25 july 2019
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) calls on the international legal and human rights organizations to put pressure on the Israeli occupation government to stop its attempts to deport the Palestinian photographer Mustafa Al-Kharouf outside the Palestinian territories and release him as he has been arrested for more than six months, not to mention giving him the right to reside him his wife, two children and family staying with them in Jerusalem since he was a child.
Eddy Lustigman, the lawyer of the photographer Mustafa Al-Kharouf, Said to MADA, the Israeli authorities tried at about 9:00PM on Sunday (22 July 2019) to deport the photographer Mustafa Al-Kharouf, but the Jordanian authorities refused and prevented his entry into their territories as he does not have any documents enabling him to enter Jordan, specifically the visa.
After spending many hours (approximately 19 hours) on the Jordanian borders, the Israeli authorities returned him to where he was detained at Ramle Prison, and he is still being detained there.
The lawyer Eddy Lustigman stated that in the coming days she will request his release through Hamoked Organization.
The Israeli Occupation authorities, and for “security reasons”, refused to grant the journalist Mustafa Al-Kharouf a resident in Jerusalem even though he lives and resides there ever since he was a little child, with his family, wife and children. Al-Kharouf does not hold any other nationality and he has never been arrested or convicted of any offence or felony.
On 21st Jan 2019, Al-Kharouf filed an appeal to the Israeli court against the decision of the Israeli Ministry of Interior refusing his requests pertaining to residence.
On the following day 22nd Jan 2019, he was arrested by the Israeli Police and transferred to Jafun Prison in Ramle, a prison dedicated for deporting “illegal” foreigners even though Mustafa Al-Kharouf was born in Algeria on 21st Sep. 1987 and in 1999 he moved with his family to Jerusalem.
He is married to the Jerusalemite citizen Tmam Nofal Al-Kharouf, and they have one child. All of his family members, including his wife and daughter hold the blue (Jerusalemite) identity card, while Mustafa does not hold any other nationality or residence other than where he lives, including the West Bank.
The Israeli authorities continue to treat him as an illegal resident and strive to deport him from Jerusalem as they have attempted to do so on last Sunday and Monday.
Eddy Lustigman, the lawyer of the photographer Mustafa Al-Kharouf, Said to MADA, the Israeli authorities tried at about 9:00PM on Sunday (22 July 2019) to deport the photographer Mustafa Al-Kharouf, but the Jordanian authorities refused and prevented his entry into their territories as he does not have any documents enabling him to enter Jordan, specifically the visa.
After spending many hours (approximately 19 hours) on the Jordanian borders, the Israeli authorities returned him to where he was detained at Ramle Prison, and he is still being detained there.
The lawyer Eddy Lustigman stated that in the coming days she will request his release through Hamoked Organization.
The Israeli Occupation authorities, and for “security reasons”, refused to grant the journalist Mustafa Al-Kharouf a resident in Jerusalem even though he lives and resides there ever since he was a little child, with his family, wife and children. Al-Kharouf does not hold any other nationality and he has never been arrested or convicted of any offence or felony.
On 21st Jan 2019, Al-Kharouf filed an appeal to the Israeli court against the decision of the Israeli Ministry of Interior refusing his requests pertaining to residence.
On the following day 22nd Jan 2019, he was arrested by the Israeli Police and transferred to Jafun Prison in Ramle, a prison dedicated for deporting “illegal” foreigners even though Mustafa Al-Kharouf was born in Algeria on 21st Sep. 1987 and in 1999 he moved with his family to Jerusalem.
He is married to the Jerusalemite citizen Tmam Nofal Al-Kharouf, and they have one child. All of his family members, including his wife and daughter hold the blue (Jerusalemite) identity card, while Mustafa does not hold any other nationality or residence other than where he lives, including the West Bank.
The Israeli authorities continue to treat him as an illegal resident and strive to deport him from Jerusalem as they have attempted to do so on last Sunday and Monday.
22 july 2019
Jordan foiled today an attempt by the Israeli occupation authorities to deport Palestinian photojournalist Mustafa Kharouf, from Jerusalem, who has been fighting deportation order for a while.
Israeli authorities tried early morning to deport the photojournalist from Jerusalem to Jordan via the King Hussein Bridge (the Allenby Crossing).
However, the Jordanian side confirmed that no Palestinian would be allowed to enter its territories without having the necessary papers and documents.
The occupation authorities then tried to deport him through the border crossing near the city of Aqaba, however the Jordanian authorities refused to allow him to cross after the Israeli authorities left Kharouf in the buffer zone and returned him back to the occupied territories, foiling the Israeli attempts to deport him and bringing him back to Jerusalem to face another legal battle.
Anadolu Photojournalist Back in Israeli Jail
After failing to deport him to Jordan, Israeli authorities returned an Anadolu Agency photojournalist to a detention center, on Monday, where he has been detained for six months, according to his lawyer.
Israeli had tried since Sunday evening to deport Mustafa Kharouf, 32, to Jordan, but Jordan’s firm opposition prevented this, Adi Lustigman, Kharouf’s lawyer, told Anadolu Agency.
Kharouf’s lawyer explained that she had not yet had the opportunity to speak by phone with her client, stressing that they would press for his release through all legal avenues.
“Developments since yesterday evening have shown that there is no other place for Kharouf to go but Jerusalem,” the city he covered, the lawyer added.
Kharouf will face an Israeli court on Aug. 8, said Lustigman.
Lustigman stressed that she will request a meeting with Kharouf and his release as soon as possible.
A source at Jordan’s Foreign Ministry told Anadolu Agency that they blocked the deportation as he does not hold Jordanian nationality.
The deportation was also blocked due to the “illegal way that Israel tried to get him in,” the source added anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to the media, without giving further details.
Israel has not commented on the reports.
Earlier Monday, a friend of Kharouf told Anadolu that he has not been heard from since an Israeli decision to deport him to Jordan.
Threat of deportation
Kharouf was detained by Israeli police in East Jerusalem on Jan. 22 and held in prison in advance of his planned deportation.
Israeli authorities say that Kharouf, who has lived in Jerusalem with his family since he was 12, was born in Algeria.
“He told me during a phone call from prison on Sunday that Israeli authorities will deport him to Jordan today,” his friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu.
For the last 20 years, Israeli authorities have consistently refused to grant Kharouf a long-term residency permit, forcing him to get fresh tourist visas each year.
While Kharouf holds a Jordanian passport that allows him to travel to neighboring Arab states, it does not give him citizenship or residency rights in Jordan.
Kharouf has worked for Anadolu as a photojournalist since last August, Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency further reports.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
In a move never recognized by the international community, Israel annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the self-proclaimed Jewish state’s “eternal and undivided” capital.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East dispute, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem might one day serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
Israeli authorities tried early morning to deport the photojournalist from Jerusalem to Jordan via the King Hussein Bridge (the Allenby Crossing).
However, the Jordanian side confirmed that no Palestinian would be allowed to enter its territories without having the necessary papers and documents.
The occupation authorities then tried to deport him through the border crossing near the city of Aqaba, however the Jordanian authorities refused to allow him to cross after the Israeli authorities left Kharouf in the buffer zone and returned him back to the occupied territories, foiling the Israeli attempts to deport him and bringing him back to Jerusalem to face another legal battle.
Anadolu Photojournalist Back in Israeli Jail
After failing to deport him to Jordan, Israeli authorities returned an Anadolu Agency photojournalist to a detention center, on Monday, where he has been detained for six months, according to his lawyer.
Israeli had tried since Sunday evening to deport Mustafa Kharouf, 32, to Jordan, but Jordan’s firm opposition prevented this, Adi Lustigman, Kharouf’s lawyer, told Anadolu Agency.
Kharouf’s lawyer explained that she had not yet had the opportunity to speak by phone with her client, stressing that they would press for his release through all legal avenues.
“Developments since yesterday evening have shown that there is no other place for Kharouf to go but Jerusalem,” the city he covered, the lawyer added.
Kharouf will face an Israeli court on Aug. 8, said Lustigman.
Lustigman stressed that she will request a meeting with Kharouf and his release as soon as possible.
A source at Jordan’s Foreign Ministry told Anadolu Agency that they blocked the deportation as he does not hold Jordanian nationality.
The deportation was also blocked due to the “illegal way that Israel tried to get him in,” the source added anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to the media, without giving further details.
Israel has not commented on the reports.
Earlier Monday, a friend of Kharouf told Anadolu that he has not been heard from since an Israeli decision to deport him to Jordan.
Threat of deportation
Kharouf was detained by Israeli police in East Jerusalem on Jan. 22 and held in prison in advance of his planned deportation.
Israeli authorities say that Kharouf, who has lived in Jerusalem with his family since he was 12, was born in Algeria.
“He told me during a phone call from prison on Sunday that Israeli authorities will deport him to Jordan today,” his friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu.
For the last 20 years, Israeli authorities have consistently refused to grant Kharouf a long-term residency permit, forcing him to get fresh tourist visas each year.
While Kharouf holds a Jordanian passport that allows him to travel to neighboring Arab states, it does not give him citizenship or residency rights in Jordan.
Kharouf has worked for Anadolu as a photojournalist since last August, Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency further reports.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
In a move never recognized by the international community, Israel annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the self-proclaimed Jewish state’s “eternal and undivided” capital.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East dispute, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem might one day serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
20 july 2019
A number of Palestinian citizens were injured by Israeli gas bombs on Saturday during a protest in Bethlehem in solidarity with the residents of Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood near Jerusalem where tens of homes are threatened with demolition.
Local sources said that the Israeli forces heavily fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades at the protesters. video
Dozens choked on tear gas while photojournalist Ayat Arqawi was wounded by a tear gas canister to the abdomen. video
Scores of Palestinians staged a protest ten east of Bethlehem city against Israel's plan to demolish over 100 homes in Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood in Sur Baher town.
Journalist Injured as Soldiers Attack Bethlehem
A journalist was injured and many others suffocated from teargas when Israeli forces attacked Palestinians taking part in a rally protesting the planned demolition of hundreds of apartments in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi al-Hummus.
WAFA correspondence said that Ayat Arqawi, who works as a photojournalist with APA agency, was hit and injured by a gas canister in her pelvis.
Meanwhile, several protesters sustained suffocation from gas inhalation, including Minister Walid Assaf, the chairman of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
Local sources said that the Israeli forces heavily fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades at the protesters. video
Dozens choked on tear gas while photojournalist Ayat Arqawi was wounded by a tear gas canister to the abdomen. video
Scores of Palestinians staged a protest ten east of Bethlehem city against Israel's plan to demolish over 100 homes in Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood in Sur Baher town.
Journalist Injured as Soldiers Attack Bethlehem
A journalist was injured and many others suffocated from teargas when Israeli forces attacked Palestinians taking part in a rally protesting the planned demolition of hundreds of apartments in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi al-Hummus.
WAFA correspondence said that Ayat Arqawi, who works as a photojournalist with APA agency, was hit and injured by a gas canister in her pelvis.
Meanwhile, several protesters sustained suffocation from gas inhalation, including Minister Walid Assaf, the chairman of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) reasserted last night its position that opposes any meetings between Palestinian journalists and officials from the administration of US President Donald Trump.
It said in a statement reiterating an earlier similar positon that it was following closely attempts by the US embassy in Israel to invite Palestinian journalists for meetings with US officials, including Jarod Kushner, senior advisor to Trump and his son-in-law and author of the so-called Deal of the Century, strongly opposed by the Palestinians for being overly biased toward Israel.
The PJS said it was proud of the journalists and media organizations that had previously refused to respond to invitations by the White House for meetings.
It said it was “confident of the failure of the new call to meet Kushner or other promoters of the Trump deal,” saying that the purpose behind these invitations is to “disseminate venom and false rumors, and to deceive Palestinian public opinion.”
It called on all journalists to abide by the positon of the syndicate and the national consensus on this matter that calls for boycott of any meeting with members of the current US administration who have adopted the Israeli position from the occupied Palestinian territories and who refuse to recognize any of the Palestinian national rights.
The syndicate said the Trump administration, which has appointed an official and opened a department to follow up on the Palestinian media and public opinion, has begun inviting journalists, focusing on the young ones, for a tour of the United States and meetings with officials in November.
It said all invitations were rejected, applauding the journalists for not falling for the US trap.
It said in a statement reiterating an earlier similar positon that it was following closely attempts by the US embassy in Israel to invite Palestinian journalists for meetings with US officials, including Jarod Kushner, senior advisor to Trump and his son-in-law and author of the so-called Deal of the Century, strongly opposed by the Palestinians for being overly biased toward Israel.
The PJS said it was proud of the journalists and media organizations that had previously refused to respond to invitations by the White House for meetings.
It said it was “confident of the failure of the new call to meet Kushner or other promoters of the Trump deal,” saying that the purpose behind these invitations is to “disseminate venom and false rumors, and to deceive Palestinian public opinion.”
It called on all journalists to abide by the positon of the syndicate and the national consensus on this matter that calls for boycott of any meeting with members of the current US administration who have adopted the Israeli position from the occupied Palestinian territories and who refuse to recognize any of the Palestinian national rights.
The syndicate said the Trump administration, which has appointed an official and opened a department to follow up on the Palestinian media and public opinion, has begun inviting journalists, focusing on the young ones, for a tour of the United States and meetings with officials in November.
It said all invitations were rejected, applauding the journalists for not falling for the US trap.
16 july 2019
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) demolished a pool used for irrigation in Wadi al-Ghroos, an area close to the illegal Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba, to the east of the occupied southern West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday.
WAFA News correspondent said a large unit of IOF, accompanied by bulldozers and other heavy machinery, raided the area and demolished the 4500 cubic meter pool owned by local resident Ziad Jaabari.
The pool is used for the irrigation of fields and crops, and the pretext for demolition was that it was built in Area C of the occupied West Bank, which is under full Israeli military rule.
The correspondent added that Israeli forces verbally insulted and physically attacked residents, journalists and activists while they were at the scene. video
Jaabari said the pool was used to collect rain water in order to use during the summer season to irrigate their farms, expressing fear that without the pool and the water, many crops, in particular tomatoes and cucumbers, may get ruined.
Several houses in the same area have been given notices of demolition by Israeli soldiers for the same reason, which is construction without a the impossible-to-get permit in Area C.
WAFA News correspondent said a large unit of IOF, accompanied by bulldozers and other heavy machinery, raided the area and demolished the 4500 cubic meter pool owned by local resident Ziad Jaabari.
The pool is used for the irrigation of fields and crops, and the pretext for demolition was that it was built in Area C of the occupied West Bank, which is under full Israeli military rule.
The correspondent added that Israeli forces verbally insulted and physically attacked residents, journalists and activists while they were at the scene. video
Jaabari said the pool was used to collect rain water in order to use during the summer season to irrigate their farms, expressing fear that without the pool and the water, many crops, in particular tomatoes and cucumbers, may get ruined.
Several houses in the same area have been given notices of demolition by Israeli soldiers for the same reason, which is construction without a the impossible-to-get permit in Area C.
11 july 2019
In response to a request from US Trump administration official and supporter of Israeli settlement expansion, Jason Greenblatt, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) said they would refuse to meet at the White House in Washington DC. They called the request a “failed and desperate” attempt by the US administration to undermine the Palestinian leadership.
The Syndicate called on Palestinian journalists who receive an invitation to the White House to refuse to attend, calling Greenblatt’s intentions “suspicious”.
In a statement, the Syndicate said that Greenblatt’s invitation “is yet another failed and desperate attempt by the US Administration to bypass the leadership of the Palestinian people, represented by the PLO and its chairman, Mahmoud Abbas.”
The intention of the proposed meeting, according to the US “peace envoy” Jason Greenblatt, would be to “invite Palestinian journalists to the White House, or maybe somewhere more neutral, and have our team make presentations directly to the Palestinian media what the [Kushner-Greenblatt ‘Deal of the Century’] plan is all about”.
The Kushner-Greenblatt plan was pushed during a summit last month called by the US administration in Bahrain and attended by representatives of several Arab nations (but not the Palestinian Authority).
Leaked copies of the Kushner-Greenblatt proposal show that it involves mass continued disenfranchisement of the Palestinian people, a denial of the Palestinian people’s basic right to self-determination, a denial of the internationally-recognized right of return of Palestinian refugees and a refusal to remove illegal Israeli settlers from their colonial outposts on Palestinian land.
Greenblatt told the Al-Ayyam newspaper that he wished to speak with “ordinary Palestinians” about this plan, in an attempt to bypass the Palestinian leadership.
Greenblatt was filmed a week ago, along with the US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, in a tunnel underneath Jerusalem smashing into the Silwan neighborhood, home to over 20,000 Palestinians and an area designated by Israel for colonial expansion.
After the Trump administration denied the Palestinian claim to the city of Jerusalem in December 2017, at the urging of Greenblatt, Friedman and Kushner (who are all ideological Zionists and close advisors of Trump), the Palestinian Authority has boycotted the US administration and refused to hold talks with them.
The PJS noted in their statement that Greenblatt’s request “reflects the crisis facing the US administration after the failure of the Bahrain workshop.”
According to the latest statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “The Palestinian leadership has provided everything necessary for the success of peace and negotiations.
The positions of Trump and his team are an extension of the [US] coup against the foundations of the international system and United Nations resolutions and reveal the true intentions of Trump’s anti-peace administration.”
The Syndicate called on Palestinian journalists who receive an invitation to the White House to refuse to attend, calling Greenblatt’s intentions “suspicious”.
In a statement, the Syndicate said that Greenblatt’s invitation “is yet another failed and desperate attempt by the US Administration to bypass the leadership of the Palestinian people, represented by the PLO and its chairman, Mahmoud Abbas.”
The intention of the proposed meeting, according to the US “peace envoy” Jason Greenblatt, would be to “invite Palestinian journalists to the White House, or maybe somewhere more neutral, and have our team make presentations directly to the Palestinian media what the [Kushner-Greenblatt ‘Deal of the Century’] plan is all about”.
The Kushner-Greenblatt plan was pushed during a summit last month called by the US administration in Bahrain and attended by representatives of several Arab nations (but not the Palestinian Authority).
Leaked copies of the Kushner-Greenblatt proposal show that it involves mass continued disenfranchisement of the Palestinian people, a denial of the Palestinian people’s basic right to self-determination, a denial of the internationally-recognized right of return of Palestinian refugees and a refusal to remove illegal Israeli settlers from their colonial outposts on Palestinian land.
Greenblatt told the Al-Ayyam newspaper that he wished to speak with “ordinary Palestinians” about this plan, in an attempt to bypass the Palestinian leadership.
Greenblatt was filmed a week ago, along with the US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, in a tunnel underneath Jerusalem smashing into the Silwan neighborhood, home to over 20,000 Palestinians and an area designated by Israel for colonial expansion.
After the Trump administration denied the Palestinian claim to the city of Jerusalem in December 2017, at the urging of Greenblatt, Friedman and Kushner (who are all ideological Zionists and close advisors of Trump), the Palestinian Authority has boycotted the US administration and refused to hold talks with them.
The PJS noted in their statement that Greenblatt’s request “reflects the crisis facing the US administration after the failure of the Bahrain workshop.”
According to the latest statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “The Palestinian leadership has provided everything necessary for the success of peace and negotiations.
The positions of Trump and his team are an extension of the [US] coup against the foundations of the international system and United Nations resolutions and reveal the true intentions of Trump’s anti-peace administration.”
On his Twitter account, Greenblatt attacked the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, and accused it of “threatening the Palestinian journalists.”
“Nope-nothing “suspicious” abt inviting Palestinian journos for a briefing on the plan. Threatening to brand journos who consider attending as “collaborators” is absurd.
Are you afraid ppl may be open to our plan & hope for a better life for Palestinians?”, he alleged.
“Nope-nothing “suspicious” abt inviting Palestinian journos for a briefing on the plan. Threatening to brand journos who consider attending as “collaborators” is absurd.
Are you afraid ppl may be open to our plan & hope for a better life for Palestinians?”, he alleged.