13 apr 2014
The Palestinian legislative council (PLC) called on all speakers of the Arab and Islamic parliaments to necessarily hold special sessions to discuss the situation in occupied Jerusalem and the dangers threatening the Aqsa Mosque. "These sessions, which we urge the Arab and Islamic parliaments to hold, come due to the exposure of the Aqsa Mosque to great dangers," first deputy speaker Ahmed Bahar stated in press remarks to Quds Press.
Bahar also urged the leaders of Arab and Islamic countries to urgently move to save the Aqsa Mosque and the holy city from Israel's attempt to Judaize them.
He appealed, in particular, to the Arab leaders to activate the decisions they had made during previous Arab summits to financially support the steadfastness of the Palestinian natives of Jerusalem through establishing a fund for the holy city.
"The Aqsa Mosque is being exposed today to the most dangerous campaigns that aim to Judaize it and obliterate its Arab and Islamic history," the Palestinian lawmaker warned.
Bahar also urged the leaders of Arab and Islamic countries to urgently move to save the Aqsa Mosque and the holy city from Israel's attempt to Judaize them.
He appealed, in particular, to the Arab leaders to activate the decisions they had made during previous Arab summits to financially support the steadfastness of the Palestinian natives of Jerusalem through establishing a fund for the holy city.
"The Aqsa Mosque is being exposed today to the most dangerous campaigns that aim to Judaize it and obliterate its Arab and Islamic history," the Palestinian lawmaker warned.
Palestinian minister of religious affairs Ismail Radwan held the Israeli government fully responsible for the consequences of any attempt to be made by Jewish settlers or groups to desecrate the Aqsa Mosque tomorrow, April 14. "We take very seriously the Zionist calls for mass break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque on the 14th of this month, and this situation reflects the advanced step which the Zionists have taken against the Aqsa Mosque in order to impose a fait accompli," Radawn stated in a press release on Saturday.
The minister also pointed to Israel's establishment of a rooftop watch arena a few days ago containing a model of the alleged temple near the Aqsa Mosque, warning that such Israeli Judaization measures would ignite a religious war in the region sooner or later.
Radwan also warned the Israeli occupation that the Palestinian resistance is always on high alert to defend the Aqsa Mosque against any Judaization attempt.
The minister also pointed to Israel's establishment of a rooftop watch arena a few days ago containing a model of the alleged temple near the Aqsa Mosque, warning that such Israeli Judaization measures would ignite a religious war in the region sooner or later.
Radwan also warned the Israeli occupation that the Palestinian resistance is always on high alert to defend the Aqsa Mosque against any Judaization attempt.
• The Guardian has exclusive access to the stream of 24 Hours Jerusalem, which will launch at 05:00 tomorrow UK time
By Damon Wise
In the era of the modern documentary, rare is the film-maker who prays that nothing out of the ordinary happens on the day of shooting. Yet that was exactly the concern on Volker Heise's mind a year ago today, when he began filming his real-time study of Jerusalem, an ambitious multi-camera, multiple-perspective study that aims to look beyond the city's headlines and present the everyday stories of the people that live there.
The project began eight years ago, with a trial run in Berlin. Says Heise, an avuncular, self-deprecating 52-year-old north German who apologises for his English not being "proper": "I always thought about the idea of, how can I narrate a city? In literature you have Ulysses by James Joyce, or Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin, or Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos. But how could I do this visually? Then one day I read an article in an English newspaper about English historians, and they asked all the people in England to write them letters, telling them what they were going to do on one specific day. They asked them to send only the ordinary days of their everyday lives.
"I thought it was a brilliant idea," he continues. "Brilliant because nobody asks people what they do in their ordinary lives – they only want to hear exceptional things. So I thought, why don't we do this with cameras? Everybody has cameras on their mobile phones. And the next step was, why don't we do it on TV? That was the initial idea for the Berlin project. We started to think about it and I said, 'OK, we will shoot one day and we will broadcast one day. We only narrate everyday life, and we do it in real time. So what you see at 9am happened at 9am, and we do it exactly one year later on the same day.'"
The result, 24 Hours Berlin, was a modest success on TV in German and France, and it was Heise's producing partner, Thomas Kufus, who suggested Israel, having some financing partners there. "I thought it was perfect," says Heise. "If we were going to do it in another city, we had to do it in Jerusalem. Because Jerusalem is so different. It's not a normal city like Berlin, London, Paris or Moscow – just another big European city. It's really different. You don't know where the borders are. Because the Palestinians have other ideas about it to the Zionists. It has three religions and every religion says, 'Jerusalem is ours.'
"It involves many issues that people around the world are talking about at the moment," he continues. "Religion and politics, modern and traditional life – you have it there in Jerusalem. One of our protagonists said, 'If you want a clash of cultures, come to Jerusalem. It's here and it happens every day. It needs only a little thing and the city is going to explode.' Of course, that is different to Berlin. Nothing is going to explode there. But I was in Berlin before the Wall, so I do know what it means to live in a city where you don't what's going to happen the next day. That story is over for Berlin, but it's still going on in Jerusalem."
Finally, there were 20 camera teams assembled for the shoot, following not just religious types bThe first step was to make connections. "Thomas had made a lot of co-productions with Israel," says Heise, "so he knew some people there. But that was not enough. We started three years before the shooting day with the research, and I was there, I'd say, every two months for a week or two, to build up trust. It's not like here in Europe – I call someone in England and we make a deal. That's not going to work there, especially with the Palestinian side. You have to talk to people. Somebody told me at the border control in East Jerusalem into Palestine that you can sit together with people and drink tea for seven or eight hours, and maybe after that you're going to work together!"
Such a shoot was plainly going to be complicated. Heise spent six months in Jerusalem before the shooting date, overseeing a research team from Europe, plus an Israeli team and a Palestinian team. Says Heise: "I told them, what we want to do is, we want to start with all the cliches – we have to have a rabbi, a priest, an imam and, of course, somebody from the more radical Palestinian side and somebody from the more radical Zionist side. Those were the obvious things we had to have, and from there we could go into more detail."
ut ordinary working people, juxtaposing a high-end estate agent with a protest group who occupy empty houses. "It's about everyday life," says Heise. "I thought we should show the city through the lives of the protagonists," he explains. "And then when people saw it, they would maybe understand more about this country. I didn't want to say, 'This is right,' or 'This is wrong,' or, 'This is the one who should be the owner of Jerusalem.' I wanted to have all the parts, like a puzzle with many pieces. But mostly the pieces don't fit together."
Heise admits that there was plenty of pressure during the shoot, but who did it come from? "Everybody," he says. "Because everybody says, 'This is my city,' and they try to influence you. But during pre-production I always said: 'We are independent film-makers. That is our point of view and nothing else. We have to watch the city from this point of view and film the lives of the people who live here. We have to do it in such a way that afterwards we can say, 'OK, we tried to have a balance between the different groups. We tried our best not to be more on one side than on the other side.'"
The editing process comprised four stages. After taking the footage to Berlin, Heise put it under the supervision of two editors, one Israeli and one Palestinian. There were four editing rooms, and the first thing assembled was a rough cut ("to see what was in the material"). That alone took five months, with teams working in three parallel editing rooms: one team did the first hour, the second did the second and the third did the third. Then they started over again.
The result is an extraordinary vision of the city that will be broadcast on French-German TV station Arte and German station Bayerisches Fernsehen, but is also an ambitious multimedia project that can be accessed via the 24 Hours Jerusalem website. After his experience with 24 Hours Berlin, Heise knows that the minutiae of the everyday has a compelling appeal.
"In Berlin, people many watched it for many hours," he says. "They said, 'Let's watch for half an hour, and after seven hours they said, 'OK … '" He laughs. "We made the programme in a way that you really can watch 24 hours. Every half hour there's a break, but also we made it in such a way that if you watch it during the day, it's easy to do something else at the same time. It's like a parallel life. It's on the whole day, and you can go in and out, and you see always something new. You have a new window in your house – and it looks out at Jerusalem."
Reading on mobile? Click here to watch the livestream
Source: The Guardian
By Damon Wise
In the era of the modern documentary, rare is the film-maker who prays that nothing out of the ordinary happens on the day of shooting. Yet that was exactly the concern on Volker Heise's mind a year ago today, when he began filming his real-time study of Jerusalem, an ambitious multi-camera, multiple-perspective study that aims to look beyond the city's headlines and present the everyday stories of the people that live there.
The project began eight years ago, with a trial run in Berlin. Says Heise, an avuncular, self-deprecating 52-year-old north German who apologises for his English not being "proper": "I always thought about the idea of, how can I narrate a city? In literature you have Ulysses by James Joyce, or Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin, or Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos. But how could I do this visually? Then one day I read an article in an English newspaper about English historians, and they asked all the people in England to write them letters, telling them what they were going to do on one specific day. They asked them to send only the ordinary days of their everyday lives.
"I thought it was a brilliant idea," he continues. "Brilliant because nobody asks people what they do in their ordinary lives – they only want to hear exceptional things. So I thought, why don't we do this with cameras? Everybody has cameras on their mobile phones. And the next step was, why don't we do it on TV? That was the initial idea for the Berlin project. We started to think about it and I said, 'OK, we will shoot one day and we will broadcast one day. We only narrate everyday life, and we do it in real time. So what you see at 9am happened at 9am, and we do it exactly one year later on the same day.'"
The result, 24 Hours Berlin, was a modest success on TV in German and France, and it was Heise's producing partner, Thomas Kufus, who suggested Israel, having some financing partners there. "I thought it was perfect," says Heise. "If we were going to do it in another city, we had to do it in Jerusalem. Because Jerusalem is so different. It's not a normal city like Berlin, London, Paris or Moscow – just another big European city. It's really different. You don't know where the borders are. Because the Palestinians have other ideas about it to the Zionists. It has three religions and every religion says, 'Jerusalem is ours.'
"It involves many issues that people around the world are talking about at the moment," he continues. "Religion and politics, modern and traditional life – you have it there in Jerusalem. One of our protagonists said, 'If you want a clash of cultures, come to Jerusalem. It's here and it happens every day. It needs only a little thing and the city is going to explode.' Of course, that is different to Berlin. Nothing is going to explode there. But I was in Berlin before the Wall, so I do know what it means to live in a city where you don't what's going to happen the next day. That story is over for Berlin, but it's still going on in Jerusalem."
Finally, there were 20 camera teams assembled for the shoot, following not just religious types bThe first step was to make connections. "Thomas had made a lot of co-productions with Israel," says Heise, "so he knew some people there. But that was not enough. We started three years before the shooting day with the research, and I was there, I'd say, every two months for a week or two, to build up trust. It's not like here in Europe – I call someone in England and we make a deal. That's not going to work there, especially with the Palestinian side. You have to talk to people. Somebody told me at the border control in East Jerusalem into Palestine that you can sit together with people and drink tea for seven or eight hours, and maybe after that you're going to work together!"
Such a shoot was plainly going to be complicated. Heise spent six months in Jerusalem before the shooting date, overseeing a research team from Europe, plus an Israeli team and a Palestinian team. Says Heise: "I told them, what we want to do is, we want to start with all the cliches – we have to have a rabbi, a priest, an imam and, of course, somebody from the more radical Palestinian side and somebody from the more radical Zionist side. Those were the obvious things we had to have, and from there we could go into more detail."
ut ordinary working people, juxtaposing a high-end estate agent with a protest group who occupy empty houses. "It's about everyday life," says Heise. "I thought we should show the city through the lives of the protagonists," he explains. "And then when people saw it, they would maybe understand more about this country. I didn't want to say, 'This is right,' or 'This is wrong,' or, 'This is the one who should be the owner of Jerusalem.' I wanted to have all the parts, like a puzzle with many pieces. But mostly the pieces don't fit together."
Heise admits that there was plenty of pressure during the shoot, but who did it come from? "Everybody," he says. "Because everybody says, 'This is my city,' and they try to influence you. But during pre-production I always said: 'We are independent film-makers. That is our point of view and nothing else. We have to watch the city from this point of view and film the lives of the people who live here. We have to do it in such a way that afterwards we can say, 'OK, we tried to have a balance between the different groups. We tried our best not to be more on one side than on the other side.'"
The editing process comprised four stages. After taking the footage to Berlin, Heise put it under the supervision of two editors, one Israeli and one Palestinian. There were four editing rooms, and the first thing assembled was a rough cut ("to see what was in the material"). That alone took five months, with teams working in three parallel editing rooms: one team did the first hour, the second did the second and the third did the third. Then they started over again.
The result is an extraordinary vision of the city that will be broadcast on French-German TV station Arte and German station Bayerisches Fernsehen, but is also an ambitious multimedia project that can be accessed via the 24 Hours Jerusalem website. After his experience with 24 Hours Berlin, Heise knows that the minutiae of the everyday has a compelling appeal.
"In Berlin, people many watched it for many hours," he says. "They said, 'Let's watch for half an hour, and after seven hours they said, 'OK … '" He laughs. "We made the programme in a way that you really can watch 24 hours. Every half hour there's a break, but also we made it in such a way that if you watch it during the day, it's easy to do something else at the same time. It's like a parallel life. It's on the whole day, and you can go in and out, and you see always something new. You have a new window in your house – and it looks out at Jerusalem."
Reading on mobile? Click here to watch the livestream
Source: The Guardian
Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday morning, attacking worshipers with stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets, as Muslim worshipers braced for raids by right-wing Jewish groups as Passover approaches.
Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani told Ma'an that more than 50 Israeli "special forces" stormed the compound through the Moroccan Gate and the Chain Gate during the raid.
Al-Kiswani added that Israeli forces "besieged" Muslim worshipers with rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, and closed the Chain Gate with chains.
One of the Al-Aqsa compound security guards was struck by a rubber-coated bullet during the raid, and he was identified as Amjad al-Alami.
In addition, five worshipers were hurt by pepper spray used by Israeli officers during the assault.
Witnesses told Ma'an that Israeli forces had arrived in the early morning and stationed themselves near the Moroccan gate watching the movement of all worshipers inside the compound. The soldiers also denied right-wing Israeli groups access to the compound.
Israeli police officers stationed at all of the gates of the compound "strictly inspected" all Muslims who attempted to access the compound, witnesses said.
Many young men were denied entry while the identity cards of others, including elderly men and women, were taken before they were allowed to enter the compound.
Eyewitnesses said a young Palestinian man was detained inside the compound and another one was assaulted by Israeli officers.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement that "stones" had been thrown at police at the Moroccan Gate, and as a result "units" had entered the area in order to "disperse Arab rioters."
"Two police officers injured lightly during riots," he added, noting that they were "being treated at the scene."
Dozens of Muslims had spent the night in the compound in anticipation of raids by right-wing Jewish groups, who they expect to enter the compound on the occasion of Passover.
Prominent Israeli right-wing organizations have urged Jews to flock to Al-Aqsa Mosque during Passover in what many worshipers consider a provocation.
Because of the sensitive nature of the Al-Aqsa compound, Israel maintains a compromise with the Islamic trust that controls it to not allow non-Muslim prayers in the area. Israeli forces regularly escort Jewish visitors to the site, leading to tension with Palestinian worshipers.
The compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque and is the third holiest site in Islam.
It is also venerated as Judaism's most holy place as it sits where Jews believe the First and Second Temples once stood. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani told Ma'an that more than 50 Israeli "special forces" stormed the compound through the Moroccan Gate and the Chain Gate during the raid.
Al-Kiswani added that Israeli forces "besieged" Muslim worshipers with rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, and closed the Chain Gate with chains.
One of the Al-Aqsa compound security guards was struck by a rubber-coated bullet during the raid, and he was identified as Amjad al-Alami.
In addition, five worshipers were hurt by pepper spray used by Israeli officers during the assault.
Witnesses told Ma'an that Israeli forces had arrived in the early morning and stationed themselves near the Moroccan gate watching the movement of all worshipers inside the compound. The soldiers also denied right-wing Israeli groups access to the compound.
Israeli police officers stationed at all of the gates of the compound "strictly inspected" all Muslims who attempted to access the compound, witnesses said.
Many young men were denied entry while the identity cards of others, including elderly men and women, were taken before they were allowed to enter the compound.
Eyewitnesses said a young Palestinian man was detained inside the compound and another one was assaulted by Israeli officers.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement that "stones" had been thrown at police at the Moroccan Gate, and as a result "units" had entered the area in order to "disperse Arab rioters."
"Two police officers injured lightly during riots," he added, noting that they were "being treated at the scene."
Dozens of Muslims had spent the night in the compound in anticipation of raids by right-wing Jewish groups, who they expect to enter the compound on the occasion of Passover.
Prominent Israeli right-wing organizations have urged Jews to flock to Al-Aqsa Mosque during Passover in what many worshipers consider a provocation.
Because of the sensitive nature of the Al-Aqsa compound, Israel maintains a compromise with the Islamic trust that controls it to not allow non-Muslim prayers in the area. Israeli forces regularly escort Jewish visitors to the site, leading to tension with Palestinian worshipers.
The compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque and is the third holiest site in Islam.
It is also venerated as Judaism's most holy place as it sits where Jews believe the First and Second Temples once stood. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
12 apr 2014
Hamas Movement has called for defending al-Aqsa Mosque in light of Israeli settlers' intention to break into the mosque next Monday, warning the occupation of its aggression and violations in holy sites. Following Israeli extremist organizations' threats to storm al-Aqsa Mosque to mark the Passover, Hamas movement warned occupation authority of its escalated violations and repeated aggressions against al-Aqsa Mosque in total provocation to Muslims' feelings.
In light of the US biased policy and international community's silence, Israeli occupation has escalated attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque. However, the Palestinian people's strong determination will foil these Israeli attempts to impose a status quo in the mosque, the movement's statement said.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is wholly owned by Muslims and it will never be temporally or spatially divided, the statement stressed.
Hamas called on the PA to stop negotiations with the occupation in response to Israeli continued attacks and Judaization policy.
The Islamic movement also called for intensifying Palestinian presence in al-Aqsa Mosque in face of all Israeli attempts to storm it particularly between 14-20 April.
The statement called on Arab and Islamic countreis to intervene to defend al-Aqsa Mosque and support Jerusalemites' steadfastness, and urged the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take urgent steps to protect the holy mosque before it is too late.
In light of the US biased policy and international community's silence, Israeli occupation has escalated attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque. However, the Palestinian people's strong determination will foil these Israeli attempts to impose a status quo in the mosque, the movement's statement said.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is wholly owned by Muslims and it will never be temporally or spatially divided, the statement stressed.
Hamas called on the PA to stop negotiations with the occupation in response to Israeli continued attacks and Judaization policy.
The Islamic movement also called for intensifying Palestinian presence in al-Aqsa Mosque in face of all Israeli attempts to storm it particularly between 14-20 April.
The statement called on Arab and Islamic countreis to intervene to defend al-Aqsa Mosque and support Jerusalemites' steadfastness, and urged the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take urgent steps to protect the holy mosque before it is too late.
Three Palestinian young men at dawn Saturday suffered wounds and bruises when a horde of Jewish settlers, from Pisgat Ze'ev settlement in the north of occupied Jerusalem, attacked them with knives and physically assaulted them. The victimized young men said in press remarks that they were attacked during their presence on Palestinian land near Pisgat Ze'ev settlement.
Dozens of hate crimes have been committed over years by Jewish settlers from Pisgat Ze'ev without Israel taking any measure to curb their assaults on the Palestinians.
In another incident, the Israeli police arrested on Friday three Palestinian citizens as they were walking to the Aqsa Mosque to perform prayers.
Local sources told Quds Press that Israeli policemen detained Mohamed Abu Faraha, Mohamed Ziyad and Salah Ajlouni as they were en route to the Aqsa Mosque to perform prayers and took them to an interrogation center in the holy city.
Earlier, the Israeli police decided on Thursday evening to prohibit the entry of seven Jerusalemite young men to the Aqsa Mosque after arresting them at dawn on the same day.
The Israeli police handed the young men written verdicts ordering them to stay away from the Aqsa Mosque for 17 days.
Dozens of hate crimes have been committed over years by Jewish settlers from Pisgat Ze'ev without Israel taking any measure to curb their assaults on the Palestinians.
In another incident, the Israeli police arrested on Friday three Palestinian citizens as they were walking to the Aqsa Mosque to perform prayers.
Local sources told Quds Press that Israeli policemen detained Mohamed Abu Faraha, Mohamed Ziyad and Salah Ajlouni as they were en route to the Aqsa Mosque to perform prayers and took them to an interrogation center in the holy city.
Earlier, the Israeli police decided on Thursday evening to prohibit the entry of seven Jerusalemite young men to the Aqsa Mosque after arresting them at dawn on the same day.
The Israeli police handed the young men written verdicts ordering them to stay away from the Aqsa Mosque for 17 days.
11 apr 2014
Palestine and Jordan submitted a resolution to the UNESCO Executive Board to send a fact-finding commission to investigate the situation of heritage sites in Jerusalem and in other Palestinian towns and to submit its detailed report to the World heritage committee that will be held in Doha, Qatar at the end of June.
The decision came during the meeting of the UNESCO Executive Board that took place in Paris on Thursday. New supportive attitudes from European countries such as England, France, Italy, Austria and Spain, were expressed in the meeting, except The United States which rejected the decision.
Palestine and Jordan called through the UNESCO Executive Board and the World heritage committee, the Israeli authorities to stop their violations and illegal measures in Jerusalem and Palestine.
The decision came during the meeting of the UNESCO Executive Board that took place in Paris on Thursday. New supportive attitudes from European countries such as England, France, Italy, Austria and Spain, were expressed in the meeting, except The United States which rejected the decision.
Palestine and Jordan called through the UNESCO Executive Board and the World heritage committee, the Israeli authorities to stop their violations and illegal measures in Jerusalem and Palestine.
The Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) officially opened a temple mount watch area on the rooftop of the Jewish center Aish Hatorah, which is located a few meters away from the Aqsa Mosque. The Aqsa foundation explained that this rooftop tourist area can hold hundreds of visitors and contains a big model of the alleged temple mount and tower telescopes to watch the Aqsa Mosque and the Old City of Jerusalem.
The foundation warned that Israel uses such Judaization project to market for its fake history in the holy city and pave the way for its intents to demolish the Aqsa Mosque.
It appealed to the Arab and Muslim countries to work urgently and diligently to protect the Aqsa Mosque and the holy city from the Jews' clutches.
The foundation warned that Israel uses such Judaization project to market for its fake history in the holy city and pave the way for its intents to demolish the Aqsa Mosque.
It appealed to the Arab and Muslim countries to work urgently and diligently to protect the Aqsa Mosque and the holy city from the Jews' clutches.
The Israeli Police ordered seven Palestinians away from the al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied Jerusalem, for seven days, in exchange for their release. The seven were kidnapped earlier on Thursday.
The Ma'an News Agency has reported that the police kidnapped the seven Palestinians, earlier on Thursday morning, and released them later on under the condition that they stay away from al-Aqsa Mosque until April 27, 2014.
The seven were taken prisoner from their homes and work places, and were moved to a local police station in the occupied Palestinian city. One of them is ‘Ala’ Abu Shkheidem, head of the local High School for Orphans in the city.
The remaining Palestinians have been identified as Mousa al-Hallaq, Abdullah Sinjelawy, Wisam Hammouda, Mohammad Teryaqy, Ziad Abu Hadwan and Hamza Mehles.
The latest developments are part of an Israeli campaign targeting several Palestinians from the occupied city, and included various arrests and similar orders forcing them away from the al-Aqsa Mosque area, especially during the Jewish Pesach, Ma'an said.
In related news, the Palestine Branch of the “Defense For Children International” DCI, has reported that the Jerusalem District Court ordered the release of Mohammad Nour Qneiby, 17, and forced him under house arrest for three days, besides ordering the family to pay a NIS2500 fine.
The child was taken prisoner three days ago; the police believes Qneiby burnt an Israeli car.
The Ma'an News Agency has reported that the police kidnapped the seven Palestinians, earlier on Thursday morning, and released them later on under the condition that they stay away from al-Aqsa Mosque until April 27, 2014.
The seven were taken prisoner from their homes and work places, and were moved to a local police station in the occupied Palestinian city. One of them is ‘Ala’ Abu Shkheidem, head of the local High School for Orphans in the city.
The remaining Palestinians have been identified as Mousa al-Hallaq, Abdullah Sinjelawy, Wisam Hammouda, Mohammad Teryaqy, Ziad Abu Hadwan and Hamza Mehles.
The latest developments are part of an Israeli campaign targeting several Palestinians from the occupied city, and included various arrests and similar orders forcing them away from the al-Aqsa Mosque area, especially during the Jewish Pesach, Ma'an said.
In related news, the Palestine Branch of the “Defense For Children International” DCI, has reported that the Jerusalem District Court ordered the release of Mohammad Nour Qneiby, 17, and forced him under house arrest for three days, besides ordering the family to pay a NIS2500 fine.
The child was taken prisoner three days ago; the police believes Qneiby burnt an Israeli car.
10 apr 2014
Palestine and Jordan, thanks to support from Arab and Islamic groups, successfully passed Thursday a UNESCO Executive Board resolution to send an expert mission to Jerusalem. The expert mission is tasked with evaluating the situation of maintenance of the Old City of Jerusalem’s heritage and is required to submit a report along with recommendations to the World Heritage Committee slated to be convened in late June in Doha.
The resolution was overwhelmingly passed in the 194th session of the Executive Borad of the UNESCO that was kicked off Thursday in Paris.
Delegations of England, France, Italy, Hungary and Spain voted in favor of the resolution, while only the US delegation voted against it.
Palestine and Jordan successfully issued several resolutions through the Executive Board and World Heritage Committee, calling upon Israeli authorities to cease all its illegal violations and stop accusing those concerned about maintaining the heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem of “politicizing the work of UNESCO and other international organizations.
The resolution was overwhelmingly passed in the 194th session of the Executive Borad of the UNESCO that was kicked off Thursday in Paris.
Delegations of England, France, Italy, Hungary and Spain voted in favor of the resolution, while only the US delegation voted against it.
Palestine and Jordan successfully issued several resolutions through the Executive Board and World Heritage Committee, calling upon Israeli authorities to cease all its illegal violations and stop accusing those concerned about maintaining the heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem of “politicizing the work of UNESCO and other international organizations.
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In this video, members of the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Rabbinical Council call for divestment from occupation profiteer Hewlett-Packard.
It is part of JVP’s “Hewlett-Packard: Harming Peace” campaign. The video plays on the phrase “Next year in Jerusalem” traditionally uttered at Passover seder dinners, which Jews around the world will gather for next week. Hewlett-Packard makes electronic systems Israel uses to control the movement of Palestinians and has been specifically targeted in a number of divestment campaigns. |
“This year in Jerusalem, Israeli policies limit the number of Palestinians who can live in the city” of Jerusalem, says Rabbi Brant Rosen.
“This year in Jerusalem, Palestinian Jerusalemites are considered permanent residents. Israel considers them immigrants,” adds Rabbi Margaret Holub. Effectively, Israel treats Palestinians whose roots in Jerusalem go back generations as if they were immigrants who must earn and qualify for the right to remain.
“This year in Jerusalem, a Hewlett-Packard powered system divides Palestinians into four categories, each with different rights: blue Israeli IDs, blue-green Palestinian Jerusalem IDs, green West Bank IDs and orange Gaza IDs,” Rabbi David Mivasair explains.
The video notes that according to Human Rights Watch, over 640,000 Palestinians risk separation from a direct family member who holds a different color identity cards. Israel’s “center of life” policy requires that Palestinian Jerusalemites prove continuous residency in the city to retain their Jerusalem ID. There’s no such requirement for Jewish Israelis.
The decision to grant or deny residency to Jerusalem’s indigenous Palestinian population is at the sole discretion of Israeli authorities. Meanwhile, Rosen says, “Jews throughout the world are entitled to receive automatic and immediate citizenship through Israel’s Law of Return for Jews and to reside in Jerusalem at will.”
The Electronic Intifada has previously reported on Israel’s revocation of Palestinian Jerusalemites’ residency rights.
Cantor Michael Davis calls on churches and pension funds: “let’s divest from Hewlett-Packard, so that next year … we’ll be one step closer to the day when Palestinian families can gather and pray freely in Jerusalem.”
Source
“This year in Jerusalem, Palestinian Jerusalemites are considered permanent residents. Israel considers them immigrants,” adds Rabbi Margaret Holub. Effectively, Israel treats Palestinians whose roots in Jerusalem go back generations as if they were immigrants who must earn and qualify for the right to remain.
“This year in Jerusalem, a Hewlett-Packard powered system divides Palestinians into four categories, each with different rights: blue Israeli IDs, blue-green Palestinian Jerusalem IDs, green West Bank IDs and orange Gaza IDs,” Rabbi David Mivasair explains.
The video notes that according to Human Rights Watch, over 640,000 Palestinians risk separation from a direct family member who holds a different color identity cards. Israel’s “center of life” policy requires that Palestinian Jerusalemites prove continuous residency in the city to retain their Jerusalem ID. There’s no such requirement for Jewish Israelis.
The decision to grant or deny residency to Jerusalem’s indigenous Palestinian population is at the sole discretion of Israeli authorities. Meanwhile, Rosen says, “Jews throughout the world are entitled to receive automatic and immediate citizenship through Israel’s Law of Return for Jews and to reside in Jerusalem at will.”
The Electronic Intifada has previously reported on Israel’s revocation of Palestinian Jerusalemites’ residency rights.
Cantor Michael Davis calls on churches and pension funds: “let’s divest from Hewlett-Packard, so that next year … we’ll be one step closer to the day when Palestinian families can gather and pray freely in Jerusalem.”
Source
Two members of the US Congress on Thursday joined right-wing Jews who toured the al-Aqsa Mosque compound escorted by Israeli police officers, a Jerusalem-based Fatah official said.
Dimitri Daliani told Ma’an that Republicans Bill Johnson of Ohio and David McKinley of Virginia entered the compound with the “extremist” Chaim Richman, director of the rightist Temple Institute.
Daliani said the “congressmen’s participation in such criminal incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque without being questioned by their own government indicates collusion with settler gangs whose aim is to hurt the al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Daliani urged Arab and Muslim communities in the United States districts represented by those representatives to “punish them at the ballots.”
He added that Johnson and McKinley were hosted by the Israel Allies Foundation which is active in “disseminating extremist Zionist ideology in the United States.”
Dimitri Daliani told Ma’an that Republicans Bill Johnson of Ohio and David McKinley of Virginia entered the compound with the “extremist” Chaim Richman, director of the rightist Temple Institute.
Daliani said the “congressmen’s participation in such criminal incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque without being questioned by their own government indicates collusion with settler gangs whose aim is to hurt the al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Daliani urged Arab and Muslim communities in the United States districts represented by those representatives to “punish them at the ballots.”
He added that Johnson and McKinley were hosted by the Israel Allies Foundation which is active in “disseminating extremist Zionist ideology in the United States.”
Al-Aqsa Foundation of Heritage and Islamic Waqf said, on Wednesday, that the so-called "Temple Mount" organizations have announced a set of activities to be held in al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards and lasting for a week, starting today [Thursday, April 10, 2014].
Associations of these organizations will hold training and explanation sessions in western occupied Jerusalem about "Temple Mount Oblations" in al-Aqsa mosque yards, according to Al Ray. The sessions will be followed by other activities starting from next Monday on the anniversary of Jewish "Passover", Al-Aqsa foundation said in a press release.
The associations invited Jewish families and their children for group break-ins of al-Aqsa mosque on the 14th, 16th and 17th of this month to perform Talmudic rituals, the foundation added. It assured, via social networks, that the break-ins will be protected by Israeli forces.
The foundation considered such activities as attempts by the Israeli occupation to impose a fait accompli in al-Aqsa mosque.
Israeli settlers and politicians have lately been violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, almost on a daily basis, and always under the protection of armed occupation forces, which often attack Palestinian worshipers who try to protect their holy site.
In related news, two members of the US Congress, on Thursday, joined right-wing Jews who toured the al-Aqsa Mosque compound escorted by Israeli police officers, a Jerusalem-based Fatah official said.
Dimitri Daliani told Ma’an that Republicans Bill Johnson of Ohio and David McKinley of Virginia entered the compound with the “extremist” Chaim Richman, director of the rightist Temple Institute.
Daliani said the “congressmen’s participation in such criminal incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque without being questioned by their own government indicates collusion with settler gangs whose aim is to hurt the al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Daliani urged Arab and Muslim communities in the United States districts represented by those representatives to “punish them at the ballots.”
He added that Johnson and McKinley were hosted by the Israel Allies Foundation which is active in “disseminating extremist Zionist ideology in the United States.”
related
Associations of these organizations will hold training and explanation sessions in western occupied Jerusalem about "Temple Mount Oblations" in al-Aqsa mosque yards, according to Al Ray. The sessions will be followed by other activities starting from next Monday on the anniversary of Jewish "Passover", Al-Aqsa foundation said in a press release.
The associations invited Jewish families and their children for group break-ins of al-Aqsa mosque on the 14th, 16th and 17th of this month to perform Talmudic rituals, the foundation added. It assured, via social networks, that the break-ins will be protected by Israeli forces.
The foundation considered such activities as attempts by the Israeli occupation to impose a fait accompli in al-Aqsa mosque.
Israeli settlers and politicians have lately been violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, almost on a daily basis, and always under the protection of armed occupation forces, which often attack Palestinian worshipers who try to protect their holy site.
In related news, two members of the US Congress, on Thursday, joined right-wing Jews who toured the al-Aqsa Mosque compound escorted by Israeli police officers, a Jerusalem-based Fatah official said.
Dimitri Daliani told Ma’an that Republicans Bill Johnson of Ohio and David McKinley of Virginia entered the compound with the “extremist” Chaim Richman, director of the rightist Temple Institute.
Daliani said the “congressmen’s participation in such criminal incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque without being questioned by their own government indicates collusion with settler gangs whose aim is to hurt the al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Daliani urged Arab and Muslim communities in the United States districts represented by those representatives to “punish them at the ballots.”
He added that Johnson and McKinley were hosted by the Israel Allies Foundation which is active in “disseminating extremist Zionist ideology in the United States.”
related
The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage revealed that the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) and the so-called Israeli Heritage Authority had dug a new tunnel down the Buraq Square in the holy al-Aqsa Mosque. The excavation process was carried out beginning with al-Buraq Square and heading westwards in the direction of al-Khalil gate in Occupied Jerusalem, the Foundation’s photo-based statement said on Wednesday.
According to the Foundation, such excavations make part of the Tunnel-Network undertaken underneath Silwan town, south of al-Aqsa Mosque.
The excavation processes were found out during a field visit to the Tunnel-Network, connected to the Silwan network, dug below and around al-Aqsa area by the IOA.
The Foundation further documented, upon its arrival to the excavation area down al-Buraq Square, the presence of an iron staircase followed by a door that was closed, before heading to an adjacent area where they surprisingly caught sight of a long tunnel. The end of the tunnel couldn't be reached even after long-while-walks. The Foundation further spotted that the tunnel is gradually moving westwards.
According to the Foundation, such excavations make part of the Tunnel-Network undertaken underneath Silwan town, south of al-Aqsa Mosque.
The excavation processes were found out during a field visit to the Tunnel-Network, connected to the Silwan network, dug below and around al-Aqsa area by the IOA.
The Foundation further documented, upon its arrival to the excavation area down al-Buraq Square, the presence of an iron staircase followed by a door that was closed, before heading to an adjacent area where they surprisingly caught sight of a long tunnel. The end of the tunnel couldn't be reached even after long-while-walks. The Foundation further spotted that the tunnel is gradually moving westwards.
9 apr 2014
Israeli settler groups and intelligence personnel have desecrated the courtyards of the holy al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday morning under strict protection by Israeli police forces. According to eye-witnesses around 30 settlers and 20 intelligence personnel broke into al-Aqsa Mosque, where they listened to explanations about the alleged temple.
Strict security measures were imposed by Israeli police forces, present around al-Aqsa gates, on those who have been allowed in and several identity cards have been confiscated.
Strict security measures were imposed by Israeli police forces, present around al-Aqsa gates, on those who have been allowed in and several identity cards have been confiscated.
Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) has continued its Judaization scheme to turn Mughrabi Gate leading to al-Aqsa Mosque into a bridge for military vehciels. The IOA is also planning to build a series of Jewish synagogues after demolishing large parts of the Mosque, Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage revealed in a statement on Tuesday.
Aqsa Foundation said that the bridge to be established in the Mughrabi Gate aims to enable army vehicles and equipment along with hundreds of soldiers to break into al-Aqsa Mosque at will.
The bridge came as part of an Israeli scheme to Judaize the Mughrabi hill as a whole, which is funded by the Israeli government.
Aqsa Foundation said that Israeli engineering and technical crews began Tuesday morning to erect large wooden planks in the street leading to the Mughrabi Gate.
The bridge is to be established at the expense of 1.6 acres of the Mughrabi neighborhood that was demolished in 1967.
In 2000, the IOA started preventing Palestinian worshipers' entry to al-Aqsa Mosque via Mughrabi Gate.
Aqsa Foundation described the construction of the bridge as a dangerous precedent and a prelude to the destruction of al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing the need for providing an Arab-Islamic protection for the Islamic holy sites.
Aqsa Foundation said that the bridge to be established in the Mughrabi Gate aims to enable army vehicles and equipment along with hundreds of soldiers to break into al-Aqsa Mosque at will.
The bridge came as part of an Israeli scheme to Judaize the Mughrabi hill as a whole, which is funded by the Israeli government.
Aqsa Foundation said that Israeli engineering and technical crews began Tuesday morning to erect large wooden planks in the street leading to the Mughrabi Gate.
The bridge is to be established at the expense of 1.6 acres of the Mughrabi neighborhood that was demolished in 1967.
In 2000, the IOA started preventing Palestinian worshipers' entry to al-Aqsa Mosque via Mughrabi Gate.
Aqsa Foundation described the construction of the bridge as a dangerous precedent and a prelude to the destruction of al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing the need for providing an Arab-Islamic protection for the Islamic holy sites.
