12 may 2015
By Khalid Amayreh in occupied Palestine
If you think that the UN was wrong in labeling Zionism as a racist movement, think again.
Of course, Zionist crimes, committed in the name of Judaism and the Jewish people, have not stopped ever since Zionist supremacists declared their plans to create an exclusive Jewish state in Palestine in the late 19th century.
Zionist Jews employed every form of depravity and immorality to achieve their goal.
But the goal was evil, just as the means used to reach that goal were decidedly evil. This was the case 68 years ago, when Israel was created through blood, fire and terror. It will always be evil.
The passage of 68 years will not morph a hideous crime into a charitable enterprise. Israel will always be a crime against humanity, no matter how many people celebrate its achievements and sing its hymns.
Israel is built upon a foundation of evil and sinfulness. Such a state will not prosper or have an everlasting longevity. It will eventually meet the same fate that other evil states and empires eventually met.
Bennett's Talmudic fascism
Naftali Bennett, the number-2 figure in the new Israeli government was quoted recently as saying that he would never agree to give non-Jews in Israel equal rights.
When asked what he would tell Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas should he meet with him, Bennett said rather bluntly "I will order him to make me a cup of coffee."
Needless to say, "asking the Arabs to make coffee for Jews" is a slogan often invoked by leaders of religious-Zionist settlers especially when explaining their attitudes toward the Palestinians.
This manifestly racist mindset is encapsulated by the Biblical terms "water carriers and wood hewers" which refer to the treatment non-Jews were entitled to receive in ancient Israel.
Of course, there are many other Biblical verses which exhort the Children of Israel not to oppress "strangers living amongst you… because you yourselves were once strangers in the Land of the Pharaoh".
But Zionism, including religious Zionism, has very little to do with the sublime ideals of Prophetic Judaism. This is why, we notice that purportedly religious Zionists select the worst and most barbaric verses from the Old Testament and seek to apply it to the Palestinians.
Criminal versus genocidal
If classical Zionism is manifestly criminal, and it undoubtedly is, religious Zionism is decidedly genocidal.
Several years ago, a Jewish settler leader from the northern West Bank by the name of Daniela Weis gave a speech before a group of settlers in Hebron's Old Quarter. In her speech, she urged the settlers to "adopt Joshua's way to deal with the Palestinians."
"Would you choose Rabin's way or Joshua's way in dealing with the Palestinians," she asked. And the answer came loud and in unison: "We choose Joshua's way."
This genocidal fanaticism is not rhetorical or meant just to scare the Palestinians. It is rather a built-in character of the religious Zionist ideology as taught by its founder Abraham Kook.
This the same Kook that wrote that "the difference between a Jewish soul and souls of non-Jews-- all of them in all different levels -- is greater and deeper than the difference between a human soul and the souls of cattle."
Evil ideology, evil conduct
The settler ideology cannot be innocuous since it is not confined to the theoretical framework.
In 1994, a settler from the settlement of Kiryat Arbaa near Hebron descended on the Ibrahimi Mosque nearby and sprayed Muslim worshipers with bullets, using his army-issued machinegun.
He murdered 29 worshipers and injured numerous other people, many with serious disabilities that would stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Most of the settlers and their supporters enthusiastically gloated over the massacre as the grave of the murderer became a pilgrimage site.
A few years later, another religious Zionist asked a Palestinian cabbie to give him a ride from Jerusalem to Kfar Saba, north east of Tel Aviv. When the settler got to his home, he invited the Arab driver to drink a cup of coffee. However, instead of the cup of coffee, the settler came up with a dagger, stabbing the taxi driver to death.
Still, when the murdered was interrogated by the police, he told them that he heard his neighborhood synagogue's rabbis saying that the life of a non-Jew had no sanctity.
Last year, three settlers kidnapped an Arab child, Muhammad Abu Khdeir, and took him to an abandoned place. There they pumped gasoline into the boy's mouth, and then set the boy on fire, burning him alive.
Who will call the spade a spade?
Now, the same kind of evil-minded people have a great influence on the upcoming Israeli government. For example, Ayelet Shaked from the far-right HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home) party was given the portfolio of justice minister as part of a deal that saw PM Netanyahu gather enough support to form a coalition and control the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
Last year, Shaked, a nice-looking young woman, attracted global attention and criticism when she posted a Facebook status denouncing Palestinians, during Israel’s 50-day military offensive in Gaza.
"The Palestinian people [have] declared war on us, and we must respond with war ... Not an operation, not a slow-moving one, not low-intensity, not controlled escalation, no destruction of terror infrastructure, no targeted killings.
"Enough with the oblique references. This is a war. Words have meanings. This is a war. It is not a war against terror, and not a war against extremists, and not even a war against the Palestinian Authority. These too are forms of avoiding reality. This is a war between two peoples. Who is the enemy? The Palestinian people."
Now, do the governments and peoples of the world have the courage to call the spade a spade, especially when it comes to Zionist criminality?
It is not enough to celebrate the annual anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany. It is also imperative to fight Nazi ideals and Nazi ideas everywhere. Including in Israel.
Unfortunately this is not being done with regard to Israel as the capitals of Europe and North America will soon receive Shaked and her equally racist colleagues with all the required trappings.
That would be the ultimate insult to the victims of Nazism, Jews and non-Jews alike.
If you think that the UN was wrong in labeling Zionism as a racist movement, think again.
Of course, Zionist crimes, committed in the name of Judaism and the Jewish people, have not stopped ever since Zionist supremacists declared their plans to create an exclusive Jewish state in Palestine in the late 19th century.
Zionist Jews employed every form of depravity and immorality to achieve their goal.
But the goal was evil, just as the means used to reach that goal were decidedly evil. This was the case 68 years ago, when Israel was created through blood, fire and terror. It will always be evil.
The passage of 68 years will not morph a hideous crime into a charitable enterprise. Israel will always be a crime against humanity, no matter how many people celebrate its achievements and sing its hymns.
Israel is built upon a foundation of evil and sinfulness. Such a state will not prosper or have an everlasting longevity. It will eventually meet the same fate that other evil states and empires eventually met.
Bennett's Talmudic fascism
Naftali Bennett, the number-2 figure in the new Israeli government was quoted recently as saying that he would never agree to give non-Jews in Israel equal rights.
When asked what he would tell Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas should he meet with him, Bennett said rather bluntly "I will order him to make me a cup of coffee."
Needless to say, "asking the Arabs to make coffee for Jews" is a slogan often invoked by leaders of religious-Zionist settlers especially when explaining their attitudes toward the Palestinians.
This manifestly racist mindset is encapsulated by the Biblical terms "water carriers and wood hewers" which refer to the treatment non-Jews were entitled to receive in ancient Israel.
Of course, there are many other Biblical verses which exhort the Children of Israel not to oppress "strangers living amongst you… because you yourselves were once strangers in the Land of the Pharaoh".
But Zionism, including religious Zionism, has very little to do with the sublime ideals of Prophetic Judaism. This is why, we notice that purportedly religious Zionists select the worst and most barbaric verses from the Old Testament and seek to apply it to the Palestinians.
Criminal versus genocidal
If classical Zionism is manifestly criminal, and it undoubtedly is, religious Zionism is decidedly genocidal.
Several years ago, a Jewish settler leader from the northern West Bank by the name of Daniela Weis gave a speech before a group of settlers in Hebron's Old Quarter. In her speech, she urged the settlers to "adopt Joshua's way to deal with the Palestinians."
"Would you choose Rabin's way or Joshua's way in dealing with the Palestinians," she asked. And the answer came loud and in unison: "We choose Joshua's way."
This genocidal fanaticism is not rhetorical or meant just to scare the Palestinians. It is rather a built-in character of the religious Zionist ideology as taught by its founder Abraham Kook.
This the same Kook that wrote that "the difference between a Jewish soul and souls of non-Jews-- all of them in all different levels -- is greater and deeper than the difference between a human soul and the souls of cattle."
Evil ideology, evil conduct
The settler ideology cannot be innocuous since it is not confined to the theoretical framework.
In 1994, a settler from the settlement of Kiryat Arbaa near Hebron descended on the Ibrahimi Mosque nearby and sprayed Muslim worshipers with bullets, using his army-issued machinegun.
He murdered 29 worshipers and injured numerous other people, many with serious disabilities that would stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Most of the settlers and their supporters enthusiastically gloated over the massacre as the grave of the murderer became a pilgrimage site.
A few years later, another religious Zionist asked a Palestinian cabbie to give him a ride from Jerusalem to Kfar Saba, north east of Tel Aviv. When the settler got to his home, he invited the Arab driver to drink a cup of coffee. However, instead of the cup of coffee, the settler came up with a dagger, stabbing the taxi driver to death.
Still, when the murdered was interrogated by the police, he told them that he heard his neighborhood synagogue's rabbis saying that the life of a non-Jew had no sanctity.
Last year, three settlers kidnapped an Arab child, Muhammad Abu Khdeir, and took him to an abandoned place. There they pumped gasoline into the boy's mouth, and then set the boy on fire, burning him alive.
Who will call the spade a spade?
Now, the same kind of evil-minded people have a great influence on the upcoming Israeli government. For example, Ayelet Shaked from the far-right HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home) party was given the portfolio of justice minister as part of a deal that saw PM Netanyahu gather enough support to form a coalition and control the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
Last year, Shaked, a nice-looking young woman, attracted global attention and criticism when she posted a Facebook status denouncing Palestinians, during Israel’s 50-day military offensive in Gaza.
"The Palestinian people [have] declared war on us, and we must respond with war ... Not an operation, not a slow-moving one, not low-intensity, not controlled escalation, no destruction of terror infrastructure, no targeted killings.
"Enough with the oblique references. This is a war. Words have meanings. This is a war. It is not a war against terror, and not a war against extremists, and not even a war against the Palestinian Authority. These too are forms of avoiding reality. This is a war between two peoples. Who is the enemy? The Palestinian people."
Now, do the governments and peoples of the world have the courage to call the spade a spade, especially when it comes to Zionist criminality?
It is not enough to celebrate the annual anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany. It is also imperative to fight Nazi ideals and Nazi ideas everywhere. Including in Israel.
Unfortunately this is not being done with regard to Israel as the capitals of Europe and North America will soon receive Shaked and her equally racist colleagues with all the required trappings.
That would be the ultimate insult to the victims of Nazism, Jews and non-Jews alike.
An extremist group of Jewish settlers uprooted on Tuesday hundreds of olive trees and saplings near Yatta town to the south of al-Khalil city.
Local sources revealed that more than 300 trees and seedlings were uprooted by a group of extremist settlers.
The sources added that the settlers took a bypass way adjacent to a natural reserve, cut the barbed wires, broke into the reserve and uprooted the trees.
Palestinians along with their properties in southern al-Khalil are exposed to repeated offences by settlers coming from three nearby Israeli settlements, the sources said.
Local sources revealed that more than 300 trees and seedlings were uprooted by a group of extremist settlers.
The sources added that the settlers took a bypass way adjacent to a natural reserve, cut the barbed wires, broke into the reserve and uprooted the trees.
Palestinians along with their properties in southern al-Khalil are exposed to repeated offences by settlers coming from three nearby Israeli settlements, the sources said.
Israeli occupation intelligence, along with groups of extremist settlers Tuesday morning have renewed their raids on Al-Aqsa, entering from Mughrabi gate of the mosque.
The groups were heavily guarded by private units of the Israeli police throughout their provocative tour.
Security sources said that the Israeli intelligence have been going on regular trips in Al-Aqsa mosque facilities and yards, to obtain complete knowledge of the activities of the Aqsa guardians (Murabiteen) and worshipers.
To their part, the worshipers have protested the raid act with shouting slogans against the regular stormings into the third holiest place in the religion of Islam.
These religious violations have been going on almost daily by extremist groups, which are protected and rewarded by Israeli politicians and leaders.
The raids often contain verbal, or non-verbal clashes with Palestinian worshipers and shouting slogans.
Israeli police forces prevent Muslims from entering the mosque for prayers, and often detain their ID cards after setting iron checkpoints around the mosque to ease the settlers entrance to the mosque.
The groups were heavily guarded by private units of the Israeli police throughout their provocative tour.
Security sources said that the Israeli intelligence have been going on regular trips in Al-Aqsa mosque facilities and yards, to obtain complete knowledge of the activities of the Aqsa guardians (Murabiteen) and worshipers.
To their part, the worshipers have protested the raid act with shouting slogans against the regular stormings into the third holiest place in the religion of Islam.
These religious violations have been going on almost daily by extremist groups, which are protected and rewarded by Israeli politicians and leaders.
The raids often contain verbal, or non-verbal clashes with Palestinian worshipers and shouting slogans.
Israeli police forces prevent Muslims from entering the mosque for prayers, and often detain their ID cards after setting iron checkpoints around the mosque to ease the settlers entrance to the mosque.
11 may 2015
Israel's new coalition government, under the direction of PM Benjamin Netanyahu, has taken on Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan as its deputy defense minister, known for his previous assertion that Palestinian are "human animals".
Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency reports that a wave of denunciations have aroused after appointing him from Israeli left-wing parties, in light of his extremist positions towards Palestinians.
Meretz leader Mussi Raz warned of Ben-Dahan's previous statements, in which he was quoted to say: "The Palestinians do not deserve life," describing them as "human animals", and they are not human beings and their life and their death are the same.
Raz added on his Facebook page: " Appointing Eli Ben-Dahan from the Jewish House as a deputy defense, what means that he is responsible of the Civil Administration, the government arm in the areas, is a crime. We are talking about a person who once said that the Palestinians are a human animals- sub-humans, they are not human beings and do not deserve life."
He continued: "Imagine a European deputy minister who is responsible for the Jewish minority there, says that the Jews do not deserve life," concluding: "If anybody still has an atom of ethics should prevent the formation of this government of hatred and death."
Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency reports that a wave of denunciations have aroused after appointing him from Israeli left-wing parties, in light of his extremist positions towards Palestinians.
Meretz leader Mussi Raz warned of Ben-Dahan's previous statements, in which he was quoted to say: "The Palestinians do not deserve life," describing them as "human animals", and they are not human beings and their life and their death are the same.
Raz added on his Facebook page: " Appointing Eli Ben-Dahan from the Jewish House as a deputy defense, what means that he is responsible of the Civil Administration, the government arm in the areas, is a crime. We are talking about a person who once said that the Palestinians are a human animals- sub-humans, they are not human beings and do not deserve life."
He continued: "Imagine a European deputy minister who is responsible for the Jewish minority there, says that the Jews do not deserve life," concluding: "If anybody still has an atom of ethics should prevent the formation of this government of hatred and death."
Israeli Jewish settlers desecrated the plazas of al-Aqsa Mosque under tight security measures by Israeli police on Monday morning.
Eyewitnesses revealed that the Jewish settlers stormed the holy site and toured its plazas amid explanations on the alleged Temple of Solomon.
The settlers entered the Mosque from al-Magharebah gate and went out from al-Silsilah gate, the eyewitnesses added.
The Israeli policemen at the various gates of the Mosque deliberately confiscated the IDs of the Palestinian young men.
The Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) banned two Jerusalemite women from accessing the Mosque for 15 days on the charge of chanting Allahu Akbar during settlers’ incursion into the Islamic holy site. The women are Fatina Hussein and Sana al-Rajabi.
Eyewitnesses revealed that the Jewish settlers stormed the holy site and toured its plazas amid explanations on the alleged Temple of Solomon.
The settlers entered the Mosque from al-Magharebah gate and went out from al-Silsilah gate, the eyewitnesses added.
The Israeli policemen at the various gates of the Mosque deliberately confiscated the IDs of the Palestinian young men.
The Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) banned two Jerusalemite women from accessing the Mosque for 15 days on the charge of chanting Allahu Akbar during settlers’ incursion into the Islamic holy site. The women are Fatina Hussein and Sana al-Rajabi.
Israeli man (19), witnesses report that Palestinian attacker ran toward them, stabbed young man and fled; victim taken to Jerusalem's Sha'are Zedek Medical Center.
A 19-year-old man was lightly hurt in a suspected stabbing attack near the Mishor Adumim Junction, next to Ma'ale Adumim on Monday. Police forces launched a search for the suspect, apparently a Palestinian.
The victim was evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
The wounded man and other witnesses claimed that the Palestinian ran towards them and stabbed the young man in his back. Police believe the motive for the attack was a nationalistic background. The victim was transferred to a Magen David Adom ambulance while he was en route to Jerusalem. The ambulance picked up the 19-year-old man at the Al-Zayim checkpoint in Ma'ale Adumim and evacuated him to the hospital.
Magen David Adom paramedic Oded Shabat who arrived at the checkpoint said that "a man of about 20 years of age with a stab wound to his torso was sitting inside a private vehicle. They told us that he was stabbed while standing at a hitchhiking spot in Mishor Adumim. We gave him medical treatment and evacuated him to the trauma room at the Sha'are Tzedek Medical Center."
Israeli settler slightly injured in alleged J’lem stabbing
An Israeli settler sustained minor injuries in an alleged stabbing attack by a Palestinian youngster in Occupied Jerusalem city, Israeli police claimed on early Monday morning.
The Israeli occupation police said in a press statement, according to preliminary data “an Israeli settler was stabbed by a suspect, apparently a Palestinian, at the Mishor Adumim crossroads, in eastern Occupied Jerusalem.”
The settler was reportedly transferred to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital to be treated for the minor injuries sustained in the alleged incident.
Local sources said a large investigation troop, escorted by police and armed officers, suddenly showed up and scoured the area under the pretext of chasing down the unidentified stabber.
Stabbing attacks by Palestinian youths have been on the rise in Occupied Jerusalem city, which observers said have been primarily acted in response to the preplanned vandalism and frequent hit-and-runs perpetrated by Israeli fanatic settlers against Palestinian children and civilian youths.
A 19-year-old man was lightly hurt in a suspected stabbing attack near the Mishor Adumim Junction, next to Ma'ale Adumim on Monday. Police forces launched a search for the suspect, apparently a Palestinian.
The victim was evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
The wounded man and other witnesses claimed that the Palestinian ran towards them and stabbed the young man in his back. Police believe the motive for the attack was a nationalistic background. The victim was transferred to a Magen David Adom ambulance while he was en route to Jerusalem. The ambulance picked up the 19-year-old man at the Al-Zayim checkpoint in Ma'ale Adumim and evacuated him to the hospital.
Magen David Adom paramedic Oded Shabat who arrived at the checkpoint said that "a man of about 20 years of age with a stab wound to his torso was sitting inside a private vehicle. They told us that he was stabbed while standing at a hitchhiking spot in Mishor Adumim. We gave him medical treatment and evacuated him to the trauma room at the Sha'are Tzedek Medical Center."
Israeli settler slightly injured in alleged J’lem stabbing
An Israeli settler sustained minor injuries in an alleged stabbing attack by a Palestinian youngster in Occupied Jerusalem city, Israeli police claimed on early Monday morning.
The Israeli occupation police said in a press statement, according to preliminary data “an Israeli settler was stabbed by a suspect, apparently a Palestinian, at the Mishor Adumim crossroads, in eastern Occupied Jerusalem.”
The settler was reportedly transferred to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital to be treated for the minor injuries sustained in the alleged incident.
Local sources said a large investigation troop, escorted by police and armed officers, suddenly showed up and scoured the area under the pretext of chasing down the unidentified stabber.
Stabbing attacks by Palestinian youths have been on the rise in Occupied Jerusalem city, which observers said have been primarily acted in response to the preplanned vandalism and frequent hit-and-runs perpetrated by Israeli fanatic settlers against Palestinian children and civilian youths.
10 may 2015
Children in Hebron's Old City (archived image)
A group of right-wing Israeli men in the old city of Hebron chased down and violently assaulted four children ages 4 - 10 and their mother. The family was walking home when they were attacked.
The assault on the young children took place following a weekly 'tour' of Hebron led by right-wing fanatic settlers, that is usually accompanied by violence against the indigenous Palestinian population of the city.
According to the Christian Peacemaker Team stationed in Hebron, "Every Saturday, Israeli and foreign tourists gather in Hebron’s Old City for a tour. On this tour, visitors are given a false and racist history of Hebron that denies the legacy of Muslims and Jews living together for centuries.
The tour is accompanied by dozens of Israeli soldiers and Border Police, who ID check and detain Palestinians...Between December 2014 and March 19, 2015, soldiers invaded 35 homes, mostly to use these families’ rooftops as look-out posts. Settlers and tourists frequently chant as they walk through Palestinian neighborhoods, and sometimes yell threats at local children."
In Saturday's attack, Mirvat Abu Tuama and her children Hazim, 10, Rahaf, 8, Lujayn, 5, and Liyan, 4, were walking home when a group of armed men, right-wing Israeli Jewish settlers, began chasing them and shouting at them, then attacking them physically.
This is at least the third attack in the past week by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians. These include an attack earlier this week on a South African delegation visiting the old city of Hebron.
On Saturday, four settlers, one of them armed, harassed a Palestinian walking with his son through the Palestinian-owned Humra valley in the southern West Bank's South Hebron Hills.
And Friday, two Palestinians, a six-year-old child and his sister, were harassed and chased by settlers as they walked to their home in the South Hebron Hills village of Tuba. The settlers screamed at and chased them, frightening the Palestinians, who ran away.
Groups like the Christian Peacemaker Teams, who witness the daily harassment, say that these daily incidents of ongoing settler harassment render Palestinian life in the South Hebron Hills and other places in the West Bank's Area C, over which Israel has full control, extremely difficult for the indigenous Palestinian population.
The last report by the Christian Peacemaker Teams stated that, "Since 1967, radical right-wing Israeli settlers have occupied a number of buildings and formed illegal settlements inside Hebron’s Old City. These settlements house at most a few hundred settlers and are guarded by an immense regime of checkpoints, road closures, guard towers, military outposts, and military patrols.
Because settlers refuse to interact with the local Palestinian population (in fact, a major goal of the military occupation is the slow starvation of the Old City economy and people), the settlements and accompanying occupation forces are financially unsustainable."
A group of right-wing Israeli men in the old city of Hebron chased down and violently assaulted four children ages 4 - 10 and their mother. The family was walking home when they were attacked.
The assault on the young children took place following a weekly 'tour' of Hebron led by right-wing fanatic settlers, that is usually accompanied by violence against the indigenous Palestinian population of the city.
According to the Christian Peacemaker Team stationed in Hebron, "Every Saturday, Israeli and foreign tourists gather in Hebron’s Old City for a tour. On this tour, visitors are given a false and racist history of Hebron that denies the legacy of Muslims and Jews living together for centuries.
The tour is accompanied by dozens of Israeli soldiers and Border Police, who ID check and detain Palestinians...Between December 2014 and March 19, 2015, soldiers invaded 35 homes, mostly to use these families’ rooftops as look-out posts. Settlers and tourists frequently chant as they walk through Palestinian neighborhoods, and sometimes yell threats at local children."
In Saturday's attack, Mirvat Abu Tuama and her children Hazim, 10, Rahaf, 8, Lujayn, 5, and Liyan, 4, were walking home when a group of armed men, right-wing Israeli Jewish settlers, began chasing them and shouting at them, then attacking them physically.
This is at least the third attack in the past week by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians. These include an attack earlier this week on a South African delegation visiting the old city of Hebron.
On Saturday, four settlers, one of them armed, harassed a Palestinian walking with his son through the Palestinian-owned Humra valley in the southern West Bank's South Hebron Hills.
And Friday, two Palestinians, a six-year-old child and his sister, were harassed and chased by settlers as they walked to their home in the South Hebron Hills village of Tuba. The settlers screamed at and chased them, frightening the Palestinians, who ran away.
Groups like the Christian Peacemaker Teams, who witness the daily harassment, say that these daily incidents of ongoing settler harassment render Palestinian life in the South Hebron Hills and other places in the West Bank's Area C, over which Israel has full control, extremely difficult for the indigenous Palestinian population.
The last report by the Christian Peacemaker Teams stated that, "Since 1967, radical right-wing Israeli settlers have occupied a number of buildings and formed illegal settlements inside Hebron’s Old City. These settlements house at most a few hundred settlers and are guarded by an immense regime of checkpoints, road closures, guard towers, military outposts, and military patrols.
Because settlers refuse to interact with the local Palestinian population (in fact, a major goal of the military occupation is the slow starvation of the Old City economy and people), the settlements and accompanying occupation forces are financially unsustainable."
Tension prevailed in al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday Morning due to the settlers' repeated incursions into the holy site under the protection of Israeli police.
Three extremist groups of Jewish settlers, escorted by Israeli military forces, stormed the Aqsa Mosque from al-Magharebah gate, which provoked Muslim worshipers who confronted the incursion.
The Palestinian worshipers and Jerusalemite people followed the settlers chanting Allahu Akbar and forced them to go out of the Mosque from al-Silsilah gate.
Meanwhile, Israeli policemen took photos for the Palestinians who confronted the settlers in order to arrest them later at the exit gates of the Mosque.
Three extremist groups of Jewish settlers, escorted by Israeli military forces, stormed the Aqsa Mosque from al-Magharebah gate, which provoked Muslim worshipers who confronted the incursion.
The Palestinian worshipers and Jerusalemite people followed the settlers chanting Allahu Akbar and forced them to go out of the Mosque from al-Silsilah gate.
Meanwhile, Israeli policemen took photos for the Palestinians who confronted the settlers in order to arrest them later at the exit gates of the Mosque.
Israeli extremists attack Palestinians and their property in Hebron
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Sunday at dawn, several communities in the West Bank districts of Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah, searched and ransacked a number of homes and kidnapped six Palestinians.
Media sources in Bethlehem said several army vehicles invaded Teqoua’ town, east of the city, and kidnapped Sami ‘Ali Sabah, 23 years of age, after breaking into his home and searching it, causing property damage.
The soldiers also invaded Doha town, west of Bethlehem, invaded a home, and handed ‘Amro Jamil Abu Srour a military order for interrogation in the Gush Etzion military and security base.
In addition, a number of military vehicles invaded Ras Efteiss and Al-Manara areas, in Bethlehem, before breaking into and searching a home belonging to resident ‘Omar Habib, and a shop belonging to ‘Adel ‘Atiq.
Soldiers also invaded Hebron city, in the southern part of the West Bank, and the nearby towns of Yatta and Doura, before kidnapping two Palestinians identified as Ahmad Rashed al-Joneidi, 21, and Nassereddin Fayyad Sahana.
In Ramallah, soldiers invaded Turmus ‘Ayya town, and kidnapped three Palestinians, in addition to handing a fourth resident a military order for interrogation.
Media sources in Ramallah said the soldiers kidnapped Malek Ziad, Tamer Mershid and Abdullah Ahmad al-Basha, all from Silwad nearby town, and handed resident Thalji Majdi Hammad, 21, a military warrant for interrogation, after breaking into his home and searching it.
Late on Saturday at night, a group of Israeli extremists attacked several Palestinians and their property, in Tal Romeida area, in the center of Hebron city.
Resident Emad Abu Shamsiyya said several settlers from the Ramat Yeshai illegal outpost, installed on Palestinian property, attacked homes and lands in addition to throwing stones on a number of residents while cursing and shouting at them.
Abu Shamsiyya added that Israeli soldiers, deployed in the area, witnessed the attack but did not attempt to stop or remove the assailants.
Some of the Palestinians who were attacked have been identified as Mirvat Abu Rmeila and her children Rahaf, Lajeen, Lian and Hazem, in addition to members of Abu Markhiyya family.
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Sunday at dawn, several communities in the West Bank districts of Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah, searched and ransacked a number of homes and kidnapped six Palestinians.
Media sources in Bethlehem said several army vehicles invaded Teqoua’ town, east of the city, and kidnapped Sami ‘Ali Sabah, 23 years of age, after breaking into his home and searching it, causing property damage.
The soldiers also invaded Doha town, west of Bethlehem, invaded a home, and handed ‘Amro Jamil Abu Srour a military order for interrogation in the Gush Etzion military and security base.
In addition, a number of military vehicles invaded Ras Efteiss and Al-Manara areas, in Bethlehem, before breaking into and searching a home belonging to resident ‘Omar Habib, and a shop belonging to ‘Adel ‘Atiq.
Soldiers also invaded Hebron city, in the southern part of the West Bank, and the nearby towns of Yatta and Doura, before kidnapping two Palestinians identified as Ahmad Rashed al-Joneidi, 21, and Nassereddin Fayyad Sahana.
In Ramallah, soldiers invaded Turmus ‘Ayya town, and kidnapped three Palestinians, in addition to handing a fourth resident a military order for interrogation.
Media sources in Ramallah said the soldiers kidnapped Malek Ziad, Tamer Mershid and Abdullah Ahmad al-Basha, all from Silwad nearby town, and handed resident Thalji Majdi Hammad, 21, a military warrant for interrogation, after breaking into his home and searching it.
Late on Saturday at night, a group of Israeli extremists attacked several Palestinians and their property, in Tal Romeida area, in the center of Hebron city.
Resident Emad Abu Shamsiyya said several settlers from the Ramat Yeshai illegal outpost, installed on Palestinian property, attacked homes and lands in addition to throwing stones on a number of residents while cursing and shouting at them.
Abu Shamsiyya added that Israeli soldiers, deployed in the area, witnessed the attack but did not attempt to stop or remove the assailants.
Some of the Palestinians who were attacked have been identified as Mirvat Abu Rmeila and her children Rahaf, Lajeen, Lian and Hazem, in addition to members of Abu Markhiyya family.
A group of Jewish settlers on Saturday evening attacked Palestinian citizens in Tel Ramid neighborhood in al-Khalil and threw stones at their homes.
Palestinian residents from the neighborhood said the settlers carried out their attack under military protection.
Israeli media sources claimed that the settlers' attack was a reaction to a recent hit-and-run incident in which a Palestinian car hit a settler near al-Fahes district, southeast of al-Khalil.
The Israeli army had declared al-Fahes district and the nearby industrial zone closed areas at the pretext of looking for the driver.
Palestinian residents from the neighborhood said the settlers carried out their attack under military protection.
Israeli media sources claimed that the settlers' attack was a reaction to a recent hit-and-run incident in which a Palestinian car hit a settler near al-Fahes district, southeast of al-Khalil.
The Israeli army had declared al-Fahes district and the nearby industrial zone closed areas at the pretext of looking for the driver.
8 may 2015
Palestinian citizens managed Friday to confront Israeli settlers’ attack on their agricultural lands to the south of al-Khalil city.
The local activist Ratib Rajoub reported that ten masked settlers uprooted dozens of olive saplings in Susia village near Yatta town.
Local youths immediately reached the scene and forced the settlers to leave the land under Israeli forces’ protection.
Israeli settlers have earlier erected a make-shift tent in a Palestinian-owned land near the village, as a starting point to carry out their attacks against Palestinians’ agricultural lands and properties.
The local activist Ratib Rajoub reported that ten masked settlers uprooted dozens of olive saplings in Susia village near Yatta town.
Local youths immediately reached the scene and forced the settlers to leave the land under Israeli forces’ protection.
Israeli settlers have earlier erected a make-shift tent in a Palestinian-owned land near the village, as a starting point to carry out their attacks against Palestinians’ agricultural lands and properties.
Israeli sources reported Friday that an agreement was reached between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the “Jewish Home” Party, to legalize random colonial outposts, built on Palestinian lands, in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Channel 7 has reported that the agreement came following pressure from the head of the Jewish Home Party, legislator Naftali Bennett, as part of an agreement to join the right-wing coalition government.
After the new government is formed, Cabinet Secretary Avichai Mandelblit will be heading a committee to formulate a framework meant for legalizing outposts, built by Israeli settlers on Palestinian lands, without the government approval.
Representatives of the Israeli Defense Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and Justice Ministry are also part of the new committee.
The struck deal requires the new government to start the actual preparations one month after it is formed.
The committee will be discussing and finalizing all legal issues to “legalize” the outposts, before submitting its report within sixty days after its formation, and the government will then approve and implement the recommendations.
Israeli Channel 7 has reported that the agreement came following pressure from the head of the Jewish Home Party, legislator Naftali Bennett, as part of an agreement to join the right-wing coalition government.
After the new government is formed, Cabinet Secretary Avichai Mandelblit will be heading a committee to formulate a framework meant for legalizing outposts, built by Israeli settlers on Palestinian lands, without the government approval.
Representatives of the Israeli Defense Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and Justice Ministry are also part of the new committee.
The struck deal requires the new government to start the actual preparations one month after it is formed.
The committee will be discussing and finalizing all legal issues to “legalize” the outposts, before submitting its report within sixty days after its formation, and the government will then approve and implement the recommendations.
|
Settlers harassed the head of the Palestinian National Union for Football and the South African head of an anti-racism group during a tour in Hebron's Old City this week.
Palestinian football chief, Jibril al-Rajoub, was heading a FIFA delegation tour in the city on Tuesday when the incident took place. The group included Tokyo Sexwale, an anti-apartheid activist imprisoned for 13 years on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela, and co-chair of Global Watch: Say No To Racism-Discrimination In Sport. The delegation was briefed on the difficult living conditions in the Old City by the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee and were shown videos documenting army and settler violence against Palestinians in the city. |
Israeli forces then prevented the delegation from entering several areas of the Old City, with settlers verbally insulting the group as they tried to continue the tour.
Sexwale said that life for Palestinians in the city is intolerable, saying he was proud of the Palestinians for their determination to remain on their land.
The South African official had to enter Ramallah via the King Hussein Bridge to avoid entry from Tel Aviv. The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has called for a vote at the FIFA annual congress on May 29 calling for Israel's expulsion for blocking Palestinian football through its sanctions on the Palestinian territories.
In its draft resolution for the FIFA congress, the Palestinian protests over Israel's treatment of Arabs and acts such as setting up clubs in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli forces raided the PFA headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah in November.
Palestinian football chiefs have also condemned Israeli travel restrictions on Palestinian players and on importing equipment into the occupied territories.
Sexwale said that life for Palestinians in the city is intolerable, saying he was proud of the Palestinians for their determination to remain on their land.
The South African official had to enter Ramallah via the King Hussein Bridge to avoid entry from Tel Aviv. The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has called for a vote at the FIFA annual congress on May 29 calling for Israel's expulsion for blocking Palestinian football through its sanctions on the Palestinian territories.
In its draft resolution for the FIFA congress, the Palestinian protests over Israel's treatment of Arabs and acts such as setting up clubs in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli forces raided the PFA headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah in November.
Palestinian football chiefs have also condemned Israeli travel restrictions on Palestinian players and on importing equipment into the occupied territories.
7 may 2015
Aqsa Mosque’s guards confronted an extremist Jewish settler who tried to attack a Palestinian child in storming the Aqsa Mosque with a group of settlers under Israeli tight security measures on Thursday.
QPress revealed that an extremist Jewish settler tried to assault a Palestinian child who was chanting Allahu Akbar on Thursday morning.
The Mosque’s guards along with worshipers confronted the attacking settler and forced him with the other settlers to go out of the vicinity of the holy site.
An altercation erupted between an Israeli officer and one of the Mosque’s guards who objected taking photos of settlers in the vicinity of the holy Aqsa Mosque.
Meanwhile, the Israeli forces deliberately harassed Muslim worshipers while entering the Mosque. The forces detained the IDs of teachers who accompanied school students who visited the holy place in the morning hours.
The forces also threatened the women of arrest in case the school students chanted Allahu Akbar inside the Mosque. 30 settlers stormed the Aqsa Mosque in the morning hours while 14 others stormed it at noon on Thursday.
Moreover, 40 officials of Israeli intelligence toured the Mosque’s Plazas for more than one hour and a half in the morning. The Israeli intelligence members have recently broken into the holy site in a semi daily basis.
500 children of Jerusalemite school students including kindergarten students along with their mothers and teachers visited the Aqsa Mosque in a school trip on Thursday morning.
QPress revealed that an extremist Jewish settler tried to assault a Palestinian child who was chanting Allahu Akbar on Thursday morning.
The Mosque’s guards along with worshipers confronted the attacking settler and forced him with the other settlers to go out of the vicinity of the holy site.
An altercation erupted between an Israeli officer and one of the Mosque’s guards who objected taking photos of settlers in the vicinity of the holy Aqsa Mosque.
Meanwhile, the Israeli forces deliberately harassed Muslim worshipers while entering the Mosque. The forces detained the IDs of teachers who accompanied school students who visited the holy place in the morning hours.
The forces also threatened the women of arrest in case the school students chanted Allahu Akbar inside the Mosque. 30 settlers stormed the Aqsa Mosque in the morning hours while 14 others stormed it at noon on Thursday.
Moreover, 40 officials of Israeli intelligence toured the Mosque’s Plazas for more than one hour and a half in the morning. The Israeli intelligence members have recently broken into the holy site in a semi daily basis.
500 children of Jerusalemite school students including kindergarten students along with their mothers and teachers visited the Aqsa Mosque in a school trip on Thursday morning.
Settlers attacked the car of a senior adviser to Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Thursday near the Halamish settlement north of Ramallah.
Jawad Naji, adviser for Islamic and Arab funds, told Ma'an that 15 settlers attacked and threw rocks at his car on the Ramallah-Nablus road.
The official continued on his journey and was not injured in the incident.In 2014, there were 324 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Jawad Naji, adviser for Islamic and Arab funds, told Ma'an that 15 settlers attacked and threw rocks at his car on the Ramallah-Nablus road.
The official continued on his journey and was not injured in the incident.In 2014, there were 324 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The Israeli occupation police has launched a large-scale campaign to search for a Jewish settler who was reported missing in the occupied Golan region.
An Israeli police source told Israel's channel 2 that a 40-year-old young man named Amir Doron went missing earlier this month in the Golan region.
Israeli volunteers responded to a recent police appeal for cooperation and jointed its attempts to find him.
The incident is considered sensitive to Israel as it has happened in a security area it classifies as extremely dangerous because hostile groups like Hezbollah are actively present there.
An Israeli police source told Israel's channel 2 that a 40-year-old young man named Amir Doron went missing earlier this month in the Golan region.
Israeli volunteers responded to a recent police appeal for cooperation and jointed its attempts to find him.
The incident is considered sensitive to Israel as it has happened in a security area it classifies as extremely dangerous because hostile groups like Hezbollah are actively present there.
Palestinian medical sources have reported, on Thursday morning, that a young man was injured after being struck by a speeding Israeli settlement bus, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
The sources said Kathem Qdeimat, 22 years of age, suffered a moderate injury, and was moved to the Arab Society Hospital for Rehabilitation, in the West Bank city of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem.
Qdeimat is from Kharas town, near Hebron; the Red Crescent Society said one of its ambulances rushed to the scene, and provided the young man with the urgently needed medical attention before moving him to hospital.
On April 28, a Palestinian child was moderately injured, in Yatta town, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, after being hit by an Israeli settler’s car.
There have been hundreds of "hit and run" incidents that largely went uninvestigated by the Israeli authorities, in different parts of the occupied West Bank, even though many of those incidents led to fatalities.
One of those incidents is the case of Enas Dar Khalil, five years of age, who was killed in 2014, and the settler who killed her fled the scene.
Related: 4 may 2015 Two-year-old Palestinian killed in hit-and-run by Israeli settler
The sources said Kathem Qdeimat, 22 years of age, suffered a moderate injury, and was moved to the Arab Society Hospital for Rehabilitation, in the West Bank city of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem.
Qdeimat is from Kharas town, near Hebron; the Red Crescent Society said one of its ambulances rushed to the scene, and provided the young man with the urgently needed medical attention before moving him to hospital.
On April 28, a Palestinian child was moderately injured, in Yatta town, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, after being hit by an Israeli settler’s car.
There have been hundreds of "hit and run" incidents that largely went uninvestigated by the Israeli authorities, in different parts of the occupied West Bank, even though many of those incidents led to fatalities.
One of those incidents is the case of Enas Dar Khalil, five years of age, who was killed in 2014, and the settler who killed her fled the scene.
Related: 4 may 2015 Two-year-old Palestinian killed in hit-and-run by Israeli settler