4 oct 2019
Chairman of the General Authority of Civil Affairs, Hussein Sheikh, said today that an agreement was reached with the Israeli Minister of Finance, Moshe Kahlon, under which Israel will return part of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenues, which Israel has been withholding for nearly eight months.
He said despite the agreement, disputes continue to persist over Israel’s withholding of the amount paid monthly by the Palestinian government to the detainees in Israeli jails and the families of those killed by Israeli forces.
Sheikh added that a set of outstanding issues were discussed during the meeting with the Israeli Finance Minister, and that both sides agreed on activating joint committees to look into all issues as of next Sunday.
Earlier this year, Israel began withholding some of the $200m in monthly tax transfers that the Palestinian government pays to families of people killed or imprisoned by Israel.
The funds withheld are approximately five percent of the total collected on behalf of the PA, but the Palestinians in protest refused to accept any tax revenues from Israel.
Israel To Release 1.8 Billion Of Held Palestinian Money
Following a Thursday meeting between the Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and his Palestinian counterpart Hussein Sheikh, the former stated that Israel will be transferring 1.8 Billion Shekels from the Palestinian tax money Israel has been withholding and refusing to transfer.
Israeli TV Channel 13 said the money is part of 3 Billion Shekels Israel is refusing to transfer to the Palestinian Authority to pressure it into stopping the salaries and pensions paid to families of Palestinians who were killed by the army, the wounded and the political prisoners.
Although Israel still insists on stopping these payments, Kahlon agreed on the transfer of the 1.8 Billion Shekels, after the Palestinian side refused the Israeli interference in internal affairs, and the necessity of these payments to support the bereaved families, the wounded and the detainees, in addition to providing assistance to needy families.
Sheikh stated that another meeting will be held this coming Sunday to discuss all related issues and that an agreement was reached to reactivate the joint committees between the two parties.
Israel repeatedly holds and refuses to transfer billions of dollars from money it collects on border terminals in the occupied West Bank, including the taxes and fees it imposes on Palestinian imports and exports.
Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank cannot travel into and out of the territories without crossing through the Israeli controlled border terminal, known as Allenby or al-Karama. Israel collects money from the Palestinian travelers, in addition to collecting tax and customs on imports and exports.
He said despite the agreement, disputes continue to persist over Israel’s withholding of the amount paid monthly by the Palestinian government to the detainees in Israeli jails and the families of those killed by Israeli forces.
Sheikh added that a set of outstanding issues were discussed during the meeting with the Israeli Finance Minister, and that both sides agreed on activating joint committees to look into all issues as of next Sunday.
Earlier this year, Israel began withholding some of the $200m in monthly tax transfers that the Palestinian government pays to families of people killed or imprisoned by Israel.
The funds withheld are approximately five percent of the total collected on behalf of the PA, but the Palestinians in protest refused to accept any tax revenues from Israel.
Israel To Release 1.8 Billion Of Held Palestinian Money
Following a Thursday meeting between the Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and his Palestinian counterpart Hussein Sheikh, the former stated that Israel will be transferring 1.8 Billion Shekels from the Palestinian tax money Israel has been withholding and refusing to transfer.
Israeli TV Channel 13 said the money is part of 3 Billion Shekels Israel is refusing to transfer to the Palestinian Authority to pressure it into stopping the salaries and pensions paid to families of Palestinians who were killed by the army, the wounded and the political prisoners.
Although Israel still insists on stopping these payments, Kahlon agreed on the transfer of the 1.8 Billion Shekels, after the Palestinian side refused the Israeli interference in internal affairs, and the necessity of these payments to support the bereaved families, the wounded and the detainees, in addition to providing assistance to needy families.
Sheikh stated that another meeting will be held this coming Sunday to discuss all related issues and that an agreement was reached to reactivate the joint committees between the two parties.
Israel repeatedly holds and refuses to transfer billions of dollars from money it collects on border terminals in the occupied West Bank, including the taxes and fees it imposes on Palestinian imports and exports.
Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank cannot travel into and out of the territories without crossing through the Israeli controlled border terminal, known as Allenby or al-Karama. Israel collects money from the Palestinian travelers, in addition to collecting tax and customs on imports and exports.
3 oct 2019
South Africa’s ambassador to the UN Jerry Matjila has criticized the UN for not implementing any of its 72 resolutions which it has adopted on Palestine since 1948.
Matjila, president of the Security Council for the month of October, made his remarks to al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper about the international community’s failure to help the Palestinian people achieve their aspirations for independence and freedom.
As a representative of his country, Matjila described South Africa’s position on the Palestinian cause and its support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights as “well-known and unquestionable.”
He said that the UN Security Council adopted resolutions on Palestine without following them up, but South Africa’s position in this regard and its support for the Palestinian people would never change.
Matjila, president of the Security Council for the month of October, made his remarks to al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper about the international community’s failure to help the Palestinian people achieve their aspirations for independence and freedom.
As a representative of his country, Matjila described South Africa’s position on the Palestinian cause and its support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights as “well-known and unquestionable.”
He said that the UN Security Council adopted resolutions on Palestine without following them up, but South Africa’s position in this regard and its support for the Palestinian people would never change.
1 oct 2019
|
|
|
26 sept 2019
|
2.48
|
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and take an appropriate action aimed at putting an end to the Israeli regime’s continued acts of aggression against Palestinians.
“It is time for the international community to uphold its responsibilities to bring an end to this Israeli aggression and arrogance. I had hoped to come to you this year to proclaim together the end of this occupation, the Israeli occupation of my homeland, Palestine. But, regrettably, I stand before you today bearing the same miseries and pain that have been endured for so long by my people, who, despite all that they have suffered, … still hold on to the hope of achieving their freedom and independence, like all other nations of the world,” Abbas said at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday. He added, “I ask you once again: Hasn’t the time come for the emancipation of the Palestinian people and their freedom from this injustice, oppression and occupation?” The Palestinian president then denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial pledge to annex the Jordan Valley and the adjacent northern Dead Sea in the occupied West Bank as illegal, underlining that the Palestinian Authority will terminate all its agreements with the Tel Aviv regime in case the latter proceeds with such a plan. “A week before the recent Israeli elections, Israel’s Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu came out to arrogantly announce that should he prevail in the election, he will annex and apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, northern Dead Sea, and Israel’s colonial settlements despite |
the fact that all these areas are occupied Palestinian territories. We reject entirely and completely this illegal plan,” Abbas said.
Abbas also slammed the United States’ support for Israel while denying Palestinians’ rights, noting that Washington has destroyed any possibility of peace and has jeopardized the so-called two-state solution with President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for “peace” between the Israeli regime and Palestinians, dubbed “the deal of the century.”
The Palestinian president stressed that he will not accept any American mediation anymore due to Washington’s biased policies.
He also demanded the cessation of the US role as the key player in the so-called Middle East peace process.
The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.
Abbas also slammed the United States’ support for Israel while denying Palestinians’ rights, noting that Washington has destroyed any possibility of peace and has jeopardized the so-called two-state solution with President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for “peace” between the Israeli regime and Palestinians, dubbed “the deal of the century.”
The Palestinian president stressed that he will not accept any American mediation anymore due to Washington’s biased policies.
He also demanded the cessation of the US role as the key player in the so-called Middle East peace process.
The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.
22 sept 2019
An election poster of Benny Gantz is seen ahead of the General elections in Jerusalem on 16 September 16, 2019
Experience has taught Palestinians not to pay heed to Israeli elections. But to every rule there is an exception.
Although it is still true that no Israeli Zionist leader has ever been kind to the Palestinian people, the dynamics of the latest Israeli elections on September 17 are likely to affect the Occupied Palestinian Territories in a profound way.
Indeed, the outcome of the elections seems to have ushered in a new age in Israel, ideologically and politically. But the same claim can also be made regarding its potential influence on Palestinians, who should now brace themselves for war in Gaza and annexation in the West Bank.
Former chief of general staff of the Israeli army, Benny Gantz, who had orchestrated the destructive war on the besieged Gaza Strip in 2014, is likely to be tasked with the job of forming Israel’s new government. Gantz had recently boasted about sending “parts of Gaza back to the Stone Age”.
There is little discussion in Israeli, and, by extension, western media of Gantz’s numerous war crimes during the Gaza war.
The focus is mainly placed on the fact that he seems to have finally dislodged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a position he had held for nearly 13 years, a scenario that was, until recently, deemed inconceivable.
The leader of the Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) party had plotted the ouster of Netanyahu back in January 2018, when he formed the Israeli Resilience Party. Following several political mergers and a strong showing in the previous elections in April, the centrist politician has finally edged past Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party in the most recent elections.
With 33 seats in the Israeli Knesset – compared to Likud’s 31 seats – Gantz now needs a broad coalition to rule Israel.
The vehemently anti-Palestinian politician has made it clear that he will not enter into a coalition with the Joint List, the alliance of various Palestinian Arab political parties. The latter has managed to achieve an outstanding 13 seats, making it the third largest political force in Israel.
But, according to Gantz’s previous statements, the inclusion of Arab parties in the coalition is out of the question, despite the fact that Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Joint List, had indicated his willingness to join a Gantz-led government.
It is now likely that Gantz will seek a coalition government that includes the Likud, along with Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu.
The country’s former ultra-nationalist defense minister, Lieberman, with 8 seats, has restored his previous “kingmaker” status. He, too, is keen on such a coalition. Gantz is open to such a scenario, with one condition: Netanyahu should stay out.
While the “king of Israel” has finally been dethroned, however, Palestinians have little to rejoice over. True, Netanyahu has destroyed any chance of a just peace in Palestine through the entrenching of the illegal military occupation and inhumane siege of the West Bank and Gaza. However, future possibilities are equally, if not even more, grim.
Once upon a time, outright discussion of annexing large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories were relegated to the margins of Israel’s political discourse. This is no longer the case. The call for annexing major illegal settlement blocs, along with the Jordan Valley, is now a common demand made by all of Israel’s main political parties, including Gantz’s own.
Gantz, possibly Israel’s next prime minister, has repeatedly made it clear that he would be strengthening, rather than dismantling, the illegal settlements in the West Bank, and has even attempted to take ownership of Netanyahu’s pledge to annex the Jordan Valley.
“We are happy that the Prime Minister has come around to adopt the Blue and White plan to recognize the Jordan valley,” Gantz’s party said in a statement shortly before election day.
The annexation of these areas would amount to illegally seizing more than 60 percent of the West Bank.
Given that Israel has successively normalized the concept of annexation in its own, political discourse, and that it has already received an American nod on the matter, it is then a matter of time before such a step takes place.
The likelihood of it taking place sooner than later is that a broad, center-right-ultranationalist coalition would serve as an insurance to Israel’s leadership, in case of a political or security fallout once the decision is taken and enforced.
That political insurance simply means that no single party or official would bear the blame or shoulder the consequences alone, should Palestinians rebel or the international community push back against the flagrant Israeli violation of international law.
The same logic is applicable to the case of a future war on Gaza.
Israel has been itching for a major military campaign in Gaza since its last onslaught of 2014. Since then, Gaza has been bombed numerous times, and hundreds of innocent lives have been lost. But Netanyahu steered clear of an all-out war, fearing a high death toll among his soldiers and the blame game that often follows such military misadventures.
Mandated by a large coalition, bringing together Israeli army generals, right-wing politicians and ideologues, Gantz would feel far more empowered to go to war, especially since the former military chief has repeatedly accused Netanyahu of being “weak” on Gaza, “terrorism” and security.
If a future war goes as planned, Gantz would be happy to claim the accolades of victory; if it does not, due to Gaza’s stiff resistance, the political damage is likely to remain minimal.
When it comes to war, Gantz is Netanyahu on steroids. He has participated, orchestrated or led many military campaigns, including ones aimed at suppressing any resistance in Gaza, in Lebanon and during the previous popular uprisings.
For Gantz, war is the answer, as indicated by one of his campaign slogans, “Only the strong survive.”
While it is typical, and understandable, to dismiss all Israeli governments as one and the same, a Gantz-led government will possess the needed political legitimacy, popular mandate and strategic tools to achieve a job that Netanyahu himself couldn’t finish: a war on Gaza, and annexation of the West Bank.
Experience has taught Palestinians not to pay heed to Israeli elections. But to every rule there is an exception.
Although it is still true that no Israeli Zionist leader has ever been kind to the Palestinian people, the dynamics of the latest Israeli elections on September 17 are likely to affect the Occupied Palestinian Territories in a profound way.
Indeed, the outcome of the elections seems to have ushered in a new age in Israel, ideologically and politically. But the same claim can also be made regarding its potential influence on Palestinians, who should now brace themselves for war in Gaza and annexation in the West Bank.
Former chief of general staff of the Israeli army, Benny Gantz, who had orchestrated the destructive war on the besieged Gaza Strip in 2014, is likely to be tasked with the job of forming Israel’s new government. Gantz had recently boasted about sending “parts of Gaza back to the Stone Age”.
There is little discussion in Israeli, and, by extension, western media of Gantz’s numerous war crimes during the Gaza war.
The focus is mainly placed on the fact that he seems to have finally dislodged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a position he had held for nearly 13 years, a scenario that was, until recently, deemed inconceivable.
The leader of the Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) party had plotted the ouster of Netanyahu back in January 2018, when he formed the Israeli Resilience Party. Following several political mergers and a strong showing in the previous elections in April, the centrist politician has finally edged past Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party in the most recent elections.
With 33 seats in the Israeli Knesset – compared to Likud’s 31 seats – Gantz now needs a broad coalition to rule Israel.
The vehemently anti-Palestinian politician has made it clear that he will not enter into a coalition with the Joint List, the alliance of various Palestinian Arab political parties. The latter has managed to achieve an outstanding 13 seats, making it the third largest political force in Israel.
But, according to Gantz’s previous statements, the inclusion of Arab parties in the coalition is out of the question, despite the fact that Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Joint List, had indicated his willingness to join a Gantz-led government.
It is now likely that Gantz will seek a coalition government that includes the Likud, along with Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu.
The country’s former ultra-nationalist defense minister, Lieberman, with 8 seats, has restored his previous “kingmaker” status. He, too, is keen on such a coalition. Gantz is open to such a scenario, with one condition: Netanyahu should stay out.
While the “king of Israel” has finally been dethroned, however, Palestinians have little to rejoice over. True, Netanyahu has destroyed any chance of a just peace in Palestine through the entrenching of the illegal military occupation and inhumane siege of the West Bank and Gaza. However, future possibilities are equally, if not even more, grim.
Once upon a time, outright discussion of annexing large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories were relegated to the margins of Israel’s political discourse. This is no longer the case. The call for annexing major illegal settlement blocs, along with the Jordan Valley, is now a common demand made by all of Israel’s main political parties, including Gantz’s own.
Gantz, possibly Israel’s next prime minister, has repeatedly made it clear that he would be strengthening, rather than dismantling, the illegal settlements in the West Bank, and has even attempted to take ownership of Netanyahu’s pledge to annex the Jordan Valley.
“We are happy that the Prime Minister has come around to adopt the Blue and White plan to recognize the Jordan valley,” Gantz’s party said in a statement shortly before election day.
The annexation of these areas would amount to illegally seizing more than 60 percent of the West Bank.
Given that Israel has successively normalized the concept of annexation in its own, political discourse, and that it has already received an American nod on the matter, it is then a matter of time before such a step takes place.
The likelihood of it taking place sooner than later is that a broad, center-right-ultranationalist coalition would serve as an insurance to Israel’s leadership, in case of a political or security fallout once the decision is taken and enforced.
That political insurance simply means that no single party or official would bear the blame or shoulder the consequences alone, should Palestinians rebel or the international community push back against the flagrant Israeli violation of international law.
The same logic is applicable to the case of a future war on Gaza.
Israel has been itching for a major military campaign in Gaza since its last onslaught of 2014. Since then, Gaza has been bombed numerous times, and hundreds of innocent lives have been lost. But Netanyahu steered clear of an all-out war, fearing a high death toll among his soldiers and the blame game that often follows such military misadventures.
Mandated by a large coalition, bringing together Israeli army generals, right-wing politicians and ideologues, Gantz would feel far more empowered to go to war, especially since the former military chief has repeatedly accused Netanyahu of being “weak” on Gaza, “terrorism” and security.
If a future war goes as planned, Gantz would be happy to claim the accolades of victory; if it does not, due to Gaza’s stiff resistance, the political damage is likely to remain minimal.
When it comes to war, Gantz is Netanyahu on steroids. He has participated, orchestrated or led many military campaigns, including ones aimed at suppressing any resistance in Gaza, in Lebanon and during the previous popular uprisings.
For Gantz, war is the answer, as indicated by one of his campaign slogans, “Only the strong survive.”
While it is typical, and understandable, to dismiss all Israeli governments as one and the same, a Gantz-led government will possess the needed political legitimacy, popular mandate and strategic tools to achieve a job that Netanyahu himself couldn’t finish: a war on Gaza, and annexation of the West Bank.
