15 sept 2016
Israeli occupation authorities allocated nearly 1 million shekels for digging a 550-meter long tunnel between Silwan town and al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, QPress revealed on Thursday.
The Israeli Municipality’s Financial Committee approved on Wednesday the tunnel construction in its budget which gives a green line for its implementation.
The sources pointed out that construction works have already started in the main street that links between Basatin and Wadi al-Hilwah neighborhoods as a prelude to the tunnel project.
The planned tunnel would be the largest and biggest tunnel in occupied Jerusalem, according to the sources.
The project came as part of Israel’s settlement and Judaization policy in occupied Jerusalem.
The Israeli Municipality’s Financial Committee approved on Wednesday the tunnel construction in its budget which gives a green line for its implementation.
The sources pointed out that construction works have already started in the main street that links between Basatin and Wadi al-Hilwah neighborhoods as a prelude to the tunnel project.
The planned tunnel would be the largest and biggest tunnel in occupied Jerusalem, according to the sources.
The project came as part of Israel’s settlement and Judaization policy in occupied Jerusalem.
14 sept 2016
Israeli authorities allocated a huge budget for the protection of Israeli settlement illegally built near Gazan and Lebanese borders, Israeli radio revealed.
Head of the Israeli Knesset Committee for affairs in the so-called Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza Strip MK Moti Yogev said that Israeli Army Minister allocated 110 million shekels for the protection of the illegal settlements.
Israel has repeatedly come under international criticism over its illegal settlement construction at the expense of Palestinian territories.
Head of the Israeli Knesset Committee for affairs in the so-called Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza Strip MK Moti Yogev said that Israeli Army Minister allocated 110 million shekels for the protection of the illegal settlements.
Israel has repeatedly come under international criticism over its illegal settlement construction at the expense of Palestinian territories.
10 sept 2016
The national bureau for defending the land and resisting settlement has strongly denounced Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu for defending the presence of settlements in the West Bank and comparing their residents to the Palestinian Arabs in Israel.
In a report on Saturday, the national bureau also condemned the head of the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem Nir Barkat for bragging, during his recent meeting with Likud officials, about his authority's cooperation with the police and the Shin Bet to punish Palestinian families in east Jerusalem, whose relatives are accused of carrying out attacks against Israelis.
It also warned of Israel's intents to use military orders extensively to seize Palestinian abandoned property in the West Bank in order to build or expand settlements.
The national bureau appealed to the international community to swiftly intervene to pressure the Israeli government to halt its settlement expansion activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In a report on Saturday, the national bureau also condemned the head of the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem Nir Barkat for bragging, during his recent meeting with Likud officials, about his authority's cooperation with the police and the Shin Bet to punish Palestinian families in east Jerusalem, whose relatives are accused of carrying out attacks against Israelis.
It also warned of Israel's intents to use military orders extensively to seize Palestinian abandoned property in the West Bank in order to build or expand settlements.
The national bureau appealed to the international community to swiftly intervene to pressure the Israeli government to halt its settlement expansion activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli municipality in Jerusalem has seized a vast tract of Palestinian land in Jabel Mukaber neighborhood, east of the holy city, for the construction of a synagogue and a ritual pond for Jewish settlers from Nof Zion settlement.
According to Iroshalim newspaper, the Jerusalem district planning and building committee had already sanctioned a plan to annex the land for the building of the synagogue and pond.
According to councilwoman Laura Wharton, the seized land is for the building of a synagogue and mikveh (Jewish ritual purification bath).
The land seized is private land, though the identity of the owners is clear. "Tens of thousands of Palestinians living near Nof Zion are short of classrooms, kindergartens, public parks, community centers and basic services.
The city adds to its sins by advancing construction plans for new residents while failing to permit construction for the Palestinians," said Wharton, a member of Jerusalem's city council.
"All Israeli citizens are paying for the expropriation of land for a small number of settlers, who move into Palestinian areas which none of the world recognizes as Israeli territory," she added.
According to Iroshalim newspaper, the Jerusalem district planning and building committee had already sanctioned a plan to annex the land for the building of the synagogue and pond.
According to councilwoman Laura Wharton, the seized land is for the building of a synagogue and mikveh (Jewish ritual purification bath).
The land seized is private land, though the identity of the owners is clear. "Tens of thousands of Palestinians living near Nof Zion are short of classrooms, kindergartens, public parks, community centers and basic services.
The city adds to its sins by advancing construction plans for new residents while failing to permit construction for the Palestinians," said Wharton, a member of Jerusalem's city council.
"All Israeli citizens are paying for the expropriation of land for a small number of settlers, who move into Palestinian areas which none of the world recognizes as Israeli territory," she added.
A screened photo of Mohammad Dawabsha
The Home Front Command workers at the site of the parking lot that collapsed on Monday extracted the body of who is believed to be the last person missing under the rubble; together with the two bodies found on Friday, this brings the total body count thus far to six.
Rescue workers from the Home Front Command found on Saturday the body of another one of the people who were trapped under Monday’s parking structure collapse. The body uncovered Saturday will be examined to determine whether is it that of Mohammad Dawabsha, who has been missing since the collapse. This brought the number of those killed in the disaster to six.
The site of the parking structure is located at Tel Aviv’s northern neighborhood Ramat HaHayal. At first, the bodies of only two victims were found at there, and then a third. 23 people were injured in the event. After receiving word of what happened, the Police and Home Front Command began searching for survivors.
The rescuers worked for several days straight in an effort to find any and all survivors. Four hours following the collapse, they still managed to hear and communicate with some of those trapped under the debris through yelling and cellular connection. After that, the communication with them was lost.
Workers on the site reported noticing certain oversights. Micha Levin, a foreman at the site, described “a machine that cleaned the floor. Every time we passed it, we felt the earth shaking. It didn’t feel right. I told the project manager that it doesn’t feel ‘healthy,’ the way it makes things shake. Not an hour went by before the whole building collapsed from its center.”
The building of the parking structure was headed by investment company Africa Israel Residencies and its construction company Danya Cebus. It was commissioned by Ahuzat Hof, a daughter company of the Tel Aviv Municipality.
Africa Israel issued a statement, saying that “The company is examining the reasons for the crash, its results and implications.” Danya Cebus’ Spokesperson’s Office issued a similar statement.
The Home Front Command workers at the site of the parking lot that collapsed on Monday extracted the body of who is believed to be the last person missing under the rubble; together with the two bodies found on Friday, this brings the total body count thus far to six.
Rescue workers from the Home Front Command found on Saturday the body of another one of the people who were trapped under Monday’s parking structure collapse. The body uncovered Saturday will be examined to determine whether is it that of Mohammad Dawabsha, who has been missing since the collapse. This brought the number of those killed in the disaster to six.
The site of the parking structure is located at Tel Aviv’s northern neighborhood Ramat HaHayal. At first, the bodies of only two victims were found at there, and then a third. 23 people were injured in the event. After receiving word of what happened, the Police and Home Front Command began searching for survivors.
The rescuers worked for several days straight in an effort to find any and all survivors. Four hours following the collapse, they still managed to hear and communicate with some of those trapped under the debris through yelling and cellular connection. After that, the communication with them was lost.
Workers on the site reported noticing certain oversights. Micha Levin, a foreman at the site, described “a machine that cleaned the floor. Every time we passed it, we felt the earth shaking. It didn’t feel right. I told the project manager that it doesn’t feel ‘healthy,’ the way it makes things shake. Not an hour went by before the whole building collapsed from its center.”
The building of the parking structure was headed by investment company Africa Israel Residencies and its construction company Danya Cebus. It was commissioned by Ahuzat Hof, a daughter company of the Tel Aviv Municipality.
Africa Israel issued a statement, saying that “The company is examining the reasons for the crash, its results and implications.” Danya Cebus’ Spokesperson’s Office issued a similar statement.
9 sept 2016
The collapse of an under-construction parking garage in the Tel Aviv business-center neighborhood has led to at least five deaths, with a sixth person missing and presumed to be in great danger.
Rescue workers extracted Friday evening the bodies of two more victim of the collapse of an under-construction parking garage in Tel Aviv's Ramat Hahayal neighborhood from the site of the incident, making them the fourth and fifth bodies to be pulled from the rubble. One of the bodies was located earlier on Friday, but rescuers could only reach it later in the evening. The fifth body was extracted shortly after the fourth.
Rescue workers extracted Friday evening the bodies of two more victim of the collapse of an under-construction parking garage in Tel Aviv's Ramat Hahayal neighborhood from the site of the incident, making them the fourth and fifth bodies to be pulled from the rubble. One of the bodies was located earlier on Friday, but rescuers could only reach it later in the evening. The fifth body was extracted shortly after the fourth.
Rescue operations are particularly challenging in this case, since the collapsed building was to be a parking garage, and thus much of it was underground. Ramat Hahayal is a Tel Aviv neighborhood that is home to many office buildings, and considered one of Israel's centers of high-tech business activities.
Fourth body pulled from parking garage collapse site
Four days after the deadly parking garage collapse in the Ramat HaHayal neighborhood in Tel Aviv, a fourth body has been located by IDF search and rescue teams; a fifth body is currently being searched for beneath the rubble.
The IDF Homefront Command has located a fourth body out of the rubble of the collapsed parking garage in Tel Aviv on Friday. The soldiers are working to pull the body from the rubble.
Search and rescue operations are continuing in areas where it is believed that survivors may still be trapped. Rescuers believe that there is one body left in the rubble, however, it has yet to be located.
Those who have been killed so far are named as: Oleg Yakubov, 60, from Tel Aviv; Iyad Rimawi, 34, from Rima; and Dennis Dyachenko , 28, from Ukraine.
A four-level subterranean parking lot in a building site on HaBarzel Street in the Ramat Hahayal neighborhood of Tel Aviv collapsed Monday morning. At least two persons have been killed while several are said to be missing and 23 were injured.
In 2012, Africa Israel won the contract from the Tel Aviv Municipality to build the parking garage next to Assuta Hospital. Yet before construction even began in 2014, the CEO of Danya Cebus, the subsidiary company carrying out the construction, Ronen Ginsburg, described in a 2013 interview how the company was chosen to carry out the project.
He explained to the Calcalist, Ynet's sister publication. that they chose to use an architect rather than an engineer to save money.
The Labor and Welfare Committee of the Knesset held an emergency session on Thursday with the CEO of the construction company that built the parking garage that collapsed, Ronen Ginzburg of Danya Cebus, to discuss the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the structure.
Kulanu MK Elie Elalouf, the committee chairman, said "The committee sadly foresaw this. We held seven hearings on the situation. We saw that there is serious negligence in the construction sector. No one held a discussion on the required preparations for the massive amount of construction going on in the country, which is only expected to grow. We've also seen the lack of preparedness on the part of government ministries."
Rescue workers extracted Friday evening the bodies of two more victim of the collapse of an under-construction parking garage in Tel Aviv's Ramat Hahayal neighborhood from the site of the incident, making them the fourth and fifth bodies to be pulled from the rubble. One of the bodies was located earlier on Friday, but rescuers could only reach it later in the evening. The fifth body was extracted shortly after the fourth.
Rescue workers extracted Friday evening the bodies of two more victim of the collapse of an under-construction parking garage in Tel Aviv's Ramat Hahayal neighborhood from the site of the incident, making them the fourth and fifth bodies to be pulled from the rubble. One of the bodies was located earlier on Friday, but rescuers could only reach it later in the evening. The fifth body was extracted shortly after the fourth.
Rescue operations are particularly challenging in this case, since the collapsed building was to be a parking garage, and thus much of it was underground. Ramat Hahayal is a Tel Aviv neighborhood that is home to many office buildings, and considered one of Israel's centers of high-tech business activities.
Fourth body pulled from parking garage collapse site
Four days after the deadly parking garage collapse in the Ramat HaHayal neighborhood in Tel Aviv, a fourth body has been located by IDF search and rescue teams; a fifth body is currently being searched for beneath the rubble.
The IDF Homefront Command has located a fourth body out of the rubble of the collapsed parking garage in Tel Aviv on Friday. The soldiers are working to pull the body from the rubble.
Search and rescue operations are continuing in areas where it is believed that survivors may still be trapped. Rescuers believe that there is one body left in the rubble, however, it has yet to be located.
Those who have been killed so far are named as: Oleg Yakubov, 60, from Tel Aviv; Iyad Rimawi, 34, from Rima; and Dennis Dyachenko , 28, from Ukraine.
A four-level subterranean parking lot in a building site on HaBarzel Street in the Ramat Hahayal neighborhood of Tel Aviv collapsed Monday morning. At least two persons have been killed while several are said to be missing and 23 were injured.
In 2012, Africa Israel won the contract from the Tel Aviv Municipality to build the parking garage next to Assuta Hospital. Yet before construction even began in 2014, the CEO of Danya Cebus, the subsidiary company carrying out the construction, Ronen Ginsburg, described in a 2013 interview how the company was chosen to carry out the project.
He explained to the Calcalist, Ynet's sister publication. that they chose to use an architect rather than an engineer to save money.
The Labor and Welfare Committee of the Knesset held an emergency session on Thursday with the CEO of the construction company that built the parking garage that collapsed, Ronen Ginzburg of Danya Cebus, to discuss the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the structure.
Kulanu MK Elie Elalouf, the committee chairman, said "The committee sadly foresaw this. We held seven hearings on the situation. We saw that there is serious negligence in the construction sector. No one held a discussion on the required preparations for the massive amount of construction going on in the country, which is only expected to grow. We've also seen the lack of preparedness on the part of government ministries."
7 sept 2016
Iyad Rimawi 34
Tragedy strikes the Rimawi family, as the body of Iyad Rimawi, one of the brothers trapped in the rubble following the parking garage collapse, was discovered by rescue forces Tuesday; 'We prayed for a miracle, but now are going home without my brother.'
The Tel Aviv parking garage tragedy is being felt in the Palestinian village of Beit Rima outside Ramallah, as the body of 34 year-old Iyad Rimawi, a worker at the site, was pulled from the rubble on Tuesday morning. Iyad was not the only family member involved in the tragedy, as his two brothers, Mohammad and Bassam, were with him as well. However, they only suffered minor injuries, while Iyad lost his life.
Nihad, Iyad's brother in law, recounted the moment the collapse happened. "Once the collapse occured, Mohammad, the oldest brother, managed to make it to the staircase closest to him and escape. Bassam was injured in the collapse, but was not buried under the rubble. They both began to call for Iyad, but they got no response. He was buried inside." The brothers later had to identify Iyad's body after rescue services found it.
Nihad further described how everyone working at the site in the days before the collapse felt that the building was shaking. "Every time a piece of heavy machinery would move or be operating on the roof, the entire building would vibrate. We all felt it."
Despite hopes and prayers for a miracle, Iyad's two brothers and his brother-in-law burst into tears upon seeing his body removed from the rubble. "We prayed for a miracle, but now are going home without my brother," said Musa, another one of Iyad's brothers.
Iyad was married with a child and his wife is pregnant with their second. He had been working in Israel in construction for a year and a half. His body was taken to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for and autopsy, and the funeral is expected to take place in Beit Rima on Wednesday.
Police said that as of Tuesday night, there are two other deaths in addition to Iyad, one a worker and another a foreign national. Three people are still listed as missing.
Tragedy strikes the Rimawi family, as the body of Iyad Rimawi, one of the brothers trapped in the rubble following the parking garage collapse, was discovered by rescue forces Tuesday; 'We prayed for a miracle, but now are going home without my brother.'
The Tel Aviv parking garage tragedy is being felt in the Palestinian village of Beit Rima outside Ramallah, as the body of 34 year-old Iyad Rimawi, a worker at the site, was pulled from the rubble on Tuesday morning. Iyad was not the only family member involved in the tragedy, as his two brothers, Mohammad and Bassam, were with him as well. However, they only suffered minor injuries, while Iyad lost his life.
Nihad, Iyad's brother in law, recounted the moment the collapse happened. "Once the collapse occured, Mohammad, the oldest brother, managed to make it to the staircase closest to him and escape. Bassam was injured in the collapse, but was not buried under the rubble. They both began to call for Iyad, but they got no response. He was buried inside." The brothers later had to identify Iyad's body after rescue services found it.
Nihad further described how everyone working at the site in the days before the collapse felt that the building was shaking. "Every time a piece of heavy machinery would move or be operating on the roof, the entire building would vibrate. We all felt it."
Despite hopes and prayers for a miracle, Iyad's two brothers and his brother-in-law burst into tears upon seeing his body removed from the rubble. "We prayed for a miracle, but now are going home without my brother," said Musa, another one of Iyad's brothers.
Iyad was married with a child and his wife is pregnant with their second. He had been working in Israel in construction for a year and a half. His body was taken to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for and autopsy, and the funeral is expected to take place in Beit Rima on Wednesday.
Police said that as of Tuesday night, there are two other deaths in addition to Iyad, one a worker and another a foreign national. Three people are still listed as missing.
With a budget of NIS2 billion, work has begun on constructing an above and below ground barrier on the border with Gaza; work has started primarily in the Gaza border communities; government promises that there is a budget for the project.
Residents of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council will be able to look out their windows and watch the IDF work on the new project meant to restore the feeling of security to the residents of the south.
The IDF has been working on a project called "barrier," which will see a giant above and underground wall completely encircle the Gaza Strip. The barrier, which is estimated to cost approximately NIS2 billion, will reach several stories underground, and will also be several stories above ground. This barrier will defend against Hamas cross-border attack tunnels.
"They will understand that they're digging death traps for themselves," said a high ranking Hamas official.
Construction has begun along all towns considered to be "next to the fence" with Gaza.
It's already possible to see the construction of this massive wall alongside one of the towns in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. The project has already received NIS600 million in funding.
IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisencott has called the project the "largest project" ever carried out in the history of the IDF. The residents of the south are following the project closely, knowing that this is the most ideal solution to prevent against the tunnels.
However, despite the importance of the project, it is at risk of being de-funded, as no money has been allocated to the project for fiscal years 2017-2018. However, officials from the Ministry of Defense have clarified that the project will not be delayed, and the Ministry of Finance has said that there is in fact a budget for the project.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon even stressed this fact during his last visit to the Gaza border communities, saying "money will not be a barrier to erecting the barrier."
Never-the-less, residents of the Gaza border area worry about work being stopped.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu promised that the monies will not be a limiting factor (for the construction of the barrier), and he must stand by his word," said MK Haim Yelin (Yesh Atid) and resident of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, located less than a mile from Gaza. "Creating a budget for each section of the barrier will triple the cost, thus potentially stopping the project."
Residents of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council will be able to look out their windows and watch the IDF work on the new project meant to restore the feeling of security to the residents of the south.
The IDF has been working on a project called "barrier," which will see a giant above and underground wall completely encircle the Gaza Strip. The barrier, which is estimated to cost approximately NIS2 billion, will reach several stories underground, and will also be several stories above ground. This barrier will defend against Hamas cross-border attack tunnels.
"They will understand that they're digging death traps for themselves," said a high ranking Hamas official.
Construction has begun along all towns considered to be "next to the fence" with Gaza.
It's already possible to see the construction of this massive wall alongside one of the towns in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. The project has already received NIS600 million in funding.
IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisencott has called the project the "largest project" ever carried out in the history of the IDF. The residents of the south are following the project closely, knowing that this is the most ideal solution to prevent against the tunnels.
However, despite the importance of the project, it is at risk of being de-funded, as no money has been allocated to the project for fiscal years 2017-2018. However, officials from the Ministry of Defense have clarified that the project will not be delayed, and the Ministry of Finance has said that there is in fact a budget for the project.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon even stressed this fact during his last visit to the Gaza border communities, saying "money will not be a barrier to erecting the barrier."
Never-the-less, residents of the Gaza border area worry about work being stopped.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu promised that the monies will not be a limiting factor (for the construction of the barrier), and he must stand by his word," said MK Haim Yelin (Yesh Atid) and resident of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, located less than a mile from Gaza. "Creating a budget for each section of the barrier will triple the cost, thus potentially stopping the project."
