29 aug 2015
Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna was among a number of political and religious leaders to take part in a march Saturday protesting the purchase, by Israeli settlers, of a Christian church compound in the southern occupied West Bank.
The 38-dunam (9.3 acre) compound, known as Beit al-Baraka, is located to the north of al-Arrub refugee camp in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, according to Ma'an.
An investigative report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz in May alleged that an American millionaire, Irving Moskowitz, purchased the site through a Swedish company in 2012 with the intention of turning it into a settlement outpost.
Popular resistance committees organized Saturday's march, which was attended by political figures including MP Fayez al-Saqqa and Fatah spokesperson Osama al-Qawasma, in addition to well-known Palestinian popular resistance activists and religious leaders.
The protesters performed a mass prayer led by Attalah Hanna, the archbishop of the Sebastian Greek Orthodox Church, and Father George Awad.
Awad urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority to support Beit al-Baraka in its battle against Israeli violations.
Participants said that Israeli forces suppressed the march and prevented them from reaching the church compound.
It was reported in June that Israeli authorities prevented Archbishop Hanna from taking part in another march at the church compound by summoning him to the Russian Compound detention center in Jerusalem.
Haaretz's investigation earlier this year alleged that a Swedish company established in 2007 had been used to cover up the sale and transfer of Beit al-Baraka in 2012 to a settler organization funded by American millionaire Irving Moskowitz.
A pastor who headed the church that previously owned the compound, Keith Coleman, told Haaretz he thought it had been sold to a Swedish company called Scandinavian Seamen Holy Land Enterprises in March 2008 that would revive its use as a church.
Haaretz discovered however that, "the Swedish group was established in Stockholm in 2007, and seems to have been used as a cover for transferring the ownership of the compound to the settlers. The group does not seem to have any offices."
The Swedish company registered the purchase with the Israeli Civil Administration in 2012.
The company was then dissolved, with ownership handed over to an American nonprofit organization, American Friends of the Everest Foundation, funded by Irving Moskowitz and working towards the eventual "Judaization" of occupied East Jerusalem.
The church lies in a sensitive location, which when settled, will see Israeli settlements stretch all the way from the Gush Etzion settler block south of Jerusalem to the cluster of settlements around Hebron.
There are more than 500,000 Israelis living in illegal settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The 38-dunam (9.3 acre) compound, known as Beit al-Baraka, is located to the north of al-Arrub refugee camp in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, according to Ma'an.
An investigative report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz in May alleged that an American millionaire, Irving Moskowitz, purchased the site through a Swedish company in 2012 with the intention of turning it into a settlement outpost.
Popular resistance committees organized Saturday's march, which was attended by political figures including MP Fayez al-Saqqa and Fatah spokesperson Osama al-Qawasma, in addition to well-known Palestinian popular resistance activists and religious leaders.
The protesters performed a mass prayer led by Attalah Hanna, the archbishop of the Sebastian Greek Orthodox Church, and Father George Awad.
Awad urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority to support Beit al-Baraka in its battle against Israeli violations.
Participants said that Israeli forces suppressed the march and prevented them from reaching the church compound.
It was reported in June that Israeli authorities prevented Archbishop Hanna from taking part in another march at the church compound by summoning him to the Russian Compound detention center in Jerusalem.
Haaretz's investigation earlier this year alleged that a Swedish company established in 2007 had been used to cover up the sale and transfer of Beit al-Baraka in 2012 to a settler organization funded by American millionaire Irving Moskowitz.
A pastor who headed the church that previously owned the compound, Keith Coleman, told Haaretz he thought it had been sold to a Swedish company called Scandinavian Seamen Holy Land Enterprises in March 2008 that would revive its use as a church.
Haaretz discovered however that, "the Swedish group was established in Stockholm in 2007, and seems to have been used as a cover for transferring the ownership of the compound to the settlers. The group does not seem to have any offices."
The Swedish company registered the purchase with the Israeli Civil Administration in 2012.
The company was then dissolved, with ownership handed over to an American nonprofit organization, American Friends of the Everest Foundation, funded by Irving Moskowitz and working towards the eventual "Judaization" of occupied East Jerusalem.
The church lies in a sensitive location, which when settled, will see Israeli settlements stretch all the way from the Gush Etzion settler block south of Jerusalem to the cluster of settlements around Hebron.
There are more than 500,000 Israelis living in illegal settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
28 aug 2015
The Israeli nature authority objected to the decision of the war ministry to resume construction of the separation barrier near Beit Jala, south of Occupied Jerusalem, after the Supreme Court had invalidated the building of the barrier in that region and ordered the government to reconsider it, Haaretz reported Thursday.
A few days ago the Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) uprooted olive trees along the wall's route.
On Wednesday the IOA carried out large-scale excavations in the area.
The Palestinians along with adjacent Christian monasteries and Israelis residing in the illegal settlement of Gush Etzion have objected to the construction of the separation wall saying it rather affects the environment and is unnecessary for Israel’s security.
The IOA resumed construction of the wall after years of deliberations with the Supreme Court that culminated in recommendations to reconsider the planned route of the separation barrier in the area.
The war ministry, however, resumed its work on the wall without altering its route, promising to leave a 200-meter gap in the wall near the local monasteries.
A few days ago the Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) uprooted olive trees along the wall's route.
On Wednesday the IOA carried out large-scale excavations in the area.
The Palestinians along with adjacent Christian monasteries and Israelis residing in the illegal settlement of Gush Etzion have objected to the construction of the separation wall saying it rather affects the environment and is unnecessary for Israel’s security.
The IOA resumed construction of the wall after years of deliberations with the Supreme Court that culminated in recommendations to reconsider the planned route of the separation barrier in the area.
The war ministry, however, resumed its work on the wall without altering its route, promising to leave a 200-meter gap in the wall near the local monasteries.
27 aug 2015
Dozens of Palestinians protested on Thursday, in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran near the town of Hura, in the Negev, as Israel's construction of a Jewish town on the village's land continues, local sources said.
The Umm al-Hiran community -- around 700 strong -- is unrecognized by the Israeli government and residents' lands were claimed by the state in 2013 in order to make way for the expansion of the Beersheba metropolitan area.
As a march set off from the village and moved towards the site of construction, protesters said they were able to force Israeli police to remove the bulldozers from the area.
Leaders and members of national and Islamic parties, Palestinian members of the Knesset, members of committees for Palestinians in the Negev, and Jewish-Israelis took part in the march.
Sources told Ma'an News Agency that the contractor responsible for razing the village is a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the Negev, and locals have condemned the use of Palestinian contractors against their people by the Israeli authorities.
Participants of Thursday's demonstration called for launching an international media campaign in support of Umm al-Hiran and other villages threatened with land confiscation in order to pressure Israeli authorities to stop longstanding policies to displace Palestinian Bedouins.
Umm al-Hiran residents are a fraction of the thousands of Bedouins living in villages that the Israeli government does not recognize and are at risk of displacement in the Negev due to Israeli policies that critics argue amount to ethnic cleansing.
The community's residents appealed their displacement in court earlier this year on the grounds that the Israeli military administration ordered the community to be moved to the area in 1956, but the appeal was rejected.
On Sunday, Israeli excavators began work on infrastructure for the Jewish-only town in Umm al-Hiran, building a new road under heavy protection of Israeli forces, locals told Ma'an at the time. Knesset Member Talab Abu Arar described the Israeli move as racist.
"Racism has become crystal clear in Umm al-Hiran as a Jewish settlement Hiran is being built on the ruins of the Arab Umm al-Hiran village," Abu Arar told Ma'an on Sunday.
He added that Israeli courts and authorities ignored the rights of Palestinians and worked towards confining them to a few recognized towns and denying their rights.
The Umm al-Hiran community -- around 700 strong -- is unrecognized by the Israeli government and residents' lands were claimed by the state in 2013 in order to make way for the expansion of the Beersheba metropolitan area.
As a march set off from the village and moved towards the site of construction, protesters said they were able to force Israeli police to remove the bulldozers from the area.
Leaders and members of national and Islamic parties, Palestinian members of the Knesset, members of committees for Palestinians in the Negev, and Jewish-Israelis took part in the march.
Sources told Ma'an News Agency that the contractor responsible for razing the village is a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the Negev, and locals have condemned the use of Palestinian contractors against their people by the Israeli authorities.
Participants of Thursday's demonstration called for launching an international media campaign in support of Umm al-Hiran and other villages threatened with land confiscation in order to pressure Israeli authorities to stop longstanding policies to displace Palestinian Bedouins.
Umm al-Hiran residents are a fraction of the thousands of Bedouins living in villages that the Israeli government does not recognize and are at risk of displacement in the Negev due to Israeli policies that critics argue amount to ethnic cleansing.
The community's residents appealed their displacement in court earlier this year on the grounds that the Israeli military administration ordered the community to be moved to the area in 1956, but the appeal was rejected.
On Sunday, Israeli excavators began work on infrastructure for the Jewish-only town in Umm al-Hiran, building a new road under heavy protection of Israeli forces, locals told Ma'an at the time. Knesset Member Talab Abu Arar described the Israeli move as racist.
"Racism has become crystal clear in Umm al-Hiran as a Jewish settlement Hiran is being built on the ruins of the Arab Umm al-Hiran village," Abu Arar told Ma'an on Sunday.
He added that Israeli courts and authorities ignored the rights of Palestinians and worked towards confining them to a few recognized towns and denying their rights.
26 aug 2015
Palestinian residents of the Old City, in occupied East Jerusalem, clashed with Israeli forces on Tuesday, as settlers began construction work on a new door for a synagogue, locals said.
Activist Alaa al-Haddad told Ma'an News Agency that Jewish settlers in the Old City tore down a brick wall and began building a door for synagogue which leads directly into a private alley belonging to the Awad family.
"After the wall had been torn down, it was revealed that the settlers had already prepared a new wall with a steel door already installed behind the brick wall," he said.
Palestinian residents say that the new door will affect access to their homes and impose restrictions on their freedom to move in the area.
Scuffles broke out with Israeli police at the scene, who reportedly threatened to use tasers on the residents.
East Jerusalem was occupied by Israel in 1967 in a move never recognized by the international community, and four decades of Israeli policy in the area have neglected the Palestinian community while fostering the growth of Jewish settlements.
Activist Alaa al-Haddad told Ma'an News Agency that Jewish settlers in the Old City tore down a brick wall and began building a door for synagogue which leads directly into a private alley belonging to the Awad family.
"After the wall had been torn down, it was revealed that the settlers had already prepared a new wall with a steel door already installed behind the brick wall," he said.
Palestinian residents say that the new door will affect access to their homes and impose restrictions on their freedom to move in the area.
Scuffles broke out with Israeli police at the scene, who reportedly threatened to use tasers on the residents.
East Jerusalem was occupied by Israel in 1967 in a move never recognized by the international community, and four decades of Israeli policy in the area have neglected the Palestinian community while fostering the growth of Jewish settlements.
25 aug 2015
President makes remarks in meeting with settler leaders in the wake of harsh criticism leveled at him during the aftermath of the Duma attack.
President Reuven Rivlin said during talks with settler leaders on Monday that Israel had a "right" to build settlements in the West Bank, his office said in a statement.
"I love the land of Israel with all my heart. I have never and will never give up on this land. For me, our right to this land is not a matter of political debate. It is a basic fact of modern Zionism," Rivlin said,
For Rivlin the "land of Israel" includes the West Bank, where Jewish settlements are considered illegal under international law.
"We must not give anyone the sense that we are in any doubt about our right to our land. For me, the settlement of the land of Israel is an expression of that right, our historical right, our national right," Rivlin said.
"I have no doubt that it is clear to all of us, that in order to realize the ultimate goal of building the land of Israel, we must be sure to do so only with the use of the legal tools available to us. Our sovereignty in this land, means responsibility for all those who live here, and obliges all of us to uphold the strictest of moral codes, which is inherent in each and every one of us," the president continued.
His comments come at a time of heightened tension between Israel and the Palestinians following the death in July of a Palestinian toddler and his father in an arson attack on their home.
In the wake of the firebombing in the West Bank village of Duma, three alleged Jewish extremists were placed in administrative detention.
On Sunday, the Shin Bet domestic security agency said the deadly attack had "emanated" from a wildcat Jewish settlement outpost near Duma.
The agency said "restraining orders" restricting the movement of 10 activists had been issued as a result.
Rivlin condemned "Jewish terrorism" after the July arson attack in a post on Facebook, which was later followed by death threats against him.
President Reuven Rivlin said during talks with settler leaders on Monday that Israel had a "right" to build settlements in the West Bank, his office said in a statement.
"I love the land of Israel with all my heart. I have never and will never give up on this land. For me, our right to this land is not a matter of political debate. It is a basic fact of modern Zionism," Rivlin said,
For Rivlin the "land of Israel" includes the West Bank, where Jewish settlements are considered illegal under international law.
"We must not give anyone the sense that we are in any doubt about our right to our land. For me, the settlement of the land of Israel is an expression of that right, our historical right, our national right," Rivlin said.
"I have no doubt that it is clear to all of us, that in order to realize the ultimate goal of building the land of Israel, we must be sure to do so only with the use of the legal tools available to us. Our sovereignty in this land, means responsibility for all those who live here, and obliges all of us to uphold the strictest of moral codes, which is inherent in each and every one of us," the president continued.
His comments come at a time of heightened tension between Israel and the Palestinians following the death in July of a Palestinian toddler and his father in an arson attack on their home.
In the wake of the firebombing in the West Bank village of Duma, three alleged Jewish extremists were placed in administrative detention.
On Sunday, the Shin Bet domestic security agency said the deadly attack had "emanated" from a wildcat Jewish settlement outpost near Duma.
The agency said "restraining orders" restricting the movement of 10 activists had been issued as a result.
Rivlin condemned "Jewish terrorism" after the July arson attack in a post on Facebook, which was later followed by death threats against him.
23 aug 2015
Israeli excavators, on Sunday morning, began work on the infrastructure of two Jewish-only settlements in the former Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, in the Negev desert, southern Israel, according to locals.
Locals told Ma’an News Agency that excavators and bulldozers were building a new road under heavy protection of Israeli forces.
In November of 2013, the Israeli government approved a decision to demolish the unrecognized Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran and passed plans to create two Jewish settlements, Hiran and Kassif, in the area.
"There is no room for comments any more as we are not talking about racism, but rather, extermination of a 60-year-old town whose residents have been displaced three times," a member of a local committee of the displaced Bedouin community, Raed Abu al-Qean, said.
Umm al-Hiran is one of dozens of Bedouin villages which the Israeli government does not recognize. It is located in Wadi Attir east of Hurah village.
A Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset, Talab Abu Arar, described the Israeli decision as "racist".
"Racism has become crystal clear in Umm al-Hiran as a Jewish settlement Hiran is being built on the ruins of the Arab Umm al-Hiran village."
He added that Israeli courts and authorities ignored the rights of Palestinians and worked towards confining them to a few recognized towns and denying their rights.
Abu Arar compared the activities in Umm al-Hiran to the forced displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1948 prior to the creation of the state of Israel.
The Higher Guidance Committee of Arab Residents of Negev is scheduled to convene and decide on practical moves in protest against the construction of Jewish settlements in Umm al-Hiran. Palestinian members of the Knesset are also set to join the meeting.
Locals told Ma’an News Agency that excavators and bulldozers were building a new road under heavy protection of Israeli forces.
In November of 2013, the Israeli government approved a decision to demolish the unrecognized Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran and passed plans to create two Jewish settlements, Hiran and Kassif, in the area.
"There is no room for comments any more as we are not talking about racism, but rather, extermination of a 60-year-old town whose residents have been displaced three times," a member of a local committee of the displaced Bedouin community, Raed Abu al-Qean, said.
Umm al-Hiran is one of dozens of Bedouin villages which the Israeli government does not recognize. It is located in Wadi Attir east of Hurah village.
A Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset, Talab Abu Arar, described the Israeli decision as "racist".
"Racism has become crystal clear in Umm al-Hiran as a Jewish settlement Hiran is being built on the ruins of the Arab Umm al-Hiran village."
He added that Israeli courts and authorities ignored the rights of Palestinians and worked towards confining them to a few recognized towns and denying their rights.
Abu Arar compared the activities in Umm al-Hiran to the forced displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1948 prior to the creation of the state of Israel.
The Higher Guidance Committee of Arab Residents of Negev is scheduled to convene and decide on practical moves in protest against the construction of Jewish settlements in Umm al-Hiran. Palestinian members of the Knesset are also set to join the meeting.
Several Palestinians, Sunday, suffocated as Israeli army forces violently quelled a peaceful rally to protest the Israeli illegal expropriation of Beit Jala lands for the purpose of expanding construction of the apartheid wall.
Christian and Muslim religious high ranking figures, locals, and activists participated in the rally, which took place at the seized land recently leveled by Israeli forces to resume the construction of the wall. Protesters raised Palestine’s flag atop of olive trees and chanted national slogans.
According to WAFA correspondence, Israeli soldiers attacked the rally, firing tear gas canisters and stun grenades in the direction of the protestors, causing many to suffocate. They were all treated at the scene. Protesters removed the metal gate erected by the Israeli soldiers at the entrance of Wadi Ahmad area to prevent locals from reaching their land.
Meanwhile, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia Atallah (Theodosios) Hanna, who also participated in the rally, said Muslims and Christians are present as one nation with no sectarian differences to defend Palestinians’ just cause.
"We will remain steadfast on our land," he confirmed.
He said the Israeli occupation uproots olive trees, because it doesn’t believe in peace. He said Palestinians will not give up on their loyalty to the Palestinian identity.
Regarding the Israeli court’s decision to resume construction of the separation wall, Hanna stressed: "We don’t recognize Israeli courts, and we shall resume our struggle against Israel’s theft of Palestinian-owned land."
According to the Guardian, “The wall will separate the West Bank city of Beit Jala from the settlement of Har Gilo and the village of Walaja. Critics claim its real purpose is not to increase security, but to allow settlement expansion.”
“The wall has been opposed by local Christian leaders and the Vatican. In April it appeared that its construction had been blocked when Israel’s high court ordered the defense ministry to reconsider the route. But a subsequent ruling in July gave it the green light,” it said.
According to media sources, the plan would ‘completely enclose Bethlehem and the surrounding villages — closing all entrances to the area — by the separation wall.’
“The role of the wall here is very simple: to cut off Beit Jala from Wadi Ahmad, an agricultural area of 3,500,000 square meters with thousands of olive trees,” Mazen Qumsiyeh, a veteran Palestinian activist, told +972.
“Building this part will complete the ghettoization of Bethlehem. The route has nothing to do with security — the entire goal is to annex the valley.”
According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights center, “85% of the barrier's planned route runs through the West Bank, mainly in areas where there are Israeli settlements and industrial zones.”
“By July 2012, construction of the barrier was 62% complete. It left some 3% of the West Bank territory cut off, west of the barrier. Completed as planned, the barrier will isolate an additional area of more than 6% of West Bank lands on the Israeli side,” added the center.
“Construction of the barrier in the West Bank gravely violates the rights of Palestinians in the areas affected, restricting their access to their lands, crucial services and relatives on the other side of the barrier. The barrier also prevents any possibility of economic development,” stated B’Tselem.
Christian and Muslim religious high ranking figures, locals, and activists participated in the rally, which took place at the seized land recently leveled by Israeli forces to resume the construction of the wall. Protesters raised Palestine’s flag atop of olive trees and chanted national slogans.
According to WAFA correspondence, Israeli soldiers attacked the rally, firing tear gas canisters and stun grenades in the direction of the protestors, causing many to suffocate. They were all treated at the scene. Protesters removed the metal gate erected by the Israeli soldiers at the entrance of Wadi Ahmad area to prevent locals from reaching their land.
Meanwhile, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia Atallah (Theodosios) Hanna, who also participated in the rally, said Muslims and Christians are present as one nation with no sectarian differences to defend Palestinians’ just cause.
"We will remain steadfast on our land," he confirmed.
He said the Israeli occupation uproots olive trees, because it doesn’t believe in peace. He said Palestinians will not give up on their loyalty to the Palestinian identity.
Regarding the Israeli court’s decision to resume construction of the separation wall, Hanna stressed: "We don’t recognize Israeli courts, and we shall resume our struggle against Israel’s theft of Palestinian-owned land."
According to the Guardian, “The wall will separate the West Bank city of Beit Jala from the settlement of Har Gilo and the village of Walaja. Critics claim its real purpose is not to increase security, but to allow settlement expansion.”
“The wall has been opposed by local Christian leaders and the Vatican. In April it appeared that its construction had been blocked when Israel’s high court ordered the defense ministry to reconsider the route. But a subsequent ruling in July gave it the green light,” it said.
According to media sources, the plan would ‘completely enclose Bethlehem and the surrounding villages — closing all entrances to the area — by the separation wall.’
“The role of the wall here is very simple: to cut off Beit Jala from Wadi Ahmad, an agricultural area of 3,500,000 square meters with thousands of olive trees,” Mazen Qumsiyeh, a veteran Palestinian activist, told +972.
“Building this part will complete the ghettoization of Bethlehem. The route has nothing to do with security — the entire goal is to annex the valley.”
According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights center, “85% of the barrier's planned route runs through the West Bank, mainly in areas where there are Israeli settlements and industrial zones.”
“By July 2012, construction of the barrier was 62% complete. It left some 3% of the West Bank territory cut off, west of the barrier. Completed as planned, the barrier will isolate an additional area of more than 6% of West Bank lands on the Israeli side,” added the center.
“Construction of the barrier in the West Bank gravely violates the rights of Palestinians in the areas affected, restricting their access to their lands, crucial services and relatives on the other side of the barrier. The barrier also prevents any possibility of economic development,” stated B’Tselem.
Hundreds of Palestinians on Sunday participated in a march protesting Israel's annexation and bulldozing of vast tracts of Palestinian-owned land in Beit Jala near Bethlehem city for the expansion of the separation wall.
Anti-wall activist Elie Shahadeh said that hundreds of protestors led by Muslim and Christian religious and national figures marched to the annexed land, which the Israeli occupation authority had embarked on preparing for the construction of the wall.
Shahadeh added that the protestors removed an Israeli iron gate at the entrance to the land, placed Palestinian flags in the soil and chanted slogans protesting the construction of the wall and calling for resisting the occupation and its expansion plans.
Anti-wall activist Elie Shahadeh said that hundreds of protestors led by Muslim and Christian religious and national figures marched to the annexed land, which the Israeli occupation authority had embarked on preparing for the construction of the wall.
Shahadeh added that the protestors removed an Israeli iron gate at the entrance to the land, placed Palestinian flags in the soil and chanted slogans protesting the construction of the wall and calling for resisting the occupation and its expansion plans.
Palestinian institutions and groups in Jaffa city, west of the 1948 occupied lands, intend to stage a massive rally on Sunday to protest an Israeli plan to Judaize the whole neighborhood of al-Ajami.
The protest rally will be held at six o'clock in the evening in the heart of al-Ajami neighborhood, where the Israeli occupation authority plans to establish its project.
The Israeli Judaization plan includes the evacuation of the seven remaining Palestinian families from the neighborhood and the construction of 63 housing units for Jewish families.
The protest rally will be held at six o'clock in the evening in the heart of al-Ajami neighborhood, where the Israeli occupation authority plans to establish its project.
The Israeli Judaization plan includes the evacuation of the seven remaining Palestinian families from the neighborhood and the construction of 63 housing units for Jewish families.
Dozens of Palestinians, headed by several Christians priests, conducted prayers on Palestinian lands that have been destroyed and uprooted by Israeli soldiers, in Beit Jala city, in the West Bank district of Bethlehem.
Head of the Beit Jala City Council Nicola Khamis said the priests, the locals and various international human rights and Palestine solidarity activists gathered on the lands, carrying Palestinian flags, and signs condemning the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations and land theft.
Khamis added that the local priests held special prayers on lands that were recently bulldozed and uprooted by the Israeli army in Be’er ‘Ona, especially in Ahmad Valley, and called for real peace and justice.
The army bulldozed the Palestinian lands in order to continue the construction of the illegal Annexation Wall in the area.
The priests called on Christian countries and leaders, Christians around the world, and the International Community to intervene and stop the ongoing Israeli crimes and violations against the Palestinians, their homes and lands, and their holy sites.
Head of the Beit Jala City Council Nicola Khamis said the priests, the locals and various international human rights and Palestine solidarity activists gathered on the lands, carrying Palestinian flags, and signs condemning the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations and land theft.
Khamis added that the local priests held special prayers on lands that were recently bulldozed and uprooted by the Israeli army in Be’er ‘Ona, especially in Ahmad Valley, and called for real peace and justice.
The army bulldozed the Palestinian lands in order to continue the construction of the illegal Annexation Wall in the area.
The priests called on Christian countries and leaders, Christians around the world, and the International Community to intervene and stop the ongoing Israeli crimes and violations against the Palestinians, their homes and lands, and their holy sites.
Hebrew sources revealed that Israeli municipality in Occupied Jerusalem is to build a temporary park for five years on Mount of the Watchmen over lands owned by Palestinians.
A Hebrew weekly newspaper stated that the park will be established over 1300 dunums of Palestinian lands located between al-Tour and al-Isaweiyeh towns in Occupied Jerusalem.
Palestinians of both towns appealed to the Israeli local affairs court demanding cancellation of the municipality’s order which was described as a new method of confiscating Jerusalemites’ lands, the newspaper stated.
Four years ago, the municipality tried to establish a state park in the area, but the regional appeals committee refused the proposal after Jerusalemites appealed it, the Hebrew newspaper pointed out.
A Hebrew weekly newspaper stated that the park will be established over 1300 dunums of Palestinian lands located between al-Tour and al-Isaweiyeh towns in Occupied Jerusalem.
Palestinians of both towns appealed to the Israeli local affairs court demanding cancellation of the municipality’s order which was described as a new method of confiscating Jerusalemites’ lands, the newspaper stated.
Four years ago, the municipality tried to establish a state park in the area, but the regional appeals committee refused the proposal after Jerusalemites appealed it, the Hebrew newspaper pointed out.
22 aug 2015
Israeli media sources revealed Friday a new plan for the establishment of 252 new housing units in Pisgat Ze'ev settlement in occupied Jerusalem.
Yerushalem weekly newspaper mentioned that Tsarfati Shimon company managed to market a new housing project in Pisgat Ze'ev settlement to the north of occupied Jerusalem.
The project includes the establishment of 160 new housing units, in addition to 92 housing units that had been earlier marketed by the company in the same settlement, the Hebrew paper added.
As a whole, 252 housing units are to be established in Pisgat Ze'ev settlement.
The Israeli government has revealed over the past few years several settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem and different areas in occupied West Bank, putting into question its commitment to the Middle East peace process.
Yerushalem weekly newspaper mentioned that Tsarfati Shimon company managed to market a new housing project in Pisgat Ze'ev settlement to the north of occupied Jerusalem.
The project includes the establishment of 160 new housing units, in addition to 92 housing units that had been earlier marketed by the company in the same settlement, the Hebrew paper added.
As a whole, 252 housing units are to be established in Pisgat Ze'ev settlement.
The Israeli government has revealed over the past few years several settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem and different areas in occupied West Bank, putting into question its commitment to the Middle East peace process.
20 aug 2015
Israeli forces arrest a Palestinian protester who was trying to reach tractors working on the construction of Israel's controversial wall in the Cremisan Valley
Palestinian Christians clashed with Israeli border police near Bethlehem Wednesday after dozens of demonstrators, including priests, gathered to protest renewed work on Israel's controversial separation wall in the Christian majority town of Beit Jala.
An AFP journalist said the protesters, who were joined by a few foreign activists, gathered in Beit Jala to protest building a stretch of the wall, which started Monday, after years of legal battles. The three Roman Catholic priests tried to pray among olive trees that bulldozers and mechanical diggers were seeking to uproot but were stopped by police.
One demonstrator was arrested as he tried to plant an olive sapling in front of the excavators. Police wrestled with protesters who chanted, "Israel is a terrorist state. It doesn't scare us."
Israel began building the separation wall with concrete walls, fences and barbed-wire inside the occupied West Bank in 2002 at the height of the second Palestinian Intifada, claiming the barrier was crucial for security.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 2004 that construction of the barrier was illegal and, like the UN General Assembly, demanded that it be dismantled.
Palestinians, who refer to its as the "apartheid wall," say the barrier is a land grab, pointing out that when complete, 85 percent of it will have been built inside the West Bank. The wall has already completely cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
The Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem says the wall will annex around 13 percent of the total area of the West Bank.
There has been fierce opposition from the local Palestinian Christian community, which has enlisted papal support, regarding the area of the wall that approaches Beit Jala and the adjacent Cremisan Valley.
The case grabbed special attention when the wall was slated to separate Cremisan monastery from the neighboring convent and vineyards. It would have also separated Palestinians in the nearby Christian village of Beit Jala from their olive groves.
Israel's High Court ruled in April that the work must stop and told the government to consider alternative routes. But, in a new decision on July 6, the court said work could go ahead, ruling that the previous ban referred only to an area of a few hundred meters(yards) alongside the monastery and the convent.
The people of Beit Jala were surprised Monday when Israeli bulldozers started uprooting olive trees east of the convent and monastery. They are protesting against the confiscation of their land and the fragmentation of their lives and also fear that the path of the wall may herald expansion of the nearby Israeli settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo.
Settlements in occupied territory are illegal in the eyes of the international community. The network of towering concrete walls, barbed-wire fences, trenches and closed military roads will extend 712 kilometers(442 miles) when finished, separating the West Bank from Israel.
Palestinian Christians clashed with Israeli border police near Bethlehem Wednesday after dozens of demonstrators, including priests, gathered to protest renewed work on Israel's controversial separation wall in the Christian majority town of Beit Jala.
An AFP journalist said the protesters, who were joined by a few foreign activists, gathered in Beit Jala to protest building a stretch of the wall, which started Monday, after years of legal battles. The three Roman Catholic priests tried to pray among olive trees that bulldozers and mechanical diggers were seeking to uproot but were stopped by police.
One demonstrator was arrested as he tried to plant an olive sapling in front of the excavators. Police wrestled with protesters who chanted, "Israel is a terrorist state. It doesn't scare us."
Israel began building the separation wall with concrete walls, fences and barbed-wire inside the occupied West Bank in 2002 at the height of the second Palestinian Intifada, claiming the barrier was crucial for security.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 2004 that construction of the barrier was illegal and, like the UN General Assembly, demanded that it be dismantled.
Palestinians, who refer to its as the "apartheid wall," say the barrier is a land grab, pointing out that when complete, 85 percent of it will have been built inside the West Bank. The wall has already completely cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
The Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem says the wall will annex around 13 percent of the total area of the West Bank.
There has been fierce opposition from the local Palestinian Christian community, which has enlisted papal support, regarding the area of the wall that approaches Beit Jala and the adjacent Cremisan Valley.
The case grabbed special attention when the wall was slated to separate Cremisan monastery from the neighboring convent and vineyards. It would have also separated Palestinians in the nearby Christian village of Beit Jala from their olive groves.
Israel's High Court ruled in April that the work must stop and told the government to consider alternative routes. But, in a new decision on July 6, the court said work could go ahead, ruling that the previous ban referred only to an area of a few hundred meters(yards) alongside the monastery and the convent.
The people of Beit Jala were surprised Monday when Israeli bulldozers started uprooting olive trees east of the convent and monastery. They are protesting against the confiscation of their land and the fragmentation of their lives and also fear that the path of the wall may herald expansion of the nearby Israeli settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo.
Settlements in occupied territory are illegal in the eyes of the international community. The network of towering concrete walls, barbed-wire fences, trenches and closed military roads will extend 712 kilometers(442 miles) when finished, separating the West Bank from Israel.
The Moroccan government has condemned what it describes as Israel’s attempts to Judaise Jerusalem and encourage illegal Jewish settlements across the occupied territories.
Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting in Rabat, government spokesman and Minister of Communications Mustapha Al-Khalfi said that Morocco regards such attempts as the “fragmentation” of Arab and Islamic identity in the city.
“Work is underway within the Arab League,” he explained, “and in coordination with the Islamic countries to crystallise positions to stand up to these exercises and put in place a process that ensures support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and enables them to regain their legitimate rights.”
The Moroccan minister added that his country has recently issued a clear statement against Israeli attacks, noting that the foreign ministry is working in coordination with Arab and Islamic countries to translate the Arab positions into concrete steps.
Last month, the Kingdom of Morocco condemned the heinous arson attack by Israeli settlers against a Palestinian family in a village south of Nablus in which a Palestinian baby and his father were burnt to death. The ministry said at the time that it holds the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for all systematic terrorist acts committed by settlers in occupied Palestine.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation announced earlier this month that it will hold an extraordinary Islamic summit in Morocco to discuss developments in Palestine, including Jerusalem.
Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting in Rabat, government spokesman and Minister of Communications Mustapha Al-Khalfi said that Morocco regards such attempts as the “fragmentation” of Arab and Islamic identity in the city.
“Work is underway within the Arab League,” he explained, “and in coordination with the Islamic countries to crystallise positions to stand up to these exercises and put in place a process that ensures support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and enables them to regain their legitimate rights.”
The Moroccan minister added that his country has recently issued a clear statement against Israeli attacks, noting that the foreign ministry is working in coordination with Arab and Islamic countries to translate the Arab positions into concrete steps.
Last month, the Kingdom of Morocco condemned the heinous arson attack by Israeli settlers against a Palestinian family in a village south of Nablus in which a Palestinian baby and his father were burnt to death. The ministry said at the time that it holds the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for all systematic terrorist acts committed by settlers in occupied Palestine.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation announced earlier this month that it will hold an extraordinary Islamic summit in Morocco to discuss developments in Palestine, including Jerusalem.
19 aug 2015
Israeli construction of illegal settlements
It is only natural that matters reached this heinous result, i.e. that that extremist settler organisations commit terrorist acts in the West Bank and Jerusalem almost on a daily basis. The settlement project in these two areas has grown and developed significantly over the past few years, especially after the security situation was under control and the resistance operations were forcibly eliminated in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The small settlements have now become major cities and the actual settlement statistics and figures are much larger than what has been announced. This is to the extent that the term “settlement cancer” is no longer enough to describe the reality of the matter.
It is enough to travel from the south of the West Bank to the north in order to see the reality of this disaster, as you see the settlers’ vehicles crowding all the streets, in astonishing numbers. There is no mountain, hill, or attractive area that does not have settlement housing units built nearby. If not, then the land has already been confiscated and in the process of becoming a settlement.
Since the demand for freezing settlement activity replaced the demand for removing settlements in the peace negotiations, we understood that there is a big deceptive plan underway that is being disregarded. We understood that the idea of a Palestinian state free of settlements has become part of past delusions. Perhaps the residents of the West Bank and Jerusalem are the ones who are most aware that the Palestinian state has become one big lie because every city or large town in these areas has been faced with an equally sized or larger settlement.
Even if an agreement that obliges Israel to freeze its settlement expansion is reached, there is no chance of removing or dismantling what has already been built. Israel is perfectly aware of this, as is the international community. However, the victims of this big deception are only those who believe and are counting on diplomatic action to achieve a state, eliminate the settlements, and end the occupation.
The main dilemma in Palestine, specifically in the areas controlled by the PA, is that the Palestinians are required to provide security for the settlements and settlers and ensure that the Palestinian public remains calm and immobilised after every crime committed by the organised Zionist gangs. How wouldn’t they be organised when they see themselves as being powerful and facing the unarmed Palestinian people in these areas who are unable to ward off attacks and arson attempts on their agricultural land and property, as well as direct physical attacks.
This is happening and it will happen more often in light of the disparity in the balance of power and in light of the growing certainty in the ranks of Israeli observers that the PA is capable of thwarting any angry uprising that may arise after any crime committed by the settlers. It will also increase due to their awareness of how loyal Mahmoud Abbas and the PA are to their security coordination obligations.
The occupation, which is watching and is astonished by the events in the PA areas, will not be concerned or interested in reining in and deterring the extremist settler groups. Why would it when it sees that the work of these groups is contributing to reinforcing the subjugation of the Palestinian consciousness and to establishing the settlement status quo as a fact that cannot be erased? This is because the highest ceiling of Palestinian demands is freezing settlement activity and the greatest action it will take after any crime is making promises to head to the ICC and intensifying its diplomatic activity.
The only way to remove such distortion from the face of this phase is to remove ourselves from the restrictions imposed at the moment and rise to our duty. This distortion is considered the worst and ugliest distortion in the history of the Palestinian conflict with the occupation, as this occupation now has a Palestinian arm that is being used both willingly and ignorantly at the same time. This has allowed the price of the occupation and settlements to be reduced for Israel and its control on the ground has increased, thus leaving nothing left of the deceptive state concept except for tight cantons in which the Palestinians will be crammed. This is due to the leadership that has mastered the art of repressing the Palestinian will and its aspirations for freedom on an unprecedented level of evil.
It is only natural that matters reached this heinous result, i.e. that that extremist settler organisations commit terrorist acts in the West Bank and Jerusalem almost on a daily basis. The settlement project in these two areas has grown and developed significantly over the past few years, especially after the security situation was under control and the resistance operations were forcibly eliminated in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The small settlements have now become major cities and the actual settlement statistics and figures are much larger than what has been announced. This is to the extent that the term “settlement cancer” is no longer enough to describe the reality of the matter.
It is enough to travel from the south of the West Bank to the north in order to see the reality of this disaster, as you see the settlers’ vehicles crowding all the streets, in astonishing numbers. There is no mountain, hill, or attractive area that does not have settlement housing units built nearby. If not, then the land has already been confiscated and in the process of becoming a settlement.
Since the demand for freezing settlement activity replaced the demand for removing settlements in the peace negotiations, we understood that there is a big deceptive plan underway that is being disregarded. We understood that the idea of a Palestinian state free of settlements has become part of past delusions. Perhaps the residents of the West Bank and Jerusalem are the ones who are most aware that the Palestinian state has become one big lie because every city or large town in these areas has been faced with an equally sized or larger settlement.
Even if an agreement that obliges Israel to freeze its settlement expansion is reached, there is no chance of removing or dismantling what has already been built. Israel is perfectly aware of this, as is the international community. However, the victims of this big deception are only those who believe and are counting on diplomatic action to achieve a state, eliminate the settlements, and end the occupation.
The main dilemma in Palestine, specifically in the areas controlled by the PA, is that the Palestinians are required to provide security for the settlements and settlers and ensure that the Palestinian public remains calm and immobilised after every crime committed by the organised Zionist gangs. How wouldn’t they be organised when they see themselves as being powerful and facing the unarmed Palestinian people in these areas who are unable to ward off attacks and arson attempts on their agricultural land and property, as well as direct physical attacks.
This is happening and it will happen more often in light of the disparity in the balance of power and in light of the growing certainty in the ranks of Israeli observers that the PA is capable of thwarting any angry uprising that may arise after any crime committed by the settlers. It will also increase due to their awareness of how loyal Mahmoud Abbas and the PA are to their security coordination obligations.
The occupation, which is watching and is astonished by the events in the PA areas, will not be concerned or interested in reining in and deterring the extremist settler groups. Why would it when it sees that the work of these groups is contributing to reinforcing the subjugation of the Palestinian consciousness and to establishing the settlement status quo as a fact that cannot be erased? This is because the highest ceiling of Palestinian demands is freezing settlement activity and the greatest action it will take after any crime is making promises to head to the ICC and intensifying its diplomatic activity.
The only way to remove such distortion from the face of this phase is to remove ourselves from the restrictions imposed at the moment and rise to our duty. This distortion is considered the worst and ugliest distortion in the history of the Palestinian conflict with the occupation, as this occupation now has a Palestinian arm that is being used both willingly and ignorantly at the same time. This has allowed the price of the occupation and settlements to be reduced for Israel and its control on the ground has increased, thus leaving nothing left of the deceptive state concept except for tight cantons in which the Palestinians will be crammed. This is due to the leadership that has mastered the art of repressing the Palestinian will and its aspirations for freedom on an unprecedented level of evil.