15 june 2020
A video released by an extremist Jewish group called “Hilltop Youth” has showed that a new big tunnel is being built under the Aqsa Mosque and its western wall and will be opened officially in early July.
Hilltop Youth published the footage about the new tunnel for a few minutes on its website and then removed it.
The footage showed a tunnel was being dug and Jewish settlers excitedly carrying dirt and rocks from the site, utilizing digging equipment and taking pictures for themselves during the work.
According to local sources who saw the video, the tunnel goes beneath the Aqsa Mosque compound, especially at its Maghariba Gate, its western wall, the Umayyad Palaces area at the compound’s southern wall, and the triple door of the Marwani prayer hall.
Hilltop Youth published the footage about the new tunnel for a few minutes on its website and then removed it.
The footage showed a tunnel was being dug and Jewish settlers excitedly carrying dirt and rocks from the site, utilizing digging equipment and taking pictures for themselves during the work.
According to local sources who saw the video, the tunnel goes beneath the Aqsa Mosque compound, especially at its Maghariba Gate, its western wall, the Umayyad Palaces area at the compound’s southern wall, and the triple door of the Marwani prayer hall.
13 feb 2020
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A Palestinian-owned house in the Old City district of occupied Jerusalem, today, partially collapsed as a result of ongoing underground excavations by Israeli authorities and illegal settler organizations, the house-owner told WAFA.
Mr. Thaher Sharabati said his house sustained minor landslides during the recent low pressure and the accompanying heavy rainfall, which he said were the result of the ongoing Israeli excavations. Sharabati lives in the house together with the rest of his 8-member family. According to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, the underground digs by Israeli settler organizations in Jerusalem without any consideration for the safety of the Palestinian families living there have posed serious threats to the Palestinian population. Citizens of Jerusalem have long expressed fear that the ongoing excavations |
by settlers are intentional and tolerated by the municipality and government as a prelude to evacuate the Palestinians from their homes, under the pretext they are not safe to live in to eventually take over their homes and replace them with Jewish settlers.
30 jan 2020
Ibrahim Khalil ash-Shantaf, 21
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has reported that one of its fighters was killed, Thursday, in an accident in a siege busting tunnel, near Gaza city.
The Brigades said the fighter, identified as Ibrahim Khalil ash-Shantaf, 21, was from Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza city.
It added that he was killed in an accident while working in one of its tunnels near the perimeter fence on the besieged and impoverished coastal region.
It is worth mentioning that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed or injured, in similar accidents.
Many of them were not members of the Brigades or any armed resistance group and were working in the tunnels to provide for their families.
Most of the tunnels in Gaza are used for smuggling food, fuel, and medicine into the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has reported that one of its fighters was killed, Thursday, in an accident in a siege busting tunnel, near Gaza city.
The Brigades said the fighter, identified as Ibrahim Khalil ash-Shantaf, 21, was from Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza city.
It added that he was killed in an accident while working in one of its tunnels near the perimeter fence on the besieged and impoverished coastal region.
It is worth mentioning that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed or injured, in similar accidents.
Many of them were not members of the Brigades or any armed resistance group and were working in the tunnels to provide for their families.
Most of the tunnels in Gaza are used for smuggling food, fuel, and medicine into the besieged Gaza Strip.
20 jan 2020
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The City Council in occupied Jerusalem issued orders, on Sunday evening, instructing seven Palestinian families in Bab as-Silsila (Chain Gate) neighborhood to leave their homes due to ongoing Israeli excavations under them, rendering the properties unsafe.
Jerusalem Governor Adnan Gheith told the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) that the excavations are carried out by the municipality of the occupied city and various colonialist organizations and aim at forcing the Palestinians out of their homes. Gheith Added that this has been happening for years, especially in Bab as-Silsila (Chain Gate), Silwan town, and the Old City, and stated that this is all part of Israel’s illegal policies targeting the existence of the indigenous Palestinian population in the occupied city, in direct violation of all related international laws and agreements. |
Resident Rashid Zahda from Bab al-Silsila area, said that twenty-two Palestinian families would lose their homes, especially after Israel already handed eviction notices to seven families, while the remaining orders will be handed Monday.
“The Israeli excavations in Bab as-Silsila, adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, are also threatening the homes of around 200 Palestinians, after the ongoing digging resulting in cracks and serious damage to their foundations,” Zahda stated, “We are appealing to the International Community to act and save not only our homes, but the entire historic area.”
“The Israeli excavations in Bab as-Silsila, adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, are also threatening the homes of around 200 Palestinians, after the ongoing digging resulting in cracks and serious damage to their foundations,” Zahda stated, “We are appealing to the International Community to act and save not only our homes, but the entire historic area.”
19 jan 2020
Military engineers begin work near Kibbutz Misgav Am on Lebanon frontier; new system will use seismic and acoustic devices that according to army are 'merely preventative measures' and do not signify new efforts by Hezbollah
The IDF began Sunday to place special underground sensors along the Lebanese border to detect any tunnels dug by Hezbollah or other terror groups in an attempt to infiltrate into Israel.
The deployment comes almost a year after Operation Northern Shield, during which the IDF detected and neutralized six tunnels dug by Hezbollah with the intent of sending terrorists through them.
IDF engineers and drills have begun digging along the Israeli side of the northern border near Kibbutz Misgav Am.
Army officials said there is no information regarding fresh Hezbollah attempts to dig new tunnels and that the deployment is merely a preventative measure.
The area around Misgav Am will be the first place the new technology will be implemented due to its proximity to the Lebanese border; other spots will also be considered, subject to security and budget assessments.
The sensor system, which uses seismic and acoustic devices, will alert to any tunnels that are dug close to the border, but in a limited capacity.
"We want to prevent any 'calculative mistakes' since the construction work can be seen on both sides of the border," said IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman.
"This is insurance for the future. We have no intelligence that Hezbollah is renewing their efforts. The construction work will last for the next few months."
IDF officials stated that no units will be redeployed to the construction sites where the sensors are being placed, so as to endure full defense along the northern border and to avoid disruptions to the IDF operation tasked with strengthening defenses in the area.
In May 2019, the IDF destroyed Hezbollah's "flagship" cross-border tunnel using 600 trucks and thousands of cubic gallons of concrete.
The tunnel, more than 80 meters deep, was dug from the Lebanese Shiite village of Ramyeh towards the Western Galilee, near the communities of Shtula and Zar'it.
As well the primary tunnel, five other smaller digs were uncovered during Northern Shield - two in the Ramyeh area and three more near the northern border town of Metula, not far from the Lebanese village of Kfarkela.
The IDF says that there are no tunnels remaining.
The IDF began Sunday to place special underground sensors along the Lebanese border to detect any tunnels dug by Hezbollah or other terror groups in an attempt to infiltrate into Israel.
The deployment comes almost a year after Operation Northern Shield, during which the IDF detected and neutralized six tunnels dug by Hezbollah with the intent of sending terrorists through them.
IDF engineers and drills have begun digging along the Israeli side of the northern border near Kibbutz Misgav Am.
Army officials said there is no information regarding fresh Hezbollah attempts to dig new tunnels and that the deployment is merely a preventative measure.
The area around Misgav Am will be the first place the new technology will be implemented due to its proximity to the Lebanese border; other spots will also be considered, subject to security and budget assessments.
The sensor system, which uses seismic and acoustic devices, will alert to any tunnels that are dug close to the border, but in a limited capacity.
"We want to prevent any 'calculative mistakes' since the construction work can be seen on both sides of the border," said IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman.
"This is insurance for the future. We have no intelligence that Hezbollah is renewing their efforts. The construction work will last for the next few months."
IDF officials stated that no units will be redeployed to the construction sites where the sensors are being placed, so as to endure full defense along the northern border and to avoid disruptions to the IDF operation tasked with strengthening defenses in the area.
In May 2019, the IDF destroyed Hezbollah's "flagship" cross-border tunnel using 600 trucks and thousands of cubic gallons of concrete.
The tunnel, more than 80 meters deep, was dug from the Lebanese Shiite village of Ramyeh towards the Western Galilee, near the communities of Shtula and Zar'it.
As well the primary tunnel, five other smaller digs were uncovered during Northern Shield - two in the Ramyeh area and three more near the northern border town of Metula, not far from the Lebanese village of Kfarkela.
The IDF says that there are no tunnels remaining.
