25 feb 2014
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, stated that Israeli authorities took advantage of Oslo Accords to expand settlement construction. In a statement on Monday, Barghouthi pointed out that the settlers' number rose from 160 thousand before Oslo agreement to 650 thousand. Furthermore, the West Bank was divided into areas a, b, and c, while Judaization of Jerusalem never ceased.
The current situation - in reference to the ongoing negotiations - has helped to expand settlement construction, in addition to the establishment of an apartheid wall that confiscated large portions of land in the West Bank and isolated Jerusalem, he explained.
MP Barghouthi charged the Israeli authorities with exploiting ongoing talks to cover up settlement expansion, pointing to Netanyahu's statement that he would not disrupt settlement activity
The current situation - in reference to the ongoing negotiations - has helped to expand settlement construction, in addition to the establishment of an apartheid wall that confiscated large portions of land in the West Bank and isolated Jerusalem, he explained.
MP Barghouthi charged the Israeli authorities with exploiting ongoing talks to cover up settlement expansion, pointing to Netanyahu's statement that he would not disrupt settlement activity
Large Israeli forces stormed on Tuesday morning al-Aqsa Mosque and heavily fired stun grenades and rubber bullets at Palestinian worshipers who confronted and stoned the invading forces. More than 20 injuries were reported. Violent clashes took place in the Mosque last night when Israeli police tried to force out Palestinian worshipers. However, the worshipers managed to remain inside the Mosque until the morning hours.
As a result, Israeli forces imposed this morning tight restrictions on the worshipers' access to the Mosque courtyards, preventing worshipers under the age of 50 years from entering. Hundreds of students have been prevented from attending their courses in al-Aqsa Mosque.
Occupation forces were heavily deployed at the Mosque's gates and prevented the entry of Palestinian youths who in turn threw stones at the soldiers.
Three Palestinian youths were arrested while trying to enter the Mosque’s courtyards.
The clashes came few hours before Israeli Knesset's session to discuss strengthening Israeli control over al-Aqsa Mosque.
Meanwhile, al-Aqsa Foundation for Human Rights warned that Israeli Knesset plans to discuss ways to strengthen Israeli control over al-Aqsa Mosque during the next two days amid Jewish rabbis' wide support and participation.
Knesset's Committee for the Interior and Environment, headed by Likud MK Miri Regev, is scheduled to discuss next Wednesday preparations for mass settler raid on al-Aqsa Mosque to mark the Jewish holiday of Passover.
The Foundation stressed in its statement the importance of intensifying Palestinian presence in al-Aqsa Mosque, calling on Palestinians in Jerusalem and inside the Green Line to defend and protect the holy mosque in face Israeli Judaization schemes.
Jewish extremist activists have launched a campaign on social media networks calling for breaking into al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday and raising Israeli flags in its courtyards.
The Foundation said that Israeli break-ins into al-Aqsa Mosque especially by Israeli MKs, ministers, and political and religious figures came as part of Israeli scheme to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque temporally and spatially as a prelude to establishing the alleged Temple.
As a result, Israeli forces imposed this morning tight restrictions on the worshipers' access to the Mosque courtyards, preventing worshipers under the age of 50 years from entering. Hundreds of students have been prevented from attending their courses in al-Aqsa Mosque.
Occupation forces were heavily deployed at the Mosque's gates and prevented the entry of Palestinian youths who in turn threw stones at the soldiers.
Three Palestinian youths were arrested while trying to enter the Mosque’s courtyards.
The clashes came few hours before Israeli Knesset's session to discuss strengthening Israeli control over al-Aqsa Mosque.
Meanwhile, al-Aqsa Foundation for Human Rights warned that Israeli Knesset plans to discuss ways to strengthen Israeli control over al-Aqsa Mosque during the next two days amid Jewish rabbis' wide support and participation.
Knesset's Committee for the Interior and Environment, headed by Likud MK Miri Regev, is scheduled to discuss next Wednesday preparations for mass settler raid on al-Aqsa Mosque to mark the Jewish holiday of Passover.
The Foundation stressed in its statement the importance of intensifying Palestinian presence in al-Aqsa Mosque, calling on Palestinians in Jerusalem and inside the Green Line to defend and protect the holy mosque in face Israeli Judaization schemes.
Jewish extremist activists have launched a campaign on social media networks calling for breaking into al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday and raising Israeli flags in its courtyards.
The Foundation said that Israeli break-ins into al-Aqsa Mosque especially by Israeli MKs, ministers, and political and religious figures came as part of Israeli scheme to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque temporally and spatially as a prelude to establishing the alleged Temple.
Despite dozens of arrests, there have been few convictions; pro-settler vandalism continues almost weekly, with Arab towns, peace activists and even IDF targeted.
Last March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a crackdown on crimes that elsewhere might be shrugged off as ugly but sufferable mischief - racist graffiti, slashed tires, hacked orchards and small-scale arson.
Such vandalism takes on a whole different meaning when it is perpetrated by ultranationalist Jews against Palestinian property, risking renewed violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, disrupting US-mediated peace talks and further sapping Israel's image abroad.
Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, have likened the incidents - dubbed "price tagging" in a reference to making the government "pay" for curbs on Jewish settlement of Palestinian land - to terrorism.
Yet despite dozens of arrests, there have been few convictions, and the vandalism continues to occur almost weekly. Churches, peace activists and even the IDF have also been targets.
"In every incident, we go for the maximum possible charges, but in the end we tend to run up against a void in the court system," Chief Inspector Shmuel Gerbi, lead investigator for the police's price tag taskforce, told Reuters in an interview.
Some security officials and independent experts say if the crackdown is failing, the problem is that the justice system handles price-tag suspects with kid gloves. Even in Netanyahu's own governing coalition, there are those who advocate leniency.
It's another indication of the tightrope Netanyahu walks on the settlements, which most world powers deem illegal as they take up territory envisaged making up a Palestinian state.
Many Israelis see the settlers as pioneers realising a Jewish birthright to biblical land, and Netanyahu wants to keep most of the enclaves under any peace deal though he has acknowledged some would have to be relinquished.
The taskforce on price tagging is not window dressing. Its 60 officers, backed by Israel's domestic intelligence service Shin Bet, recruit informants, tap phones and run undercover stings in settlements where Israeli authorities are unwelcome.
Taskforce commander Chief Superintendent Udi Levy said they meet monthly Palestinian counterparts who seal off scenes of price-tag crimes. Israeli forensic teams arrive within hours "provided their security has been assured", he said.
In November, the taskforce swooped on two teens accused of planning to desecrate a Jerusalem church and embarrass Israel on the eve of a visit by French President Francois Hollande.
Minor Menace
The methods recall those used against Palestinian militants, something the Shin Bet says is warranted as price taggers usually strike covertly, at dark and in small bands.
But in contrast to Israel's mass jailing of Palestinian suspects, only one price tagger has seen serious prison time so far: a man sentenced to a year for slashing Arab car tires and daubing a death threat on the wall of an Israeli anti-settler activist's home.
Justice officials say comparing price-tag vandals with militants is inappropriate because the former don't aim to cause physical injury.
"These are not acts of murder, or attempted murder or aggravated assault," Deputy State Attorney Yehuda Shaffer told Reuters. "Palestinian terror is characterized by far greater violence - not spray-painting slogans."
That's why lighter charges, such as those imposed for damage to property, usually apply.
But price-tag incidents can easily get out of control, other officials say.
"What if they go torch a mosque one night, and it turns out there is someone sleeping inside?" said a Shin Bet official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Police say there are only a few score culprits, many known by name. A high number of suspects - some 50 percent, according to police - are under-aged, some as young as 12.
"It is very hard to get a judge to approve holding young minors for interrogation, and that makes the investigation difficult," Shaffer said.
The Shin Bet, according to one veteran officer, itself avoids using under-aged suspects as informants or questioning them even briefly without their parents present.
Mixed Messages
There are indications the gloves are coming off, however.
This month, three settlers were charged with torching cars and spraying a political slogan on a wall in a Palestinian village.
The indictment was secured in part thanks to a confession one of the defendants gave while the Shin Bet interrogated him over 9 days, during which he was denied access to legal counsel - twice the period normally allowed by law - taking advantage of special measures approved by the Defense Ministry last year.
It was the first time the Shin Bet had kept an Israeli incommunicado in a price tag case. In a statement, the security agency called the three settlers' alleged vandalism a "terror attack" - implicitly putting price taggers in the same category as the armed Palestinian militants who are its usual quarry.
Uri Ariel, a cabinet minister from the far-right Bayit Yehudi party, which sits in Netanyahu's coalition, excoriated the Shin Bet for the move. Denying the settler access to lawyers, he said, recalled "dark regimes, the Middle Ages".
"The Shin Bet should be kind enough to try not to breach the civil rights of Israeli citizens," Ariel told Army Radio earlier this month.
The perceived failure of the crackdown is the subject of an appeal to the Supreme Court from the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, who argue the state must not turn a blind eye to incitement that can fuel price tag attacks.
The association's president, former Justice Ministry official Irit Kohn, acknowledged the authorities' tougher tone but said price taggers were still not being treated as firmly as they deserve to be, given the threat to national security.
"These are not pranksters," Kohn said. "Any of their actions could set off conflagration, so fragile are the ties between Israel and various wings of Islam and Christianity."
Kohn said her association defends Jews who suffer anti-Semitism abroad, "and it doesn't help our case much when such things happen to religious minorities in Israel".
Last March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a crackdown on crimes that elsewhere might be shrugged off as ugly but sufferable mischief - racist graffiti, slashed tires, hacked orchards and small-scale arson.
Such vandalism takes on a whole different meaning when it is perpetrated by ultranationalist Jews against Palestinian property, risking renewed violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, disrupting US-mediated peace talks and further sapping Israel's image abroad.
Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, have likened the incidents - dubbed "price tagging" in a reference to making the government "pay" for curbs on Jewish settlement of Palestinian land - to terrorism.
Yet despite dozens of arrests, there have been few convictions, and the vandalism continues to occur almost weekly. Churches, peace activists and even the IDF have also been targets.
"In every incident, we go for the maximum possible charges, but in the end we tend to run up against a void in the court system," Chief Inspector Shmuel Gerbi, lead investigator for the police's price tag taskforce, told Reuters in an interview.
Some security officials and independent experts say if the crackdown is failing, the problem is that the justice system handles price-tag suspects with kid gloves. Even in Netanyahu's own governing coalition, there are those who advocate leniency.
It's another indication of the tightrope Netanyahu walks on the settlements, which most world powers deem illegal as they take up territory envisaged making up a Palestinian state.
Many Israelis see the settlers as pioneers realising a Jewish birthright to biblical land, and Netanyahu wants to keep most of the enclaves under any peace deal though he has acknowledged some would have to be relinquished.
The taskforce on price tagging is not window dressing. Its 60 officers, backed by Israel's domestic intelligence service Shin Bet, recruit informants, tap phones and run undercover stings in settlements where Israeli authorities are unwelcome.
Taskforce commander Chief Superintendent Udi Levy said they meet monthly Palestinian counterparts who seal off scenes of price-tag crimes. Israeli forensic teams arrive within hours "provided their security has been assured", he said.
In November, the taskforce swooped on two teens accused of planning to desecrate a Jerusalem church and embarrass Israel on the eve of a visit by French President Francois Hollande.
Minor Menace
The methods recall those used against Palestinian militants, something the Shin Bet says is warranted as price taggers usually strike covertly, at dark and in small bands.
But in contrast to Israel's mass jailing of Palestinian suspects, only one price tagger has seen serious prison time so far: a man sentenced to a year for slashing Arab car tires and daubing a death threat on the wall of an Israeli anti-settler activist's home.
Justice officials say comparing price-tag vandals with militants is inappropriate because the former don't aim to cause physical injury.
"These are not acts of murder, or attempted murder or aggravated assault," Deputy State Attorney Yehuda Shaffer told Reuters. "Palestinian terror is characterized by far greater violence - not spray-painting slogans."
That's why lighter charges, such as those imposed for damage to property, usually apply.
But price-tag incidents can easily get out of control, other officials say.
"What if they go torch a mosque one night, and it turns out there is someone sleeping inside?" said a Shin Bet official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Police say there are only a few score culprits, many known by name. A high number of suspects - some 50 percent, according to police - are under-aged, some as young as 12.
"It is very hard to get a judge to approve holding young minors for interrogation, and that makes the investigation difficult," Shaffer said.
The Shin Bet, according to one veteran officer, itself avoids using under-aged suspects as informants or questioning them even briefly without their parents present.
Mixed Messages
There are indications the gloves are coming off, however.
This month, three settlers were charged with torching cars and spraying a political slogan on a wall in a Palestinian village.
The indictment was secured in part thanks to a confession one of the defendants gave while the Shin Bet interrogated him over 9 days, during which he was denied access to legal counsel - twice the period normally allowed by law - taking advantage of special measures approved by the Defense Ministry last year.
It was the first time the Shin Bet had kept an Israeli incommunicado in a price tag case. In a statement, the security agency called the three settlers' alleged vandalism a "terror attack" - implicitly putting price taggers in the same category as the armed Palestinian militants who are its usual quarry.
Uri Ariel, a cabinet minister from the far-right Bayit Yehudi party, which sits in Netanyahu's coalition, excoriated the Shin Bet for the move. Denying the settler access to lawyers, he said, recalled "dark regimes, the Middle Ages".
"The Shin Bet should be kind enough to try not to breach the civil rights of Israeli citizens," Ariel told Army Radio earlier this month.
The perceived failure of the crackdown is the subject of an appeal to the Supreme Court from the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, who argue the state must not turn a blind eye to incitement that can fuel price tag attacks.
The association's president, former Justice Ministry official Irit Kohn, acknowledged the authorities' tougher tone but said price taggers were still not being treated as firmly as they deserve to be, given the threat to national security.
"These are not pranksters," Kohn said. "Any of their actions could set off conflagration, so fragile are the ties between Israel and various wings of Islam and Christianity."
Kohn said her association defends Jews who suffer anti-Semitism abroad, "and it doesn't help our case much when such things happen to religious minorities in Israel".
Dozens of Palestinian youths have retreated to the al-Aqsa compound to protest Israeli calls to raise Israeli flags inside it on Tuesday.
Witnesses said that around 50 young men remained at the compound after the evening prayers to prevent any attempts to raise the Israeli flag in it.
Witnesses added that Israeli police at the gates of al-Aqsa seized the ID cards of dozens of youths before the entered the compound.
The calls came after a group of rabbis submitted a petition to the Knesset demanding legislation to extend Jewish sovereignty on the Temple Mount.
Israeli MK Taleb Abu Arrar called on international officials and Jordanian King Abdullah II to pressure Israel to retract “such things and respect the sacredness of the place.”
Abu Arrar condemned allowing rightist Moshe Feiglin to visit the compound, and said it was “a reward to him” for retracting a proposal to inset on sovereignty of the site last week.
Witnesses said that around 50 young men remained at the compound after the evening prayers to prevent any attempts to raise the Israeli flag in it.
Witnesses added that Israeli police at the gates of al-Aqsa seized the ID cards of dozens of youths before the entered the compound.
The calls came after a group of rabbis submitted a petition to the Knesset demanding legislation to extend Jewish sovereignty on the Temple Mount.
Israeli MK Taleb Abu Arrar called on international officials and Jordanian King Abdullah II to pressure Israel to retract “such things and respect the sacredness of the place.”
Abu Arrar condemned allowing rightist Moshe Feiglin to visit the compound, and said it was “a reward to him” for retracting a proposal to inset on sovereignty of the site last week.
24 feb 2014
The Knesset's proposal aims to legitimize recurring breakings into Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Muslim and Christian sanctities, say Jordanian MPs
Jerusalem Committee Rapporteur at Palestinian Parliament Ahmed abu Halbeyyah called the Arab countries to firmly counter Israel’s attempts to claim sovereignty over Al Aqsa Mosque. Abu Halbeyyah explained to ALRAY that the Israeli occupation tries to legalize the division of Al Aqsa mosque and to found establish civil Jewish facilities to officially enable the Jewsih settlers and soldiers to break into it.
The occupation plans to make Al Aqsa mosque and the surrounding so-called Holy Basin pure Jewish property, ignoring the Jordanian guardianship over the holy site.
Israeli Knesset on Monday said it’s scheduled to hold a discussion on Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount on Tuesday, after it was dropped earlier this month due to widespread rage against the decision among Palestinians after Friday prayer.
Jordanian lawmakers were angered at Israeli plans to draft a law ending the Hashemite guardianship on Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem, which is a breach of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, official news agency Petra reported.
The Knesset's proposal aims to legitimize recurring breakings into Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Muslim and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem and Palestine, The Lower House of Parliament's Palestine Committee said on Feb. 16.
Jerusalem Committee Rapporteur at Palestinian Parliament Ahmed abu Halbeyyah called the Arab countries to firmly counter Israel’s attempts to claim sovereignty over Al Aqsa Mosque. Abu Halbeyyah explained to ALRAY that the Israeli occupation tries to legalize the division of Al Aqsa mosque and to found establish civil Jewish facilities to officially enable the Jewsih settlers and soldiers to break into it.
The occupation plans to make Al Aqsa mosque and the surrounding so-called Holy Basin pure Jewish property, ignoring the Jordanian guardianship over the holy site.
Israeli Knesset on Monday said it’s scheduled to hold a discussion on Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount on Tuesday, after it was dropped earlier this month due to widespread rage against the decision among Palestinians after Friday prayer.
Jordanian lawmakers were angered at Israeli plans to draft a law ending the Hashemite guardianship on Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem, which is a breach of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, official news agency Petra reported.
The Knesset's proposal aims to legitimize recurring breakings into Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Muslim and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem and Palestine, The Lower House of Parliament's Palestine Committee said on Feb. 16.
Jewish settlers destroyed 150 olive trees in a Bethlehem village and assaulted an old Palestinian shepherd near Nablus at noon Monday. Ahmed Salah, the coordinator of the popular anti-settlement activity in Al-Khader village, near Bethlehem, said that the settlers uprooted and destroyed more than 150 olive trees in the village.
He said that settlers repeatedly attack the land of the farmer Yassin Dadu, adding that more olive trees had been previously damaged in his land.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that seven Jewish settlers from Itamar settlement attacked 65-year-old shepherd Radi Hanani while rearing his flock of sheep to the east of Beit Furik village, to the south east of Nablus city.
They said that the shepherd was severely beaten in the incident, adding that the settlers have been attacking shepherds in the area for the past three days.
He said that settlers repeatedly attack the land of the farmer Yassin Dadu, adding that more olive trees had been previously damaged in his land.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that seven Jewish settlers from Itamar settlement attacked 65-year-old shepherd Radi Hanani while rearing his flock of sheep to the east of Beit Furik village, to the south east of Nablus city.
They said that the shepherd was severely beaten in the incident, adding that the settlers have been attacking shepherds in the area for the past three days.
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Israeli settlers have attacked a Palestinian farmer and his family in the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), Press TV reports.
On Saturday, over a dozen Israeli settlers attacked Mohammad Atiti and his family while they were planting seedlings. The settlers hurled rocks at the Palestinians and shouted abuse at them before the Israeli army intervened. Atiti said that Israeli troops forced him to leave instead of stopping the settlers. “The settlers have been attacking our land and cutting our olive trees since 2008. |
I am so tired of this. I went to the police dozens of times to complain but they have done nothing yet. I have owned this land since 1957. Almost every day, they attack my land and destroy my crops. They also use the graffiti DEATH TO ARABS,” Atiti said.
A member of the Popular Resistance Committee in al-Khalil says the settlers’ attacks against Palestinians are part of efforts to expand the illegal Israeli settlements.
“We always support the farmers against the attacks. For many years we have helped them and planted trees to replace the ones the settlers destroyed and burned. Mohammad Atiti has suffered from the Israeli settler attacks for the past 12 years. He has also lost two of his sons in clashes with the settlers. Atiti is 70 years old and has refused millions of dollars to sell his lands to the settlers, that is why they continue to attack him,” said Yousef Abu Maria.
In recent years, Israeli settlers in the West Bank have often assaulted Palestinians and vandalized their property. However, the Tel Aviv regime rarely detains the assailants.
The Israeli regime maintains a defiant stand on the issue of its illegal settlements on Palestinian land as it refuses to freeze settlement expansion. Tel Aviv has come under repeated and widespread international condemnation over the issue.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Human rights groups accuse Tel Aviv of ignoring complaints by the victims of settler attacks.
A member of the Popular Resistance Committee in al-Khalil says the settlers’ attacks against Palestinians are part of efforts to expand the illegal Israeli settlements.
“We always support the farmers against the attacks. For many years we have helped them and planted trees to replace the ones the settlers destroyed and burned. Mohammad Atiti has suffered from the Israeli settler attacks for the past 12 years. He has also lost two of his sons in clashes with the settlers. Atiti is 70 years old and has refused millions of dollars to sell his lands to the settlers, that is why they continue to attack him,” said Yousef Abu Maria.
In recent years, Israeli settlers in the West Bank have often assaulted Palestinians and vandalized their property. However, the Tel Aviv regime rarely detains the assailants.
The Israeli regime maintains a defiant stand on the issue of its illegal settlements on Palestinian land as it refuses to freeze settlement expansion. Tel Aviv has come under repeated and widespread international condemnation over the issue.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Human rights groups accuse Tel Aviv of ignoring complaints by the victims of settler attacks.
On Tuesday 25 February 2014, at 7:00 p.m, AICafé invites you to attend a discussion about Price Tag Policy with Amira Hass.
The number of 'price tag' attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and Palestinian-owned property is on a steady increase. How does Israeli society view the settlers and settlements in the West Bank? Why has settler violence in general, together with price tag attacks, risen in recent years? And how, if at all, is this violence used by the Israeli government to promote the settlement project?
These questions and more will be answered by leading Israeli journalist Amira Hass, who writes for the daily newspaper Haaretz and has extensively covered and analysed the issues of settler and price tag violence.
Come hear Amira Hass, one of the area's most prominent journalists!
The AIC is a joint Palestinian-Israeli activist organization engaged in dissemination of information, political advocacy and grassroots activism. The AICafè is a political and cultural café open on Tuesday and Saturday night from 7pm until 10.30 pm. The AIC is located in the Alternative Information Center in Beit Sahour, close to Suq Sha'ab (follow the sign to Jadal Center). We have a small library with novels, political books and magazines. We also have a number of films in DVD copies and AIC publications which are aimed to critically analyze both Palestinian and Israeli societies, as well as the conflict itself.
The number of 'price tag' attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and Palestinian-owned property is on a steady increase. How does Israeli society view the settlers and settlements in the West Bank? Why has settler violence in general, together with price tag attacks, risen in recent years? And how, if at all, is this violence used by the Israeli government to promote the settlement project?
These questions and more will be answered by leading Israeli journalist Amira Hass, who writes for the daily newspaper Haaretz and has extensively covered and analysed the issues of settler and price tag violence.
Come hear Amira Hass, one of the area's most prominent journalists!
The AIC is a joint Palestinian-Israeli activist organization engaged in dissemination of information, political advocacy and grassroots activism. The AICafè is a political and cultural café open on Tuesday and Saturday night from 7pm until 10.30 pm. The AIC is located in the Alternative Information Center in Beit Sahour, close to Suq Sha'ab (follow the sign to Jadal Center). We have a small library with novels, political books and magazines. We also have a number of films in DVD copies and AIC publications which are aimed to critically analyze both Palestinian and Israeli societies, as well as the conflict itself.
23 feb 2014
Jewish settlers broke into the Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday morning via the Maghareba gate and toured its various plazas under tight police protection. Mahmoud Abulatta, the media coordinator of the Aqsa foundation for Endowment and Heritage, told Safa news agency that special police forces escorted the 22 settlers who broke into the holy site.
He pointed out that the police force arrested a Palestinian citizen during the tour and took him to a police station.
Abulatta pointed out that more than 1,200 scholars were inside the Mosque along with around 300 worshipers. He added that the Israeli occupation authority was annoyed by such a big number of worshipers and vigilantes and tried to tighten entry measures to reduce the number.
He pointed out that the police force arrested a Palestinian citizen during the tour and took him to a police station.
Abulatta pointed out that more than 1,200 scholars were inside the Mosque along with around 300 worshipers. He added that the Israeli occupation authority was annoyed by such a big number of worshipers and vigilantes and tried to tighten entry measures to reduce the number.
Israeli settlers on Saturday attacked Palestinian farmers in Beit Ummar village, south of the West Bank city of al-Khalil. Muhammad Awad, spokesman for the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, said that around 15 Israeli settlers from the settlement of Beit Ayin attacked the farmer Muhammad al-Salibi and his sons while they were working in their land, located near the settlement
He added that the Israelis hurled rocks at the farmers, and that Israeli occupation forces came to the scene and forced Muhammad and his sons to leave the area.
Awad pointed out that the settlers have kept on attacking Palestinian citizens and their properties under the protection of the occupation army, which poses a great danger to the lives of farmers.
He added that the Israelis hurled rocks at the farmers, and that Israeli occupation forces came to the scene and forced Muhammad and his sons to leave the area.
Awad pointed out that the settlers have kept on attacking Palestinian citizens and their properties under the protection of the occupation army, which poses a great danger to the lives of farmers.
22 feb 2014
Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked private homes and smashed vehicles on Saturday evening in the village of Jeet near Nablus, a PA official said.
Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said that dozens of settlers from the Israeli outpost of Havat Gilad hurled rocks at local homes and smashed vehicles on the main village road.
Clashes subsequently broke out between settlers and locals, who tried to stop them from attacking the village.
Daghlas said that the settlers attacked local farmers who were planting seedlings near the village on lands they own located close to the illegal Israeli outpost.
Locals confronted the settlers and forced them to leave the village after throwing stones.
The destroyed cars were identified as belonging to Nassim al-Sadda and Awne Nassar.
In 2013, there were 399 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Over 90 percent of investigations into settler violence by Israeli police fail to lead to an indictment.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said that dozens of settlers from the Israeli outpost of Havat Gilad hurled rocks at local homes and smashed vehicles on the main village road.
Clashes subsequently broke out between settlers and locals, who tried to stop them from attacking the village.
Daghlas said that the settlers attacked local farmers who were planting seedlings near the village on lands they own located close to the illegal Israeli outpost.
Locals confronted the settlers and forced them to leave the village after throwing stones.
The destroyed cars were identified as belonging to Nassim al-Sadda and Awne Nassar.
In 2013, there were 399 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Over 90 percent of investigations into settler violence by Israeli police fail to lead to an indictment.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
21 feb 2014
Settlers, protected by Israeli forces, Friday attacked farmers from al-Asakreh village, east of Bethlehem and prevented them from cultivating their lands.
The head of Tkou' municipality, Tayseer Abu Mufreh told the Palestinian official news agency WAFA that a number of settlers attacked farmers while they were cultivating their lands in al-Ghuzlan area adjacent to Tqou' settlement, and assaulted them.
The settlers also prevented them from continuing to plant olive seedlings in their lands.
He added that the settlers uprooted some of the seedlings that were planted and that the Israeli soldiers forced the land owners to leave and declare it a closed military area.
Abu Mufreh said that settlers assaulted few days ago a number of farmers in the same area and prevented them from cultivating their land.
The head of Tkou' municipality, Tayseer Abu Mufreh told the Palestinian official news agency WAFA that a number of settlers attacked farmers while they were cultivating their lands in al-Ghuzlan area adjacent to Tqou' settlement, and assaulted them.
The settlers also prevented them from continuing to plant olive seedlings in their lands.
He added that the settlers uprooted some of the seedlings that were planted and that the Israeli soldiers forced the land owners to leave and declare it a closed military area.
Abu Mufreh said that settlers assaulted few days ago a number of farmers in the same area and prevented them from cultivating their land.
Khalil Tokaji, a cartographer and expert on Israeli settlements at the Orient House institution, stated that the Israeli settlement tenders in occupied Jerusalem is part of an Israel systamatic plan to maintain overall control over the city.
He confirmed that Israeli settlement schemes dated back to 1994 that aim to establish 58 thousands housing units till 2030 in order to fully annex Jerusalem to Israel.
The Israeli authorities are working to escalate settlement construction in order to double settlers' number to reach half a million in Jerusalem and to flood West Bank with a million of settlers till 2030, he added.
He pointed out that Israeli plan aims to annex 10% of West Bank in order to expand Jerusalem settlements, saying that Israel does not recognize a Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders. Israeli policy also aims to decrease the Palestinian population in Jerusalem to 12%, he added.
He quoted Israeli mayor as saying that 70 thousands of Jerusalemites who live beyond the Wall, northern Jerusalem ad Shufat camp, will be annexed to West Bank and in danger of losing their Jerusalem residency.
He warned of the seriousness of Netanyahu's recent remarks regarding the expansion of settlements on religious basis, saying that this plan aims to establish settlers' self-rule in West Bank.
Netanyahu is saying that President Mahmoud Abbas is racist since he refuses to accept settler presence in the West Bank. In fact, this is contrary to his strategy that aims to end the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and the West Bank and to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, he said.
He pointed out that the number of settlers in the year 1992 was 105 thousand, while today it reached 380 thousand settlers in the West Bank and 250 thousand others in Jerusalem, and added that this increase in the settlers' number is part of an Israeli plan put in 1979 that aims to reach one million settlers in the West and Jerusalem in the year 2030 in order to prevent the establishment of the Palestinian state.
He confirmed that Israeli settlement schemes dated back to 1994 that aim to establish 58 thousands housing units till 2030 in order to fully annex Jerusalem to Israel.
The Israeli authorities are working to escalate settlement construction in order to double settlers' number to reach half a million in Jerusalem and to flood West Bank with a million of settlers till 2030, he added.
He pointed out that Israeli plan aims to annex 10% of West Bank in order to expand Jerusalem settlements, saying that Israel does not recognize a Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders. Israeli policy also aims to decrease the Palestinian population in Jerusalem to 12%, he added.
He quoted Israeli mayor as saying that 70 thousands of Jerusalemites who live beyond the Wall, northern Jerusalem ad Shufat camp, will be annexed to West Bank and in danger of losing their Jerusalem residency.
He warned of the seriousness of Netanyahu's recent remarks regarding the expansion of settlements on religious basis, saying that this plan aims to establish settlers' self-rule in West Bank.
Netanyahu is saying that President Mahmoud Abbas is racist since he refuses to accept settler presence in the West Bank. In fact, this is contrary to his strategy that aims to end the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and the West Bank and to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, he said.
He pointed out that the number of settlers in the year 1992 was 105 thousand, while today it reached 380 thousand settlers in the West Bank and 250 thousand others in Jerusalem, and added that this increase in the settlers' number is part of an Israeli plan put in 1979 that aims to reach one million settlers in the West and Jerusalem in the year 2030 in order to prevent the establishment of the Palestinian state.
20 feb 2014
Six Palestinians were injured in clashes after Israeli settlers attacked a high school south of Nablus on Thursday, according to a Palestinian Authority official.
Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said that clashes broke out after Israeli settlers attacked Burin High School.
The attack led to the subsequent intervention of dozens of villagers and Israeli forces, who fired tear gas during the clashes.
Daghlas added that dozens of Palestinian suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation, including Mohammad Thawqan, Diya Rayyan, Imad Najjar, Asim Mohammad Najjar, Walid Salim, and Ibrahim Theeb.
The injured were subsequently taken to Rafidia governmental hospital for treatment.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said that "100 Palestinians ... began hurling rocks at soldiers" while they were engaged in "routine activity" in the area.
She added that soldiers used "riot dispersal" means against the protesters.
Also on Thursday afternoon, a fire bomb was thrown towards a car belonging to a settler in the area. As a result, a large number of Israeli forces arrived on scene and closed the main road temporarily.
Burin is a frequent site of settler violence and Palestinian clashes with Israeli forces as it is located beside the notoriously violent Israeli settlement of Yitzhar.
Settlers frequently attack a number of local villages and prevent farmers from reaching their lands, according to UNOCHA, in addition to attacks on local olive trees themselves.
In 2013, there were 399 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
In the last week alone, hundreds of olive trees across the West Bank have been chopped in a number of incidents targeting Palestinian farmers' livelihoods.
Over 90 percent of investigations into settler violence by Israeli police fail to lead to an indictment.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said that clashes broke out after Israeli settlers attacked Burin High School.
The attack led to the subsequent intervention of dozens of villagers and Israeli forces, who fired tear gas during the clashes.
Daghlas added that dozens of Palestinian suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation, including Mohammad Thawqan, Diya Rayyan, Imad Najjar, Asim Mohammad Najjar, Walid Salim, and Ibrahim Theeb.
The injured were subsequently taken to Rafidia governmental hospital for treatment.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said that "100 Palestinians ... began hurling rocks at soldiers" while they were engaged in "routine activity" in the area.
She added that soldiers used "riot dispersal" means against the protesters.
Also on Thursday afternoon, a fire bomb was thrown towards a car belonging to a settler in the area. As a result, a large number of Israeli forces arrived on scene and closed the main road temporarily.
Burin is a frequent site of settler violence and Palestinian clashes with Israeli forces as it is located beside the notoriously violent Israeli settlement of Yitzhar.
Settlers frequently attack a number of local villages and prevent farmers from reaching their lands, according to UNOCHA, in addition to attacks on local olive trees themselves.
In 2013, there were 399 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
In the last week alone, hundreds of olive trees across the West Bank have been chopped in a number of incidents targeting Palestinian farmers' livelihoods.
Over 90 percent of investigations into settler violence by Israeli police fail to lead to an indictment.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
A settler deliberately rammed a parked Palestinian car on Thursday in the Nablus village of Zaatara, locals said.
Musab Hasan Balsma, 21, told Ma'an that he parked his Fiat on the roadside after it ran out of fuel and was waiting inside the car for a friend to bring him fuel.
All of a sudden, a settler driving a pickup truck rammed the car from behind and then from the front, before fleeing the scene.
Balsma was transferred to hospital with cuts and bruises following the incident and filed a complaint with Israeli police.
Israeli settler smashes Palestinian car
Israeli settler attacked by his own jeep on Thursday a Palestinian youth car at al-Za’tara east Salfeet in West Bank. Local Palestinian sources said that the settler crashed the car which belongs to Mosaab Balasma 21, in Salfeet city and smashed its windshield.
They said that the youth sustained moderate injuries and transferred to Yasser Arafat hospital for treatment.
Balasma said he was standing at the road waiting for his friend to fuel his car when the settler attacked his car deliberately before escaping.
He complained about the settler to the occupation police, noting that there are surveillance cameras at the Za’tara street.
Musab Hasan Balsma, 21, told Ma'an that he parked his Fiat on the roadside after it ran out of fuel and was waiting inside the car for a friend to bring him fuel.
All of a sudden, a settler driving a pickup truck rammed the car from behind and then from the front, before fleeing the scene.
Balsma was transferred to hospital with cuts and bruises following the incident and filed a complaint with Israeli police.
Israeli settler smashes Palestinian car
Israeli settler attacked by his own jeep on Thursday a Palestinian youth car at al-Za’tara east Salfeet in West Bank. Local Palestinian sources said that the settler crashed the car which belongs to Mosaab Balasma 21, in Salfeet city and smashed its windshield.
They said that the youth sustained moderate injuries and transferred to Yasser Arafat hospital for treatment.
Balasma said he was standing at the road waiting for his friend to fuel his car when the settler attacked his car deliberately before escaping.
He complained about the settler to the occupation police, noting that there are surveillance cameras at the Za’tara street.
Israel will not sign any deal with the Palestinians unless its security concerns are put to rest, US Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview with Channel 2, and hinted that evacuation of Israeli settlers from the West Bank may not be necessary. In segments published Wednesday, Kerry dismissed criticism of him from right-wing Israeli politicians, particularly Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who said the top US diplomat was “messianic and obsessive.”
“You know, those are judgments that other people may or may not have fun making in this process. I’m doing my job,” he said. Kerry said he was not insulted by Ya’alon’s remarks. “I think I am committed, and I’m determined.”
The full-length interview was set to be broadcast on Thursday.
The secretary of state declined to comment on his gut reaction in January to Yedioth Ahronoth’s publication of Ya’alon’s scathing criticism, which targeted the US’s mediation of the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
“People who know me know that when I sink my teeth into something, if I get the bit between my teeth, I try to get it done,” he said, dismissing the possibility of losing hope in a future peace deal between the two sides.
Kerry was in Paris Wednesday for talks aimed at reaching agreement on a framework for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. He met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. They are working to define the framework for negotiators as they seek to forge a comprehensive settlement to the conflict.
“We are at an important point in the negotiations where we are engaged with narrowing the gaps between the parties on a framework for negotiations and it was an appropriate time to spend a few hours meeting with President Abbas to talk about the core issues,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
The Israelis and Palestinians agreed to resume stalled talks that began last summer with a nine-month target for a peace deal. But there have been few tangible signs of progress as the May expiration of that period looms, and so the goal has been scaled back to getting consensus on an outline for negotiations.
Opening his meeting with Judeh, Kerry told reporters that he was “particularly grateful” for Jordan’s role in hosting more than 1.3 million Syrians who have fled the fighting in their country.
“It’s an extraordinary burden,” he said. “We’re proud that we are the number one donor to this crisis, but both of us want to stop having increased clients. We want an end to the refugee crisis, an end to the problem in Syria and we’re working hard to find ways forward on that.”
Kerry is in France on the last stop of an around-the-world journey that has already taken him to South Korea, China, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Tunisi.
“You know, those are judgments that other people may or may not have fun making in this process. I’m doing my job,” he said. Kerry said he was not insulted by Ya’alon’s remarks. “I think I am committed, and I’m determined.”
The full-length interview was set to be broadcast on Thursday.
The secretary of state declined to comment on his gut reaction in January to Yedioth Ahronoth’s publication of Ya’alon’s scathing criticism, which targeted the US’s mediation of the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
“People who know me know that when I sink my teeth into something, if I get the bit between my teeth, I try to get it done,” he said, dismissing the possibility of losing hope in a future peace deal between the two sides.
Kerry was in Paris Wednesday for talks aimed at reaching agreement on a framework for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. He met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. They are working to define the framework for negotiators as they seek to forge a comprehensive settlement to the conflict.
“We are at an important point in the negotiations where we are engaged with narrowing the gaps between the parties on a framework for negotiations and it was an appropriate time to spend a few hours meeting with President Abbas to talk about the core issues,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
The Israelis and Palestinians agreed to resume stalled talks that began last summer with a nine-month target for a peace deal. But there have been few tangible signs of progress as the May expiration of that period looms, and so the goal has been scaled back to getting consensus on an outline for negotiations.
Opening his meeting with Judeh, Kerry told reporters that he was “particularly grateful” for Jordan’s role in hosting more than 1.3 million Syrians who have fled the fighting in their country.
“It’s an extraordinary burden,” he said. “We’re proud that we are the number one donor to this crisis, but both of us want to stop having increased clients. We want an end to the refugee crisis, an end to the problem in Syria and we’re working hard to find ways forward on that.”
Kerry is in France on the last stop of an around-the-world journey that has already taken him to South Korea, China, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Tunisi.