11 aug 2019
In his annual Hajj message, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called on Muslim nations to unite against the so-called “deal of the century”
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the "deal of the century" which is to be unveiled by the US is a crime against humanity, urging "everyone" to help defeat it.
"The ploy of the 'deal of the century' which is being plotted by the oppressive America and its treasonous cohorts is a crime against human society, and not just the Palestinian nation," the Leader said Saturday in his annual Hajj message.
"We are inviting everyone to actively participate in defeating the enemy's ploy and deception and believe that with the power and strength from God, this and all other ploys of the imperialist front is doomed to failure vis-a-vis the efforts and faith of the resistance front," he added.
The "deal of the century", a backchannel plan to allegedly reach a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, is reported to recognize Israeli occupation of Palestine in exchange for economic incentives. The plan has widely been rejected by the Palestinians.
Ayatollah Khamenei described Palestine as one of the most important issues of the Muslim world regardless of their sect, race, and language.
“The greatest injustice of the recent centuries has happened in Palestine. In this painful drama, all that a nation had—their land, homes, farms, belongings, dignity, and identity— has been confiscated," the Leader said.
“This nation, with God’s assistance, has not surrendered to defeat and has not given up and today, they are fighting evermore passionately and braver than yesterday, but the ultimate outcome requires assistance from all Muslims.”
Ayatollah Khamenei's message came as millions of Muslims poured onto the plain southeast of the holy city of Mecca to mark the Day of Arafat on the second day of the annual Hajj congregation.
The Leader said the pilgrimage presents an opportunity for oppressed Muslim nations to “spread awareness” and denounce oppression and the rule of “arrogant world powers”.
Every year, the Leader issues a message on the occasion, giving guidelines on the need to uphold the rite of Bara'ah or the "disavowal of the infidels" and unite Muslims around the key messages of Islam.
"The ritual of Bara’ah which means shunning all forms of cruelty, oppression, vulgarity and corruption of the tyrants of the time, and rising against bullying and extortion of the haughty of the eras, is one of the great advantages of Hajj, and an opportunity for the oppressed Muslim nations," the Leader said.
"Today, renouncing the front of shirk [polytheism] and kufr [disbelief] of the arrogant powers headed by America means rejecting the killing of the oppressed, and waging wars.
"It means condemning the centers of terrorism such as Daesh and the American Blackwater. It means the Islamic Ummah’s shouts at the infanticidal Zionist regime and its backers and sponsors," the Leader said.
The ritual of Bara'ah, Ayatollah Khamenei further said, is an opportunity to "condemn the warmongering of America and its associates in the sensitive West Asian and North African region where they have brought the pain and suffering of the nations to the breaking point and yet they bring grave tragedies on them each and every day".
"It means shunning racism, and discrimination based on geography, race, and color of skin. It means repudiating the arrogant and vicious behavior of aggressive and seditious powers vis-a-vis the dignified, noble and just behavior which Islam invites everyone to embrace."
Ayatollah Khamenei described the Hajj as a “model” demonstrating Islamic principles and uniting all Muslims together in worship of God.
Each and every able-bodied Muslim, male or female, is required to complete the religious trip to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime if they also have the sufficient financial capacity to do so.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the "deal of the century" which is to be unveiled by the US is a crime against humanity, urging "everyone" to help defeat it.
"The ploy of the 'deal of the century' which is being plotted by the oppressive America and its treasonous cohorts is a crime against human society, and not just the Palestinian nation," the Leader said Saturday in his annual Hajj message.
"We are inviting everyone to actively participate in defeating the enemy's ploy and deception and believe that with the power and strength from God, this and all other ploys of the imperialist front is doomed to failure vis-a-vis the efforts and faith of the resistance front," he added.
The "deal of the century", a backchannel plan to allegedly reach a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, is reported to recognize Israeli occupation of Palestine in exchange for economic incentives. The plan has widely been rejected by the Palestinians.
Ayatollah Khamenei described Palestine as one of the most important issues of the Muslim world regardless of their sect, race, and language.
“The greatest injustice of the recent centuries has happened in Palestine. In this painful drama, all that a nation had—their land, homes, farms, belongings, dignity, and identity— has been confiscated," the Leader said.
“This nation, with God’s assistance, has not surrendered to defeat and has not given up and today, they are fighting evermore passionately and braver than yesterday, but the ultimate outcome requires assistance from all Muslims.”
Ayatollah Khamenei's message came as millions of Muslims poured onto the plain southeast of the holy city of Mecca to mark the Day of Arafat on the second day of the annual Hajj congregation.
The Leader said the pilgrimage presents an opportunity for oppressed Muslim nations to “spread awareness” and denounce oppression and the rule of “arrogant world powers”.
Every year, the Leader issues a message on the occasion, giving guidelines on the need to uphold the rite of Bara'ah or the "disavowal of the infidels" and unite Muslims around the key messages of Islam.
"The ritual of Bara’ah which means shunning all forms of cruelty, oppression, vulgarity and corruption of the tyrants of the time, and rising against bullying and extortion of the haughty of the eras, is one of the great advantages of Hajj, and an opportunity for the oppressed Muslim nations," the Leader said.
"Today, renouncing the front of shirk [polytheism] and kufr [disbelief] of the arrogant powers headed by America means rejecting the killing of the oppressed, and waging wars.
"It means condemning the centers of terrorism such as Daesh and the American Blackwater. It means the Islamic Ummah’s shouts at the infanticidal Zionist regime and its backers and sponsors," the Leader said.
The ritual of Bara'ah, Ayatollah Khamenei further said, is an opportunity to "condemn the warmongering of America and its associates in the sensitive West Asian and North African region where they have brought the pain and suffering of the nations to the breaking point and yet they bring grave tragedies on them each and every day".
"It means shunning racism, and discrimination based on geography, race, and color of skin. It means repudiating the arrogant and vicious behavior of aggressive and seditious powers vis-a-vis the dignified, noble and just behavior which Islam invites everyone to embrace."
Ayatollah Khamenei described the Hajj as a “model” demonstrating Islamic principles and uniting all Muslims together in worship of God.
Each and every able-bodied Muslim, male or female, is required to complete the religious trip to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime if they also have the sufficient financial capacity to do so.
10 aug 2019
During his visit to the site where Israeli settler Dvir Sorek was earlier this week found dead, near the illegal Israeli settlement of Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s response to the alleged murder will be to build what the “terrorists” destroy and plant what they uproot.
“These vicious terrorists, they come to uproot – we come to plant. They come to destroy – we come to build,” Netanyahu said. “Our hands will reach out and we will deepen our roots in our homeland, in all parts of it.”
Without hesitation, Netanyahu assumed that the Israeli settler was murdered by Palestinians, calling them “vicious terrorists” who come to “uproot” and “destroy”. Is Netanyahu right when he referred to Palestinians as “vicious terrorists” who come to destroy and uproot, while the Israeli occupation has come to build and plant?
Before visiting the site of Sorek’s death, Netanyahu took part in a ceremony to lay a cornerstone for a new project to build 650 settlement units in the Israeli settlement of Beit El, in the occupied West Bank. He vowed to “secure our sovereignty over our historic homeland.”
He also said during the ceremony: “We promised to build hundreds of housing units – today we are doing it, both because we promised and because our mission is to establish the nation of Israel in our country, to secure our sovereignty over our historic homeland.”
Netanyahu is building and is promising to build more and more settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories. Beyond this, he is promising to annex these territories.
Yes, he is building and establishing a nation, but on the ruins of unlimited number of Palestinian homes, mosques, cemeteries and the dreams of the Palestinians – owners of the territories who have been there for thousands of years.
If we go back several decades, we will see that Netanyahu’s predecessors have built their state on the ruins of hundreds of Palestinian cities and village, as well as on the skulls and bones of hundreds of Palestinians who were massacred by Zionist paramilitary groups in 1948, which later became the core of the Israeli army.
Menachem Begin, who at that time headed one of these paramilitary organisations, the Irgun, later became Israeli prime minister and miraculously became a dove of peace by signing a peace treaty with Egypt.
In the past 15 years – during most of which Netanyahu was prime minister – the Israeli occupation has destroyed thousands of Palestinian homes in the occupied Palestinian territories and homes of Palestinian citizens of Israel. It has also destroyed scores of homes during major offensives in the Gaza Strip, as well as complete villages and residential quarters such as Khan Al-Ahmar, Al-Araqeeb and Wadi Al-Hummus.
According to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, “from 2006 until 31 July 2019, Israel demolished at least 1,449 Palestinian residential units in the West Bank, causing 6,336 people – including at least 3,189 minors – to lose their homes.” This number did not include East Jerusalem, where over 80 homes have been recently demolished and more than 500 Palestinians made homeless.
In addition, the same Israeli right group said that Israel demolished the homes of at least 1,048 Palestinians living in “unrecognised” villages in Israel between 2006 and 2019. However, these villages were established before the creation of Israel.
B’Tselem also said that the Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank demolished 733 non-residential structures such as fences, cisterns, roads, storerooms, farming buildings, businesses and public buildings during the same period.
Regarding uprooting and planting, Israel has uprooted over a million Palestinians trees since 1967. According to a report by B’Tselem, Israeli settlers’ vandalism, “fully backed” by the Israeli authorities, led to the uprooting of thousands of trees. “In just over two months, from the beginning of May to 7 July 2018, B’Tselem documented ten instances in which settlers destroyed a total of more than 2,000 trees and grapevines and burned down a barley field and bales of hay.”
B’Tselem argued that under the guise of a “temporary military occupation,” Israel has been “using the land as its own: robbing land, exploiting the area’s natural resources for its own benefit and establishing permanent settlements,” estimating that Israel had dispossessed Palestinians of some 200,000 hectares (494,211 acres) of land in the occupied Palestinian territories over the years.
In light of these facts and figures, Netanyahu is requested to clarify how he builds and plants when Palestinian “terrorists” destroy and uproot. Everything which is being built and planted by Netanyahu is based on racism and racial discrimination.
Netanyahu believes that only Israeli settlers are entitled to build, plant and live in the land of Palestine, whether the parts occupied in 1948 or the parts occupied in 1967. Demolishing homes and uprooting farms belonging to the Palestinians is therefore simply part of the process of building the state of Israel.
“These vicious terrorists, they come to uproot – we come to plant. They come to destroy – we come to build,” Netanyahu said. “Our hands will reach out and we will deepen our roots in our homeland, in all parts of it.”
Without hesitation, Netanyahu assumed that the Israeli settler was murdered by Palestinians, calling them “vicious terrorists” who come to “uproot” and “destroy”. Is Netanyahu right when he referred to Palestinians as “vicious terrorists” who come to destroy and uproot, while the Israeli occupation has come to build and plant?
Before visiting the site of Sorek’s death, Netanyahu took part in a ceremony to lay a cornerstone for a new project to build 650 settlement units in the Israeli settlement of Beit El, in the occupied West Bank. He vowed to “secure our sovereignty over our historic homeland.”
He also said during the ceremony: “We promised to build hundreds of housing units – today we are doing it, both because we promised and because our mission is to establish the nation of Israel in our country, to secure our sovereignty over our historic homeland.”
Netanyahu is building and is promising to build more and more settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories. Beyond this, he is promising to annex these territories.
Yes, he is building and establishing a nation, but on the ruins of unlimited number of Palestinian homes, mosques, cemeteries and the dreams of the Palestinians – owners of the territories who have been there for thousands of years.
If we go back several decades, we will see that Netanyahu’s predecessors have built their state on the ruins of hundreds of Palestinian cities and village, as well as on the skulls and bones of hundreds of Palestinians who were massacred by Zionist paramilitary groups in 1948, which later became the core of the Israeli army.
Menachem Begin, who at that time headed one of these paramilitary organisations, the Irgun, later became Israeli prime minister and miraculously became a dove of peace by signing a peace treaty with Egypt.
In the past 15 years – during most of which Netanyahu was prime minister – the Israeli occupation has destroyed thousands of Palestinian homes in the occupied Palestinian territories and homes of Palestinian citizens of Israel. It has also destroyed scores of homes during major offensives in the Gaza Strip, as well as complete villages and residential quarters such as Khan Al-Ahmar, Al-Araqeeb and Wadi Al-Hummus.
According to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, “from 2006 until 31 July 2019, Israel demolished at least 1,449 Palestinian residential units in the West Bank, causing 6,336 people – including at least 3,189 minors – to lose their homes.” This number did not include East Jerusalem, where over 80 homes have been recently demolished and more than 500 Palestinians made homeless.
In addition, the same Israeli right group said that Israel demolished the homes of at least 1,048 Palestinians living in “unrecognised” villages in Israel between 2006 and 2019. However, these villages were established before the creation of Israel.
B’Tselem also said that the Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank demolished 733 non-residential structures such as fences, cisterns, roads, storerooms, farming buildings, businesses and public buildings during the same period.
Regarding uprooting and planting, Israel has uprooted over a million Palestinians trees since 1967. According to a report by B’Tselem, Israeli settlers’ vandalism, “fully backed” by the Israeli authorities, led to the uprooting of thousands of trees. “In just over two months, from the beginning of May to 7 July 2018, B’Tselem documented ten instances in which settlers destroyed a total of more than 2,000 trees and grapevines and burned down a barley field and bales of hay.”
B’Tselem argued that under the guise of a “temporary military occupation,” Israel has been “using the land as its own: robbing land, exploiting the area’s natural resources for its own benefit and establishing permanent settlements,” estimating that Israel had dispossessed Palestinians of some 200,000 hectares (494,211 acres) of land in the occupied Palestinian territories over the years.
In light of these facts and figures, Netanyahu is requested to clarify how he builds and plants when Palestinian “terrorists” destroy and uproot. Everything which is being built and planted by Netanyahu is based on racism and racial discrimination.
Netanyahu believes that only Israeli settlers are entitled to build, plant and live in the land of Palestine, whether the parts occupied in 1948 or the parts occupied in 1967. Demolishing homes and uprooting farms belonging to the Palestinians is therefore simply part of the process of building the state of Israel.
The failure of the Saudi war on Yemen will have grave consequences for Israel as Tel Aviv fears that Washington’s bid to isolate Tehran is unwinding, according to a report published by Israel’s leading daily Haaretz.
“Oil sites in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates have been attacked by drones and Saudi airports have been targeted by Scud missiles… The apparent outcome is that the Emirates has abandoned the war in Yemen, the Saudi effort has failed,” wrote Haaretz on Friday.
“Without military support from the Emirates, it seems that the Saudi ambition to defeat Houthi rebels will fail conclusively,” it said, adding that amid a Washington and Tel Aviv-led bid to isolate Tehran and its allies in the region, “this is not good news”.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies, namely the United Arab Emirates, launched a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of Saudi-allied former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement.
Resistance by Yemen’s armed forces, led by Ansarullah, has, however, pushed the Saudi war to a stalemate, with Yemeni forces deploying increasingly sophisticated retaliatory attacks against the Saudis.
The stepped-up Yemeni retaliatory strikes come as the UAE has announced the gradual withdrawal of its troops from the conflict, largely because Abu Dhabi believes the war appears to have become "unwinnable", according to US reports.
Saudi Arabia relied greatly on the Emirati forces in advancing its war in Yemen, with observers believing that a Saudi-led tribal alliance may eventually disintegrate with factional infighting due to a lack of Emirati oversight.
Clashes between Emirati-backed separatists and Saudi-backed militia were reported earlier this week.
‘Bad news for Israel’
According to Haaretz’s Friday article, the defeat of the Saudi war effort will enable Houthis, which have adamantly voiced their opposition against the Israeli occupation, to facilitate arms exports to Palestinian resistance groups and restrict Israeli presence in the strategic Bab al Mandeb Strait.
The article, however, pointed that the gravest outcome of a Yemeni victory would be the gradual unraveling of what was meant to be a firm regional anti-Iran alliance.
UAE's withdrawal from the Saudi war effort and recent negotiations with Iranian officials indicated that Persian Gulf states are open “to reconsider their policy with respect to Iran” as Tehran and its allies stand firm against Washington, it said.
“This is bad news for the anti-Iranian alliance and possibly indicates a trend that should concern the American president and his close friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," wrote Haaretz.
The paper added that doubt regarding the success of the US administration’s regional policy was growing, with pessimism "trickling into” Tel Aviv despite nothing being “said of it in public”.
The war on Yemen and an ensuing blockade has taken a heavy toll on the infrastructure on the impoverished Arab country, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories and killing more than an estimated 60,000 Yemenis.
On Friday, thousands of Yemenis converged outside Sana’a International Airport in the capital to protest the US-backed blockade.
“Oil sites in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates have been attacked by drones and Saudi airports have been targeted by Scud missiles… The apparent outcome is that the Emirates has abandoned the war in Yemen, the Saudi effort has failed,” wrote Haaretz on Friday.
“Without military support from the Emirates, it seems that the Saudi ambition to defeat Houthi rebels will fail conclusively,” it said, adding that amid a Washington and Tel Aviv-led bid to isolate Tehran and its allies in the region, “this is not good news”.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies, namely the United Arab Emirates, launched a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of Saudi-allied former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement.
Resistance by Yemen’s armed forces, led by Ansarullah, has, however, pushed the Saudi war to a stalemate, with Yemeni forces deploying increasingly sophisticated retaliatory attacks against the Saudis.
The stepped-up Yemeni retaliatory strikes come as the UAE has announced the gradual withdrawal of its troops from the conflict, largely because Abu Dhabi believes the war appears to have become "unwinnable", according to US reports.
Saudi Arabia relied greatly on the Emirati forces in advancing its war in Yemen, with observers believing that a Saudi-led tribal alliance may eventually disintegrate with factional infighting due to a lack of Emirati oversight.
Clashes between Emirati-backed separatists and Saudi-backed militia were reported earlier this week.
‘Bad news for Israel’
According to Haaretz’s Friday article, the defeat of the Saudi war effort will enable Houthis, which have adamantly voiced their opposition against the Israeli occupation, to facilitate arms exports to Palestinian resistance groups and restrict Israeli presence in the strategic Bab al Mandeb Strait.
The article, however, pointed that the gravest outcome of a Yemeni victory would be the gradual unraveling of what was meant to be a firm regional anti-Iran alliance.
UAE's withdrawal from the Saudi war effort and recent negotiations with Iranian officials indicated that Persian Gulf states are open “to reconsider their policy with respect to Iran” as Tehran and its allies stand firm against Washington, it said.
“This is bad news for the anti-Iranian alliance and possibly indicates a trend that should concern the American president and his close friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," wrote Haaretz.
The paper added that doubt regarding the success of the US administration’s regional policy was growing, with pessimism "trickling into” Tel Aviv despite nothing being “said of it in public”.
The war on Yemen and an ensuing blockade has taken a heavy toll on the infrastructure on the impoverished Arab country, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories and killing more than an estimated 60,000 Yemenis.
On Friday, thousands of Yemenis converged outside Sana’a International Airport in the capital to protest the US-backed blockade.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and HUMENA for Human Rights and Civil Participation said in a statement today that the systematic destruction of Palestinian homes and property in occupied East Jerusalem amount to ethnic cleansing and is approved by the US administration, which legalized these crimes by declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel amid international silence that amounts to complicity.
In a report that monitored human rights violations in Jerusalem during July 2019, Euro-Med and HUMENA said that Israeli authorities have stepped up their arbitrary violations against Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem.
Last month witnessed the largest mass destruction in a single day since 1967 as Israeli authorities demolished 11 residential buildings (72 apartments) in a crime amounting to ethnic cleansing.
The report, entitled "Wadi al-Hummus in Jerusalem; facing Israeli ethnic cleansing," said that the destruction of Palestinian buildings resulted in the displacement of 22 people, including 14 children, and deprived more than 70 families from their apartments, most of which were still under construction.
The report added that since the beginning of 2019, Israeli authorities destroyed more than 59 houses in East Jerusalem until mid-2019, while 2018 witnessed 215 demolitions.
In addition to Wadi al- Hummus neighborhood, Israeli occupation forces destroyed a car park, a garage, a warehouse, a car wash and five shops in the last month.
Euro-Med and HUMENA monitored five complex violations as part of crimes of settlement expansion and Judaization of the occupied city, most notably the seizure of a Palestinian house and a building evacuation by force in order to hand both over to Israeli settlers. Moreover, at the same time of the demolition of Palestinian homes, Israeli occupation authorities approved the establishment of 216 new housing units in the Gilo settlement.
Several parties, including the Israeli government, municipal authorities of Jerusalem or judicial authorities, collude to carry out systematic demolitions aimed to forcefully displace Palestinians, which falls within the occupation's efforts to change the demographic reality in the occupied city.
This systematic policy pursued by Israel takes place without any regards to the principles of international law, which reflects Israel’s pursuit of demographic change in East Jerusalem by employing all its government, political and security arms, said the two rights organization.
On the other hand, the two organizations documented two incidents that signify the Israeli occupation's disregard for Palestinian childhood; such as the summoning of 4-year-old Mohammed Rabi Illian, and the 6-year-old Qais Firas Obeid, under the pretext of throwing stones at their forces.
The report also documented 43 Israeli raids on different towns and neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem; which entailed the arrest of 102 civilians, including 19 children, a woman, a girl and a female journalist.
For instance, in five raids that included shooting and direct assault in the neighborhoods of occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli forces injured seven civilians, including a child, a journalist and an elderly.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and HUMENA called on the international community to break their silence and undertake serious actions to re-tribute the crimes of the occupation and its serious violations of the international law and the international humanitarian law.
The report warned that the silence of the international community after said home demolitions in Wadi al-Hummus – which amounts to a war crime of ethnic cleansing – would essentially encourage the Israeli occupation to continue and escalate the policy of house demolitions and forceful displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem.
The Israeli policy of handing notifications of imminent demolition to Palestinians in the city continues, especially amidst rumors of Israeli plans to destroy more than 25 Palestinian houses under the pretext of lacking permits, which Israel rarely grants to any Palestinian properties in the city.
The report also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities towards protecting East Jerusalem and its Palestinian population as inhabitants of an occupied territory, in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, particularly resolution 181.
The two organizations stressed the need for ending the policy of racial discrimination between Palestinians and Israelis through advancing necessary investigations, prosecution and trial procedures to put an end to such violations. They finally called on international organizations concerned with childhood to urgently intervene to protect Palestinian children in East Jerusalem from Israeli arbitrary arrests, summons and house arrests.
Full Report [pdf]
In a report that monitored human rights violations in Jerusalem during July 2019, Euro-Med and HUMENA said that Israeli authorities have stepped up their arbitrary violations against Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem.
Last month witnessed the largest mass destruction in a single day since 1967 as Israeli authorities demolished 11 residential buildings (72 apartments) in a crime amounting to ethnic cleansing.
The report, entitled "Wadi al-Hummus in Jerusalem; facing Israeli ethnic cleansing," said that the destruction of Palestinian buildings resulted in the displacement of 22 people, including 14 children, and deprived more than 70 families from their apartments, most of which were still under construction.
The report added that since the beginning of 2019, Israeli authorities destroyed more than 59 houses in East Jerusalem until mid-2019, while 2018 witnessed 215 demolitions.
In addition to Wadi al- Hummus neighborhood, Israeli occupation forces destroyed a car park, a garage, a warehouse, a car wash and five shops in the last month.
Euro-Med and HUMENA monitored five complex violations as part of crimes of settlement expansion and Judaization of the occupied city, most notably the seizure of a Palestinian house and a building evacuation by force in order to hand both over to Israeli settlers. Moreover, at the same time of the demolition of Palestinian homes, Israeli occupation authorities approved the establishment of 216 new housing units in the Gilo settlement.
Several parties, including the Israeli government, municipal authorities of Jerusalem or judicial authorities, collude to carry out systematic demolitions aimed to forcefully displace Palestinians, which falls within the occupation's efforts to change the demographic reality in the occupied city.
This systematic policy pursued by Israel takes place without any regards to the principles of international law, which reflects Israel’s pursuit of demographic change in East Jerusalem by employing all its government, political and security arms, said the two rights organization.
On the other hand, the two organizations documented two incidents that signify the Israeli occupation's disregard for Palestinian childhood; such as the summoning of 4-year-old Mohammed Rabi Illian, and the 6-year-old Qais Firas Obeid, under the pretext of throwing stones at their forces.
The report also documented 43 Israeli raids on different towns and neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem; which entailed the arrest of 102 civilians, including 19 children, a woman, a girl and a female journalist.
For instance, in five raids that included shooting and direct assault in the neighborhoods of occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli forces injured seven civilians, including a child, a journalist and an elderly.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and HUMENA called on the international community to break their silence and undertake serious actions to re-tribute the crimes of the occupation and its serious violations of the international law and the international humanitarian law.
The report warned that the silence of the international community after said home demolitions in Wadi al-Hummus – which amounts to a war crime of ethnic cleansing – would essentially encourage the Israeli occupation to continue and escalate the policy of house demolitions and forceful displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem.
The Israeli policy of handing notifications of imminent demolition to Palestinians in the city continues, especially amidst rumors of Israeli plans to destroy more than 25 Palestinian houses under the pretext of lacking permits, which Israel rarely grants to any Palestinian properties in the city.
The report also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities towards protecting East Jerusalem and its Palestinian population as inhabitants of an occupied territory, in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, particularly resolution 181.
The two organizations stressed the need for ending the policy of racial discrimination between Palestinians and Israelis through advancing necessary investigations, prosecution and trial procedures to put an end to such violations. They finally called on international organizations concerned with childhood to urgently intervene to protect Palestinian children in East Jerusalem from Israeli arbitrary arrests, summons and house arrests.
Full Report [pdf]
UN human rights experts have called on the international community to honor their obligation to protect the Palestinian people’s rights and to take decisive action to prevent Israel’s planned construction of a record number of settler homes in its settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The experts refer in their comments to Israel’s recent approval of around 2,400 housing units and public infrastructure in 21 settlements and outposts in the West Bank.
“These settlement housing units are clearly meant to solidify the Israeli claim of sovereignty over the West Bank,” Leilani Farha, the special rapporteur for the right to housing, and Michael Lynk, the special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, said in a statement.
“Building civilian settlements in occupied territory is illegal, as is the annexation of territory. The international community has spoken out against the Israeli settlements, but it has not imposed effective consequences for the country’s defiance of international law.”
“Israel’s actions indicate it plans to remain permanently and advance a claim of sovereignty,” the human rights experts warned further. “The Israeli prime minister made this clear when he said recently that: ‘No settlement and no settlers will ever be uprooted.’ Should we not take him at his word that Israel has no intention of complying with international law?”
“Criticism without consequences is hollow. The international community has a wide menu of commonly-used countermeasures to push recalcitrant states into compliance with their international duties. If the international community is serious about its support for Palestinian self-determination and its opposition to Israeli settlements then, surely, the time has come for meaningful action.”
Occupying powers are forbidden under the Fourth Geneva Convention from building civilian settlements in occupied territory. The Rome Statute has defined the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory, as a war crime. The United Nations Security Council, in Resolution 2334 (23 December 2016), stated that the Israeli settlements constitute “a flagrant violation under international law”.
The experts refer in their comments to Israel’s recent approval of around 2,400 housing units and public infrastructure in 21 settlements and outposts in the West Bank.
“These settlement housing units are clearly meant to solidify the Israeli claim of sovereignty over the West Bank,” Leilani Farha, the special rapporteur for the right to housing, and Michael Lynk, the special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, said in a statement.
“Building civilian settlements in occupied territory is illegal, as is the annexation of territory. The international community has spoken out against the Israeli settlements, but it has not imposed effective consequences for the country’s defiance of international law.”
“Israel’s actions indicate it plans to remain permanently and advance a claim of sovereignty,” the human rights experts warned further. “The Israeli prime minister made this clear when he said recently that: ‘No settlement and no settlers will ever be uprooted.’ Should we not take him at his word that Israel has no intention of complying with international law?”
“Criticism without consequences is hollow. The international community has a wide menu of commonly-used countermeasures to push recalcitrant states into compliance with their international duties. If the international community is serious about its support for Palestinian self-determination and its opposition to Israeli settlements then, surely, the time has come for meaningful action.”
Occupying powers are forbidden under the Fourth Geneva Convention from building civilian settlements in occupied territory. The Rome Statute has defined the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory, as a war crime. The United Nations Security Council, in Resolution 2334 (23 December 2016), stated that the Israeli settlements constitute “a flagrant violation under international law”.
9 aug 2019
Ashrawi: International Sanctions are required to confront escalating Israeli settlement construction
The Palestinian leadership strongly condemns the approval of nearly three thousand illegal settlement units in the past 48 hours by the Israeli government.
Israel’s Prime Minister is expanding illegal settlements in the heart of the occupied West Bank, like “Beit El”, for cynical election calculations that leverage traditional financial and political support from senior US administration officials, including Jared Kushner and David Friedman.
Constructing settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, is a grave violation of international humanitarian law that the Rome Statute specifically considers a war crime.
This is a criminal act of hostility and aggression that requires immediate and unequivocal international steps to ensure accountability, including imposing sanctions.
The actions of the Israeli government reflect the willful commitment of the Israeli political establishment to the agenda of colonial control, land grab, and permanent denial of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights to self-determination and freedom.
They are also part of an escalating and relentless campaign of oppression and systematic violence aimed at breaking the will of the Palestinian people and dictating facts that are irreconcilable with a future of peace and stability in the region.
These are the actions of a group committed to permanent conflict, whose abject disregard to legality and morality are practically and brutally evident.
In this regard, the Palestinian leadership welcomes the principled statements of condemnation by responsible international actors, including the European Union, France, and others, which reflect their commitment to international law and the requirements of peace.
Further, we call on all states that have reaffirmed their positions to take a more proactive and effective role in protecting the rules-based international order by holding Israel accountable for its wanton violations of international law and Palestinian rights.
Without exacting a political and financial price to these egregious actions, and in light of the ideological partnership between Israeli right-wing elements and the Trump administration, Israel will continue to accelerate its destructive policies and escalate its unabashed aggression.
Israel’s Prime Minister is expanding illegal settlements in the heart of the occupied West Bank, like “Beit El”, for cynical election calculations that leverage traditional financial and political support from senior US administration officials, including Jared Kushner and David Friedman.
Constructing settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, is a grave violation of international humanitarian law that the Rome Statute specifically considers a war crime.
This is a criminal act of hostility and aggression that requires immediate and unequivocal international steps to ensure accountability, including imposing sanctions.
The actions of the Israeli government reflect the willful commitment of the Israeli political establishment to the agenda of colonial control, land grab, and permanent denial of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights to self-determination and freedom.
They are also part of an escalating and relentless campaign of oppression and systematic violence aimed at breaking the will of the Palestinian people and dictating facts that are irreconcilable with a future of peace and stability in the region.
These are the actions of a group committed to permanent conflict, whose abject disregard to legality and morality are practically and brutally evident.
In this regard, the Palestinian leadership welcomes the principled statements of condemnation by responsible international actors, including the European Union, France, and others, which reflect their commitment to international law and the requirements of peace.
Further, we call on all states that have reaffirmed their positions to take a more proactive and effective role in protecting the rules-based international order by holding Israel accountable for its wanton violations of international law and Palestinian rights.
Without exacting a political and financial price to these egregious actions, and in light of the ideological partnership between Israeli right-wing elements and the Trump administration, Israel will continue to accelerate its destructive policies and escalate its unabashed aggression.
8 aug 2019
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday laid the foundation stone for the construction of 650 new housing units in Beit El illegal settlement located near Ramallah, northern West Bank.
Speaking at the foundation stone, Netanyahu mentioned the Israeli soldier who was found dead in Etzion settlement this morning.
The Israeli government decided to expand a neighborhood on the verge of construction in the settlement of “Beit El” adjacent to the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, to include the construction of 650 new units in the settlement instead of 296 units approved earlier.
The construction of the new settlement neighborhood is allegedly “compensation” granted by the Israeli government to the settlers, following the evacuation of the illegal Olbana neighborhood in 2012 and the Darinov neighborhood in 2015, which are illegal settlements as well.
The establishment of the new settlement, which is scheduled to include 650 housing units, will increase the population density of settlers in the region by 65%.
Speaking at the foundation stone, Netanyahu mentioned the Israeli soldier who was found dead in Etzion settlement this morning.
The Israeli government decided to expand a neighborhood on the verge of construction in the settlement of “Beit El” adjacent to the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, to include the construction of 650 new units in the settlement instead of 296 units approved earlier.
The construction of the new settlement neighborhood is allegedly “compensation” granted by the Israeli government to the settlers, following the evacuation of the illegal Olbana neighborhood in 2012 and the Darinov neighborhood in 2015, which are illegal settlements as well.
The establishment of the new settlement, which is scheduled to include 650 housing units, will increase the population density of settlers in the region by 65%.
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