2 mar 2018
A Jewish settler on Thursday brutalized a Palestinian shepherd in Wadi al-Maleh area, north of the Jordan Valley and expelled him along with his flock of sheep from the area under protection by other settlers and soldiers.
According to Aref Daraghmeh, who monitors Israeli settlement activities in the area, a settler attacked Ali Abu Muhsen and his cattle and forced them to leave the pastures of al-Farisiya area in Wadi al-Maleh.
Other settlers and soldiers were seen in the area, providing protection for the assailant.
A local source told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that the settler came from the illegal settlement of Rotem in the area, adding that the settlers systematically harass the local residents and prevent them from grazing their livestock.
According to Aref Daraghmeh, who monitors Israeli settlement activities in the area, a settler attacked Ali Abu Muhsen and his cattle and forced them to leave the pastures of al-Farisiya area in Wadi al-Maleh.
Other settlers and soldiers were seen in the area, providing protection for the assailant.
A local source told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that the settler came from the illegal settlement of Rotem in the area, adding that the settlers systematically harass the local residents and prevent them from grazing their livestock.
1 mar 2018
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Thursday kidnapped coordinator of Youth against Settlement in al-Khalil city Issa Amr.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that Israeli soldiers kidnapped Amr from the headquarters of Youth against Settlement in al-Khalil and took him to an interrogation center.
In a separate incident, an Israeli bus carrying Jewish settlers was thrown with paint as it was traveling near al-Arroub refugee camp, north of al-Khalil.
Meanwhile, hundreds of settlers celebrated the last day of the Purim holiday, during which they held provocative marches in Tel Rumeida neighborhood and in the Ibrahimi Mosque’s courtyards.
The IOF also intensified its presence in the Old City of al-Khalil to secure the settlers’ celebration of the holiday.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that Israeli soldiers kidnapped Amr from the headquarters of Youth against Settlement in al-Khalil and took him to an interrogation center.
In a separate incident, an Israeli bus carrying Jewish settlers was thrown with paint as it was traveling near al-Arroub refugee camp, north of al-Khalil.
Meanwhile, hundreds of settlers celebrated the last day of the Purim holiday, during which they held provocative marches in Tel Rumeida neighborhood and in the Ibrahimi Mosque’s courtyards.
The IOF also intensified its presence in the Old City of al-Khalil to secure the settlers’ celebration of the holiday.
28 feb 2018
Violent clashes broke out at dawn Wednesday between Palestinian young men and Israeli soldiers in Nablus city after hundreds of Jewish settlers stormed the area of Joseph’s Tomb to perform rituals.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that a large number of Israeli troops entered the eastern district of Nablus aboard military vehicles and on foot before midnight on Tuesday to secure its streets for the arrival of settlers.
However, dozens of local young men were able to close roads leading to Joseph’s Tomb with burning tires and hurl stones at soldiers, who spread through different streets and at junctions.
Eyewitnesses said that skirmishes took place on the streets of Amman and al-Quds and at the entrance of Balata refugee camp, where soldiers fired live ammunition and tear gas and stun grenades at the young men to disperse them.
Consequently, scores of young men suffered from their exposure to tear gas fumes.
Israeli troops and settlers storm every week the eastern area of Nablus to perform rituals at the tomb, which they claim to be the resting-place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, while locals and Palestinian historians affirm that the grave belongs to a local medieval Muslim Sheikh called Yousef al-Duwaik.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that a large number of Israeli troops entered the eastern district of Nablus aboard military vehicles and on foot before midnight on Tuesday to secure its streets for the arrival of settlers.
However, dozens of local young men were able to close roads leading to Joseph’s Tomb with burning tires and hurl stones at soldiers, who spread through different streets and at junctions.
Eyewitnesses said that skirmishes took place on the streets of Amman and al-Quds and at the entrance of Balata refugee camp, where soldiers fired live ammunition and tear gas and stun grenades at the young men to disperse them.
Consequently, scores of young men suffered from their exposure to tear gas fumes.
Israeli troops and settlers storm every week the eastern area of Nablus to perform rituals at the tomb, which they claim to be the resting-place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, while locals and Palestinian historians affirm that the grave belongs to a local medieval Muslim Sheikh called Yousef al-Duwaik.
Russia and Ukraine provided Israel with most of its settlers who flocked to the occupied Palestinian territories in 2017, a study found out.
Russia emerged as Israel’s largest provider of settlers with 7,224 Jewish newcomers, followed by 7,182 settlers from Ukraine, according to an updated report of immigration to Israel, or aliyah, by a partnering organization of the Ministry for Immigrant Absorption.
Of the 28,598 settlers last year, 50.4 percent were from Russia or Ukraine, according to the chart. France was Israel’s third largest source of settlers with 3,424 newcomers, followed by the United States, Ethiopia and Belarus with 2,996, 1,312 and 973 settlers, respectively.
The increase in immigration from Ukraine and Russia came amid a financial crisis in both countries, which in 2014 entered a territorial dispute.
Last year was also the first time that Israel saw the arrival from Russia and Ukraine of settlers who had already begun their conversion to Judaism in their countries of origin.
Over recent years, thousands of Zionist Israelis and Jewish settlers have settled in the occupied Palestinian territories after financial facilities were made by the Israeli government and its allies.
Russia emerged as Israel’s largest provider of settlers with 7,224 Jewish newcomers, followed by 7,182 settlers from Ukraine, according to an updated report of immigration to Israel, or aliyah, by a partnering organization of the Ministry for Immigrant Absorption.
Of the 28,598 settlers last year, 50.4 percent were from Russia or Ukraine, according to the chart. France was Israel’s third largest source of settlers with 3,424 newcomers, followed by the United States, Ethiopia and Belarus with 2,996, 1,312 and 973 settlers, respectively.
The increase in immigration from Ukraine and Russia came amid a financial crisis in both countries, which in 2014 entered a territorial dispute.
Last year was also the first time that Israel saw the arrival from Russia and Ukraine of settlers who had already begun their conversion to Judaism in their countries of origin.
Over recent years, thousands of Zionist Israelis and Jewish settlers have settled in the occupied Palestinian territories after financial facilities were made by the Israeli government and its allies.
27 feb 2018
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Billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s offer to pay for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem represents the privatization of U.S. foreign policy, says Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies.
Phyllis Bennis is a Fellow and the Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C. She is the author of Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer, Before and After: US Foreign Policy and the September 11 Crisis, Ending the US War in Afghanistan: A Primer and Understanding the US-Iran Crisis: A Primer. Her most recent book is Understanding ISIS and the New Global War on Terror: A Primer. |
TRNN video & transcript:
SHARMINI PERIES: It’s the Real News Network. I’m Sharmini Peries coming to you from Baltimore. Right wing Billionaire, Sheldon Adelson, has offered to pay for a new US embassy in Jerusalem. The Trump administration is planning to open the new building in Jerusalem in May. It is not yet clear whether this is legal for a private donor to fund a US embassy. Lawyers at the State Department are investigating the question.
According to the Associated Press, Adelson is a notorious conservative oligarch who has bankrolled Israel’s hardline right wing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and a right wing pro-Israel groups in the US. And some would say Adelson has also barred some important decisions of the Trump administration.You could see Adelson prominently seated at the Trump inauguration last January. The Trump administration’s decision to move the embassy led to a global outrage. The international community condemned the US at the United Nations for opposing international law.East Jerusalem has been illegally occupied by Israel for several decades now. And according to international law, East Jerusalem was supposed to be the site of an independent future Palestinian state.
Trump’s decision to move the US embassy there, calls into question the US government’s commitment to the so called “two state solution” in Israel, Palestine.Joining us now to discuss this is Phyllis Bennis. Phyllis is director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.All right. Phyllis, tell us about why the US is speeding up this move?
PHYLLIS BENNIS: I think the significance is less about the pace, than about how they’re planning to go about it. This is a move that’s now designed to undercut the fear that many have raised about the enormous cost of building a new embassy in Jerusalem. Putting aside political issues, legal issues, financial issues and a whole host of other questions. Just the questions of the cost of it will be somewhere over a billion dollars.And for a president who has claimed to resent the spending of large amounts of money for new embassies overseas, he had to figure out, “How are we going to manage this?” That’s what led to this extraordinary new development, which is the offer from Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino mogul, as he’s always identified, a great supporter of Trump, great supporter of Netanyahu, the owner of the largest daily newspaper in Israel, who volunteered to essentially buy the embassy.And what that says about the privatization of US foreign policy. Foreign policy in the interest of private interests.
In this case, the interests of Jewish and Christian Zionists in the United States, as well as in the interests of the right wing of the Israeli State, is not a surprising thing, but nonetheless a shocking reality to consider, that we would be selling an embassy. A former State Department official, who used to be in charge of things, like arranging to purchase land to build embassies and that sort of thing, said she had never heard of such a thing and wondered, “Does this mean we’ll be obligated to name it after him?” It will be the Sheldon Adelson Memorial Embassy. It’s a shocking reality.
SHARMINI PERIES: And Phyllis, how significant is this? That now the Trump administration is considering having private individuals fund government buildings, and embassies and so forth.
PHYLLIS BENNIS: It’s very significant. It’s significant, certainly, at the symbolic level. What this says about the willingness of the Trump administration, that has no strategic plan for actual foreign policy, to make these reckless policy decisions solely in the interests of wealthy donors and their own constituencies. In this case, Sheldon Adelson, a leading donor to the Republican Party, a leading donor to the right wing in Israel, and an active supporter, a Jewish Zionist, an active supporter of Israeli settlements, Israeli apartheid and the Christian Zionist movement that is very much tied to Adelson interests.This is of course, Sharmini, not the first time that we’ve seen issues of privatization of policy. We can look back a little more than 20 years, where you had an example that was seen at the time as a great gift, as a philanthropic gift. That was when Ted Turner announced, sort of out of the blue, that he was going to donate a billion dollars to the United Nations. This was in 1997.
When the United States was in Arrears at the UN, was refusing to pay its dues at the UN.And Ted Turner, who was actually a great supporter of the UN, a supporter of multilateralism, came in and said, “Look, I have a lot of money. I’m going to spend it at the UN. I’m going to give it to the UN to make good on this US debt.”The problem was several fold. There were some particular problems. He didn’t actually give a billion dollars. He gave a hundred million dollars over what turned out to be closer to 15 years than 10. But the real problem wasn’t that he divided it up over the years.
The real problem was he didn’t give money to the United Nations. He gave money to a private foundation, that he created, called the UN Foundation, that he ran. He chose the board of directors. And that board made the decisions about which UN agency would get the money. So, any UN agency could apply to the foundation for funding. And this is, remember, at a time when the UN is desperate for funds, whether it was for UNICEF, or UNDP, for all of its various agencies.But now you have this private group of citizens of the, mainly of the United States, a few internationals, hand-picked by Ted Turner, accountable to no one, making the decisions over whether clean water in Chad is more important, or girls education in Bangladesh is more important. You know, why should a bunch of individuals get to make decisions like that, that affect whole populations, that affect the whole world.
It was completely disastrous in its impact in terms of seeing somehow the legitimacy of privatizing foreign policy for the whole United Nations.Now, we’re seeing this in a much more blatant way, where it’s clearly designed. There’s no illusions here. This is very openly designed to placate a wealthy right wing Zionist, a wealthy right wing supporter of the most right wing sectors of the Israeli state, the most right wing sectors of the Republican Party. And he wants it, so he gets it. There is, of course, additional problems. The small problems, like international law that recognizes that Jerusalem is occupied territory, small item. A small item, like what it says to the Palestinians.
That the new temporary annex, the temporary embassy in Jerusalem before the big one, the Adelson Embassy, is built, will be announced and they will move in, in just a couple of months on when? May 15th of this year, which will be the 70th year since the Nakba, like the Palestinians call, “The Nakba.” The catastrophe that led to the expulsion and dispossession of over 750,000 Palestinians from their land. Land to which they’ve never to this day been allowed to return. That’s the day that the Israelis celebrate as Independence Day and that’s the day that the US will officially open a small, temporary embassy in Jerusalem, which will make all the political points, all the symbolic points before they even begin to deal with is it even legal for Sheldon Adelson to buy himself an embassy?
SHARMINI PERIES: Phyllis, can you speak to the legal basis, or lack thereof, of this move in terms of the US embassy moving to Jerusalem and a private entity paying for this?
PHYLLIS BENNIS: Well, those are two different questions. In terms of US law, there’s no US law that would prohibit a US embassy from being anywhere. There is international law. But as we know, this administration in particular, and earlier administrations as well, have not been too worried about international law. There was a US law passed in 1995, signed by President Clinton, that mandated the move of the embassy to Jerusalem. It was widely understood to be purely symbolic for members of congress who wanted to placate their own pro Israel donors. That’s what it was all about. It was talked about very openly at the time.What happened next was that they all realized that it would be disastrous in terms of actual policy to actually do that.
So, they inserted in the law, an exception that says, “Every six months, the President, if she or he decides, can issue a waiver that says national security interests mandate that we not implement this yet. We’re going to put it aside. And every president, every six months since 1995 has done that, until Donald Trump this last time.He issued the waiver, but said, “The waiver this time is only about timing and we’re going to go ahead and do it.” So, there’s no reason that this has to be done in terms of US law. And under international law, of course, it’s illegal altogether.Now there is a law, there’s a regulation in the State Department that has a formal process for accepting gifts. Part of the language of that, and that includes real estate. It includes very rigorous reviews. It’s designed to make sure that, and I quote here, “That the gift would not give the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
So, that’s an official regulation. Now, this isn’t an appearance of a conflict of interest. This is a straight up open, acknowledged conflict of interest. So, this stands in complete violation of at least that regulation of the State Department. The problem is, like with international law, State Department regulations are only useful if somebody’s prepared to defend them. Is there anyone in congress who’s prepared to defend it? Is there a lawsuit that can be brought? Whose behalf would it be brought on? These are all questions that remain.Right now we’re looking at a situation where the State Department has not issued a final decision whether or not they believe it to be legal to accept money under these terms, that would essentially be the Sheldon Adelson Embassy. Whether or not it’s officially named for him, it’s understood to be built in his interests with his money.
So, what else are we going to call it? We don’t know if the State Department will acknowledge that it’s legal, or claim that it’s legal when it’s clearly not.And then the question will be, if they try to do that, who in congress, who in the judiciary, who else might stand up and say, “This is not legal. Aside from being politically dangerous, morally bankrupt and a whole host of other things. It’s also not legal.”
SHARMINI PERIES: All right. Phyllis. I thank you so much for joining us today, and I look forward to having you back because I think this issue isn’t going away any time soon.
PHYLLIS BENNIS: I look forward to it. Thanks, Sharmini.
SHARMINI PERIES: And thank you for joining us here on The Real News Network.
SHARMINI PERIES: It’s the Real News Network. I’m Sharmini Peries coming to you from Baltimore. Right wing Billionaire, Sheldon Adelson, has offered to pay for a new US embassy in Jerusalem. The Trump administration is planning to open the new building in Jerusalem in May. It is not yet clear whether this is legal for a private donor to fund a US embassy. Lawyers at the State Department are investigating the question.
According to the Associated Press, Adelson is a notorious conservative oligarch who has bankrolled Israel’s hardline right wing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and a right wing pro-Israel groups in the US. And some would say Adelson has also barred some important decisions of the Trump administration.You could see Adelson prominently seated at the Trump inauguration last January. The Trump administration’s decision to move the embassy led to a global outrage. The international community condemned the US at the United Nations for opposing international law.East Jerusalem has been illegally occupied by Israel for several decades now. And according to international law, East Jerusalem was supposed to be the site of an independent future Palestinian state.
Trump’s decision to move the US embassy there, calls into question the US government’s commitment to the so called “two state solution” in Israel, Palestine.Joining us now to discuss this is Phyllis Bennis. Phyllis is director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.All right. Phyllis, tell us about why the US is speeding up this move?
PHYLLIS BENNIS: I think the significance is less about the pace, than about how they’re planning to go about it. This is a move that’s now designed to undercut the fear that many have raised about the enormous cost of building a new embassy in Jerusalem. Putting aside political issues, legal issues, financial issues and a whole host of other questions. Just the questions of the cost of it will be somewhere over a billion dollars.And for a president who has claimed to resent the spending of large amounts of money for new embassies overseas, he had to figure out, “How are we going to manage this?” That’s what led to this extraordinary new development, which is the offer from Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino mogul, as he’s always identified, a great supporter of Trump, great supporter of Netanyahu, the owner of the largest daily newspaper in Israel, who volunteered to essentially buy the embassy.And what that says about the privatization of US foreign policy. Foreign policy in the interest of private interests.
In this case, the interests of Jewish and Christian Zionists in the United States, as well as in the interests of the right wing of the Israeli State, is not a surprising thing, but nonetheless a shocking reality to consider, that we would be selling an embassy. A former State Department official, who used to be in charge of things, like arranging to purchase land to build embassies and that sort of thing, said she had never heard of such a thing and wondered, “Does this mean we’ll be obligated to name it after him?” It will be the Sheldon Adelson Memorial Embassy. It’s a shocking reality.
SHARMINI PERIES: And Phyllis, how significant is this? That now the Trump administration is considering having private individuals fund government buildings, and embassies and so forth.
PHYLLIS BENNIS: It’s very significant. It’s significant, certainly, at the symbolic level. What this says about the willingness of the Trump administration, that has no strategic plan for actual foreign policy, to make these reckless policy decisions solely in the interests of wealthy donors and their own constituencies. In this case, Sheldon Adelson, a leading donor to the Republican Party, a leading donor to the right wing in Israel, and an active supporter, a Jewish Zionist, an active supporter of Israeli settlements, Israeli apartheid and the Christian Zionist movement that is very much tied to Adelson interests.This is of course, Sharmini, not the first time that we’ve seen issues of privatization of policy. We can look back a little more than 20 years, where you had an example that was seen at the time as a great gift, as a philanthropic gift. That was when Ted Turner announced, sort of out of the blue, that he was going to donate a billion dollars to the United Nations. This was in 1997.
When the United States was in Arrears at the UN, was refusing to pay its dues at the UN.And Ted Turner, who was actually a great supporter of the UN, a supporter of multilateralism, came in and said, “Look, I have a lot of money. I’m going to spend it at the UN. I’m going to give it to the UN to make good on this US debt.”The problem was several fold. There were some particular problems. He didn’t actually give a billion dollars. He gave a hundred million dollars over what turned out to be closer to 15 years than 10. But the real problem wasn’t that he divided it up over the years.
The real problem was he didn’t give money to the United Nations. He gave money to a private foundation, that he created, called the UN Foundation, that he ran. He chose the board of directors. And that board made the decisions about which UN agency would get the money. So, any UN agency could apply to the foundation for funding. And this is, remember, at a time when the UN is desperate for funds, whether it was for UNICEF, or UNDP, for all of its various agencies.But now you have this private group of citizens of the, mainly of the United States, a few internationals, hand-picked by Ted Turner, accountable to no one, making the decisions over whether clean water in Chad is more important, or girls education in Bangladesh is more important. You know, why should a bunch of individuals get to make decisions like that, that affect whole populations, that affect the whole world.
It was completely disastrous in its impact in terms of seeing somehow the legitimacy of privatizing foreign policy for the whole United Nations.Now, we’re seeing this in a much more blatant way, where it’s clearly designed. There’s no illusions here. This is very openly designed to placate a wealthy right wing Zionist, a wealthy right wing supporter of the most right wing sectors of the Israeli state, the most right wing sectors of the Republican Party. And he wants it, so he gets it. There is, of course, additional problems. The small problems, like international law that recognizes that Jerusalem is occupied territory, small item. A small item, like what it says to the Palestinians.
That the new temporary annex, the temporary embassy in Jerusalem before the big one, the Adelson Embassy, is built, will be announced and they will move in, in just a couple of months on when? May 15th of this year, which will be the 70th year since the Nakba, like the Palestinians call, “The Nakba.” The catastrophe that led to the expulsion and dispossession of over 750,000 Palestinians from their land. Land to which they’ve never to this day been allowed to return. That’s the day that the Israelis celebrate as Independence Day and that’s the day that the US will officially open a small, temporary embassy in Jerusalem, which will make all the political points, all the symbolic points before they even begin to deal with is it even legal for Sheldon Adelson to buy himself an embassy?
SHARMINI PERIES: Phyllis, can you speak to the legal basis, or lack thereof, of this move in terms of the US embassy moving to Jerusalem and a private entity paying for this?
PHYLLIS BENNIS: Well, those are two different questions. In terms of US law, there’s no US law that would prohibit a US embassy from being anywhere. There is international law. But as we know, this administration in particular, and earlier administrations as well, have not been too worried about international law. There was a US law passed in 1995, signed by President Clinton, that mandated the move of the embassy to Jerusalem. It was widely understood to be purely symbolic for members of congress who wanted to placate their own pro Israel donors. That’s what it was all about. It was talked about very openly at the time.What happened next was that they all realized that it would be disastrous in terms of actual policy to actually do that.
So, they inserted in the law, an exception that says, “Every six months, the President, if she or he decides, can issue a waiver that says national security interests mandate that we not implement this yet. We’re going to put it aside. And every president, every six months since 1995 has done that, until Donald Trump this last time.He issued the waiver, but said, “The waiver this time is only about timing and we’re going to go ahead and do it.” So, there’s no reason that this has to be done in terms of US law. And under international law, of course, it’s illegal altogether.Now there is a law, there’s a regulation in the State Department that has a formal process for accepting gifts. Part of the language of that, and that includes real estate. It includes very rigorous reviews. It’s designed to make sure that, and I quote here, “That the gift would not give the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
So, that’s an official regulation. Now, this isn’t an appearance of a conflict of interest. This is a straight up open, acknowledged conflict of interest. So, this stands in complete violation of at least that regulation of the State Department. The problem is, like with international law, State Department regulations are only useful if somebody’s prepared to defend them. Is there anyone in congress who’s prepared to defend it? Is there a lawsuit that can be brought? Whose behalf would it be brought on? These are all questions that remain.Right now we’re looking at a situation where the State Department has not issued a final decision whether or not they believe it to be legal to accept money under these terms, that would essentially be the Sheldon Adelson Embassy. Whether or not it’s officially named for him, it’s understood to be built in his interests with his money.
So, what else are we going to call it? We don’t know if the State Department will acknowledge that it’s legal, or claim that it’s legal when it’s clearly not.And then the question will be, if they try to do that, who in congress, who in the judiciary, who else might stand up and say, “This is not legal. Aside from being politically dangerous, morally bankrupt and a whole host of other things. It’s also not legal.”
SHARMINI PERIES: All right. Phyllis. I thank you so much for joining us today, and I look forward to having you back because I think this issue isn’t going away any time soon.
PHYLLIS BENNIS: I look forward to it. Thanks, Sharmini.
SHARMINI PERIES: And thank you for joining us here on The Real News Network.
Haarezt newspaper on Tuesday revealed that Elad settler group is preparing for the implementation of a new Judaization plan targeting Jerusalem through a tourism project.
The Hebrew newspaper said that Elad two months ago was given a permit to build the longest zip-line in the occupied Palestinian territories which will be 784 meters long, beginning at Jerusalem's Qaser al-Hakem park and ending in Abu Tor neighborhood.
The installation, called Omega, will include two four-meter-high concrete pillars covered in wood with the cable passing between them. Opponents of the project say it will deface Jerusalem's historic character.
Another project adopted by Elad group includes establishing a restaurant in Jabal al-Mukabber in the Old City of Jerusalem and linking it to a cable car that reaches Mount Zion.
Head of Jerusalem's High Islamic Council Sheikh Ekrima Sabri told Quds Press that the Israeli authorities, through such projects, which have increased following the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, seek to gradually Judaize the holy city.
Sheikh Sabir stressed that Jerusalem is an occupied city under international law and Israel does not have the right to change its status quo.
The Hebrew newspaper said that Elad two months ago was given a permit to build the longest zip-line in the occupied Palestinian territories which will be 784 meters long, beginning at Jerusalem's Qaser al-Hakem park and ending in Abu Tor neighborhood.
The installation, called Omega, will include two four-meter-high concrete pillars covered in wood with the cable passing between them. Opponents of the project say it will deface Jerusalem's historic character.
Another project adopted by Elad group includes establishing a restaurant in Jabal al-Mukabber in the Old City of Jerusalem and linking it to a cable car that reaches Mount Zion.
Head of Jerusalem's High Islamic Council Sheikh Ekrima Sabri told Quds Press that the Israeli authorities, through such projects, which have increased following the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, seek to gradually Judaize the holy city.
Sheikh Sabir stressed that Jerusalem is an occupied city under international law and Israel does not have the right to change its status quo.
Extremists affiliated to ‘Groups for the Temple Compound’ have called on supporters to participate in breaking into al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday and Thursday to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim.
The groups have sent out their calls through social media websites, to organize a raid into the holy site in order to perform Talmudic rituals and to eat triangular fruit pastries called hamantaschen.
In this regard, Jerusalemite groups stressed the urgent need to stand firmly against the Jewish plans.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, dozens of Israeli settlers forced their way into al-Aqsa under military protection.
The groups have sent out their calls through social media websites, to organize a raid into the holy site in order to perform Talmudic rituals and to eat triangular fruit pastries called hamantaschen.
In this regard, Jerusalemite groups stressed the urgent need to stand firmly against the Jewish plans.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, dozens of Israeli settlers forced their way into al-Aqsa under military protection.
Israeli settlers on Tuesday fenced off Palestinian lands in Nablus’s southern town of Madama, paving the way for their confiscation.
Deputy head of Madama Village Council, Tal’at Ziada, said Israelis residing in Yitzhar illegal settlement put a barbed wire around Palestinian lands in al-Ka’dat village, south of Madama, in anticipation of their misappropriation.
According to Ziada, over recent months, Israeli settlers stepped up assault on Palestinian land and agricultural facilities. Lately, sand roads have been established by the Israelis to access Palestinian lands.
He added that such assaults have been carried out under the army’s escort and make part of underway attempts to annex more Palestinian land in favor of the Yitzhar outpost.
Ziada said Madama Village Council has reached out to the concerned authorities to prove Palestinians’ ownership of the targeted lands.
Deputy head of Madama Village Council, Tal’at Ziada, said Israelis residing in Yitzhar illegal settlement put a barbed wire around Palestinian lands in al-Ka’dat village, south of Madama, in anticipation of their misappropriation.
According to Ziada, over recent months, Israeli settlers stepped up assault on Palestinian land and agricultural facilities. Lately, sand roads have been established by the Israelis to access Palestinian lands.
He added that such assaults have been carried out under the army’s escort and make part of underway attempts to annex more Palestinian land in favor of the Yitzhar outpost.
Ziada said Madama Village Council has reached out to the concerned authorities to prove Palestinians’ ownership of the targeted lands.
A group of Israeli settlers have started to establish a new settlement outpost on privately-owned Palestinian lands in the Jordan Valley.
Haaretz newspaper on Monday reported that a group of Israeli settlers last week arrived with a large herd of cows at an abandoned Israeli military base near Tayasir village in the Jordan Valley and stayed there.
For his part, the head of al-Aqaba village council Sami Sadiq said that the settlers arrived at the site on Wednesday and the next day they set up a barn and started to harass Palestinian shepherds in the area.
The Hebrew newspaper pointed out that three settlement outposts have been established in the Jordan Valley over the past 18 months, adding that these outposts are constantly expanding with the support and protection of the Israeli army.
The Jordan Valley covers an area of 1.6 million dunums constituting approximately 30% of the West Bank area. Nearly 90% of the Jordan Valley is classified under Area C which is exclusively controlled by Israel.
According to a report by the left-wing Israeli organization B'Tselem, the Jordan Valley has 37 settlements and settlement outposts.
Haaretz newspaper on Monday reported that a group of Israeli settlers last week arrived with a large herd of cows at an abandoned Israeli military base near Tayasir village in the Jordan Valley and stayed there.
For his part, the head of al-Aqaba village council Sami Sadiq said that the settlers arrived at the site on Wednesday and the next day they set up a barn and started to harass Palestinian shepherds in the area.
The Hebrew newspaper pointed out that three settlement outposts have been established in the Jordan Valley over the past 18 months, adding that these outposts are constantly expanding with the support and protection of the Israeli army.
The Jordan Valley covers an area of 1.6 million dunums constituting approximately 30% of the West Bank area. Nearly 90% of the Jordan Valley is classified under Area C which is exclusively controlled by Israel.
According to a report by the left-wing Israeli organization B'Tselem, the Jordan Valley has 37 settlements and settlement outposts.
26 feb 2018
Extremist Jewish settlers of Yitzhar settlement on Monday evening leveled Palestinian agricultural lands in Madama town south of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that Israeli occupation forces stormed the southern area of the town and fired stun grenades at the Palestinian youths while offering protection for the attacking settlers.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that Israeli occupation forces stormed the southern area of the town and fired stun grenades at the Palestinian youths while offering protection for the attacking settlers.
25 feb 2018
Palestinians east of Tubas city organized a protest on Sunday to prevent an Israeli settler and his family from establishing a settlement outpost between al-Aqaba and Tayasir villages in the northern Jordan Valley.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the settler brought his sheep and family to the area and threatened to establish a settlement outpost in the place of Tayasir military camp which was evacuated by the Israeli army years ago.
They pointed out that clashes broke out following the protest in which a number of Palestinian citizens suffered tear gas inhalation.
The Committee Against Wall and Settlements affirmed that the Palestinian citizens in the village will continue their protests to foil the Israeli settlers' plan to impose a new fait accompli in the area.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the settler brought his sheep and family to the area and threatened to establish a settlement outpost in the place of Tayasir military camp which was evacuated by the Israeli army years ago.
They pointed out that clashes broke out following the protest in which a number of Palestinian citizens suffered tear gas inhalation.
The Committee Against Wall and Settlements affirmed that the Palestinian citizens in the village will continue their protests to foil the Israeli settlers' plan to impose a new fait accompli in the area.
The Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation is set on Sunday to discuss a bill banning the return of the bodies of Palestinian martyrs to their families.
According to the website of the Hebrew TV channel 7, the bill was initiated by MKs from the extremist parties Jewish Home and Yisrael Beiteinu.
The bill provides for withholding the bodies of Palestinian martyrs as long as the Palestinian factions are detaining Israelis or bodies of Israelis.
It also stresses the necessity to make sure that Palestinian martyrs' funerals are not turned into acts of "violence and incitement".
The same bill allows the Israeli Prime Minister to order the return of the body of any Palestinian martyr to his family for special reasons.
According to the website of the Hebrew TV channel 7, the bill was initiated by MKs from the extremist parties Jewish Home and Yisrael Beiteinu.
The bill provides for withholding the bodies of Palestinian martyrs as long as the Palestinian factions are detaining Israelis or bodies of Israelis.
It also stresses the necessity to make sure that Palestinian martyrs' funerals are not turned into acts of "violence and incitement".
The same bill allows the Israeli Prime Minister to order the return of the body of any Palestinian martyr to his family for special reasons.
Israeli settlers on Sunday morning seized 120 dunums of land in Jaloud village south of Nablus.
Anti-settlement activist in the northern West Bank Ghassan Daghlas said in a press statement that Israeli settlers living in outposts in the vicinity of the new settlement Amichai are taking advantage of the construction works being conducted in the settlement to steal Palestinian lands.
Daghlas explained that the settlers of two nearby settlement outposts, in collusion with the Israeli occupation army, seized 120 dunums of land in Jaloud village, plowed them and planted them with wheat and grapes.
He pointed out that the lands appropriated by the settlers are privately-owned by Palestinian citizens.
Anti-settlement activist in the northern West Bank Ghassan Daghlas said in a press statement that Israeli settlers living in outposts in the vicinity of the new settlement Amichai are taking advantage of the construction works being conducted in the settlement to steal Palestinian lands.
Daghlas explained that the settlers of two nearby settlement outposts, in collusion with the Israeli occupation army, seized 120 dunums of land in Jaloud village, plowed them and planted them with wheat and grapes.
He pointed out that the lands appropriated by the settlers are privately-owned by Palestinian citizens.
23 feb 2018
A group of Israeli settlers brutally attacked on Friday evening a Palestinian young man south of Jenin.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the settlers were hiding between the olive groves near the evacuated settlement of Homesh before attacking the young man Ali Alawna, 23.
Alawna was taken to hospital suffering moderate injuries, the sources added.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the settlers were hiding between the olive groves near the evacuated settlement of Homesh before attacking the young man Ali Alawna, 23.
Alawna was taken to hospital suffering moderate injuries, the sources added.
A horde of extremist Jewish settlers on Thursday evening uprooted and destroyed about 40 fruitful trees and a field of bean sprouts on Mount Subaih near Yatma village, south of Nablus.
Farmer Fa’iq Sonobar told a Palestinian official from the Land Research Center on Thursday that when he went to work his land on Mount Subaih, he found that settlers had wrecked havoc on his trees.
The farmer expressed his belief that the settlers went on the rampage through his land in revenge for removing their outpost recently in the same area by the Israeli army.
Farmer Fa’iq Sonobar told a Palestinian official from the Land Research Center on Thursday that when he went to work his land on Mount Subaih, he found that settlers had wrecked havoc on his trees.
The farmer expressed his belief that the settlers went on the rampage through his land in revenge for removing their outpost recently in the same area by the Israeli army.
