19 dec 2016
Dozens of Israeli settlers and policemen stormed al-Aqsa Mosque and roamed its courtyards on Monday.
According to Quds Press, 31 Israeli settlers stormed al-Aqsa Mosque from Mughrabi gate in the form of groups and roamed its courtyards before exiting from Bab el-Silsila gate.
Al-Aqsa Mosque was stormed by 18 settlers in the morning and 13 settlers in the afternoon in addition to 20 policemen under the protection of the Israeli special forces, Quds Press stated.
Around 300 Israelis stormed al-Aqsa Mosque over the past week including 33 Israeli intelligence officers.
According to Quds Press, 31 Israeli settlers stormed al-Aqsa Mosque from Mughrabi gate in the form of groups and roamed its courtyards before exiting from Bab el-Silsila gate.
Al-Aqsa Mosque was stormed by 18 settlers in the morning and 13 settlers in the afternoon in addition to 20 policemen under the protection of the Israeli special forces, Quds Press stated.
Around 300 Israelis stormed al-Aqsa Mosque over the past week including 33 Israeli intelligence officers.
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) said that around 120 dunums of Palestinian lands in Silwad town to the east of Ramallah city in the central West Bank will be confiscated and allocated for the settlers evacuated from Amona outpost.
The mayor of Silwad, Abdulrahman Saleh, said that the IOA notified the village’s municipality of the confiscation of the lands owned by Palestinian citizens who have official documents proving that.
The Quds Press news agency said that Saleh warned on Monday of an Israeli scheme to relocate Amona settlers in Silwad. The municipality of Silwad filed an objection against the measure with an Israeli court.
He pointed out that the inhabitants of Silwad previously foiled two Israeli schemes to seize lands in the town after proving their ownership of the lands and that they are not state or absentee lands.
However, the mayor said that there are great concerns about the relocation of Amona settlers and their caravans to the confiscated lands, especially that the court's ruling may take months or years to be issued.
Amona outpost, built on a private Palestinian land to the northeast of Ramallah city, is inhabited by 40 Jewish families and considered an illegal settlement according to the international and Israeli laws.
Amona issue has ranked at the top of the Israeli government's agenda in the recent weeks, due to which many internal conflicts have emerged trying to find a solution that prevents the evacuation of the outpost. These conflicts led minister of education Naftali Bennett and his party "The Jewish Home" to abstain from supporting draft laws presented by the government.
Yedioth Ahronoth Hebrew newspaper said that 45 settlers from Amona outpost agreed on a compromise solution formula proposed by the Israeli government while 29 settlers opposed it. According to this proposal every family who lived in the settlement before 25th December 2014 will be given one million shekels as compensation.
The mayor of Silwad, Abdulrahman Saleh, said that the IOA notified the village’s municipality of the confiscation of the lands owned by Palestinian citizens who have official documents proving that.
The Quds Press news agency said that Saleh warned on Monday of an Israeli scheme to relocate Amona settlers in Silwad. The municipality of Silwad filed an objection against the measure with an Israeli court.
He pointed out that the inhabitants of Silwad previously foiled two Israeli schemes to seize lands in the town after proving their ownership of the lands and that they are not state or absentee lands.
However, the mayor said that there are great concerns about the relocation of Amona settlers and their caravans to the confiscated lands, especially that the court's ruling may take months or years to be issued.
Amona outpost, built on a private Palestinian land to the northeast of Ramallah city, is inhabited by 40 Jewish families and considered an illegal settlement according to the international and Israeli laws.
Amona issue has ranked at the top of the Israeli government's agenda in the recent weeks, due to which many internal conflicts have emerged trying to find a solution that prevents the evacuation of the outpost. These conflicts led minister of education Naftali Bennett and his party "The Jewish Home" to abstain from supporting draft laws presented by the government.
Yedioth Ahronoth Hebrew newspaper said that 45 settlers from Amona outpost agreed on a compromise solution formula proposed by the Israeli government while 29 settlers opposed it. According to this proposal every family who lived in the settlement before 25th December 2014 will be given one million shekels as compensation.
Residents of the illegal settlement outpost of Amona, in the central occupied West Bank. voted on Sunday to approve a relocation plan put forward by the Israeli government, after weeks of discussions trying to assuage settler anger over the mandated evacuation of the outpost.
Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported that the settlers residing in Amona, in the Ramallah district — an outpost considered illegal by both the Israeli government and the international community — had decided to accept an evacuation plan which would see the majority of them relocated to a nearby hilltop by Dec. 25, following a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court stating that the outpost was illegally built on privately owned Palestinian land.
“After 20 years of pioneering settlement, and against all odds, and after two years of struggle, we have decided to suspend our struggle, and take the government’s offer to build 52 houses and public buildings in new Amona,” Ynet quoted the Amona settlers as saying.
Ma’an News Agency further reports that, a week prior, several hundred ultra-religious right-wing Israelis set up camp in Amona, in anticipation of the outpost’s impending evacuation, raising tensions over a potentially violent confrontation between the settlers and Israeli forces.
Amona settlers had rejected previous plans which would have seen only half of them relocated nearby, whereas the current agreement will reportedly see almost all of them staying in the area.
However, Israeli rights group “Peace Now” has noted that the plan would have the settlers relocate to land privately owned by Palestinians, stating that “the Israeli government is replacing one land theft by another.”
Meanwhile, Amona Rabbi Yair Frank warned that, if the settlers deemed that the Israeli government was not fulfilling its part of the deal, “we will not hesitate to renew the fight,” Ynet reported, quoting the rabbi as saying that “we have no doubts that we’ll return to the whole mountain.”
In a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated the Israeli government’s “goodwill and love for settlement,” in finding a solution that would satisfy the Amona settlers.
“There has not been a government that showed more concern for settlement in the Land of Israel and no government will show more concern,” Netanyahu told the cabinet.
Haaretz reported that the Israeli government was set to approve a budget amounting to 130 million shekels ($33.5 million) for the relocation, which will include compensation, for the displaced settlers, and the establishment of a new settlement near the illegal outpost of Shvut Rachel.
Opposition lawmaker Tzipi Livni was quoted, by Haaretz, as lamenting that the agreement reached on Sunday was a sign that “the threat of violence works. What remains of Amona isn’t Zionism, settlement or any other value — just that the Israeli government caves to strongmen.”
Meanwhile, Ynet reported that the head of the Binyamin settlement regional council, Yossi Dagan, bemoaned the forced displacement of Amona, claiming that such procedures “would never have happened to the Bedouin in the Negev or any other population” — a statement which completely disregarded Israeli authorities’ policy of wide-scale demolition of Bedouin villages in the Negev and of Palestinian homes and buildings in Area C of the West Bank.
While the settler outposts constructed in Palestinian territory are considered illegal by the Israeli government, each of the some 196 government-approved Israeli settlements scattered across the West Bank are also built in direct violation of international law.
Members of the international community have rested the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the discontinuation of illegal Israeli settlements and the establishment of a two-state solution. However, Israeli leaders have, instead, shifted farther to the right, as many Knesset members have called for an escalation of settlement building in the occupied West Bank, and some have advocated for its complete annexation.
A number of Palestinian activists have criticized the two-state solution as unsustainable and unlikely to bring durable peace, proposing instead a bi-national state with equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.
Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported that the settlers residing in Amona, in the Ramallah district — an outpost considered illegal by both the Israeli government and the international community — had decided to accept an evacuation plan which would see the majority of them relocated to a nearby hilltop by Dec. 25, following a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court stating that the outpost was illegally built on privately owned Palestinian land.
“After 20 years of pioneering settlement, and against all odds, and after two years of struggle, we have decided to suspend our struggle, and take the government’s offer to build 52 houses and public buildings in new Amona,” Ynet quoted the Amona settlers as saying.
Ma’an News Agency further reports that, a week prior, several hundred ultra-religious right-wing Israelis set up camp in Amona, in anticipation of the outpost’s impending evacuation, raising tensions over a potentially violent confrontation between the settlers and Israeli forces.
Amona settlers had rejected previous plans which would have seen only half of them relocated nearby, whereas the current agreement will reportedly see almost all of them staying in the area.
However, Israeli rights group “Peace Now” has noted that the plan would have the settlers relocate to land privately owned by Palestinians, stating that “the Israeli government is replacing one land theft by another.”
Meanwhile, Amona Rabbi Yair Frank warned that, if the settlers deemed that the Israeli government was not fulfilling its part of the deal, “we will not hesitate to renew the fight,” Ynet reported, quoting the rabbi as saying that “we have no doubts that we’ll return to the whole mountain.”
In a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated the Israeli government’s “goodwill and love for settlement,” in finding a solution that would satisfy the Amona settlers.
“There has not been a government that showed more concern for settlement in the Land of Israel and no government will show more concern,” Netanyahu told the cabinet.
Haaretz reported that the Israeli government was set to approve a budget amounting to 130 million shekels ($33.5 million) for the relocation, which will include compensation, for the displaced settlers, and the establishment of a new settlement near the illegal outpost of Shvut Rachel.
Opposition lawmaker Tzipi Livni was quoted, by Haaretz, as lamenting that the agreement reached on Sunday was a sign that “the threat of violence works. What remains of Amona isn’t Zionism, settlement or any other value — just that the Israeli government caves to strongmen.”
Meanwhile, Ynet reported that the head of the Binyamin settlement regional council, Yossi Dagan, bemoaned the forced displacement of Amona, claiming that such procedures “would never have happened to the Bedouin in the Negev or any other population” — a statement which completely disregarded Israeli authorities’ policy of wide-scale demolition of Bedouin villages in the Negev and of Palestinian homes and buildings in Area C of the West Bank.
While the settler outposts constructed in Palestinian territory are considered illegal by the Israeli government, each of the some 196 government-approved Israeli settlements scattered across the West Bank are also built in direct violation of international law.
Members of the international community have rested the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the discontinuation of illegal Israeli settlements and the establishment of a two-state solution. However, Israeli leaders have, instead, shifted farther to the right, as many Knesset members have called for an escalation of settlement building in the occupied West Bank, and some have advocated for its complete annexation.
A number of Palestinian activists have criticized the two-state solution as unsustainable and unlikely to bring durable peace, proposing instead a bi-national state with equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.
18 dec 2016
Some Palestinian citizens on Friday evening suffered injuries after they were assaulted by armed Jewish settlers in Silwan district, south of the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem.
The incident happened when extremist settlers started to brutalize Palestinian citizens in Baten al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan, according to local activists.
The situation swiftly escalated into a brawl between young men from the neighborhood and the Jewish assailants, who then opened fire randomly in the area.
Consequently, Israeli police troops with an ambulance rushed to the scene, blocked roads in Silwan and barred the movement of vehicles.
There is still no information if the victimized Palestinians suffered gunshot wounds or only cuts and bruises resulting from the fight.
The Palestinian natives in east Jerusalem are exposed repeatedly to harassment and assaults by extremist Jewish settlers, who live in seized homes and outposts in the holy city.
The incident happened when extremist settlers started to brutalize Palestinian citizens in Baten al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan, according to local activists.
The situation swiftly escalated into a brawl between young men from the neighborhood and the Jewish assailants, who then opened fire randomly in the area.
Consequently, Israeli police troops with an ambulance rushed to the scene, blocked roads in Silwan and barred the movement of vehicles.
There is still no information if the victimized Palestinians suffered gunshot wounds or only cuts and bruises resulting from the fight.
The Palestinian natives in east Jerusalem are exposed repeatedly to harassment and assaults by extremist Jewish settlers, who live in seized homes and outposts in the holy city.
17 dec 2016
Israeli media, on Wednesday, said that 40 Israeli families have rejected a government plan to be relocated from their houses.
PNN reports that, according to Israeli media, the offer proposed by Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, and approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was to “relocate the homes to abandoned Palestinian property on the same hilltop, where the West Bank outpost of Amona is currently located.”
However, the settlers said that the offer was so full of holes it was like “Swiss Cheese” and provided a solution for only a quarter of the families, and that they were prepared for a solution of rebuilding new homes on the same hilltop, and not destroying the current structures until the new ones had been completed.
The controversy over Amona started in 201,4 when the Israeli High Court of Justice had ruled that the outpost must be demolished by December 25, 2016, because they were built without permits on private Palestinian property.
Israeli settlements are illegal in international law.
PNN reports that, according to Israeli media, the offer proposed by Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, and approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was to “relocate the homes to abandoned Palestinian property on the same hilltop, where the West Bank outpost of Amona is currently located.”
However, the settlers said that the offer was so full of holes it was like “Swiss Cheese” and provided a solution for only a quarter of the families, and that they were prepared for a solution of rebuilding new homes on the same hilltop, and not destroying the current structures until the new ones had been completed.
The controversy over Amona started in 201,4 when the Israeli High Court of Justice had ruled that the outpost must be demolished by December 25, 2016, because they were built without permits on private Palestinian property.
Israeli settlements are illegal in international law.
14 dec 2016
Israeli extremist settlers and archaeologists, backed by special troops, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Tuesday.
Jerusalemite sources said, according to Al Ray, that 70 Jewish Israeli settlers and 48 archaeologists broke into Al-Aqsa’s courtyards via the Maghariba gate, and tried to perform Talmudic rituals.
The sources said that guards and worshipers faced off the settlers with chanting.
It is worth mentioning that Al-Aqsa Mosque is exposed to the such raids on a near daily basis, upon which settlers perform Talmudic rituals and desecrate the sanctity of the mosque.
In related news, extremist settlers also stormed Joseph’s Tomb, in Nablus, under heavy guard of Israeli police.
Local sources said that hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed the tomb at dawn, and performed Talmudic rituals, leading to clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers.
No injuries were reported.
Jerusalemite sources said, according to Al Ray, that 70 Jewish Israeli settlers and 48 archaeologists broke into Al-Aqsa’s courtyards via the Maghariba gate, and tried to perform Talmudic rituals.
The sources said that guards and worshipers faced off the settlers with chanting.
It is worth mentioning that Al-Aqsa Mosque is exposed to the such raids on a near daily basis, upon which settlers perform Talmudic rituals and desecrate the sanctity of the mosque.
In related news, extremist settlers also stormed Joseph’s Tomb, in Nablus, under heavy guard of Israeli police.
Local sources said that hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed the tomb at dawn, and performed Talmudic rituals, leading to clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers.
No injuries were reported.
Eyewitnesses reported that a number of Israeli settlers are expanding an outpost they recently started to establish in Khillat Hamad area in the northern Jordan Valley.
They told the PIC reporter that the Israeli settlers brought on Monday tractors and plowed the lands of the site they took over two months ago.
On Tuesday, they added, the Israeli settlers brought construction materials in preparation for the construction of a settlement outpost in the area.
The Israeli occupation authorities have recently intensified the confiscation operations and military training in the northern Jordan Valley.
They told the PIC reporter that the Israeli settlers brought on Monday tractors and plowed the lands of the site they took over two months ago.
On Tuesday, they added, the Israeli settlers brought construction materials in preparation for the construction of a settlement outpost in the area.
The Israeli occupation authorities have recently intensified the confiscation operations and military training in the northern Jordan Valley.
12 dec 2016
A Palestinian child sustained serious wounds on Sunday evening after he was hit by an Israeli settler driving in eastern Qalqilya province.
Medics rushed to the scene and evacuated the wounded child to hospital.
Over recent years, hit-and-run attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian children have seen an unprecedented hike across the occupied Palestinian territories. Dozens succumbed to the wounds inflicted by Israeli car-ramming assaults.
Medics rushed to the scene and evacuated the wounded child to hospital.
Over recent years, hit-and-run attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian children have seen an unprecedented hike across the occupied Palestinian territories. Dozens succumbed to the wounds inflicted by Israeli car-ramming assaults.
Unidentified gangsters, believed to be Israelis, stormed on Sunday evening a mosque in al-Khalil’s southern town of Dura and smashed Adhan kit.
A PIC news correspondent said anonymous assailants forced their way into a mosque in one of Dura's hamlets and smashed audio devices for reciting Adhan (Muslim call to prayers).
The attackers further cut wires and smashed loudspeakers in the mosque.
Beit al-Roush al-Fouqa hamlet council slammed the assault, saying a probe has been launched to track down the perpetrators.
The move comes a few weeks after the Israeli occupation government proposed a bid outlawing Adhan via mosque loudspeakers across the occupied Palestinian territories on claims that it is a nuisance to Israeli settlers.
A PIC news correspondent said anonymous assailants forced their way into a mosque in one of Dura's hamlets and smashed audio devices for reciting Adhan (Muslim call to prayers).
The attackers further cut wires and smashed loudspeakers in the mosque.
Beit al-Roush al-Fouqa hamlet council slammed the assault, saying a probe has been launched to track down the perpetrators.
The move comes a few weeks after the Israeli occupation government proposed a bid outlawing Adhan via mosque loudspeakers across the occupied Palestinian territories on claims that it is a nuisance to Israeli settlers.
Israeli fanatic hordes on Monday morning stormed the holy al-Aqsa Mosque via the Maghareba Gate.
Israeli extremist settlers broke into the al-Aqsa Mosque under the escort of Israeli special units and rapid intervention cops.
Shortly before the assault, the occupation police unlocked the Maghareba Gate and cordoned off the plazas of the holy site, setting the stage for the break-in.
The Israeli fanatics performed provocative rituals, sparking the outrage of the peaceful Muslim sit-inners and worshipers, who kept chanting “Allah is the Greatest” in protest at the assault.
Meanwhile, the occupation authorities continue to ban several Muslim women from performing their prayers at al-Aqsa place of worship—the third holiest site in Islam.
Israeli extremist settlers broke into the al-Aqsa Mosque under the escort of Israeli special units and rapid intervention cops.
Shortly before the assault, the occupation police unlocked the Maghareba Gate and cordoned off the plazas of the holy site, setting the stage for the break-in.
The Israeli fanatics performed provocative rituals, sparking the outrage of the peaceful Muslim sit-inners and worshipers, who kept chanting “Allah is the Greatest” in protest at the assault.
Meanwhile, the occupation authorities continue to ban several Muslim women from performing their prayers at al-Aqsa place of worship—the third holiest site in Islam.
11 dec 2016
A Jewish group has launched a media campaign against Facebook in the USA, claiming its administration is not doing enough to stop incitement to violence on its pages against the Jewish people.
Israel Today newspaper said that a Jewish law enforcement group in the US was leading the campaign recently and started to take legal steps to demand Facebook to pay one billion dollars in compensation for Israeli citizens who were affected by way or another by incitement published on its pages.
This Jewish group claims the social networking site provides a propaganda platform hostile to Israel.
The group also released a short film blaming Facebook for terror attacks around the world.
Israel Today newspaper said that a Jewish law enforcement group in the US was leading the campaign recently and started to take legal steps to demand Facebook to pay one billion dollars in compensation for Israeli citizens who were affected by way or another by incitement published on its pages.
This Jewish group claims the social networking site provides a propaganda platform hostile to Israel.
The group also released a short film blaming Facebook for terror attacks around the world.
