16 may 2018

Israeli soldiers shot, Tuesday, two Palestinians with live fire and 71 with rubber-coated steel bullets, in addition to causing approximately 100 to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation, and abducted two others, in Nablus governorate, in the northern part of the West Bank.
Medical sources said the soldiers attacked hundreds of protesters, who marched in the al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya village, and near Huwwara military roadblock, south of Nablus, marking the Palestinian Nakba, and the ongoing illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.
The soldiers also attacked protesters in Beita village, south of Nablus, in addition to Azmout and Beit Forik, east of Nablus, and Deir Sharaf, west of the city.
Ahmad Jibreel, the head of the Emergency Unit of the Red Crescent Society, said the soldiers shot two Palestinians with live fire, and 69 others with rubber-coated steel bullets, in addition to causing approximately 100 to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation.
The soldiers also abducted Mohammad Nubani, 23, and Kamal ‘Oweiss, and took them to an unknown destination.
In related news, the soldiers attacked dozens of nonviolent protesters in Budrus village, northwest of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, after the army attacked a symbolic “Right of Return Camp,” causing several injuries.
Also in Nablus, several extremist Israeli colonialist settlers cut several Palestinian olive trees near the main entrance of Burqa village, north of the city.
Many Palestinians then gathered in the area, before the soldiers invaded it and fired several live rounds and gas bombs at them.
Medical sources said the soldiers attacked hundreds of protesters, who marched in the al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya village, and near Huwwara military roadblock, south of Nablus, marking the Palestinian Nakba, and the ongoing illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.
The soldiers also attacked protesters in Beita village, south of Nablus, in addition to Azmout and Beit Forik, east of Nablus, and Deir Sharaf, west of the city.
Ahmad Jibreel, the head of the Emergency Unit of the Red Crescent Society, said the soldiers shot two Palestinians with live fire, and 69 others with rubber-coated steel bullets, in addition to causing approximately 100 to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation.
The soldiers also abducted Mohammad Nubani, 23, and Kamal ‘Oweiss, and took them to an unknown destination.
In related news, the soldiers attacked dozens of nonviolent protesters in Budrus village, northwest of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, after the army attacked a symbolic “Right of Return Camp,” causing several injuries.
Also in Nablus, several extremist Israeli colonialist settlers cut several Palestinian olive trees near the main entrance of Burqa village, north of the city.
Many Palestinians then gathered in the area, before the soldiers invaded it and fired several live rounds and gas bombs at them.
13 may 2018

The Israeli authorities approved the construction of a bridge to connect two illegal Israeli settlements in Bethlehem, in the southern occupied West Bank.
Coordinator of the National Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Bethlehem, Hassan Brijiyeh, said that the Israeli occupation authorities decided to build a 355-meters long suspended bridge that would connect the illegal settlement of Beitar Illit A with the settlement of Beitar Illit B.
The bridge would culminate in the confiscation of Palestinian lands in the village of Husan to the west of Bethlehem.
Coordinator of the National Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Bethlehem, Hassan Brijiyeh, said that the Israeli occupation authorities decided to build a 355-meters long suspended bridge that would connect the illegal settlement of Beitar Illit A with the settlement of Beitar Illit B.
The bridge would culminate in the confiscation of Palestinian lands in the village of Husan to the west of Bethlehem.

Activists gather against the eviction of the Shamasna family in Sheikh Jarrah, March 1, 2013. Photo credit: Wadi Hilweh Information Center.
POSTED BY: AMALYA DUBROVSKY MAY 11, 2018
At least 75 Palestinian families live under threat of eviction in the East Jerusalem neighborhood.
Jerusalem municipal authorities delivered an eviction notice to In’am Kneibi in the Um Haroun area of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, Israeli settlement watch group Peace Now reports.
The eviction notice states that Israeli forces may evict 77-year-old Kneibi and her family anytime between May 13 and May 27, 2018. The pretext for Kneibi’s eviction is a suit filed by six Israelis who claim their families owned the home before 1948.
Israeli forces expelled over 750,000 Palestinians during the creation of the Israeli state in 1948, a time known to Palestinians as the Nakba, meaning “catastrophe.”
The 1970 Legal and Administrative Matters Law empowers Jews to reclaim property in East Jerusalem lost before 1948, even if they have already been compensated by the Israeli government for that loss. The Absentee Property Law of 1950 bars Palestinians from filing similar claims.
According to Peace Now, approximately 75 Palestinian families live under threat of eviction by the Jerusalem municipality – evictions carried out for the explicit purpose of opening the home to Israeli settlers. The municipality suspended evictions from Sheikh Jarrah for eight years, until the displacement of the Shamasneh family in 2017 and now the impending displacement of Kneibi.
POSTED BY: AMALYA DUBROVSKY MAY 11, 2018
At least 75 Palestinian families live under threat of eviction in the East Jerusalem neighborhood.
Jerusalem municipal authorities delivered an eviction notice to In’am Kneibi in the Um Haroun area of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, Israeli settlement watch group Peace Now reports.
The eviction notice states that Israeli forces may evict 77-year-old Kneibi and her family anytime between May 13 and May 27, 2018. The pretext for Kneibi’s eviction is a suit filed by six Israelis who claim their families owned the home before 1948.
Israeli forces expelled over 750,000 Palestinians during the creation of the Israeli state in 1948, a time known to Palestinians as the Nakba, meaning “catastrophe.”
The 1970 Legal and Administrative Matters Law empowers Jews to reclaim property in East Jerusalem lost before 1948, even if they have already been compensated by the Israeli government for that loss. The Absentee Property Law of 1950 bars Palestinians from filing similar claims.
According to Peace Now, approximately 75 Palestinian families live under threat of eviction by the Jerusalem municipality – evictions carried out for the explicit purpose of opening the home to Israeli settlers. The municipality suspended evictions from Sheikh Jarrah for eight years, until the displacement of the Shamasneh family in 2017 and now the impending displacement of Kneibi.

Palestinian homes threatened with eviction by the Israeli municipality and Israeli settlements. Photo credit: Peace Now.
Israeli authorities call the Palestinian neighborhoods that hug Jerusalem’s Old City – Sheikh Jarrah, a-Tur, Silwan, Mount Zion, and the Kidron Valley – the Holy Basin of Jerusalem. This area is crucial to Israeli settlement plans, which aim to form four linking concentric circles of settlements, starting with the Old City, followed by the “Holy Basin,” Jerusalem’s annexation border, and finally the West Bank.
The timing of the Kneibi family’s eviction overlaps with the commemoration of the Nakba on May 15, which Israelis will celebrate as their state’s 70th anniversary. The US government plans to inaugurate a US Embassy in Jerusalem as a gesture of shared celebration with the Israeli state.
Amalya Dubrovsky is the editor of aicnews.org.
Israeli authorities call the Palestinian neighborhoods that hug Jerusalem’s Old City – Sheikh Jarrah, a-Tur, Silwan, Mount Zion, and the Kidron Valley – the Holy Basin of Jerusalem. This area is crucial to Israeli settlement plans, which aim to form four linking concentric circles of settlements, starting with the Old City, followed by the “Holy Basin,” Jerusalem’s annexation border, and finally the West Bank.
The timing of the Kneibi family’s eviction overlaps with the commemoration of the Nakba on May 15, which Israelis will celebrate as their state’s 70th anniversary. The US government plans to inaugurate a US Embassy in Jerusalem as a gesture of shared celebration with the Israeli state.
Amalya Dubrovsky is the editor of aicnews.org.
12 may 2018

The representative of the European Union (EU) and heads of its mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah have condemned Israel’s demolition of structures and appropriation of equipment funded by the EU in Masafer Yatta area of the occupied West Bank.
In a statement released on Thursday, the EU officials expressed strong concern about the demolition and seizure by the Israeli authorities of several Palestinian-owned structures in four Palestinian communities located in the Masafer Yatta area in Area C of the occupied West Bank, on May 2, 2018, pointing out that several of these structures were funded by the EU and EU member states.
“More than 40 Palestinian residents of these communities have lost their homes. The seizure of solar energy units, as well as water filtration systems, deprives them of access to energy and water,” their statement said.
They called on the Israeli authorities “to halt demolitions of Palestinian houses and property, in accordance with its obligations as an occupying power under international humanitarian law, and to cease the policy of settlement construction and expansion, of designating land for exclusive Israeli use and of denying Palestinian development.”
They also demanded the Israeli authorities to rebuild the structures in the same place, and return the seized items to the communities.
In a statement released on Thursday, the EU officials expressed strong concern about the demolition and seizure by the Israeli authorities of several Palestinian-owned structures in four Palestinian communities located in the Masafer Yatta area in Area C of the occupied West Bank, on May 2, 2018, pointing out that several of these structures were funded by the EU and EU member states.
“More than 40 Palestinian residents of these communities have lost their homes. The seizure of solar energy units, as well as water filtration systems, deprives them of access to energy and water,” their statement said.
They called on the Israeli authorities “to halt demolitions of Palestinian houses and property, in accordance with its obligations as an occupying power under international humanitarian law, and to cease the policy of settlement construction and expansion, of designating land for exclusive Israeli use and of denying Palestinian development.”
They also demanded the Israeli authorities to rebuild the structures in the same place, and return the seized items to the communities.

Israeli bulldozers on Saturday morning leveled vast tracts of Palestinian land in Wad Abdel Rahman north of Salfit.
Eyewitnesses said that the bulldozers, which belong to the Israeli authorities, leveled several dunums of land in the area, without notifying their owners, in preparation for the establishment of a new cemetery for Israeli settlers.
Anti-settlement researcher Khaled Ma'ali told the PIC reporter that lately dozens of dunums of land have been bulldozed in favor of the establishment of an infrastructure network and other settler facilities on privately-owned Palestinian farmlands.
Ma'ali pointed out that the Israeli authorities confiscated red soil, stones and rocks from these lands to be used for gardens of settler houses and sidewalks in Ariel settlement.
He added that many Israeli bulldozing operations have been carried out recently without prior notice in Salfit, especially following the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
This, he continued to say, violates all international laws, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits the occupying power from building on occupied territories.
Eyewitnesses said that the bulldozers, which belong to the Israeli authorities, leveled several dunums of land in the area, without notifying their owners, in preparation for the establishment of a new cemetery for Israeli settlers.
Anti-settlement researcher Khaled Ma'ali told the PIC reporter that lately dozens of dunums of land have been bulldozed in favor of the establishment of an infrastructure network and other settler facilities on privately-owned Palestinian farmlands.
Ma'ali pointed out that the Israeli authorities confiscated red soil, stones and rocks from these lands to be used for gardens of settler houses and sidewalks in Ariel settlement.
He added that many Israeli bulldozing operations have been carried out recently without prior notice in Salfit, especially following the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
This, he continued to say, violates all international laws, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits the occupying power from building on occupied territories.
10 may 2018

The Israeli authorities Thursday confiscated a privately-owned Palestinian land in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya.
Eyewitnesses affirmed that Israeli municipal crews stormed the town and handed the land’s owner a confiscation order claiming the confiscation was for public use purposes.
Issawiya town has been subjected over the past few weeks to an Israeli collective punishment policy aiming to stop stone-throwing attacks.
Eyewitnesses affirmed that Israeli municipal crews stormed the town and handed the land’s owner a confiscation order claiming the confiscation was for public use purposes.
Issawiya town has been subjected over the past few weeks to an Israeli collective punishment policy aiming to stop stone-throwing attacks.

Five Palestinian fishermen survived on Wednesday evening after the Israeli occupation navy attacked and sank their boat off the northern shores of the Gaza Strip.
According to the committee of Gaza fishermen, a fishing boat belonging to a fisherman called Omar al-Habeel was sunk by an Israeli gunboat off the coast of al-Waha area in northern Gaza.
All five fishermen aboard the boat survived following a rescue mission.
Later on the same day, at least one Israeli gunboat opened machinegun fire at fishermen as they were working aboard their boats off the coast of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Luckily, no one was injured in the shooting attack.
Israeli gunboats are around Gaza fishermen almost every day, harassing them, shooting at them, damaging their boats, and making arrests. Sometimes fishermen are injured or killed during gunfire attacks.
Under the 1993 Oslo accords, Palestinian fishermen are permitted to fish up to 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, but since then Israel has kept reducing the fishing area gradually to a limit of three nautical miles, especially as part of its blockade on Gaza.
Fishermen and human rights groups also say that, since the 2008-09 war in Gaza, the Israeli army has been regularly enforcing a limit even closer to the shore.
According to the committee of Gaza fishermen, a fishing boat belonging to a fisherman called Omar al-Habeel was sunk by an Israeli gunboat off the coast of al-Waha area in northern Gaza.
All five fishermen aboard the boat survived following a rescue mission.
Later on the same day, at least one Israeli gunboat opened machinegun fire at fishermen as they were working aboard their boats off the coast of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Luckily, no one was injured in the shooting attack.
Israeli gunboats are around Gaza fishermen almost every day, harassing them, shooting at them, damaging their boats, and making arrests. Sometimes fishermen are injured or killed during gunfire attacks.
Under the 1993 Oslo accords, Palestinian fishermen are permitted to fish up to 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, but since then Israel has kept reducing the fishing area gradually to a limit of three nautical miles, especially as part of its blockade on Gaza.
Fishermen and human rights groups also say that, since the 2008-09 war in Gaza, the Israeli army has been regularly enforcing a limit even closer to the shore.

Israeli forces, Wednesday, demolished a number of residential and agricultural sheds in the village of Douma, to the south of the West Bank district of Nablus, said a local activist.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in northern West Bank district, told WAFA Israeli soldiers, accompanied by bulldozers, stormed Abu Saif area to the east of the town of Douma, and demolished a number of privately owned structures.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in northern West Bank district, told WAFA Israeli soldiers, accompanied by bulldozers, stormed Abu Saif area to the east of the town of Douma, and demolished a number of privately owned structures.
9 may 2018

Israeli settlers on Wednesday erected mobile homes over Palestinian lands in al-Khader town south of Bethlehem for the establishment of a new settlement outpost.
Ahmad Salah, Coordinator of National Committee against Settlement in al-Khader, said that settlers built 22 caravans in Khallet Um Al-Fahem area in the town under protection of Israeli occupation forces.
Israeli forces alleged that the Palestinian land which area is estimated at 22 dunums are located within “Israeli state properties”.
Ahmad Salah, Coordinator of National Committee against Settlement in al-Khader, said that settlers built 22 caravans in Khallet Um Al-Fahem area in the town under protection of Israeli occupation forces.
Israeli forces alleged that the Palestinian land which area is estimated at 22 dunums are located within “Israeli state properties”.

The so called Israel Nature and Parks Authority on Wednesday has separated a part of Bab al-Rahma Muslim cemetery in Occupied Jerusalem, which is adjacent to al-Aqsa Mosque’s eastern wall, for the establishment of a “national park”.
The construction of the park goes in line with the Israeli plan being implemented in the vicinity of the historic wall of Jerusalem, aiming at changing the Islamic features of the city.
The people of Silwan town objected this violation and confronted Israeli teams more than once since the cemetery is an Islamic Waqf (endowment) property. It is one of the oldest graveyards in Palestine where dozens of scholars, martyrs and religious men are buried.
The construction of the park goes in line with the Israeli plan being implemented in the vicinity of the historic wall of Jerusalem, aiming at changing the Islamic features of the city.
The people of Silwan town objected this violation and confronted Israeli teams more than once since the cemetery is an Islamic Waqf (endowment) property. It is one of the oldest graveyards in Palestine where dozens of scholars, martyrs and religious men are buried.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at dawn Wednesday arrested 21 Palestinians in raids launched in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The Israeli occupation army said in a statement that 14 of the detainees are wanted over involvement in anti-Israel activities.
Violent clashes erupted at dawn in Qalqilya after the IOF soldiers stormed the city and arrested four Palestinian citizens, including a mother and her two sons.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the IOF heavily fired tear gas canisters at the Palestinian citizens.
Other confrontations broke out in Azzun town, while Israeli undercover soldiers were deployed in large numbers at the town's entrances.
The PIC reporter said, quoting local sources, that the IOF arrested four ex-prisoners during a raid into Asira al-Qibliya town north of Nablus.
According to the Israeli army's statement, the IOF confiscated a sum of money after searching a number of houses in the town for allegedly being used to fund resistance operations.
About nine Palestinians were arrested in campaigns launched in Salfit and Jerusalem, while the PIC reporter in al-Khalil said that the IOF raided and searched houses of Palestinian ex-prisoners in the city.
Israeli Soldiers Abduct Fourteen Palestinians In The West Bank
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, at least fourteen Palestinians from their homes, after invading and violently searching them, in several parts of the occupied West Bank. The soldiers also caused fire in olive orchards and wheat fields.
Media sources in Nablus, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, said the soldiers abducted four Palestinians, identified as Bader-Eddin Ahmad Hamadna, Omar Dirar Jarar’a, Bara’ Issam Jarar’a and Mohammad Omar Shouli, from their homes in ‘Aseera ash-Shamaliya town, north of the city.
In Salfit, in northwestern West Bank, the soldiers searched homes and abducted two Palestinians, identified as Ali Mofeed Zeidan, 20, and Mohammad Maher al-Qadi, 32.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded ‘Azzoun town, north of Qalqilia in northern West Bank, searched many homes and abducted Mohannad Farouq Abu Haniyya.
The soldiers also fired many gas bombs and concussion grenades while withdrawing from Azzoun, causing fires in wheat fields and olive orchards.
In occupied Jerusalem, the soldiers also searched and ransacked homes and abducted seven Palestinians, including a child.
The abducted residents have been identified as Mohammad Zakaria ‘Oleyyan, Qussai Dari, Ahmad Sa’ad Mustafa, Mohammad Tha’er Mahmoud, Anas Ali Dirbas, Saleh Abu Assab and a child, Ali Amjad Atiya.
The Israeli occupation army said in a statement that 14 of the detainees are wanted over involvement in anti-Israel activities.
Violent clashes erupted at dawn in Qalqilya after the IOF soldiers stormed the city and arrested four Palestinian citizens, including a mother and her two sons.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the IOF heavily fired tear gas canisters at the Palestinian citizens.
Other confrontations broke out in Azzun town, while Israeli undercover soldiers were deployed in large numbers at the town's entrances.
The PIC reporter said, quoting local sources, that the IOF arrested four ex-prisoners during a raid into Asira al-Qibliya town north of Nablus.
According to the Israeli army's statement, the IOF confiscated a sum of money after searching a number of houses in the town for allegedly being used to fund resistance operations.
About nine Palestinians were arrested in campaigns launched in Salfit and Jerusalem, while the PIC reporter in al-Khalil said that the IOF raided and searched houses of Palestinian ex-prisoners in the city.
Israeli Soldiers Abduct Fourteen Palestinians In The West Bank
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, at least fourteen Palestinians from their homes, after invading and violently searching them, in several parts of the occupied West Bank. The soldiers also caused fire in olive orchards and wheat fields.
Media sources in Nablus, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, said the soldiers abducted four Palestinians, identified as Bader-Eddin Ahmad Hamadna, Omar Dirar Jarar’a, Bara’ Issam Jarar’a and Mohammad Omar Shouli, from their homes in ‘Aseera ash-Shamaliya town, north of the city.
In Salfit, in northwestern West Bank, the soldiers searched homes and abducted two Palestinians, identified as Ali Mofeed Zeidan, 20, and Mohammad Maher al-Qadi, 32.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded ‘Azzoun town, north of Qalqilia in northern West Bank, searched many homes and abducted Mohannad Farouq Abu Haniyya.
The soldiers also fired many gas bombs and concussion grenades while withdrawing from Azzoun, causing fires in wheat fields and olive orchards.
In occupied Jerusalem, the soldiers also searched and ransacked homes and abducted seven Palestinians, including a child.
The abducted residents have been identified as Mohammad Zakaria ‘Oleyyan, Qussai Dari, Ahmad Sa’ad Mustafa, Mohammad Tha’er Mahmoud, Anas Ali Dirbas, Saleh Abu Assab and a child, Ali Amjad Atiya.

Dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded, Wednesday, the homes of two Palestinians siblings in Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, violently searched them and stole 20.000 Shekels, the WAFA Palestinian News Agency has reported.
The soldiers invaded the homes of Abdul-Karim Rashid Abu Ramouz, and his brother, Ahmad, and violently searched them, causing damage, before stealing 20.000 shekels, without giving the families any warrants or documentation.
The soldiers also invaded and searched the homes of Abdullah Sallal, from Bani Neim town, east of Hebron, and Atef Ali Rabba’, from Yatta, south of the city.
In addition, the army installed roadblocks on main roads, in several parts of the Hebron governorate, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
The soldiers invaded the homes of Abdul-Karim Rashid Abu Ramouz, and his brother, Ahmad, and violently searched them, causing damage, before stealing 20.000 shekels, without giving the families any warrants or documentation.
The soldiers also invaded and searched the homes of Abdullah Sallal, from Bani Neim town, east of Hebron, and Atef Ali Rabba’, from Yatta, south of the city.
In addition, the army installed roadblocks on main roads, in several parts of the Hebron governorate, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.