17 sept 2016
Palestinian leaders, factions, and media institutions strongly condemned the PA security forces’ attack on a peaceful march organized by Jihad Movement in support of the striking prisoners and the deliberate targeting of journalists.
Earlier Friday, PA security forces violently suppressed a peaceful march organized by Jihad Movement in support of the striking prisoners and occupied Jerusalem.
The participants were violently attacked along with a number of journalists covering the event, while others were arrested including Sheikh Khuder Adnan.
Jihad Movement considered the attack as an assault on the national movement and Jerusalem Intifada. This is a pre-planned crime that came in coordination with Israeli occupation, the group said, calling for the immediate release of all the detainees topped by Sheikh Adnan.
For its part, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) strongly condemned the attack that “would harm the internal relations.” The group called for holding those responsible for the attack accountable.
Along the same line, the Palestinian media assembly denounced the "vicious attack" carried out by PA security forces against the journalists who were covering the march in Jenin.
The assembly pointed out that two journalists were brutally beaten, while two others were arrested. Their equipment was also destroyed during the attack. Mohjat al-Quds society for prisoners and martyrs also condemned the "orchestrated and coordinated crime."
The attack only serves the occupation and its arbitrary policies against Palestinians, it said, considering the attack as stain in face of PA security forces.
Earlier Friday, PA security forces violently suppressed a peaceful march organized by Jihad Movement in support of the striking prisoners and occupied Jerusalem.
The participants were violently attacked along with a number of journalists covering the event, while others were arrested including Sheikh Khuder Adnan.
Jihad Movement considered the attack as an assault on the national movement and Jerusalem Intifada. This is a pre-planned crime that came in coordination with Israeli occupation, the group said, calling for the immediate release of all the detainees topped by Sheikh Adnan.
For its part, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) strongly condemned the attack that “would harm the internal relations.” The group called for holding those responsible for the attack accountable.
Along the same line, the Palestinian media assembly denounced the "vicious attack" carried out by PA security forces against the journalists who were covering the march in Jenin.
The assembly pointed out that two journalists were brutally beaten, while two others were arrested. Their equipment was also destroyed during the attack. Mohjat al-Quds society for prisoners and martyrs also condemned the "orchestrated and coordinated crime."
The attack only serves the occupation and its arbitrary policies against Palestinians, it said, considering the attack as stain in face of PA security forces.
15 sept 2016
The prolonged period of slow economic growth has resulted in persistently high unemployment and stagnation in the average income of Palestinian citizens, according to the latest World Bank report on the Palestinian economy.
The World Bank economic report will present its findings to the Ad Hoc Liaison committee (AHLC), a policy-level meeting for development assistance to the Palestinian people, on September 19, 2016 in New York.
“The Palestinian economic outlook is worrying with serious consequences on income, opportunity, and well-being.
Not only will it affect the Palestinian Authority’s capacity to deliver services to its citizens, it may also lead to wider economic problems and instability,” said Marina Wes, Country Director for West Bank and Gaza.
The report states that, over the last decade, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) fiscal consolidation efforts led to a decline in the deficit by 15 percent of GDP – an achievement rarely seen in other places around the world.
Nevertheless, the PA’s finances remain fragile with declining budget support leading to a projected financing gap of about US$600 million in 2016. The PA’s actions will not be enough to fully close the gap, particularly since local borrowing opportunities are now largely exhausted.
Therefore, in the short-term donor support and in particular budget support is essential to avoid a fiscal crisis leading to wider economic problems.
Donor aid remains key for improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Out of the US$3.5 billion pledged at the Cairo Conference for rebuilding Gaza (2014-2017), 46 percent has been disbursed, which means it is US$1.3 billion behind schedule.
Critically, only 16 percent of the total Gaza recovery needs outlined in the detailed assessment that was prepared after the 2014 war have been addressed.
The report urged the donors to meet their commitments and to prioritize expenditures in line with the needs assessment. “Over 70,000 people are suffering from prolonged internal displacement.
Only 10.7 percent of the 11,000 housing units that were totally destroyed in the war have been rebuilt to date, and about 50 percent of partially and severely damaged houses still need to be repaired.
The situation in Gaza is of great concern and the conditions required for post-reconstruction sustainable economic growth are not being put in place,” said Wes.
Despite progress in recent years, Palestinian territories still rank 129th out of 189 countries in the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business.
Israeli restrictions remain the main constraint to Palestinian economic competitiveness and have pushed private investment levels to amongst the lowest in the world, particularly the ones on Area C which could increase Palestinian GDP by 35 percent and lead to a similar increase in employment.
GDP losses in Gaza since the blockade of 2007 are above 50 percent, the report concluded.
The World Bank economic report will present its findings to the Ad Hoc Liaison committee (AHLC), a policy-level meeting for development assistance to the Palestinian people, on September 19, 2016 in New York.
“The Palestinian economic outlook is worrying with serious consequences on income, opportunity, and well-being.
Not only will it affect the Palestinian Authority’s capacity to deliver services to its citizens, it may also lead to wider economic problems and instability,” said Marina Wes, Country Director for West Bank and Gaza.
The report states that, over the last decade, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) fiscal consolidation efforts led to a decline in the deficit by 15 percent of GDP – an achievement rarely seen in other places around the world.
Nevertheless, the PA’s finances remain fragile with declining budget support leading to a projected financing gap of about US$600 million in 2016. The PA’s actions will not be enough to fully close the gap, particularly since local borrowing opportunities are now largely exhausted.
Therefore, in the short-term donor support and in particular budget support is essential to avoid a fiscal crisis leading to wider economic problems.
Donor aid remains key for improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Out of the US$3.5 billion pledged at the Cairo Conference for rebuilding Gaza (2014-2017), 46 percent has been disbursed, which means it is US$1.3 billion behind schedule.
Critically, only 16 percent of the total Gaza recovery needs outlined in the detailed assessment that was prepared after the 2014 war have been addressed.
The report urged the donors to meet their commitments and to prioritize expenditures in line with the needs assessment. “Over 70,000 people are suffering from prolonged internal displacement.
Only 10.7 percent of the 11,000 housing units that were totally destroyed in the war have been rebuilt to date, and about 50 percent of partially and severely damaged houses still need to be repaired.
The situation in Gaza is of great concern and the conditions required for post-reconstruction sustainable economic growth are not being put in place,” said Wes.
Despite progress in recent years, Palestinian territories still rank 129th out of 189 countries in the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business.
Israeli restrictions remain the main constraint to Palestinian economic competitiveness and have pushed private investment levels to amongst the lowest in the world, particularly the ones on Area C which could increase Palestinian GDP by 35 percent and lead to a similar increase in employment.
GDP losses in Gaza since the blockade of 2007 are above 50 percent, the report concluded.
9 sept 2016
The Iraqi government executed Thursday evening a Palestinian detainee, from Qalqilia north of occupied West Bank who resides in Jordan.
Safa news agency quoted local sources as affirming that the Palestinian Shawahna family was informed that their son, Ahmed, who has been detained for a year in Iraqi prisons on charges of joining an armed group in the country, was executed.
Iraqi security forces and militias affiliated with the government appear to have unlawfully executed hundreds of imprisoned Arab nationals under the same pretext.
Human Rights Watch has earlier warned that the mass extrajudicial killings carried out by Iraqi security forces may be evidence of war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Safa news agency quoted local sources as affirming that the Palestinian Shawahna family was informed that their son, Ahmed, who has been detained for a year in Iraqi prisons on charges of joining an armed group in the country, was executed.
Iraqi security forces and militias affiliated with the government appear to have unlawfully executed hundreds of imprisoned Arab nationals under the same pretext.
Human Rights Watch has earlier warned that the mass extrajudicial killings carried out by Iraqi security forces may be evidence of war crimes or crimes against humanity.
8 sept 2016
Hamas reiterated on Wednesday its commitment to hold local elections on time, urging Fatah Movement to respect the elections law.
Hamas called on Fatah to respect electoral regulations and the decisions made by the elections commission.
The group insisted on the need to cease interrogation summonses and arbitrary abductions by the Palestinian Authority (PA) forces against nominees backed by Hamas in the occupied West Bank.
Fatah spokesman Fayez Abu Atiyeh lashed out at the elections commission, accusing it of being an “illegal party” and of “marring the democratic atmosphere” after it dropped a number of Fatah lists.
The Central Elections Commission announced on Sunday its approval of seven objections to nominations of electoral lists in the occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip, at the same time as it turned down 154 objections.
Following the approval of objections, five lists backed by Fatah were turned down. Two lists regained approval. Four objections on Gaza’s nominees lists culminated in the invalidation of four lists.
Speaking in a press statement on Monday, Abu Atiyeh said Fatah will appeal to the High Court in the occupied West Bank, claiming the Gaza Strip is devoid of legal courts. He slammed the elections commission for dropping a number of Fatah lists.
In statements released sometime earlier, the commission’s Regional Director, Jameel al-Khalidi, said only Gaza’s courts are entitled to decide on the objections over the nominees lists.
Hamas called on Fatah to respect electoral regulations and the decisions made by the elections commission.
The group insisted on the need to cease interrogation summonses and arbitrary abductions by the Palestinian Authority (PA) forces against nominees backed by Hamas in the occupied West Bank.
Fatah spokesman Fayez Abu Atiyeh lashed out at the elections commission, accusing it of being an “illegal party” and of “marring the democratic atmosphere” after it dropped a number of Fatah lists.
The Central Elections Commission announced on Sunday its approval of seven objections to nominations of electoral lists in the occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip, at the same time as it turned down 154 objections.
Following the approval of objections, five lists backed by Fatah were turned down. Two lists regained approval. Four objections on Gaza’s nominees lists culminated in the invalidation of four lists.
Speaking in a press statement on Monday, Abu Atiyeh said Fatah will appeal to the High Court in the occupied West Bank, claiming the Gaza Strip is devoid of legal courts. He slammed the elections commission for dropping a number of Fatah lists.
In statements released sometime earlier, the commission’s Regional Director, Jameel al-Khalidi, said only Gaza’s courts are entitled to decide on the objections over the nominees lists.
7 sept 2016
Documents smuggled to London from Moscow by former KGB archivist and defector Vasili Mitrokhin list the Palestinian Authority President as being a KGB agent in Damascus in 1983; researcher: 'the documents are very reliable.'
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was an agent for the former Russian Secret Intelligence Service (KGB) in 1983 in Syria, according to a report by Channel 1, published Wednesday evening.
The report claims that information was taken from documents smuggled to the West by Vasili Mitrokhin who was a major and senior archivist for the KGB. Mitrokhin eventually became a defector against the Soviet regime and fled to the West in possession of many documents which he smuggled from Russia to London.
The Mitrokhin Archive was opened to public researchers just a few months ago. The relevant document reached researchers at the Truman Institute’s, Dr. Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez, who previously worked for Israel’s Voice of Israel (Kol Yisrael).
Contained in the documents is, among other things, a list list of sources from 1983, aids and Palestinian agents of the KGB in Damascus. Listed among them is Mahmoud Abbas, born in 1935, under the codename of ‘Kortov’—mole—and marked as a KGB agent in Syria.
Mitrokhin’s documents reveal the identities of more than one thousand spies and collaborators who worked for the KGB. Indeed, investigators have emphasized that Mahmoud Abbas is listed not as a collaborator or someone who could be turned into a spy, but categorically as a KGB agent.
“The full archive of Mitrokhin was opened to researchers only last year and we ordered the entire file on the Middle East numbered 24. It was sent to us from Cambridge University and we read it point by point,” Remez said. “The source is extremely reliable when not all the details are known.”
According to the list, Abbas was an agent in 1983 but it is not yet known whether he also was before or after that year. A preliminary conclusion that has been drawn is that he was recruited to the KGB when he was a student in Moscow when he wrote a doctoral dissertation in which he grossly played down the crimes of the Holocaust.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was an agent for the former Russian Secret Intelligence Service (KGB) in 1983 in Syria, according to a report by Channel 1, published Wednesday evening.
The report claims that information was taken from documents smuggled to the West by Vasili Mitrokhin who was a major and senior archivist for the KGB. Mitrokhin eventually became a defector against the Soviet regime and fled to the West in possession of many documents which he smuggled from Russia to London.
The Mitrokhin Archive was opened to public researchers just a few months ago. The relevant document reached researchers at the Truman Institute’s, Dr. Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez, who previously worked for Israel’s Voice of Israel (Kol Yisrael).
Contained in the documents is, among other things, a list list of sources from 1983, aids and Palestinian agents of the KGB in Damascus. Listed among them is Mahmoud Abbas, born in 1935, under the codename of ‘Kortov’—mole—and marked as a KGB agent in Syria.
Mitrokhin’s documents reveal the identities of more than one thousand spies and collaborators who worked for the KGB. Indeed, investigators have emphasized that Mahmoud Abbas is listed not as a collaborator or someone who could be turned into a spy, but categorically as a KGB agent.
“The full archive of Mitrokhin was opened to researchers only last year and we ordered the entire file on the Middle East numbered 24. It was sent to us from Cambridge University and we read it point by point,” Remez said. “The source is extremely reliable when not all the details are known.”
According to the list, Abbas was an agent in 1983 but it is not yet known whether he also was before or after that year. A preliminary conclusion that has been drawn is that he was recruited to the KGB when he was a student in Moscow when he wrote a doctoral dissertation in which he grossly played down the crimes of the Holocaust.
Four Palestinian leftist factions declared Wednesday intention to withdraw from the municipal elections scheduled to be held on October 8 after they tried to forge an alliance with Fatah Movement under the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
The Palestinian Arab Front, the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, the Palestinian Liberation Front and the Arab Liberation Front declared in a joint statement their withdrawal from municipal elections.
The decision came to protect the national project, and strengthen the role of the PLO as the sole representative for the Palestinian people, the statement said.
The statement also called for mass participation in the upcoming elections and for protecting the PLO and the Palestinian national project.
The Palestinian Arab Front, the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, the Palestinian Liberation Front and the Arab Liberation Front declared in a joint statement their withdrawal from municipal elections.
The decision came to protect the national project, and strengthen the role of the PLO as the sole representative for the Palestinian people, the statement said.
The statement also called for mass participation in the upcoming elections and for protecting the PLO and the Palestinian national project.
5 sept 2016
Fatah leader Ghazi al-Husseini was arrested by the Jordanian security devices last Tuesday from his home in Amman, his daughter said Sunday.
Talking to a PIC journalist, al-Husseini’s daughter, Bana, said the Jordanian forces searched their home and ordered her 75-year-old father to go with them.
Bana added that her father has been diagnosed with several diseases and that the Jordanian authorities have not yet updated the family on the reasons behind the arrest.
“My father refuses any attempt to endanger Jordan’s security. His own and only cause is Palestine,” she stated.
Al-Husseini’s daughter added that though the Jordanian authorities allowed her to visit her father last Friday, he was unable speak up his mind regarding the reasons for the arrest and his health status as they were surrounded by Jordanian officers all the way through the visit.
A retired major general, Ghazi al-Husseini is a member of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), which is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
He is an opponent of the Palestinian Authority (PA) President, Mahmoud Abbas. He is also banned, by the Israeli occupation authorities, from entering the Palestinian territories.
Talking to a PIC journalist, al-Husseini’s daughter, Bana, said the Jordanian forces searched their home and ordered her 75-year-old father to go with them.
Bana added that her father has been diagnosed with several diseases and that the Jordanian authorities have not yet updated the family on the reasons behind the arrest.
“My father refuses any attempt to endanger Jordan’s security. His own and only cause is Palestine,” she stated.
Al-Husseini’s daughter added that though the Jordanian authorities allowed her to visit her father last Friday, he was unable speak up his mind regarding the reasons for the arrest and his health status as they were surrounded by Jordanian officers all the way through the visit.
A retired major general, Ghazi al-Husseini is a member of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), which is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
He is an opponent of the Palestinian Authority (PA) President, Mahmoud Abbas. He is also banned, by the Israeli occupation authorities, from entering the Palestinian territories.
Jibril Rajoub
The Hamas Movement has strongly denounced senior Fatah official Jibril al-Rajoub for making abusive remarks against the Christian community as well as the Islamic religion, describing his comments as "racist and a sort of intellectual terrorism."
"We will not allow anyone to describe the Christian community from our people as the group of Merry Christmas.
They are Palestinian citizens having full rights of citizenship, and any discrimination based on race, religion and sex is unacceptable," Hamas stated on Sunday.
The Movement expressed its pride in the Christian community for giving their vote for the resistance, stressing that "the most basic rule of democracy is the belief in the right of everyone to cast their votes and forge alliances in any way they like."
It also condemned Rajoub for blatantly attacking the religion of Islam and voicing his rejection of attempts to Islamize the Palestinian society.
The Hamas Movement has strongly denounced senior Fatah official Jibril al-Rajoub for making abusive remarks against the Christian community as well as the Islamic religion, describing his comments as "racist and a sort of intellectual terrorism."
"We will not allow anyone to describe the Christian community from our people as the group of Merry Christmas.
They are Palestinian citizens having full rights of citizenship, and any discrimination based on race, religion and sex is unacceptable," Hamas stated on Sunday.
The Movement expressed its pride in the Christian community for giving their vote for the resistance, stressing that "the most basic rule of democracy is the belief in the right of everyone to cast their votes and forge alliances in any way they like."
It also condemned Rajoub for blatantly attacking the religion of Islam and voicing his rejection of attempts to Islamize the Palestinian society.
The PA Preventive Security Services arrested late Sunday a Palestinian student in al-Khalil.
The political detainee was identified as Ossema Halaiqa,22, who is still studying at al-Khalil University.
Family sources told PIC reporter that their son was earlier summoned for investigation Sunday morning before being transferred to the Preventive Security Services headquarters where he was detained.
PA security forces have escalated their political arrests and summons campaigns in occupied West Bank as the Palestinian municipal election approaches.
The political detainee was identified as Ossema Halaiqa,22, who is still studying at al-Khalil University.
Family sources told PIC reporter that their son was earlier summoned for investigation Sunday morning before being transferred to the Preventive Security Services headquarters where he was detained.
PA security forces have escalated their political arrests and summons campaigns in occupied West Bank as the Palestinian municipal election approaches.
Father Manuel Musallam, member of the Islamic-Christian Commission for Patronizing Jerusalem and holy sites, has denounced senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub over recent derogatory comments he made against the Palestinian Christian community for voting in favor of Hamas during elections.
"I say to the one who attacked us with abusive language beyond the principles we know that the history will reject you," Father Musallam said in a press release.
"The good and bad times have made the Palestinians, whether Muslims or Christians, to close ranks, and anyone seeking to carve the Palestinians up wants to shed their blood," he added.
"The Christian presence in Palestine is an important part of history and cannot be erased. There has always been one people and nation in Palestine where the Muslim and the Christian live united together since the Pace of Umar established this presence alongside Islam on the land of Palestine [ a long time ago], he underlined.
In recent remarks to an Egyptian satellite channel, Fatah official Rajoub verbally attacked the Christian Palestinians who support Hamas and vote for it, describing them as "the group of Merry Christmas."
"I say to the one who attacked us with abusive language beyond the principles we know that the history will reject you," Father Musallam said in a press release.
"The good and bad times have made the Palestinians, whether Muslims or Christians, to close ranks, and anyone seeking to carve the Palestinians up wants to shed their blood," he added.
"The Christian presence in Palestine is an important part of history and cannot be erased. There has always been one people and nation in Palestine where the Muslim and the Christian live united together since the Pace of Umar established this presence alongside Islam on the land of Palestine [ a long time ago], he underlined.
In recent remarks to an Egyptian satellite channel, Fatah official Rajoub verbally attacked the Christian Palestinians who support Hamas and vote for it, describing them as "the group of Merry Christmas."