed to reduce everything standing to ugly piles of jagged rubble and mangled steel.
As the mass dispossession of tens of thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel continues, alongside the expedited theft and settlement of occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, two stale myths are once again debunked: firstly, that occupation and colonization are simply necessary security measures, and secondly, that Arab citizens of Israel live as equals in a democratic state.
Israeli authorities began implementing a new ethnic cleansing policy aims at evacuating East Jerusalem of its Palestinian residents by not recognizing the Palestinians as citizens but only as residents.
Khalil Tafakji, the settlement affairs expert in Jerusalem, told PNN that Palestinians who have recently renewed their Israeli-issued identity card have noticed that a new addition has been added on the it which says the holder of the ID card is a resident only and that his or her residency is valid for 10 years. Adding that, after the 10 years, Israel will decide whether to ask the Palestinians to submit new documents to the Israeli Ministry of Interior or they will cancel the IDs.
This policy proves that Israel does not recognize the Palestinians in East Jerusalem as citizens, yet temporary residents who have to constantly prove residency in the city by providing all needed documents to the Israeli Ministry of Interior, said Tafakji.
Tafakji also said that this policy along with the construction of apartheid wall and settlements, the demolishing of houses and other series of aggressive policies against the Palestinians and their properties aim to evacuate the city of its Palestinian residents and displace more than 300,000 Palestinians from the city.
It's worth mentioning that this policy is not new, as Israel started to apply this policy in 1994. More than 14,000 Jerusalem residents have lost their Identities since the applying of the policy.
Khalil Tafakji, the settlement affairs expert in Jerusalem, told PNN that Palestinians who have recently renewed their Israeli-issued identity card have noticed that a new addition has been added on the it which says the holder of the ID card is a resident only and that his or her residency is valid for 10 years. Adding that, after the 10 years, Israel will decide whether to ask the Palestinians to submit new documents to the Israeli Ministry of Interior or they will cancel the IDs.
This policy proves that Israel does not recognize the Palestinians in East Jerusalem as citizens, yet temporary residents who have to constantly prove residency in the city by providing all needed documents to the Israeli Ministry of Interior, said Tafakji.
Tafakji also said that this policy along with the construction of apartheid wall and settlements, the demolishing of houses and other series of aggressive policies against the Palestinians and their properties aim to evacuate the city of its Palestinian residents and displace more than 300,000 Palestinians from the city.
It's worth mentioning that this policy is not new, as Israel started to apply this policy in 1994. More than 14,000 Jerusalem residents have lost their Identities since the applying of the policy.
23 july 2013
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A report issued by The Directorate General for Legal Affairs, a division of the Palestinian ministry of justice, warned of the seriousness of Prawer plan that would forcibly displace 40 thousand of Palestinian Bedouins. The report pointed out that implementing the Prawer plan would destroy approximately 40 villages, confiscate 800,000 dunums of Negev lands and restrict the Bedouins to 1% of their land effectively ending Palestinian presence in the Negev which constitutes two-thirds of historic Palestine.
The Directorate General for Legal Affairs stated that Prawer plan laws prevent the compensation for lands located in mountains, valleys, or hills. It is worth mentioned that Negev lands are located amid mountains and hills. |
The Israeli District Committee for Planning and Building declared its intention to build a new settlement road, in Haifa in occupied territories, that links between Fureidis and Zichron Yaaqub junctions with the nearby settlement of Nkhcollym. Palestinian farmers in that area expressed their dissatisfaction with the new Israeli settlement project especially that hundreds of dunums of their land will be confiscated.
The Israeli new scheme is made to facilitate the movement of settlers living in Nhacollym and Dore settlements.
The project area is estimated at 1275 dunums where hundreds of agricultural dunums will be confiscated.
Residents in that area rely on agriculture for their livelihood.
The Israeli new scheme is made to facilitate the movement of settlers living in Nhacollym and Dore settlements.
The project area is estimated at 1275 dunums where hundreds of agricultural dunums will be confiscated.
Residents in that area rely on agriculture for their livelihood.
22 july 2013
The Israeli authorities have started since the early morning hours handing demolition orders Arab Ka'abna area in Yatta town, south of al-Khalil. The Israeli Civil Administration has handed demolition orders against four Palestinian houses and a store under the pretext of being built without permits, Quds press confirmed.
Yatta town has witnessed recently an Israeli demolition campaign in an attempt to displace its residents and confiscate their lands.
Yatta town has witnessed recently an Israeli demolition campaign in an attempt to displace its residents and confiscate their lands.
Israeli authorities notified two Palestinians to remove their properties in areas east of Yatta, south of Hebron in the West Bank.
Coordinator of Popular Committee to Resist Wall and Settlement in Hebron, Rateb al-Jbour, told media outlets that Israeli forces handed on Monday morning, the two citizens Salameh Ali al-Ka'abneh and Nayef Ali al-Ka'abneh two notices to remove their grocery and agricultural barracks.
It's worth mentioning that facilities and houses of the Palestinian residents of Yatta village are threatened with demolition by the Israeli forces who aim to confiscate their lands for settlement purposes.
Coordinator of Popular Committee to Resist Wall and Settlement in Hebron, Rateb al-Jbour, told media outlets that Israeli forces handed on Monday morning, the two citizens Salameh Ali al-Ka'abneh and Nayef Ali al-Ka'abneh two notices to remove their grocery and agricultural barracks.
It's worth mentioning that facilities and houses of the Palestinian residents of Yatta village are threatened with demolition by the Israeli forces who aim to confiscate their lands for settlement purposes.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Monday morning carried out, amid intensive gunfire, a small-scale incursion into the Gaza Strip, specifically east of Al-Bureij refugee camp.
Eyewitnesses told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that about six military bulldozers escorted by tanks crossed the borderline and embarked on leveling agricultural lands belonging to citizens.
They noted that several tanks were deployed near Gaza Valley while Israeli warplanes were seen overflying the area to provide aerial protection for the invading ground forces.
The IOF escalated its limited incursions lately into Gaza territory violating its Egyptian-sponsored truce agreement with the Hamas-affiliated government.
Eyewitnesses told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that about six military bulldozers escorted by tanks crossed the borderline and embarked on leveling agricultural lands belonging to citizens.
They noted that several tanks were deployed near Gaza Valley while Israeli warplanes were seen overflying the area to provide aerial protection for the invading ground forces.
The IOF escalated its limited incursions lately into Gaza territory violating its Egyptian-sponsored truce agreement with the Hamas-affiliated government.
20 july 2013
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An Israeli magistrate's court has ruled to evict a Palestinian family from their home in East Jerusalem, after a six year legal battle to prove ownership of the property.
The court decision ruled that the house is absentee property and ordered the Siam family to leave the premises by the end of July, Nathira Siam told Ma'an. The family was also ordered to pay 40,000 shekels ($11,200) as a rent supplement and 20,000 shekels ($5,600) to the court, Siam said. Nathira said that the family have lived in the property since the 1960s. |
"I've been renting the property from a woman called Sabriye Taha who has the rental contract and have been paying her regularly. When she passed away, Israel changed the ownership of the house to absentee property.
"The Israeli Custodian of Absentee Property ordered us to renew the contract and pay an extra amount of money, but our lawyer told us that I was a protected client and the Custodian of Absentee Property does not have the right to raise the fees," she said.
The house is 60 square meters and has two rooms where the family of eight live.
"I will not leave the house, it has all our memories and I will not allow for a settler to take it and live in our home. I always get harassed by settlers to provoke me to leave it, but I will not leave it for them," she said.
The Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah is a front-line in the battle to evict Palestinian families to make way for Israeli settlers.
According to the UN, 33 percent of all Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem lack Israeli-issued building permits, potentially placing at least 93,100 residents at risk of displacement.
Figures from Israeli NGO Bimkom show that 95 percent of Palestinian applications for a building permit are rejected.
Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have demolished some 2,000 houses in East Jerusalem. Over 1,630 Palestinians were made homeless in house demolitions carried out by Israel between 2004-2012, B'Tselem says.
Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordanian control in a 1967 war and later annexed it, a move never recognized internationally.
Homes owned by Jews before the 1948 war to establish Israel were reverted to their original owners by Israeli law after 1967.
Palestinian-owned homes lost in 1948 were not restored.
"The Israeli Custodian of Absentee Property ordered us to renew the contract and pay an extra amount of money, but our lawyer told us that I was a protected client and the Custodian of Absentee Property does not have the right to raise the fees," she said.
The house is 60 square meters and has two rooms where the family of eight live.
"I will not leave the house, it has all our memories and I will not allow for a settler to take it and live in our home. I always get harassed by settlers to provoke me to leave it, but I will not leave it for them," she said.
The Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah is a front-line in the battle to evict Palestinian families to make way for Israeli settlers.
According to the UN, 33 percent of all Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem lack Israeli-issued building permits, potentially placing at least 93,100 residents at risk of displacement.
Figures from Israeli NGO Bimkom show that 95 percent of Palestinian applications for a building permit are rejected.
Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have demolished some 2,000 houses in East Jerusalem. Over 1,630 Palestinians were made homeless in house demolitions carried out by Israel between 2004-2012, B'Tselem says.
Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordanian control in a 1967 war and later annexed it, a move never recognized internationally.
Homes owned by Jews before the 1948 war to establish Israel were reverted to their original owners by Israeli law after 1967.
Palestinian-owned homes lost in 1948 were not restored.
Palestinian Christians Saturday condemned Israeli plans to displace thousand of Palestinian Bedouins from the homes and land in the Naqab desert, south of Israel. A statement by Kairos Palestine strongly condemned “the planned displacement, dispossession and eviction of tens of thousands of Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel.”
It expressed concern that the so-called Prawer Plan, which passed in first reading in the Israeli parliament, will lead to the demolition of most of the unrecognized Palestinian Bedouin villages and the forced displacement of their communities.
“The Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel are an indigenous community who remained on their lands in the Naqab desert,” said the statement. “The Bedouins, who have inhabited the Naqab since the 7th century and were the only inhabitants until the mid-20th century, have earned their livelihood for generations by practicing agriculture and raising livestock, and living near their fields and pasturelands.”
It said that “today, the Palestinian Bedouin community is under constant threat of home demolitions, displacement, dispossession and loss of indigenous culture and traditions.”
If fully implemented, the Prawer Plan will result in the displacement of up to 70,000 Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel.
Kairos Palestine said it strongly condemns this “inhuman” policy of the Israeli government and urged its members to raise their concerns with their political representatives and community leaders.
It expressed concern that the so-called Prawer Plan, which passed in first reading in the Israeli parliament, will lead to the demolition of most of the unrecognized Palestinian Bedouin villages and the forced displacement of their communities.
“The Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel are an indigenous community who remained on their lands in the Naqab desert,” said the statement. “The Bedouins, who have inhabited the Naqab since the 7th century and were the only inhabitants until the mid-20th century, have earned their livelihood for generations by practicing agriculture and raising livestock, and living near their fields and pasturelands.”
It said that “today, the Palestinian Bedouin community is under constant threat of home demolitions, displacement, dispossession and loss of indigenous culture and traditions.”
If fully implemented, the Prawer Plan will result in the displacement of up to 70,000 Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel.
Kairos Palestine said it strongly condemns this “inhuman” policy of the Israeli government and urged its members to raise their concerns with their political representatives and community leaders.
Palestinian factions in Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp in Beirut organized a sit-in on Friday in rejection of the Israeli Prawer settlement plan, which forcibly displaces thousands of Palestinians and destroys dozens of villages. Mashhour Abdel Halim, member of the political leadership in Hamas's office in Lebanon, warned of the consequences and dangers of Prawer project, and called for resisting it by all means.
Member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Fouad Dhaher announced the front's rejection of the project. He criticized the policy of normalization with the occupation, and stressed that the Palestinians are united against the settlement and will never give up their land.
Prawer plan is one of the most dangerous plans to displace the Arabs of the Negev and the most serious Judaization project so far. Israel considers the Negev a natural site for the development of industry, tourism and agriculture, and for absorbing hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants coming from around the world.
According to Israeli Professor Ermeyeho Bernoar, about 250 thousand of new Jewish immigrants are expected to settle in the Negev region.
Dr. Thabet Abu Ras, director of the Adaleh Center for Palestinian Rights in the Negev, told PIC correspondent: "The Negev has an area of 12,800 square kilometers, about 58% of the area currently occupied by Israel, and more than 47% of the area of the historic Palestine. Only 10% of the population lives in the region."
Abu Ras said that Prawer plan includes forcing the Palestinians in the Negev to give up 50% of their land, demolishing villages and deporting tens of thousands of citizens.
For his part, Mr. Attia al-A'sam the head of the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages in the Negev stated: "The successive Israeli governments have approved 18 laws for the confiscation of Arab lands in the Negev. 10 thousand Arab houses have been demolished so far in the Negev."
He added that the occupation state is currently threatening at least 42 thousand Arab houses inhabited by about 85 thousand people with demolition.
Al-A'sam stressed that the occupation authorities and governments have been trying since 1948 to Judaize the Negev region, and displace its indigenous population by besieging the residents in an isolated area, grabbing the lands, preventing the water and electricity supplies and other services in the Negev villages, demolishing the houses and farms, and closing large areas of land with no reasons.
Member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Fouad Dhaher announced the front's rejection of the project. He criticized the policy of normalization with the occupation, and stressed that the Palestinians are united against the settlement and will never give up their land.
Prawer plan is one of the most dangerous plans to displace the Arabs of the Negev and the most serious Judaization project so far. Israel considers the Negev a natural site for the development of industry, tourism and agriculture, and for absorbing hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants coming from around the world.
According to Israeli Professor Ermeyeho Bernoar, about 250 thousand of new Jewish immigrants are expected to settle in the Negev region.
Dr. Thabet Abu Ras, director of the Adaleh Center for Palestinian Rights in the Negev, told PIC correspondent: "The Negev has an area of 12,800 square kilometers, about 58% of the area currently occupied by Israel, and more than 47% of the area of the historic Palestine. Only 10% of the population lives in the region."
Abu Ras said that Prawer plan includes forcing the Palestinians in the Negev to give up 50% of their land, demolishing villages and deporting tens of thousands of citizens.
For his part, Mr. Attia al-A'sam the head of the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages in the Negev stated: "The successive Israeli governments have approved 18 laws for the confiscation of Arab lands in the Negev. 10 thousand Arab houses have been demolished so far in the Negev."
He added that the occupation state is currently threatening at least 42 thousand Arab houses inhabited by about 85 thousand people with demolition.
Al-A'sam stressed that the occupation authorities and governments have been trying since 1948 to Judaize the Negev region, and displace its indigenous population by besieging the residents in an isolated area, grabbing the lands, preventing the water and electricity supplies and other services in the Negev villages, demolishing the houses and farms, and closing large areas of land with no reasons.
Jewish settlers set on fire hundreds of Palestinian olive trees in Jaba village, south west of Bethlehem, on Saturday morning. Local sources said that the settlers started the fire in the olive trees south east of the village that burnt down 400 trees owned by three Palestinians.
In another incident, Jewish settlers attacked and destroyed a Palestinian house in the Old City of Al-Khalil.
In another incident, Jewish settlers attacked and destroyed a Palestinian house in the Old City of Al-Khalil.
19 july 2013
250 protests against Bedouin resettlement plan
Some 250 of Kfar Qassem's residents are protesting against the Praver Bill which outlines the Bedouin resettlement plan in the Negev. Further protests are expected later on Friday.
Some 250 of Kfar Qassem's residents are protesting against the Praver Bill which outlines the Bedouin resettlement plan in the Negev. Further protests are expected later on Friday.
18 july 2013
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) admitted that its excavations beneath the Aqsa Mosque and in its vicinity have extended four meters deep, according to a circular released on Wednesday by the Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage. The Aqsa foundation said that Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper published on its website on Tuesday on the anniversary of the so-called temple destruction a report including details about the diggings taking place beneath the foundations of the Aqsa Mosque, especially near the western wall and Al-Maghariba Gate.
Eli Shukron, a senior official from the Israeli antiquities authority, stated in this report that the diggings have reached depths of three to four meters under the Aqsa Mosque's foundations, particularly beneath the Mosque's western wall and its Islamic museum.
The report also included a video recording showing holes and a cave in the excavated areas, while Shukron claimed them to be the remains of an old Jewish neighborhood.
The Aqsa foundation, in turn, described such Israeli claims as lies and warned of their serious impacts on the future of the Aqsa Mosque and its existence.
It stressed that the whole Aqsa Mosque compound with its western wall is an Islamic holy site belonging to only Muslims and the claim about the presence of Hebrew remains under its foundations is an attempt to falsify the Islamic and Arab history of the holy city.
Eli Shukron, a senior official from the Israeli antiquities authority, stated in this report that the diggings have reached depths of three to four meters under the Aqsa Mosque's foundations, particularly beneath the Mosque's western wall and its Islamic museum.
The report also included a video recording showing holes and a cave in the excavated areas, while Shukron claimed them to be the remains of an old Jewish neighborhood.
The Aqsa foundation, in turn, described such Israeli claims as lies and warned of their serious impacts on the future of the Aqsa Mosque and its existence.
It stressed that the whole Aqsa Mosque compound with its western wall is an Islamic holy site belonging to only Muslims and the claim about the presence of Hebrew remains under its foundations is an attempt to falsify the Islamic and Arab history of the holy city.
17 july 2013
Internal security minister warned of violence in south following resettlement plan. 'I forsee problems, fire in the south and blocking of roads,' he says at Knesset committee
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch has warned that a flare-up could erupt in Bedouin towns in southern Israel in response to the resettlement plan.
"I foresee problems, fire in the south, and the blocking of roads," he said during a discussion at the Finance Committee.
The minster also demanded that all rescue and emergency services including the home front defense agencies be placed under his ministry's jurisdiction. "Let the IDF handle the borders and beyond, that's how a democratic country should operate," he said.
"We are making efforts to curb crime in the Arab sector but I still foresee problems, especially in the south, firing and blocking of roads, and we must prepare for that," the minister said. He backed plans to reduce the amount of hand guns given to security guards. Aharonovitch stressed that one of his main tasks is to enhance the rule of law in the Arab sector.
"They (Arabs) account for 40% of crime despite representing only 20% of the population," he said. "The residents and council heads want more police presence and they deserve it."
MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List Ta'al) said in response, "The crime rate in the Arab sector is very high while the crime solving rates are very low."
Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino retorted, "Many efforts are being made to reduce crime in the sector and improvements can already be seen such as the reduction of shootings in family occasions for instance. We are even approaching families holding events about the shooting ban."
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch has warned that a flare-up could erupt in Bedouin towns in southern Israel in response to the resettlement plan.
"I foresee problems, fire in the south, and the blocking of roads," he said during a discussion at the Finance Committee.
The minster also demanded that all rescue and emergency services including the home front defense agencies be placed under his ministry's jurisdiction. "Let the IDF handle the borders and beyond, that's how a democratic country should operate," he said.
"We are making efforts to curb crime in the Arab sector but I still foresee problems, especially in the south, firing and blocking of roads, and we must prepare for that," the minister said. He backed plans to reduce the amount of hand guns given to security guards. Aharonovitch stressed that one of his main tasks is to enhance the rule of law in the Arab sector.
"They (Arabs) account for 40% of crime despite representing only 20% of the population," he said. "The residents and council heads want more police presence and they deserve it."
MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List Ta'al) said in response, "The crime rate in the Arab sector is very high while the crime solving rates are very low."
Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino retorted, "Many efforts are being made to reduce crime in the sector and improvements can already be seen such as the reduction of shootings in family occasions for instance. We are even approaching families holding events about the shooting ban."
The Israeli forces along with the occupation’s municipality recently raided the house of Jerusalemite prisoner Khaled Shweiki which is located in the neighbourhood of Wad Yasool in the village of Silwan.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center was informed that the municipality’s employees handed the prisoner’s family a decision of the need to.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center was informed that the municipality’s employees handed the prisoner’s family a decision of the need to.
The Palestinian government on Tuesday strongly denounced the racist measures taken by the Israeli occupation regime against the Palestinians in the 1948 occupied lands, especially its recent plan to forcibly displace thousands of Negev Bedouins from their villages. In a press release issued following its weekly cabinet meeting in Gaza, the government urged the Palestinians in the 1948 occupied lands to be united and pool their efforts to confront Israel's racist policies against them.
The government also condemned the Israeli court verdicts issued against Jerusalemite lawmaker Mohamed Totah and former minister Khaled Abu Arafa, and considered these rulings part of Israel's Judaization and racist policies in the holy city
It urged in its press release all human rights groups and the world's free people to actively and urgently move to save the hunger strikers and the patients in Israeli jails, and called on the UN and the Red Cross to intervene in this regard.
In another context, the government appealed to the Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah border crossing fully before passengers and goods and to find a swift mechanism for trade exchange between Gaza and Cairo.
The government also deplored the Egyptian media for spreading false news and information against the Palestinian people, and called for stopping fabricating lies against them, warning that such smear campaign is detrimental to the Palestinian cause.
The government also expressed its concerns about the irresponsible media policy pursued by the Saudi satellite channel Al-Arabiya and some other TV channels, asserting its right to take legal action against them.
The government also condemned the Israeli court verdicts issued against Jerusalemite lawmaker Mohamed Totah and former minister Khaled Abu Arafa, and considered these rulings part of Israel's Judaization and racist policies in the holy city
It urged in its press release all human rights groups and the world's free people to actively and urgently move to save the hunger strikers and the patients in Israeli jails, and called on the UN and the Red Cross to intervene in this regard.
In another context, the government appealed to the Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah border crossing fully before passengers and goods and to find a swift mechanism for trade exchange between Gaza and Cairo.
The government also deplored the Egyptian media for spreading false news and information against the Palestinian people, and called for stopping fabricating lies against them, warning that such smear campaign is detrimental to the Palestinian cause.
The government also expressed its concerns about the irresponsible media policy pursued by the Saudi satellite channel Al-Arabiya and some other TV channels, asserting its right to take legal action against them.
16 july 2013
Hamas has strongly condemned the attack by Israeli forces on hundreds of participants in a demonstration staged to protest against the Prawer plan which will forcibly displace tens of thousands from their lands in the Negev. The movement said in press statement: "We in Hamas strongly condemn the Israeli blatant attack on demonstrators protesting against Prawer plan which seeks to displace tens of thousands from their lands in the Negev. We also reiterate our rejection of this racist and unjust law, which represents flagrant violation of the conventions and international treaties."
Hamas asserted that the Israeli policy of settlement construction and displacement of Palestinians from their lands will not succeed in obliterating the reality and imposing a fait accompli.
It hailed the steadfastness of the Palestinians in the 1948 occupied territories and called on them to continue their activities and protests against the Prawer plan until the achievement of their demands.
Hamas also demanded the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to shoulder their responsibilities in the protection of Palestinian land from theft and Judaization.
Hamas asserted that the Israeli policy of settlement construction and displacement of Palestinians from their lands will not succeed in obliterating the reality and imposing a fait accompli.
It hailed the steadfastness of the Palestinians in the 1948 occupied territories and called on them to continue their activities and protests against the Prawer plan until the achievement of their demands.
Hamas also demanded the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to shoulder their responsibilities in the protection of Palestinian land from theft and Judaization.
Dr. Ahmed Bahar, the first deputy speaker of the Palestinian legislative council (PLC), strongly condemned the “Prawer Plan”, which aims to confiscate thousands of dunums and to displace tens of thousands of Palestinian Bedouins in the Nagev. MP Bahar considered, in a statement on Tuesday, Prawer bill, which was approved in the Israeli Knesset after first reading, a new Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) as part of the Israeli ongoing ethnic cleansing and colonization.
He pointed out that this racist bill came as part of the Israeli continued and escalated attempts to confiscate and Judaize Palestinian lands in Negev.
The demolition of several Palestinian villages in the Negev proves that the Prawer plan comes to the actual implementation stage of the scheme.
He called on the Palestinian people in the homeland and in the Diaspora to address and resist the racist bill that aims to displace 40,000 Palestinian Bedouins, uproot 36 villages and confiscate over 800,000 dunums of land.
He pointed out that this racist bill came as part of the Israeli continued and escalated attempts to confiscate and Judaize Palestinian lands in Negev.
The demolition of several Palestinian villages in the Negev proves that the Prawer plan comes to the actual implementation stage of the scheme.
He called on the Palestinian people in the homeland and in the Diaspora to address and resist the racist bill that aims to displace 40,000 Palestinian Bedouins, uproot 36 villages and confiscate over 800,000 dunums of land.
The Palestinian government in Gaza said that the Israeli plan (Prawer plan) to displace the Negev Bedouins is illegal because it would be carried out by an illegitimate occupation entity, and called for resisting it by all means. In a press release on Monday, the government stated that it supports the protest steps taken by the Palestinian people in the 1948 occupied lands against this criminal plan.
It said that this plan is part of the racist policies pursued by Israel against the Palestinians since its occupation of Palestine in 1948.
It noted that according to this plan, the Israeli regime would annex 800,000 dunums of land, displace 40,000 Palestinian Bedouins and raze 36 villages in the Negev region.
In a related incident, Palestinian youth groups in Jenin city held a candlelit vigil last night in protest at the Knesset's approval to Prawer plan.
The participants held banners condemning Israel's racist policies against the Palestinians in the 1948 occupied lands.
In Nablus city, dozens of Palestinian activists also organized on Monday afternoon a sit-in in protest at the Israeli plan to displace thousands of Negev Bedouins from their villages.
The Palestinian information center (PIC) reporter in the city said that the protestors carried Palestinian flags and historical Palestinian maps to confirm the Palestinian's right to their land.
The protestors also held banners condemning this plan and describing it as a new Palestinian catastrophe (Nakba).
It said that this plan is part of the racist policies pursued by Israel against the Palestinians since its occupation of Palestine in 1948.
It noted that according to this plan, the Israeli regime would annex 800,000 dunums of land, displace 40,000 Palestinian Bedouins and raze 36 villages in the Negev region.
In a related incident, Palestinian youth groups in Jenin city held a candlelit vigil last night in protest at the Knesset's approval to Prawer plan.
The participants held banners condemning Israel's racist policies against the Palestinians in the 1948 occupied lands.
In Nablus city, dozens of Palestinian activists also organized on Monday afternoon a sit-in in protest at the Israeli plan to displace thousands of Negev Bedouins from their villages.
The Palestinian information center (PIC) reporter in the city said that the protestors carried Palestinian flags and historical Palestinian maps to confirm the Palestinian's right to their land.
The protestors also held banners condemning this plan and describing it as a new Palestinian catastrophe (Nakba).
Israeli forces demolished a Bedouin village in southern Israel for the 53rd time on Tuesday, as thousands protested a day earlier over plans to forcibly displace Bedouins in the Negev.
"It is the 53rd demolition since July 2010," Araqib chieftain Sheikh Sayyah Abu Mdeighim told Ma'an.
"They have brought down all the sheds we built for the summer so we can protect our land and defend ourselves against the oppressive policy of this tyrannical government."
Large numbers of Israeli police officers and officials from Israel's Land Authority accompanied the bulldozers.
Families in Araqib managed to re-build five of the sheds after the bulldozers left, Abu Mdeighim said, with Palestinian and Israeli activists due to visit to the village to help rebuild the rest of the structures.
On Monday, thousands of people demonstrated across Israel and Palestine to protest a controversial plan which would see the forced displacement of nearly 40,000 Bedouins in the Negev.
The Israeli government approved the Prawer-Begin plan in 2011, in what it says was an attempt to address the problem of unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev desert of southern Israel.
The 2011 proposal was formulated without any consultation with the Bedouin community and rights groups slammed it as a major blow to Bedouin rights.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the plan will forcibly evict nearly 40,000 Bedouins and destroy their communal and social fabric, condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment.
Israel refuses to recognize 35 Bedouin villages in the Negev, which collectively house nearly 90,000 people.
The Israeli state denies them access to basic services and infrastructure, such as electricity and running water, and refuses to place them under municipal jurisdiction.
Khudari condemns demolition of Araqib village for 53rd time
Dr. Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of popular committee against siege, said that popular resistance against occupation should be revitalized. Khudari, an independent MP, condemned in a statement on Tuesday the Israeli demolition of the Araqib Bedouin village in the Negev for the 53rd time.
He said that the demolition of the village was a clear challenge to the Arab Bedouins who were protesting the Prawer plan the day before. The Prawer plan envisaged the confiscation of thousands of dunums of Bedouin land in the Negev and relocating tens of thousands of Bedouins.
He said that the big masses that took part in the general strike and protests reflected their awareness of the seriousness of that plan.
Khudari denounced the Israeli arrest of a number of activists for participating in the protests, adding that they should be released immediately as their participation was a legitimate right to demand their rights.
"It is the 53rd demolition since July 2010," Araqib chieftain Sheikh Sayyah Abu Mdeighim told Ma'an.
"They have brought down all the sheds we built for the summer so we can protect our land and defend ourselves against the oppressive policy of this tyrannical government."
Large numbers of Israeli police officers and officials from Israel's Land Authority accompanied the bulldozers.
Families in Araqib managed to re-build five of the sheds after the bulldozers left, Abu Mdeighim said, with Palestinian and Israeli activists due to visit to the village to help rebuild the rest of the structures.
On Monday, thousands of people demonstrated across Israel and Palestine to protest a controversial plan which would see the forced displacement of nearly 40,000 Bedouins in the Negev.
The Israeli government approved the Prawer-Begin plan in 2011, in what it says was an attempt to address the problem of unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev desert of southern Israel.
The 2011 proposal was formulated without any consultation with the Bedouin community and rights groups slammed it as a major blow to Bedouin rights.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the plan will forcibly evict nearly 40,000 Bedouins and destroy their communal and social fabric, condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment.
Israel refuses to recognize 35 Bedouin villages in the Negev, which collectively house nearly 90,000 people.
The Israeli state denies them access to basic services and infrastructure, such as electricity and running water, and refuses to place them under municipal jurisdiction.
Khudari condemns demolition of Araqib village for 53rd time
Dr. Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of popular committee against siege, said that popular resistance against occupation should be revitalized. Khudari, an independent MP, condemned in a statement on Tuesday the Israeli demolition of the Araqib Bedouin village in the Negev for the 53rd time.
He said that the demolition of the village was a clear challenge to the Arab Bedouins who were protesting the Prawer plan the day before. The Prawer plan envisaged the confiscation of thousands of dunums of Bedouin land in the Negev and relocating tens of thousands of Bedouins.
He said that the big masses that took part in the general strike and protests reflected their awareness of the seriousness of that plan.
Khudari denounced the Israeli arrest of a number of activists for participating in the protests, adding that they should be released immediately as their participation was a legitimate right to demand their rights.
IOF soldiers raided on Tuesday, the industrial zone in the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank and broke into a shop and searched it.
Local sources said that more than 15 military vehicles raided the industrial zone at dawn, and raided a shop belonging to Kamal al-Badawi after destroying its gate.
Sources added, Israeli forces interrogated the shop's owner and then withdrew from the area to al-Jalama checkpoint. No arrests were reported.
Local sources said that more than 15 military vehicles raided the industrial zone at dawn, and raided a shop belonging to Kamal al-Badawi after destroying its gate.
Sources added, Israeli forces interrogated the shop's owner and then withdrew from the area to al-Jalama checkpoint. No arrests were reported.
