28 feb 2018
Violent clashes broke out at dawn Wednesday between Palestinian young men and Israeli soldiers in Nablus city after hundreds of Jewish settlers stormed the area of Joseph’s Tomb to perform rituals.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that a large number of Israeli troops entered the eastern district of Nablus aboard military vehicles and on foot before midnight on Tuesday to secure its streets for the arrival of settlers.
However, dozens of local young men were able to close roads leading to Joseph’s Tomb with burning tires and hurl stones at soldiers, who spread through different streets and at junctions.
Eyewitnesses said that skirmishes took place on the streets of Amman and al-Quds and at the entrance of Balata refugee camp, where soldiers fired live ammunition and tear gas and stun grenades at the young men to disperse them.
Consequently, scores of young men suffered from their exposure to tear gas fumes.
Israeli troops and settlers storm every week the eastern area of Nablus to perform rituals at the tomb, which they claim to be the resting-place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, while locals and Palestinian historians affirm that the grave belongs to a local medieval Muslim Sheikh called Yousef al-Duwaik.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that a large number of Israeli troops entered the eastern district of Nablus aboard military vehicles and on foot before midnight on Tuesday to secure its streets for the arrival of settlers.
However, dozens of local young men were able to close roads leading to Joseph’s Tomb with burning tires and hurl stones at soldiers, who spread through different streets and at junctions.
Eyewitnesses said that skirmishes took place on the streets of Amman and al-Quds and at the entrance of Balata refugee camp, where soldiers fired live ammunition and tear gas and stun grenades at the young men to disperse them.
Consequently, scores of young men suffered from their exposure to tear gas fumes.
Israeli troops and settlers storm every week the eastern area of Nablus to perform rituals at the tomb, which they claim to be the resting-place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, while locals and Palestinian historians affirm that the grave belongs to a local medieval Muslim Sheikh called Yousef al-Duwaik.
27 feb 2018
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Billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s offer to pay for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem represents the privatization of U.S. foreign policy, says Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies.
Phyllis Bennis is a Fellow and the Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C. She is the author of Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer, Before and After: US Foreign Policy and the September 11 Crisis, Ending the US War in Afghanistan: A Primer and Understanding the US-Iran Crisis: A Primer. Her most recent book is Understanding ISIS and the New Global War on Terror: A Primer. |
TRNN video & transcript:
SHARMINI PERIES: It’s the Real News Network. I’m Sharmini Peries coming to you from Baltimore. Right wing Billionaire, Sheldon Adelson, has offered to pay for a new US embassy in Jerusalem. The Trump administration is planning to open the new building in Jerusalem in May. It is not yet clear whether this is legal for a private donor to fund a US embassy. Lawyers at the State Department are investigating the question.
According to the Associated Press, Adelson is a notorious conservative oligarch who has bankrolled Israel’s hardline right wing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and a right wing pro-Israel groups in the US. And some would say Adelson has also barred some important decisions of the Trump administration.You could see Adelson prominently seated at the Trump inauguration last January. The Trump administration’s decision to move the embassy led to a global outrage. The international community condemned the US at the United Nations for opposing international law.East Jerusalem has been illegally occupied by Israel for several decades now. And according to international law, East Jerusalem was supposed to be the site of an independent future Palestinian state.
Trump’s decision to move the US embassy there, calls into question the US government’s commitment to the so called “two state solution” in Israel, Palestine.Joining us now to discuss this is Phyllis Bennis. Phyllis is director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.All right. Phyllis, tell us about why the US is speeding up this move?
PHYLLIS BENNIS: I think the significance is less about the pace, than about how they’re planning to go about it. This is a move that’s now designed to undercut the fear that many have raised about the enormous cost of building a new embassy in Jerusalem. Putting aside political issues, legal issues, financial issues and a whole host of other questions. Just the questions of the cost of it will be somewhere over a billion dollars.And for a president who has claimed to resent the spending of large amounts of money for new embassies overseas, he had to figure out, “How are we going to manage this?” That’s what led to this extraordinary new development, which is the offer from Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino mogul, as he’s always identified, a great supporter of Trump, great supporter of Netanyahu, the owner of the largest daily newspaper in Israel, who volunteered to essentially buy the embassy.And what that says about the privatization of US foreign policy. Foreign policy in the interest of private interests.
In this case, the interests of Jewish and Christian Zionists in the United States, as well as in the interests of the right wing of the Israeli State, is not a surprising thing, but nonetheless a shocking reality to consider, that we would be selling an embassy. A former State Department official, who used to be in charge of things, like arranging to purchase land to build embassies and that sort of thing, said she had never heard of such a thing and wondered, “Does this mean we’ll be obligated to name it after him?” It will be the Sheldon Adelson Memorial Embassy. It’s a shocking reality.
SHARMINI PERIES: And Phyllis, how significant is this? That now the Trump administration is considering having private individuals fund government buildings, and embassies and so forth.
PHYLLIS BENNIS: It’s very significant. It’s significant, certainly, at the symbolic level. What this says about the willingness of the Trump administration, that has no strategic plan for actual foreign policy, to make these reckless policy decisions solely in the interests of wealthy donors and their own constituencies. In this case, Sheldon Adelson, a leading donor to the Republican Party, a leading donor to the right wing in Israel, and an active supporter, a Jewish Zionist, an active supporter of Israeli settlements, Israeli apartheid and the Christian Zionist movement that is very much tied to Adelson interests.This is of course, Sharmini, not the first time that we’ve seen issues of privatization of policy. We can look back a little more than 20 years, where you had an example that was seen at the time as a great gift, as a philanthropic gift. That was when Ted Turner announced, sort of out of the blue, that he was going to donate a billion dollars to the United Nations. This was in 1997.
When the United States was in Arrears at the UN, was refusing to pay its dues at the UN.And Ted Turner, who was actually a great supporter of the UN, a supporter of multilateralism, came in and said, “Look, I have a lot of money. I’m going to spend it at the UN. I’m going to give it to the UN to make good on this US debt.”The problem was several fold. There were some particular problems. He didn’t actually give a billion dollars. He gave a hundred million dollars over what turned out to be closer to 15 years than 10. But the real problem wasn’t that he divided it up over the years.
The real problem was he didn’t give money to the United Nations. He gave money to a private foundation, that he created, called the UN Foundation, that he ran. He chose the board of directors. And that board made the decisions about which UN agency would get the money. So, any UN agency could apply to the foundation for funding. And this is, remember, at a time when the UN is desperate for funds, whether it was for UNICEF, or UNDP, for all of its various agencies.But now you have this private group of citizens of the, mainly of the United States, a few internationals, hand-picked by Ted Turner, accountable to no one, making the decisions over whether clean water in Chad is more important, or girls education in Bangladesh is more important. You know, why should a bunch of individuals get to make decisions like that, that affect whole populations, that affect the whole world.
It was completely disastrous in its impact in terms of seeing somehow the legitimacy of privatizing foreign policy for the whole United Nations.Now, we’re seeing this in a much more blatant way, where it’s clearly designed. There’s no illusions here. This is very openly designed to placate a wealthy right wing Zionist, a wealthy right wing supporter of the most right wing sectors of the Israeli state, the most right wing sectors of the Republican Party. And he wants it, so he gets it. There is, of course, additional problems. The small problems, like international law that recognizes that Jerusalem is occupied territory, small item. A small item, like what it says to the Palestinians.
That the new temporary annex, the temporary embassy in Jerusalem before the big one, the Adelson Embassy, is built, will be announced and they will move in, in just a couple of months on when? May 15th of this year, which will be the 70th year since the Nakba, like the Palestinians call, “The Nakba.” The catastrophe that led to the expulsion and dispossession of over 750,000 Palestinians from their land. Land to which they’ve never to this day been allowed to return. That’s the day that the Israelis celebrate as Independence Day and that’s the day that the US will officially open a small, temporary embassy in Jerusalem, which will make all the political points, all the symbolic points before they even begin to deal with is it even legal for Sheldon Adelson to buy himself an embassy?
SHARMINI PERIES: Phyllis, can you speak to the legal basis, or lack thereof, of this move in terms of the US embassy moving to Jerusalem and a private entity paying for this?
PHYLLIS BENNIS: Well, those are two different questions. In terms of US law, there’s no US law that would prohibit a US embassy from being anywhere. There is international law. But as we know, this administration in particular, and earlier administrations as well, have not been too worried about international law. There was a US law passed in 1995, signed by President Clinton, that mandated the move of the embassy to Jerusalem. It was widely understood to be purely symbolic for members of congress who wanted to placate their own pro Israel donors. That’s what it was all about. It was talked about very openly at the time.What happened next was that they all realized that it would be disastrous in terms of actual policy to actually do that.
So, they inserted in the law, an exception that says, “Every six months, the President, if she or he decides, can issue a waiver that says national security interests mandate that we not implement this yet. We’re going to put it aside. And every president, every six months since 1995 has done that, until Donald Trump this last time.He issued the waiver, but said, “The waiver this time is only about timing and we’re going to go ahead and do it.” So, there’s no reason that this has to be done in terms of US law. And under international law, of course, it’s illegal altogether.Now there is a law, there’s a regulation in the State Department that has a formal process for accepting gifts. Part of the language of that, and that includes real estate. It includes very rigorous reviews. It’s designed to make sure that, and I quote here, “That the gift would not give the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
So, that’s an official regulation. Now, this isn’t an appearance of a conflict of interest. This is a straight up open, acknowledged conflict of interest. So, this stands in complete violation of at least that regulation of the State Department. The problem is, like with international law, State Department regulations are only useful if somebody’s prepared to defend them. Is there anyone in congress who’s prepared to defend it? Is there a lawsuit that can be brought? Whose behalf would it be brought on? These are all questions that remain.Right now we’re looking at a situation where the State Department has not issued a final decision whether or not they believe it to be legal to accept money under these terms, that would essentially be the Sheldon Adelson Embassy. Whether or not it’s officially named for him, it’s understood to be built in his interests with his money.
So, what else are we going to call it? We don’t know if the State Department will acknowledge that it’s legal, or claim that it’s legal when it’s clearly not.And then the question will be, if they try to do that, who in congress, who in the judiciary, who else might stand up and say, “This is not legal. Aside from being politically dangerous, morally bankrupt and a whole host of other things. It’s also not legal.”
SHARMINI PERIES: All right. Phyllis. I thank you so much for joining us today, and I look forward to having you back because I think this issue isn’t going away any time soon.
PHYLLIS BENNIS: I look forward to it. Thanks, Sharmini.
SHARMINI PERIES: And thank you for joining us here on The Real News Network.
SHARMINI PERIES: It’s the Real News Network. I’m Sharmini Peries coming to you from Baltimore. Right wing Billionaire, Sheldon Adelson, has offered to pay for a new US embassy in Jerusalem. The Trump administration is planning to open the new building in Jerusalem in May. It is not yet clear whether this is legal for a private donor to fund a US embassy. Lawyers at the State Department are investigating the question.
According to the Associated Press, Adelson is a notorious conservative oligarch who has bankrolled Israel’s hardline right wing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and a right wing pro-Israel groups in the US. And some would say Adelson has also barred some important decisions of the Trump administration.You could see Adelson prominently seated at the Trump inauguration last January. The Trump administration’s decision to move the embassy led to a global outrage. The international community condemned the US at the United Nations for opposing international law.East Jerusalem has been illegally occupied by Israel for several decades now. And according to international law, East Jerusalem was supposed to be the site of an independent future Palestinian state.
Trump’s decision to move the US embassy there, calls into question the US government’s commitment to the so called “two state solution” in Israel, Palestine.Joining us now to discuss this is Phyllis Bennis. Phyllis is director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.All right. Phyllis, tell us about why the US is speeding up this move?
PHYLLIS BENNIS: I think the significance is less about the pace, than about how they’re planning to go about it. This is a move that’s now designed to undercut the fear that many have raised about the enormous cost of building a new embassy in Jerusalem. Putting aside political issues, legal issues, financial issues and a whole host of other questions. Just the questions of the cost of it will be somewhere over a billion dollars.And for a president who has claimed to resent the spending of large amounts of money for new embassies overseas, he had to figure out, “How are we going to manage this?” That’s what led to this extraordinary new development, which is the offer from Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino mogul, as he’s always identified, a great supporter of Trump, great supporter of Netanyahu, the owner of the largest daily newspaper in Israel, who volunteered to essentially buy the embassy.And what that says about the privatization of US foreign policy. Foreign policy in the interest of private interests.
In this case, the interests of Jewish and Christian Zionists in the United States, as well as in the interests of the right wing of the Israeli State, is not a surprising thing, but nonetheless a shocking reality to consider, that we would be selling an embassy. A former State Department official, who used to be in charge of things, like arranging to purchase land to build embassies and that sort of thing, said she had never heard of such a thing and wondered, “Does this mean we’ll be obligated to name it after him?” It will be the Sheldon Adelson Memorial Embassy. It’s a shocking reality.
SHARMINI PERIES: And Phyllis, how significant is this? That now the Trump administration is considering having private individuals fund government buildings, and embassies and so forth.
PHYLLIS BENNIS: It’s very significant. It’s significant, certainly, at the symbolic level. What this says about the willingness of the Trump administration, that has no strategic plan for actual foreign policy, to make these reckless policy decisions solely in the interests of wealthy donors and their own constituencies. In this case, Sheldon Adelson, a leading donor to the Republican Party, a leading donor to the right wing in Israel, and an active supporter, a Jewish Zionist, an active supporter of Israeli settlements, Israeli apartheid and the Christian Zionist movement that is very much tied to Adelson interests.This is of course, Sharmini, not the first time that we’ve seen issues of privatization of policy. We can look back a little more than 20 years, where you had an example that was seen at the time as a great gift, as a philanthropic gift. That was when Ted Turner announced, sort of out of the blue, that he was going to donate a billion dollars to the United Nations. This was in 1997.
When the United States was in Arrears at the UN, was refusing to pay its dues at the UN.And Ted Turner, who was actually a great supporter of the UN, a supporter of multilateralism, came in and said, “Look, I have a lot of money. I’m going to spend it at the UN. I’m going to give it to the UN to make good on this US debt.”The problem was several fold. There were some particular problems. He didn’t actually give a billion dollars. He gave a hundred million dollars over what turned out to be closer to 15 years than 10. But the real problem wasn’t that he divided it up over the years.
The real problem was he didn’t give money to the United Nations. He gave money to a private foundation, that he created, called the UN Foundation, that he ran. He chose the board of directors. And that board made the decisions about which UN agency would get the money. So, any UN agency could apply to the foundation for funding. And this is, remember, at a time when the UN is desperate for funds, whether it was for UNICEF, or UNDP, for all of its various agencies.But now you have this private group of citizens of the, mainly of the United States, a few internationals, hand-picked by Ted Turner, accountable to no one, making the decisions over whether clean water in Chad is more important, or girls education in Bangladesh is more important. You know, why should a bunch of individuals get to make decisions like that, that affect whole populations, that affect the whole world.
It was completely disastrous in its impact in terms of seeing somehow the legitimacy of privatizing foreign policy for the whole United Nations.Now, we’re seeing this in a much more blatant way, where it’s clearly designed. There’s no illusions here. This is very openly designed to placate a wealthy right wing Zionist, a wealthy right wing supporter of the most right wing sectors of the Israeli state, the most right wing sectors of the Republican Party. And he wants it, so he gets it. There is, of course, additional problems. The small problems, like international law that recognizes that Jerusalem is occupied territory, small item. A small item, like what it says to the Palestinians.
That the new temporary annex, the temporary embassy in Jerusalem before the big one, the Adelson Embassy, is built, will be announced and they will move in, in just a couple of months on when? May 15th of this year, which will be the 70th year since the Nakba, like the Palestinians call, “The Nakba.” The catastrophe that led to the expulsion and dispossession of over 750,000 Palestinians from their land. Land to which they’ve never to this day been allowed to return. That’s the day that the Israelis celebrate as Independence Day and that’s the day that the US will officially open a small, temporary embassy in Jerusalem, which will make all the political points, all the symbolic points before they even begin to deal with is it even legal for Sheldon Adelson to buy himself an embassy?
SHARMINI PERIES: Phyllis, can you speak to the legal basis, or lack thereof, of this move in terms of the US embassy moving to Jerusalem and a private entity paying for this?
PHYLLIS BENNIS: Well, those are two different questions. In terms of US law, there’s no US law that would prohibit a US embassy from being anywhere. There is international law. But as we know, this administration in particular, and earlier administrations as well, have not been too worried about international law. There was a US law passed in 1995, signed by President Clinton, that mandated the move of the embassy to Jerusalem. It was widely understood to be purely symbolic for members of congress who wanted to placate their own pro Israel donors. That’s what it was all about. It was talked about very openly at the time.What happened next was that they all realized that it would be disastrous in terms of actual policy to actually do that.
So, they inserted in the law, an exception that says, “Every six months, the President, if she or he decides, can issue a waiver that says national security interests mandate that we not implement this yet. We’re going to put it aside. And every president, every six months since 1995 has done that, until Donald Trump this last time.He issued the waiver, but said, “The waiver this time is only about timing and we’re going to go ahead and do it.” So, there’s no reason that this has to be done in terms of US law. And under international law, of course, it’s illegal altogether.Now there is a law, there’s a regulation in the State Department that has a formal process for accepting gifts. Part of the language of that, and that includes real estate. It includes very rigorous reviews. It’s designed to make sure that, and I quote here, “That the gift would not give the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
So, that’s an official regulation. Now, this isn’t an appearance of a conflict of interest. This is a straight up open, acknowledged conflict of interest. So, this stands in complete violation of at least that regulation of the State Department. The problem is, like with international law, State Department regulations are only useful if somebody’s prepared to defend them. Is there anyone in congress who’s prepared to defend it? Is there a lawsuit that can be brought? Whose behalf would it be brought on? These are all questions that remain.Right now we’re looking at a situation where the State Department has not issued a final decision whether or not they believe it to be legal to accept money under these terms, that would essentially be the Sheldon Adelson Embassy. Whether or not it’s officially named for him, it’s understood to be built in his interests with his money.
So, what else are we going to call it? We don’t know if the State Department will acknowledge that it’s legal, or claim that it’s legal when it’s clearly not.And then the question will be, if they try to do that, who in congress, who in the judiciary, who else might stand up and say, “This is not legal. Aside from being politically dangerous, morally bankrupt and a whole host of other things. It’s also not legal.”
SHARMINI PERIES: All right. Phyllis. I thank you so much for joining us today, and I look forward to having you back because I think this issue isn’t going away any time soon.
PHYLLIS BENNIS: I look forward to it. Thanks, Sharmini.
SHARMINI PERIES: And thank you for joining us here on The Real News Network.
Extremists affiliated to ‘Groups for the Temple Compound’ have called on supporters to participate in breaking into al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday and Thursday to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim.
The groups have sent out their calls through social media websites, to organize a raid into the holy site in order to perform Talmudic rituals and to eat triangular fruit pastries called hamantaschen.
In this regard, Jerusalemite groups stressed the urgent need to stand firmly against the Jewish plans.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, dozens of Israeli settlers forced their way into al-Aqsa under military protection.
The groups have sent out their calls through social media websites, to organize a raid into the holy site in order to perform Talmudic rituals and to eat triangular fruit pastries called hamantaschen.
In this regard, Jerusalemite groups stressed the urgent need to stand firmly against the Jewish plans.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, dozens of Israeli settlers forced their way into al-Aqsa under military protection.
25 feb 2018
Church of the Holy Sepulcher was closed on Sunday in protest at the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem Municipality's plan to impose taxes on churches in the city.
The decision was announced during a press conference held by the heads of Jerusalem's Christian churches in the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
The move also came to protest an Israeli bill that would allow Israel to expropriate church property in Occupied Jerusalem.
The number of Christians in Jerusalem currently is 10,000-12,000, while the total population is 300,000. Heads of Christian churches in Jerusalem say that Israel seeks to weaken the Cristian presence in the holy city.
Isa Qissisia, the Palestinian ambassador to the Vatican, said on Sunday that it is obvious that the right-wing Israeli government is attempting to undermine, if not to end, the Christian presence in Jerusalem by seizing church property or imposing exorbitant taxes on them.
He added that Israel has crossed all red lines by freezing the bank accounts of Jerusalem churches, warning of the repercussions of the new bill which would allow the Israeli government to confiscate and seize church property.
The decision was announced during a press conference held by the heads of Jerusalem's Christian churches in the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
The move also came to protest an Israeli bill that would allow Israel to expropriate church property in Occupied Jerusalem.
The number of Christians in Jerusalem currently is 10,000-12,000, while the total population is 300,000. Heads of Christian churches in Jerusalem say that Israel seeks to weaken the Cristian presence in the holy city.
Isa Qissisia, the Palestinian ambassador to the Vatican, said on Sunday that it is obvious that the right-wing Israeli government is attempting to undermine, if not to end, the Christian presence in Jerusalem by seizing church property or imposing exorbitant taxes on them.
He added that Israel has crossed all red lines by freezing the bank accounts of Jerusalem churches, warning of the repercussions of the new bill which would allow the Israeli government to confiscate and seize church property.
23 feb 2018
The new US Embassy in Jerusalem will open in May 2018 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s establishment, two US officials said Friday.
The officials said Congress was being notified of the impending move on Friday, the unnamed officials in Donald Trump’s administration added.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signed off on the security plan for the new embassy on Thursday, according to the officials.
Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December last year, setting in motion the embassy's transfer and contravening decades of policy by the subsequent US administrations.
The May opening marks a significant acceleration. US Vice President Mike Pence had said previously the embassy would open by the end of 2019, while Tillerson had said it could take years.
The officials said Congress was being notified of the impending move on Friday, the unnamed officials in Donald Trump’s administration added.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signed off on the security plan for the new embassy on Thursday, according to the officials.
Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December last year, setting in motion the embassy's transfer and contravening decades of policy by the subsequent US administrations.
The May opening marks a significant acceleration. US Vice President Mike Pence had said previously the embassy would open by the end of 2019, while Tillerson had said it could take years.
22 feb 2018
Two US congressmen escorted by Israeli settlers and policemen stormed Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday morning.
In a video uploaded online, Scott Tipton of Colorado and David McKinley of West Virginia defiled al-Aqsa Mosque as part of the morning break-in shift routinely carried out by Israeli settler hordes.
A PIC news correspondent said olive branches were stolen from al-Aqsa during the break-in.
The assault makes part of Israeli attempts to alter the status quo at al-Aqsa—the third holiest site in Islam.
The US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last month has given Israel green light to step up Judaization schemes in the holy city.
In a video uploaded online, Scott Tipton of Colorado and David McKinley of West Virginia defiled al-Aqsa Mosque as part of the morning break-in shift routinely carried out by Israeli settler hordes.
A PIC news correspondent said olive branches were stolen from al-Aqsa during the break-in.
The assault makes part of Israeli attempts to alter the status quo at al-Aqsa—the third holiest site in Islam.
The US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last month has given Israel green light to step up Judaization schemes in the holy city.
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday evening, a young Palestinian man, and assaulted another, after the army invaded the al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.
Media sources said dozens of soldiers gathered at the main entrance of the town, and attacked Palestinian protesters with live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs.
They added that the soldiers abducted a young man, and took him to an unknown destination, in addition to assaulting and wounding another.
In related news, many army vehicles invade Kifl Hares town, in Salfit governorate in northwestern West Bank, and closed all its roads to allow groups of colonialist settlers to visit ecological sites.
Media sources said dozens of soldiers gathered at the main entrance of the town, and attacked Palestinian protesters with live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs.
They added that the soldiers abducted a young man, and took him to an unknown destination, in addition to assaulting and wounding another.
In related news, many army vehicles invade Kifl Hares town, in Salfit governorate in northwestern West Bank, and closed all its roads to allow groups of colonialist settlers to visit ecological sites.
A number of Palestinians were kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at daybreak Thursday in abduction sweeps rocking the West Bank.
The Israeli forces wreaked havoc on civilian homes in Salfit’s northern town of Deir Estiya and kidnapped four Palestinians, among them the two brothers Khalil and Thaer Hakim.
At the same time, hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed Kafl Haris town, north of Salfit, allegedly to carry out religious rituals at holy shrines.
Eye-witnesses, said Israeli army patrols rolled into Kafl Haris late at night, sealed off the main entrances to the town, and cordoned off residential neighborhoods, shortly before hundreds of settlers showed up in the area and performed sacrilegious rituals.
At the same time, Israeli troops broke into civilian homes in Tulkarem’s Nour refugee camp and aggressively attacked Palestinian inhabitants, before they kidnapped three young men. Another Palestinian was kidnapped by the IOF at the crack of dawn from the city.
Palestinian citizen Wajih Awad was also kidnapped by the IOF from Bethlehem province.
Overnight, extremist Israeli settlers stormed Palestinian lands in the evacuated Homesh settlement, near Silat al-Dhuhr town, south of Jenin, and stoned Palestinian vehicles parked in the area. The settlers also yelled “death to Muslims and Arabs”.
Israeli patrols showed up in the area moments later to protect the Israeli assailants.
The Israeli forces wreaked havoc on civilian homes in Salfit’s northern town of Deir Estiya and kidnapped four Palestinians, among them the two brothers Khalil and Thaer Hakim.
At the same time, hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed Kafl Haris town, north of Salfit, allegedly to carry out religious rituals at holy shrines.
Eye-witnesses, said Israeli army patrols rolled into Kafl Haris late at night, sealed off the main entrances to the town, and cordoned off residential neighborhoods, shortly before hundreds of settlers showed up in the area and performed sacrilegious rituals.
At the same time, Israeli troops broke into civilian homes in Tulkarem’s Nour refugee camp and aggressively attacked Palestinian inhabitants, before they kidnapped three young men. Another Palestinian was kidnapped by the IOF at the crack of dawn from the city.
Palestinian citizen Wajih Awad was also kidnapped by the IOF from Bethlehem province.
Overnight, extremist Israeli settlers stormed Palestinian lands in the evacuated Homesh settlement, near Silat al-Dhuhr town, south of Jenin, and stoned Palestinian vehicles parked in the area. The settlers also yelled “death to Muslims and Arabs”.
Israeli patrols showed up in the area moments later to protect the Israeli assailants.
18 feb 2018
Extremist Israeli settlers, backed by Israeli special forces and rapid intervention troops, continued on Wednesday morning with ritual intrusions into the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque compound, via the Moroccan gate.
Jerusalemite sources reported, according to Al Ray, that Israeli police opened the gate at 7:30 am, in preparation for the settlers’ arrival,
The sources added that the settlers carried out provocative tours in the mosque’s courtyards and received discussions on the so-called “Temple Mount”.
They added that Muslims worshipers and students who were present at the mosque defended it with chanting and Takbeer (“Allahu Akhbar: God is Greatest!”).
Al-Aqsa mosque is now confronted on a daily basis, by extremist Israeli settlers who perform Talmudic rituals and desecrate the sanctity of the holy site.
Israel seeks, through such measures, to divide the temporal and spatial division of the mosque and to further Judaize the occupied city of Jerusalem.
It is the third holiest site in Islam and also venerated as Judaism’s most holy place, alleged to be the original site of Solomon’s Temple.
Disputes surrounding visitation to the site have historically flared tensions in the occupied Palestinian territory.
In 2003, the Israeli government unilaterally decided — despite the objections of the Islamic Endowments Department — to allow non-Muslim visitors into the complex.
Since then, under increasingly right-wing Israeli governments, extremist Jewish settlers have been allowed into the site in ever greater numbers — usually protected by Israeli security forces — while Palestinian access to the site has become increasingly restricted.
The number of Israeli settlers storming the holy site has risen since US president Donald Trump’s declaration of occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Members of the so-called “Temple Mount” movement are publicly calling its followers to participate in wide scale mass raids on the holy site.
Jerusalemite sources reported, according to Al Ray, that Israeli police opened the gate at 7:30 am, in preparation for the settlers’ arrival,
The sources added that the settlers carried out provocative tours in the mosque’s courtyards and received discussions on the so-called “Temple Mount”.
They added that Muslims worshipers and students who were present at the mosque defended it with chanting and Takbeer (“Allahu Akhbar: God is Greatest!”).
Al-Aqsa mosque is now confronted on a daily basis, by extremist Israeli settlers who perform Talmudic rituals and desecrate the sanctity of the holy site.
Israel seeks, through such measures, to divide the temporal and spatial division of the mosque and to further Judaize the occupied city of Jerusalem.
It is the third holiest site in Islam and also venerated as Judaism’s most holy place, alleged to be the original site of Solomon’s Temple.
Disputes surrounding visitation to the site have historically flared tensions in the occupied Palestinian territory.
In 2003, the Israeli government unilaterally decided — despite the objections of the Islamic Endowments Department — to allow non-Muslim visitors into the complex.
Since then, under increasingly right-wing Israeli governments, extremist Jewish settlers have been allowed into the site in ever greater numbers — usually protected by Israeli security forces — while Palestinian access to the site has become increasingly restricted.
The number of Israeli settlers storming the holy site has risen since US president Donald Trump’s declaration of occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Members of the so-called “Temple Mount” movement are publicly calling its followers to participate in wide scale mass raids on the holy site.
17 feb 2018
Israeli authorities have completed the construction of a watchtower checkpoint at the entrance of Damascus Gate, the main gate into the Muslim Quarter of occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City.
The watchtower checkpoint is one of three which Israel began to install last month, drawing criticism from Palestinian residents of the Old City, who say the construction watchtower is aimed at further restricting Palestinian access to the area and solidifying an already constant presence of Israeli forces in the area.
Damascus Gate was the site of several violent attacks after a wave of unrest began in October 2015, characterized largely by small-scale stabbing attacks against uniformed Israeli forces.
A number of Palestinians were also shot and killed in the area by Israeli forces, during alleged attempted attacks.
In addition to the police watch tower, surveillance cameras have been set up by Israel at almost every corner and street in and around the Old City to monitor all activity.
In June 2017, Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, approved a new “security strategy” at the Damascus Gate area, after Netanyahu suggested it be turned into a “sterile area.”
Israel’s Channel 2 reported at the time that the approved security strategy will include building high, above-ground “surveillance points” in areas where Israeli forces will be stationed, “making it difficult for Palestinians to approach Israeli soldiers.”
“Certain routes will be specified for entering the Old City at the Damascus Gate, and more technological devices will be installed and used at the area to maintain Israeli police’s control and surveillance over the area.”
Additionally, Channel 2 said that Palestinians will only be allowed to enter the Old City through Damascus Gate via specific routes, where Palestinians will undergo “thorough searches.”
Israeli media and officials lauded the extensive surveillance system as being an active deterrent of “lone wolf attacks.”
However, according to Ma’an News Agency, the narrative of “lone wolf” assailants under the influence of online incitement, which has been perpetuated by the current right-wing Israeli government, has been dismissed by analysts as overly simplistic.
Palestinians have instead pointed chiefly to the frustration and despair brought on by Israel’s 50-year military occupation of the Palestinian territory and the absence of a political horizon as reasons for the outbreak of violence that started in October 2015.
The watchtower checkpoint is one of three which Israel began to install last month, drawing criticism from Palestinian residents of the Old City, who say the construction watchtower is aimed at further restricting Palestinian access to the area and solidifying an already constant presence of Israeli forces in the area.
Damascus Gate was the site of several violent attacks after a wave of unrest began in October 2015, characterized largely by small-scale stabbing attacks against uniformed Israeli forces.
A number of Palestinians were also shot and killed in the area by Israeli forces, during alleged attempted attacks.
In addition to the police watch tower, surveillance cameras have been set up by Israel at almost every corner and street in and around the Old City to monitor all activity.
In June 2017, Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, approved a new “security strategy” at the Damascus Gate area, after Netanyahu suggested it be turned into a “sterile area.”
Israel’s Channel 2 reported at the time that the approved security strategy will include building high, above-ground “surveillance points” in areas where Israeli forces will be stationed, “making it difficult for Palestinians to approach Israeli soldiers.”
“Certain routes will be specified for entering the Old City at the Damascus Gate, and more technological devices will be installed and used at the area to maintain Israeli police’s control and surveillance over the area.”
Additionally, Channel 2 said that Palestinians will only be allowed to enter the Old City through Damascus Gate via specific routes, where Palestinians will undergo “thorough searches.”
Israeli media and officials lauded the extensive surveillance system as being an active deterrent of “lone wolf attacks.”
However, according to Ma’an News Agency, the narrative of “lone wolf” assailants under the influence of online incitement, which has been perpetuated by the current right-wing Israeli government, has been dismissed by analysts as overly simplistic.
Palestinians have instead pointed chiefly to the frustration and despair brought on by Israel’s 50-year military occupation of the Palestinian territory and the absence of a political horizon as reasons for the outbreak of violence that started in October 2015.
