29 mar 2017
Extremist Israeli settlers, on Monday afternoon, sprayed racist slogans on the walls of the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem, according to local sources in the city.
Sources said, according to the PNN, that the ultra-orthodox Jewish “Pay the Price” groups have vandalized the walls of the consulate, which is located in East Jerusalem.
Settlers also partially damaged and vandalized some of the cars parked outside the building.
Sources said, according to the PNN, that the ultra-orthodox Jewish “Pay the Price” groups have vandalized the walls of the consulate, which is located in East Jerusalem.
Settlers also partially damaged and vandalized some of the cars parked outside the building.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided, on Monday evening, to reconsider the policy of banning Knesset members from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, based on developments in the security situation, after the coming month of Ramadan.
Israeli channel 2 reported that Netanyahu was under pressure from the right, and intends to allow the resumption of Knesset members’ incursions after three months of banning them.
This decision, according to Al Ray, came after banning members of Knesset to storm Al-Aqsa since the outbreak of the uprising in Jerusalem in October of 2015.
Extremist Israeli settlers and politicians have been violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque on an almost daily basis, and always under the protection of armed occupation forces who often violently attack Palestinian worshipers who try to protect their holy site.
Days of Palestine further reports that Israeli forces have kidnapped seven Al-Aqsa guards in the past 24 hours .
“Four other guards were kidnapped from their homes at dawn on Tuesday,” Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf told Anadolu Agency.
“Three others were kidnapped on Monday, after they prevented a Jewish archaeologist from stealing an ancient stone from inside the Mosque,” he said.
Al-Dibs said that the archaeologist had attempted to steal the stone two times under the protection of Israeli police, triggering clashes between the guards and Israeli forces.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third holiest site. Jews, for their part, claim it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
In September of 2000, a visit to the mosque by Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the “Second Intifada” or “Al-Aqsa Intifada,” a five-year-long popular uprising in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 War. It formally annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as its capital, in a move never recognized by the international community.
Israeli channel 2 reported that Netanyahu was under pressure from the right, and intends to allow the resumption of Knesset members’ incursions after three months of banning them.
This decision, according to Al Ray, came after banning members of Knesset to storm Al-Aqsa since the outbreak of the uprising in Jerusalem in October of 2015.
Extremist Israeli settlers and politicians have been violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque on an almost daily basis, and always under the protection of armed occupation forces who often violently attack Palestinian worshipers who try to protect their holy site.
Days of Palestine further reports that Israeli forces have kidnapped seven Al-Aqsa guards in the past 24 hours .
“Four other guards were kidnapped from their homes at dawn on Tuesday,” Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf told Anadolu Agency.
“Three others were kidnapped on Monday, after they prevented a Jewish archaeologist from stealing an ancient stone from inside the Mosque,” he said.
Al-Dibs said that the archaeologist had attempted to steal the stone two times under the protection of Israeli police, triggering clashes between the guards and Israeli forces.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third holiest site. Jews, for their part, claim it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
In September of 2000, a visit to the mosque by Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the “Second Intifada” or “Al-Aqsa Intifada,” a five-year-long popular uprising in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 War. It formally annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as its capital, in a move never recognized by the international community.
28 mar 2017
An Israeli settler residing in illegal outposts built on Palestinian land sustained serious wounds on Monday evening shortly after he stormed Sa’ir town, in the southern occupied West Bank.
Speaking with a PIC news correspondent, eye-witnesses said the Israeli settler rolled into Palestinian lands in al-Khalil’s northeastern town of Sa’ir onboard his truck, before he was cordoned off and attacked by a group of Palestinian anti-occupation youths.
The settler reportedly sustained serious injuries in the process.
Palestinian anti-occupation protesters have often stood on guard to settler infiltrations into their lands for fear of having their crops stolen and homes burglarized.
Speaking with a PIC news correspondent, eye-witnesses said the Israeli settler rolled into Palestinian lands in al-Khalil’s northeastern town of Sa’ir onboard his truck, before he was cordoned off and attacked by a group of Palestinian anti-occupation youths.
The settler reportedly sustained serious injuries in the process.
Palestinian anti-occupation protesters have often stood on guard to settler infiltrations into their lands for fear of having their crops stolen and homes burglarized.
27 mar 2017
A group of Israeli settlers attacked a number of Palestinian vehicles in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Occupied Jerusalem on Monday.
According to a local source, the attacks included damaging the tires of some vehicles and writing racist slogans on others. The Jewish Price-Tag gang was suspected of being behind these attacks.
The Price-Tag gang consists of a group of extremist settlers and it is considered an extension of the Zionist organization Kahane Chai which was outlawed in 1994, but this did not prevent its members from continuing their crimes.
The gang has carried out mass attacks against Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
According to a local source, the attacks included damaging the tires of some vehicles and writing racist slogans on others. The Jewish Price-Tag gang was suspected of being behind these attacks.
The Price-Tag gang consists of a group of extremist settlers and it is considered an extension of the Zionist organization Kahane Chai which was outlawed in 1994, but this did not prevent its members from continuing their crimes.
The gang has carried out mass attacks against Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
Dozens of Israeli settlers and members of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) broke into al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards under the protection of the Israeli police.
According to Quds Press news agency, 53 settlers stormed the courtyard of al-Aqsa Mosque from Bab al-Magharbeh, which has been under full Israeli control since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, before the Israeli police closed the gate at 11 am.
Quds Press pointed out that the tours included some of the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque within a specific route ending with Bab al-Silsileh where the settlers performed Talmudic rites and prayers after exiting it, noting that other incursions were conducted after the noon prayer.
1,599 Israelis broke into the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque during February 2017 including 118 soldiers and Shin Bet members and 517 students and guides.
According to Quds Press news agency, 53 settlers stormed the courtyard of al-Aqsa Mosque from Bab al-Magharbeh, which has been under full Israeli control since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, before the Israeli police closed the gate at 11 am.
Quds Press pointed out that the tours included some of the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque within a specific route ending with Bab al-Silsileh where the settlers performed Talmudic rites and prayers after exiting it, noting that other incursions were conducted after the noon prayer.
1,599 Israelis broke into the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque during February 2017 including 118 soldiers and Shin Bet members and 517 students and guides.
26 mar 2017
Settlement south of Hebron
The number of Israeli settlers living in the West Bank has soared over the past five years, says a prominent settler leader while presenting new population figures; the changing demographics would necessarily thwart the internationally backed idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
The number of Israeli settlers living in the West Bank has soared by nearly one-quarter over the past five years to over 420,000 people, a prominent settler leader said Sunday, presenting new population figures that he said put to rest the internationally backed idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Yaakov Katz issued his report as the Israeli government is locked in negotiations with the Trump administration over understandings that are expected to include some curbs on settlement construction.
"We are talking about a situation that is unchangeable," he said Sunday. "It's very important to know the numbers, and the numbers are growing."
According to Katz, the settler population hit 420,899 on January 1, up 3.6 percent from 406,332 people a year earlier and a 23-percent increase from 342,414 at the beginning of 2012.
Katz said the numbers were based on data from the Interior Ministry that have not yet been made public. The ministry, which oversees the country's population registry, had no comment. But Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the numbers appeared reasonable.
The figures are being published on a new website sponsored by Bet El Institutions, a settler organization that counts members of President Donald Trump's inner circle among its supporters.
Katz's figures did not include settlement construction in east Jerusalem, where more than 200,000 Israelis now live. Altogether, he said the population growth—which is nearly double the 2-percent nationwide rate of annual population growth—means the settlements are "irreversible," he said.
"Whatever Angela Merkel or Trump or anybody else is thinking about, it belongs to the past, not to the future," he said.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Six-Day-War. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future independent state.
Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, leading to the takeover of the territory by the Islamic terrorist group Hamas two years later. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade over Gaza since then. Israel says the policy is needed to prevent Hamas from building up its arsenal of weapons. Critics condemn it as collective punishment.
For the past two decades, the international community has overwhelmingly backed the idea of a two-state solution as the best way of reaching peace in the region and rejected Israeli settlements as obstacles to peace.
Without an independent Palestinian state, the thinking goes, Israel will remain in control over millions of Palestinians who do not have equal rights, forcing it to choose between its Jewish and democratic character.
Just weeks before Trump took office, the UN Security Council passed a resolution declaring settlements illegal.
Ahmad Majdalani, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Palestinian independence is the only way to peace and remains a possibility, despite settler efforts to derail it.
"The two-state solution was possible yesterday and today and at any time. The two-state solution is not the problem," he said. "Settlements are."
The number of Israeli settlers living in the West Bank has soared over the past five years, says a prominent settler leader while presenting new population figures; the changing demographics would necessarily thwart the internationally backed idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
The number of Israeli settlers living in the West Bank has soared by nearly one-quarter over the past five years to over 420,000 people, a prominent settler leader said Sunday, presenting new population figures that he said put to rest the internationally backed idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Yaakov Katz issued his report as the Israeli government is locked in negotiations with the Trump administration over understandings that are expected to include some curbs on settlement construction.
"We are talking about a situation that is unchangeable," he said Sunday. "It's very important to know the numbers, and the numbers are growing."
According to Katz, the settler population hit 420,899 on January 1, up 3.6 percent from 406,332 people a year earlier and a 23-percent increase from 342,414 at the beginning of 2012.
Katz said the numbers were based on data from the Interior Ministry that have not yet been made public. The ministry, which oversees the country's population registry, had no comment. But Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the numbers appeared reasonable.
The figures are being published on a new website sponsored by Bet El Institutions, a settler organization that counts members of President Donald Trump's inner circle among its supporters.
Katz's figures did not include settlement construction in east Jerusalem, where more than 200,000 Israelis now live. Altogether, he said the population growth—which is nearly double the 2-percent nationwide rate of annual population growth—means the settlements are "irreversible," he said.
"Whatever Angela Merkel or Trump or anybody else is thinking about, it belongs to the past, not to the future," he said.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Six-Day-War. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future independent state.
Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, leading to the takeover of the territory by the Islamic terrorist group Hamas two years later. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade over Gaza since then. Israel says the policy is needed to prevent Hamas from building up its arsenal of weapons. Critics condemn it as collective punishment.
For the past two decades, the international community has overwhelmingly backed the idea of a two-state solution as the best way of reaching peace in the region and rejected Israeli settlements as obstacles to peace.
Without an independent Palestinian state, the thinking goes, Israel will remain in control over millions of Palestinians who do not have equal rights, forcing it to choose between its Jewish and democratic character.
Just weeks before Trump took office, the UN Security Council passed a resolution declaring settlements illegal.
Ahmad Majdalani, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Palestinian independence is the only way to peace and remains a possibility, despite settler efforts to derail it.
"The two-state solution was possible yesterday and today and at any time. The two-state solution is not the problem," he said. "Settlements are."
Ofra settlement
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is dominated by pro-settler hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood on either security or religious grounds.
After years of clashes with President Barack Obama, Israeli hardliners have welcomed the election of Trump, who they perceive as being far more sympathetic to their cause.
Trump's platform made no mention of a Palestinian state. And during the campaign, he vowed to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a stance welcomed by Israel and opposed by the Palestinians, and signaled that he would be more tolerant of settlement construction.
But since taking office, he appears to have backpedaled. He seems to be in no rush to move the embassy, and during a White House meeting with Netanyahu last month, he urged restraint on Israeli settlement construction. He also has left the door open to a two-state solution.
A Trump envoy, Jason Greenblatt, visited the region earlier this month for introductory talks with Israelis and Palestinians. He has been working with the Israelis on a series of understandings that would limit at least some settlement construction in hopes of restarting peace talks.
Speaking to his Cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said there was still no agreement. "I will not go into details," he said. "Our talks with the White House are continuing. I hope they will conclude quickly."
Katz, widely known by his nickname "Ketzeleh," is one of the founders and most prominent figures in the West Bank settler movement. He is a former member of parliament and led a hard-line nationalist party.
Bet El is a religious settlement north of Jerusalem. Katz's organization sponsors a well-known Jewish seminary and "Arutz Sheva," a pro-settler news agency.
Official US records show that its donors have included the family foundation of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and confidant; David Friedman, his new ambassador to Israel; and Trump himself.
Friedman, a former fund-raiser for the Bet El Institutions, was narrowly confirmed last week as ambassador after a tough battle that included fierce opposition from dovish Jewish American groups.
Katz expressed faith that Trump would remain supportive and described the new ambassador as a "great American patriot."
"The American people will be very proud of him," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is dominated by pro-settler hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood on either security or religious grounds.
After years of clashes with President Barack Obama, Israeli hardliners have welcomed the election of Trump, who they perceive as being far more sympathetic to their cause.
Trump's platform made no mention of a Palestinian state. And during the campaign, he vowed to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a stance welcomed by Israel and opposed by the Palestinians, and signaled that he would be more tolerant of settlement construction.
But since taking office, he appears to have backpedaled. He seems to be in no rush to move the embassy, and during a White House meeting with Netanyahu last month, he urged restraint on Israeli settlement construction. He also has left the door open to a two-state solution.
A Trump envoy, Jason Greenblatt, visited the region earlier this month for introductory talks with Israelis and Palestinians. He has been working with the Israelis on a series of understandings that would limit at least some settlement construction in hopes of restarting peace talks.
Speaking to his Cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said there was still no agreement. "I will not go into details," he said. "Our talks with the White House are continuing. I hope they will conclude quickly."
Katz, widely known by his nickname "Ketzeleh," is one of the founders and most prominent figures in the West Bank settler movement. He is a former member of parliament and led a hard-line nationalist party.
Bet El is a religious settlement north of Jerusalem. Katz's organization sponsors a well-known Jewish seminary and "Arutz Sheva," a pro-settler news agency.
Official US records show that its donors have included the family foundation of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and confidant; David Friedman, his new ambassador to Israel; and Trump himself.
Friedman, a former fund-raiser for the Bet El Institutions, was narrowly confirmed last week as ambassador after a tough battle that included fierce opposition from dovish Jewish American groups.
Katz expressed faith that Trump would remain supportive and described the new ambassador as a "great American patriot."
"The American people will be very proud of him," he said.
24 mar 2017
Israeli settlers on Friday morning stormed Deir Balout town, west of Salfit province, in the northern West Bank.
A PIC news correspondent quoted eye-witnesses as stating that settlers raked through Palestinian lands in Deir Balout and verbally assaulted the local Palestinian farmers.
Israeli soldiers deployed at a military watchtower east of Deir Balout kept watching over the settlers all the way through the assault.
The Israeli settlers reportedly headed to Palestinian olive groves located east of the town, sparking tension in the area.
A PIC news correspondent quoted eye-witnesses as stating that settlers raked through Palestinian lands in Deir Balout and verbally assaulted the local Palestinian farmers.
Israeli soldiers deployed at a military watchtower east of Deir Balout kept watching over the settlers all the way through the assault.
The Israeli settlers reportedly headed to Palestinian olive groves located east of the town, sparking tension in the area.