16 oct 2018
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary-General Saeb Erekat denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday, for using Christianity to distort facts.
“Israel’s Prime Minister continues to distorting facts even by using Christianity to support his racist and xenophobic claims,” Erekat said in a statement in reference to Netanyahu’s comments on Palestinian Christians at the so-called Christian Media Summit.
He said Netanyahu’s remarks on Palestinian Christians and Bethlehem are baseless.
“Every Palestinian, regardless of their religion, is an integral and an indivisible part of our nation, both in Palestine and in exile,” he said.
Netanyahu claimed at the conference that Palestinian Christians have dwindled in number since the arrival of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, claiming that Christians have thrived only in Israel.
“It is Israel that has been engaged in the forcible displacement and transfer of Palestinians, including Christians, since the Nakba of 1948. Dozens of Palestinian Christian communities were in fact ethnically cleansed by Israel and now live as refugees, including in Al Dbayeh, Al Bassa, and Mar Elias Refugee Camps in Lebanon, among other places.
Following the occupation of 1967, and for the consolidation of its colonial settlement enterprise, Israel has been engaged in a massive campaign of land grabbing that led to walling off Bethlehem and the construction of 18 illegal colonial settlements around the city,” said Erekat.
“Israel has also denied Palestinian family reunification, something that has particularly affected the Palestinian Christian presence in occupied Jerusalem. Dozens of thousands of Palestinian Christians are prevented from even praying in their holy shrines due to Israel’s racist policies that divide families and prevent the return of Palestinians because they are not Jews.”
Erekat said Israel, following the passing of the Jewish Nation-State law, with the support of their partners in the Trump Administration, “is continuing to using religion to justify its crimes and violations of Palestinian rights.”
He called upon “all peace-loving people, including religious leaders worldwide, to raise their voice against the cynical use of religion to justify the oppression of the people of Palestine. The rise of populist right-wing politicians worldwide is a threat to world peace as shown in the blind decisions being taken by some with regards to Jerusalem, a holy city to the three monotheistic religions.”
Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman had also lambasted Netanyahu for his statements on Palestinian Christians.
He said in a statement on Monday that Netanyahu’s comments were “full of historical inaccuracies.”
“We would like to advise Mr. Netanyahu to stop using Christians as a tool to pinkwash the occupation. The best he could do for a future of peace and coexistence, where the Christian community would thrive again, it is to respect his obligations under international law, including Security council resolutions 478 on Jerusalem and 2334 on settlements, dismantling illegal colonial-settlements and the annexation wall surrounding Bethlehem, including in the Cremisan Valley, fully end the occupation of Palestine and allow for the return of our people to their city.
It is not the Palestinian government that prevents their return Mr. Netanyahu; It is your government,” said Salman, who is a Christian.
“Israel’s Prime Minister continues to distorting facts even by using Christianity to support his racist and xenophobic claims,” Erekat said in a statement in reference to Netanyahu’s comments on Palestinian Christians at the so-called Christian Media Summit.
He said Netanyahu’s remarks on Palestinian Christians and Bethlehem are baseless.
“Every Palestinian, regardless of their religion, is an integral and an indivisible part of our nation, both in Palestine and in exile,” he said.
Netanyahu claimed at the conference that Palestinian Christians have dwindled in number since the arrival of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, claiming that Christians have thrived only in Israel.
“It is Israel that has been engaged in the forcible displacement and transfer of Palestinians, including Christians, since the Nakba of 1948. Dozens of Palestinian Christian communities were in fact ethnically cleansed by Israel and now live as refugees, including in Al Dbayeh, Al Bassa, and Mar Elias Refugee Camps in Lebanon, among other places.
Following the occupation of 1967, and for the consolidation of its colonial settlement enterprise, Israel has been engaged in a massive campaign of land grabbing that led to walling off Bethlehem and the construction of 18 illegal colonial settlements around the city,” said Erekat.
“Israel has also denied Palestinian family reunification, something that has particularly affected the Palestinian Christian presence in occupied Jerusalem. Dozens of thousands of Palestinian Christians are prevented from even praying in their holy shrines due to Israel’s racist policies that divide families and prevent the return of Palestinians because they are not Jews.”
Erekat said Israel, following the passing of the Jewish Nation-State law, with the support of their partners in the Trump Administration, “is continuing to using religion to justify its crimes and violations of Palestinian rights.”
He called upon “all peace-loving people, including religious leaders worldwide, to raise their voice against the cynical use of religion to justify the oppression of the people of Palestine. The rise of populist right-wing politicians worldwide is a threat to world peace as shown in the blind decisions being taken by some with regards to Jerusalem, a holy city to the three monotheistic religions.”
Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman had also lambasted Netanyahu for his statements on Palestinian Christians.
He said in a statement on Monday that Netanyahu’s comments were “full of historical inaccuracies.”
“We would like to advise Mr. Netanyahu to stop using Christians as a tool to pinkwash the occupation. The best he could do for a future of peace and coexistence, where the Christian community would thrive again, it is to respect his obligations under international law, including Security council resolutions 478 on Jerusalem and 2334 on settlements, dismantling illegal colonial-settlements and the annexation wall surrounding Bethlehem, including in the Cremisan Valley, fully end the occupation of Palestine and allow for the return of our people to their city.
It is not the Palestinian government that prevents their return Mr. Netanyahu; It is your government,” said Salman, who is a Christian.
Mayor of Bethlehem, advocate Anton Salman said, in response to Sunday’s statements by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Bethlehem and the situation of Palestinian Christians, that such a statement “is another Israeli attempt at distorting the reality of the Israeli occupation and particularly the effects that Israeli policies have had on the Palestinian Christian community since 1948.”
“If Mr. Netanyahu was concerned about the situation of Palestinian Christians, particularly in the Bethlehem area, he would return the 22,000 dunams of Bethlehem land illegally annexed to Israel for expansion of colonial settlements.
He would dismantle the annexation wall that divides Bethlehem from Jerusalem, for the first time in 2000 years of Christianity, and would stop imposing restrictions to Palestinian movement, including the thousand of Palestinian Christians living in exile and whose return is impossible due to the Israeli control over the Palestinian population registry,” said the mayor in a statement issued by the Bethlehem municipality.
He continued, according to WAFA: “For example, in Jordan alone, a few kilometers away, there are at least 20,000 Palestinian Christians from the Bethlehem area that are denied family unification and even cannot enter the city, not even to celebrate Christmas, due to the Israeli military restrictions.
“We would like to remind Mr. Netanyahu that it was himself who supported the building of one of the most damaging colonial-settlements that surround Bethlehem, Jabal Abu Ghneim (Har Homa), and that, in 2015, he declared that by doing so he is preventing the connection between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.”
There are over 100,000 Israeli settlers surrounding Bethlehem from all sides, reducing the area of Palestinian control over Bethlehem to less than 13% of the district, and making it impossible to plan for the future of our city, said the statement.
Furthermore, it was Mr. Netanyahu who voiced objection to declaring the Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage route as a World Heritage site and his policies of harassment were behind the decision of the churches to close the church of the Holy Sepulcher for three days in Jerusalem in objection to church taxation policy, added the statement.
“His comment was also full of historical inaccuracies. It is shameful that while calling himself a ‘protector of Christianity’, he would use Christians as a tool for his Islamophobic talking points. The decrease in percentage of Christians in Bethlehem, as well as in the rest of Palestine, was provoked with the Nakba of 1948 and ongoing due to Israel’s colonial plans and policies that started in 1967.”
He said that this was also the case in West Jerusalem, from where a large Palestinian Christian community was expelled by Israel from Ein Karem, Talbiya, Qatamon, and other places. From 31,000 Christians in 1948, Jerusalem only has around 12,000 Christians today.
“We would like to advise Mr. Netanyahu to stop using Christians as a tool to pinkwash the occupation. The best he could do for a future of peace and coexistence, where the Christian community would thrive again, it is to respect his obligations under international law, including Security council resolutions 478 on Jerusalem and 2334 on settlements, dismantling illegal colonial-settlements and the annexation wall surrounding Bethlehem, including in the Cremisan Valley, fully end the occupation of Palestine and allow for the return of our people to their city. It is not the Palestinian government that prevents their return Mr. Netanyahu; It is your government.”
He said: “I would like to use this occasion to call upon the heads of the churches in Jerusalem as well as to the Holy See to raise their voices against the use of religion for political purposes. It cannot be tolerated anymore that the bible is used wrongfully in order to justify crimes and violations that go against the teachings of values spread by our lord Jesus Christ.”
“If Mr. Netanyahu was concerned about the situation of Palestinian Christians, particularly in the Bethlehem area, he would return the 22,000 dunams of Bethlehem land illegally annexed to Israel for expansion of colonial settlements.
He would dismantle the annexation wall that divides Bethlehem from Jerusalem, for the first time in 2000 years of Christianity, and would stop imposing restrictions to Palestinian movement, including the thousand of Palestinian Christians living in exile and whose return is impossible due to the Israeli control over the Palestinian population registry,” said the mayor in a statement issued by the Bethlehem municipality.
He continued, according to WAFA: “For example, in Jordan alone, a few kilometers away, there are at least 20,000 Palestinian Christians from the Bethlehem area that are denied family unification and even cannot enter the city, not even to celebrate Christmas, due to the Israeli military restrictions.
“We would like to remind Mr. Netanyahu that it was himself who supported the building of one of the most damaging colonial-settlements that surround Bethlehem, Jabal Abu Ghneim (Har Homa), and that, in 2015, he declared that by doing so he is preventing the connection between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.”
There are over 100,000 Israeli settlers surrounding Bethlehem from all sides, reducing the area of Palestinian control over Bethlehem to less than 13% of the district, and making it impossible to plan for the future of our city, said the statement.
Furthermore, it was Mr. Netanyahu who voiced objection to declaring the Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage route as a World Heritage site and his policies of harassment were behind the decision of the churches to close the church of the Holy Sepulcher for three days in Jerusalem in objection to church taxation policy, added the statement.
“His comment was also full of historical inaccuracies. It is shameful that while calling himself a ‘protector of Christianity’, he would use Christians as a tool for his Islamophobic talking points. The decrease in percentage of Christians in Bethlehem, as well as in the rest of Palestine, was provoked with the Nakba of 1948 and ongoing due to Israel’s colonial plans and policies that started in 1967.”
He said that this was also the case in West Jerusalem, from where a large Palestinian Christian community was expelled by Israel from Ein Karem, Talbiya, Qatamon, and other places. From 31,000 Christians in 1948, Jerusalem only has around 12,000 Christians today.
“We would like to advise Mr. Netanyahu to stop using Christians as a tool to pinkwash the occupation. The best he could do for a future of peace and coexistence, where the Christian community would thrive again, it is to respect his obligations under international law, including Security council resolutions 478 on Jerusalem and 2334 on settlements, dismantling illegal colonial-settlements and the annexation wall surrounding Bethlehem, including in the Cremisan Valley, fully end the occupation of Palestine and allow for the return of our people to their city. It is not the Palestinian government that prevents their return Mr. Netanyahu; It is your government.”
He said: “I would like to use this occasion to call upon the heads of the churches in Jerusalem as well as to the Holy See to raise their voices against the use of religion for political purposes. It cannot be tolerated anymore that the bible is used wrongfully in order to justify crimes and violations that go against the teachings of values spread by our lord Jesus Christ.”
14 oct 2018
Speaking in Jerusalem before 140 foreign journalists, Netanyahu slams Palestinian President for 'rewarding terrorist'; stresses Israel is a strong democracy that also defends the rights of Muslims and Christians and praises President Trump for US Embassy move to Jerusalem.
Speaking in Jerusalem before 140 foreign journalists from 40 different countries, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, blaming him for rewarding terrorists.
"Look at our neighbors. Look at what President Abbas is doing. I mean, he's rewarding terrorists. Pay for slay. The more they kill, the more they get paid. He has on his law books a rule, a law that says that if you sell land to Jews – you'll be executed. Some peace and some coexistence," the premier vented.
In reference to the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem, Netanyahu said, "The American Embassy is close by, is actually within walking distance and it's a result of a bold and historic decision by President Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the US embassy here. I think he deserves tremendous applause for a tremendous act. President trump corrected an historic wrong. I mean the idea that we are not attached to Jerusalem is an unbelievable fiasco that you see at the UN institutions, resolutions, at UNESCO.
"This attempt to falsify history is vis-à-vis Jerusalem and vis-à-vis our connection to this land is a terrific injustice to the tribulation of the Jewish people that have made a journey that is unsurpassed by any other people.
"Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the Christian community thrives and grows. Without Israel radical Islam would overrun the Middle East easily, Israel not only protect itself nut also protects the neighborhood," he went on to say.
Addressing the Iranian threat, Netanyahu said, "Iran wants to base itself right next to Israel in order to destroy Israel. They say so openly. We will not let them do so. We back up these words with actions, including now in these days, as we speak. Nothing has changed. We'll continue to do what we need to do to protect ourselves and defend ourselves against those who would destroy us," he asserted.
"Several weeks ago the Iranians attempted to plan a terror attack against the regime in Paris," he vented.
"Iran is organizing terror cells around the world. Iran view us as the small devil, Europe is the medium devil, and the US is the big devil.
"Iran has expanded its empire through countries as Syria and Yemen. Don't give Iran the tools to destroy us," Netanyahu exclaimed.
Calling the journalists ambassadors of truth, the prime minister asked them to tell Israel's history, its present, about who wants and who does not want peace, stressing the fact Israel is a strong democracy that defends the rights of Muslims and Christians.
"People have to say the truth. You are ambassadors of truth. You're not merely the greatest ambassadors that Israel has around the world. You're champions of truth. And if there's one thing that I can ask you to do is to tell the truth. Tell the truth about our history, tell the truth about our present, tell the truth about who wants peace and who doesn’t want peace," he elaborated.
"That is also applicable to what happened in the Palestinian Authority areas. You know the town of Bethlehem? Yes. You have a connection to it. We all do. And among other things, we have a connection to King David, the history of Ruth as you know, but also the story of Jesus.
"Now, Bethlehem had when we handed it over to the Palestinian Authority a Christian population of roughly 80%. Now it's about 20%. And that change happened because in the Palestinian Authority areas, as well as throughout the Middle East, Christians are being constricted, they're being pressured, also they're being persecuted," Netanyahu lamented.
When asked about American Student Lara Alqasem, who has been barred from entering the country because of alleged involvement in the BDS movement, the Israeli leader said that every country has the right to decide who can enter it.
"Every country and every democracy and many democracies have special arrangements where they decide who to let in and who not to let it. If you come in and you are virulently against America and you try to come to the United States, there's a good change you won’t be let in if people know that in advance. That's also true of many of the European democracies. It's true of the democracy called Israel.
"I trust that Minister Erdan has examined that and looked into it. It's under the decision now of the Israeli Supreme Court so I'm not going to get into that. And they'll decide whether they handle it or not. If they handle it, we'll see how it develops. If they don’t handle it, she'll be deported," he stated.
After Netanyahu concluded his speech, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman took the stage.
"Ten months ago the US administration acknowledges Jerusalem as Israel's official capital. Every day in which I go to work in Jerusalem is a special experience for me, and I'm not taking it for granted.
"Not a day goes by without me thanking for the privilege given to me to serve as the US ambassador in this holy city," Friedman said.
Speaking in Jerusalem before 140 foreign journalists from 40 different countries, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, blaming him for rewarding terrorists.
"Look at our neighbors. Look at what President Abbas is doing. I mean, he's rewarding terrorists. Pay for slay. The more they kill, the more they get paid. He has on his law books a rule, a law that says that if you sell land to Jews – you'll be executed. Some peace and some coexistence," the premier vented.
In reference to the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem, Netanyahu said, "The American Embassy is close by, is actually within walking distance and it's a result of a bold and historic decision by President Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the US embassy here. I think he deserves tremendous applause for a tremendous act. President trump corrected an historic wrong. I mean the idea that we are not attached to Jerusalem is an unbelievable fiasco that you see at the UN institutions, resolutions, at UNESCO.
"This attempt to falsify history is vis-à-vis Jerusalem and vis-à-vis our connection to this land is a terrific injustice to the tribulation of the Jewish people that have made a journey that is unsurpassed by any other people.
"Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the Christian community thrives and grows. Without Israel radical Islam would overrun the Middle East easily, Israel not only protect itself nut also protects the neighborhood," he went on to say.
Addressing the Iranian threat, Netanyahu said, "Iran wants to base itself right next to Israel in order to destroy Israel. They say so openly. We will not let them do so. We back up these words with actions, including now in these days, as we speak. Nothing has changed. We'll continue to do what we need to do to protect ourselves and defend ourselves against those who would destroy us," he asserted.
"Several weeks ago the Iranians attempted to plan a terror attack against the regime in Paris," he vented.
"Iran is organizing terror cells around the world. Iran view us as the small devil, Europe is the medium devil, and the US is the big devil.
"Iran has expanded its empire through countries as Syria and Yemen. Don't give Iran the tools to destroy us," Netanyahu exclaimed.
Calling the journalists ambassadors of truth, the prime minister asked them to tell Israel's history, its present, about who wants and who does not want peace, stressing the fact Israel is a strong democracy that defends the rights of Muslims and Christians.
"People have to say the truth. You are ambassadors of truth. You're not merely the greatest ambassadors that Israel has around the world. You're champions of truth. And if there's one thing that I can ask you to do is to tell the truth. Tell the truth about our history, tell the truth about our present, tell the truth about who wants peace and who doesn’t want peace," he elaborated.
"That is also applicable to what happened in the Palestinian Authority areas. You know the town of Bethlehem? Yes. You have a connection to it. We all do. And among other things, we have a connection to King David, the history of Ruth as you know, but also the story of Jesus.
"Now, Bethlehem had when we handed it over to the Palestinian Authority a Christian population of roughly 80%. Now it's about 20%. And that change happened because in the Palestinian Authority areas, as well as throughout the Middle East, Christians are being constricted, they're being pressured, also they're being persecuted," Netanyahu lamented.
When asked about American Student Lara Alqasem, who has been barred from entering the country because of alleged involvement in the BDS movement, the Israeli leader said that every country has the right to decide who can enter it.
"Every country and every democracy and many democracies have special arrangements where they decide who to let in and who not to let it. If you come in and you are virulently against America and you try to come to the United States, there's a good change you won’t be let in if people know that in advance. That's also true of many of the European democracies. It's true of the democracy called Israel.
"I trust that Minister Erdan has examined that and looked into it. It's under the decision now of the Israeli Supreme Court so I'm not going to get into that. And they'll decide whether they handle it or not. If they handle it, we'll see how it develops. If they don’t handle it, she'll be deported," he stated.
After Netanyahu concluded his speech, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman took the stage.
"Ten months ago the US administration acknowledges Jerusalem as Israel's official capital. Every day in which I go to work in Jerusalem is a special experience for me, and I'm not taking it for granted.
"Not a day goes by without me thanking for the privilege given to me to serve as the US ambassador in this holy city," Friedman said.
13 oct 2018
Father Atallah Hanna has strongly denounced the transfer of ownership of Islamic and Christian properties and buildings in Occupied Jerusalem to Jewish groups through real estate transactions or straw buyers, calling such practice as “a disaster and treason in every sense of the word.”
During his meeting with a local delegation from the holy city, Father Hanna, Archbishop of the Palestinian Orthodox Church in Occupied Jerusalem, warned that the repercussions of such real estate transactions would be “disastrous for the identity and nature of Jerusalem.”
The churchman called for establishing a national commission in Jerusalem to follow up this serious and sensitive issue. “If we, as Christian and Muslim Jerusalemites, did not do our duty towards the City of Jerusalem, no one else will do it on our behalf.”
During his meeting with a local delegation from the holy city, Father Hanna, Archbishop of the Palestinian Orthodox Church in Occupied Jerusalem, warned that the repercussions of such real estate transactions would be “disastrous for the identity and nature of Jerusalem.”
The churchman called for establishing a national commission in Jerusalem to follow up this serious and sensitive issue. “If we, as Christian and Muslim Jerusalemites, did not do our duty towards the City of Jerusalem, no one else will do it on our behalf.”
11 aug 2018
The Israeli municipality of occupied Jerusalem decided, on Friday, to approve the seizure dozens of dunams of land in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, according to Wadi Hilweh Information Center.
WHIC said staff of the Israeli municipality distributed notices informing local citizens about the municipality’s intention to take the said lands for “gardening purposes”.
The lands to be appropriated are the property of local Palestinian citizens, who hold proper paperwork confirming their ownership, WAFA further reported.
Some of the lands also belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, the Center said.
Israel Illegally Confiscates Dozens Of Dunams Of Palestinian Lands In Silwan
The City Council in occupied Jerusalem issued orders for the illegal annexation of dozens of Dunams of Palestinian lands in Silwan town, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the pretext of using them for “gardening, irrigation pipes, roads and public gardens.”
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) has reported that City Council employees posted the new orders in Wadi ar-Rababa and al-Abbasiyya neighborhoods.
Silwanic added that the posted orders also included maps showing the lands that will be confiscated, under of the pretext of “gardening vacant lots.”
It stated that these orders pose serious threats to dozens of Dunams of Palestinian lands in Wadi ar-Rababa, Wadi Hilweh, Be’er Ayyoub and Nabi Daoud, and added that the lands are owned by the Palestinians, who have legal documents proving ownership, in addition to other lands owned by the Greek Orthodox Church.
Jawad Siyam, the head of Wadi Hilweh Information Center, said the lands have, for dozens of years, been planted with olive trees, fig trees and berries; however, in recent years, Israel started preventing the Palestinians from entering them.
Israel has also been bulldozing and uprooting large areas of these lands, in addition to demolishing property, especially in Wadi ar-Rababa, under the pretext of being part of the “Public Gardens.”
The City Council claims “it wants to plant trees, install irrigation systems, create public gardens and seating areas, in addition to pedestrian roads, geotechnical engineering work, and landscaping.
Silwanic added that, although the new orders are for five years, previous experiences prove that once the City Council, the Department of Archeology or the Department of Natural Resources, take control of Palestinian lands, they end up confiscating them permanently, and use them for the construction and expansion of the illegal colonies, and outposts, in Silwan, as well as other vital parts of occupied Jerusalem.
Many areas in Silwan are frequently targeted for annexation, especially since Israel is building a pedestrian bridge for tourists and colonial settlers, linking between the ath-Thoury neighborhood, Nabi Daoud and Wadi ar-Rababa, and is preparing for building a restaurant, in addition to pathways for pedestrians.
Siyam said that the lands Israel is trying to confiscate are privately owned by the Palestinians, and are the only lands left for Silwan to build homes, schools and public gardens for the inhabitants, but the City Council has been denying construction permits, in addition to demolishing homes and property.
“The indigenous Palestinians who own the lands are the ones who should benefit from them, by farming and developing them,” Siyam added, “But Israel denies them these basic rights, and is punishing them if they build, so that it can use the lands for its colonialist projects.”
He affirmed that the Palestinians in Silwan are well aware that the new Israeli orders aim at completely and permanently confiscating their lands, especially since the city confiscated and closed lands, several years ago, in the al-Ein al-Hamra area in the town, for what the Jerusalem City Council said “public benefit,” but the lands ended up owned by El’ad colonialist foundation, which funds and supports the construction and expansion of Jewish-only colonies in occupied Jerusalem.
Furthermore, Siyam added that Israel also confiscated lands in Ras al-Amoud neighborhood, under the pretext of turning a police station into a space for public use, but the station was turned into a colony instead.
WHIC said staff of the Israeli municipality distributed notices informing local citizens about the municipality’s intention to take the said lands for “gardening purposes”.
The lands to be appropriated are the property of local Palestinian citizens, who hold proper paperwork confirming their ownership, WAFA further reported.
Some of the lands also belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, the Center said.
Israel Illegally Confiscates Dozens Of Dunams Of Palestinian Lands In Silwan
The City Council in occupied Jerusalem issued orders for the illegal annexation of dozens of Dunams of Palestinian lands in Silwan town, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the pretext of using them for “gardening, irrigation pipes, roads and public gardens.”
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) has reported that City Council employees posted the new orders in Wadi ar-Rababa and al-Abbasiyya neighborhoods.
Silwanic added that the posted orders also included maps showing the lands that will be confiscated, under of the pretext of “gardening vacant lots.”
It stated that these orders pose serious threats to dozens of Dunams of Palestinian lands in Wadi ar-Rababa, Wadi Hilweh, Be’er Ayyoub and Nabi Daoud, and added that the lands are owned by the Palestinians, who have legal documents proving ownership, in addition to other lands owned by the Greek Orthodox Church.
Jawad Siyam, the head of Wadi Hilweh Information Center, said the lands have, for dozens of years, been planted with olive trees, fig trees and berries; however, in recent years, Israel started preventing the Palestinians from entering them.
Israel has also been bulldozing and uprooting large areas of these lands, in addition to demolishing property, especially in Wadi ar-Rababa, under the pretext of being part of the “Public Gardens.”
The City Council claims “it wants to plant trees, install irrigation systems, create public gardens and seating areas, in addition to pedestrian roads, geotechnical engineering work, and landscaping.
Silwanic added that, although the new orders are for five years, previous experiences prove that once the City Council, the Department of Archeology or the Department of Natural Resources, take control of Palestinian lands, they end up confiscating them permanently, and use them for the construction and expansion of the illegal colonies, and outposts, in Silwan, as well as other vital parts of occupied Jerusalem.
Many areas in Silwan are frequently targeted for annexation, especially since Israel is building a pedestrian bridge for tourists and colonial settlers, linking between the ath-Thoury neighborhood, Nabi Daoud and Wadi ar-Rababa, and is preparing for building a restaurant, in addition to pathways for pedestrians.
Siyam said that the lands Israel is trying to confiscate are privately owned by the Palestinians, and are the only lands left for Silwan to build homes, schools and public gardens for the inhabitants, but the City Council has been denying construction permits, in addition to demolishing homes and property.
“The indigenous Palestinians who own the lands are the ones who should benefit from them, by farming and developing them,” Siyam added, “But Israel denies them these basic rights, and is punishing them if they build, so that it can use the lands for its colonialist projects.”
He affirmed that the Palestinians in Silwan are well aware that the new Israeli orders aim at completely and permanently confiscating their lands, especially since the city confiscated and closed lands, several years ago, in the al-Ein al-Hamra area in the town, for what the Jerusalem City Council said “public benefit,” but the lands ended up owned by El’ad colonialist foundation, which funds and supports the construction and expansion of Jewish-only colonies in occupied Jerusalem.
Furthermore, Siyam added that Israel also confiscated lands in Ras al-Amoud neighborhood, under the pretext of turning a police station into a space for public use, but the station was turned into a colony instead.
23 july 2018
Christians are no longer welcome in the Holy Land. This was the shocking message from a visiting Palestinian Christian delegation currently in South Africa.
In an interview with the Afro-Palestine Newswire Service on Sunday, Father Jamal Khader and Dr. Rifat Kasis painfully documented the discrimination facing Christians, and how they are being denied the right to worship at Christianity’s most sacred sites in the Holy Land. This has led to a drastic decline in the Christian population there. The chief cause of the Christian exodus, according to Khader and Kasis, is Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.
Khader, a Catholic pastor, described how during Easter (one of the holiest times of the year for Christians), the sacred Church of the Holy Sepulcher – “a site central to Jesus’s death, crucifixion and resurrection” – resembles a military barracks. Barriers are set up in the early hours of the morning to keep people out of the courtyard of the Church. Israeli army officers are present around the gates of the Old City and passages that lead to the Holy Sepulcher, as well as inside the Church itself and on its roof.
These measures restrict freedom of movement for Palestinians, preventing Palestinian Christians from worshipping at the Church during this auspicious period. Even priests are not allowed to move freely.
Khader also explained how Palestinian Christians living in Bethlehem (the city of Jesus’ birth) – located just ten kilometers from Jerusalem - require special permits from Israeli authorities to enter Jerusalem to worship in the sacred city. Christians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip also cannot enter Jerusalem without an Israeli permit.
“This is what I mean when I say that Christians are not welcome in the Holy Land”, says Khader.
Christian-owned land has also been confiscated to make way for illegal Israeli settlements. For instance, in Beit Jala - a Christian-majority town just outside Bethlehem - the 133-year old Cremisan Monastery, as well as its neighboring convent, winery and school, have all been earmarked for Israeli settlement expansion.
“We, Palestinian Christians, suffer along with the rest of Palestinians from occupation and hardships. Muslims and Christians suffer equally, as there is no difference in suffering for any of us,” says youth activist, Muna Nasser.
According to Nasser, many Christians feel that there is little hope for a better future for their children, and this has contributed to the growing emigration of Palestinian Christians. “I hope that they do not move. Our mere existence on this land is resistance to the occupation.”
According to the delegation, the chief cause of the decline in the Christian population of Palestine is not due to so-called Islamic fundamentalism or the persecution of Christians by their Muslim neighbors. These are misrepresentations used to distract from the realities of occupation. It is the occupation that has made life so difficult that many Christians have left Palestine.
Bethlehem was 85% Christian in 1947, the year before Israel became a state. Today, it is less than 20%. In Jerusalem, the Christian population in 1947 was 19%. Now it is just 2%.
The delegation will be speaking to various church, student and political groups in South Africa, and has a strong message for the South African government. “If South Africa wants to respect its history and respect the solidarity it received from the rest of the world, then this country should be the first to sanction and boycott Israel,” says Kasis, a Lutheran cleric.
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has condemned Israel’s discrimination against Palestinians:
“Israel is structured in a way that fits and even surpasses the description of an Apartheid State, which robs Palestinians of their citizenship and treats them in a discriminatory way. With our experience of Apartheid that the whole world recognized and condemned as a crime against humanity, we see the treatment of the Palestinians by Israel as worse than Apartheid,” SACC leaders said during a visit to occupied Palestine in June last year.
The SACC has also called on its members to look critically at theological perspectives that tend to veer in the direction of Christian Zionism which supports the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Source: Afro-Palestine News Wire Service
In an interview with the Afro-Palestine Newswire Service on Sunday, Father Jamal Khader and Dr. Rifat Kasis painfully documented the discrimination facing Christians, and how they are being denied the right to worship at Christianity’s most sacred sites in the Holy Land. This has led to a drastic decline in the Christian population there. The chief cause of the Christian exodus, according to Khader and Kasis, is Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.
Khader, a Catholic pastor, described how during Easter (one of the holiest times of the year for Christians), the sacred Church of the Holy Sepulcher – “a site central to Jesus’s death, crucifixion and resurrection” – resembles a military barracks. Barriers are set up in the early hours of the morning to keep people out of the courtyard of the Church. Israeli army officers are present around the gates of the Old City and passages that lead to the Holy Sepulcher, as well as inside the Church itself and on its roof.
These measures restrict freedom of movement for Palestinians, preventing Palestinian Christians from worshipping at the Church during this auspicious period. Even priests are not allowed to move freely.
Khader also explained how Palestinian Christians living in Bethlehem (the city of Jesus’ birth) – located just ten kilometers from Jerusalem - require special permits from Israeli authorities to enter Jerusalem to worship in the sacred city. Christians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip also cannot enter Jerusalem without an Israeli permit.
“This is what I mean when I say that Christians are not welcome in the Holy Land”, says Khader.
Christian-owned land has also been confiscated to make way for illegal Israeli settlements. For instance, in Beit Jala - a Christian-majority town just outside Bethlehem - the 133-year old Cremisan Monastery, as well as its neighboring convent, winery and school, have all been earmarked for Israeli settlement expansion.
“We, Palestinian Christians, suffer along with the rest of Palestinians from occupation and hardships. Muslims and Christians suffer equally, as there is no difference in suffering for any of us,” says youth activist, Muna Nasser.
According to Nasser, many Christians feel that there is little hope for a better future for their children, and this has contributed to the growing emigration of Palestinian Christians. “I hope that they do not move. Our mere existence on this land is resistance to the occupation.”
According to the delegation, the chief cause of the decline in the Christian population of Palestine is not due to so-called Islamic fundamentalism or the persecution of Christians by their Muslim neighbors. These are misrepresentations used to distract from the realities of occupation. It is the occupation that has made life so difficult that many Christians have left Palestine.
Bethlehem was 85% Christian in 1947, the year before Israel became a state. Today, it is less than 20%. In Jerusalem, the Christian population in 1947 was 19%. Now it is just 2%.
The delegation will be speaking to various church, student and political groups in South Africa, and has a strong message for the South African government. “If South Africa wants to respect its history and respect the solidarity it received from the rest of the world, then this country should be the first to sanction and boycott Israel,” says Kasis, a Lutheran cleric.
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has condemned Israel’s discrimination against Palestinians:
“Israel is structured in a way that fits and even surpasses the description of an Apartheid State, which robs Palestinians of their citizenship and treats them in a discriminatory way. With our experience of Apartheid that the whole world recognized and condemned as a crime against humanity, we see the treatment of the Palestinians by Israel as worse than Apartheid,” SACC leaders said during a visit to occupied Palestine in June last year.
The SACC has also called on its members to look critically at theological perspectives that tend to veer in the direction of Christian Zionism which supports the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Source: Afro-Palestine News Wire Service
23 june 2018
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States approved, during its meeting last week in St. Louis, Missouri, by unanimous consent, an action opposing congressional and state anti-BDS (Boycott, Divest, and Sanction) laws, according to a press release.
According to WAFA, the newly approved policy directs the Presbyterian Church (USA) to “oppose specific US legislation to suppress measures of economic witness…such as ‘The Israel Anti-Boycott Act’.”
The action further instructs the church to join in legislation opposing state anti-BDS laws through the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in coalition with other religious and human rights groups.
Some two-dozen laws have been passed, in Congress and states across the country, that are designed to suppress BDS campaigns in protest of Israel’s abuses of Palestinian human rights. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil liberties groups have condemned these laws as un-constitutional and an infringement on the First Amendment right to free speech.
Earlier this year, in the first decision of its kind, a Kansas judge blocked an anti-BDS law in that state, deeming it un-constitutional. In recent years, a number of US faith groups and churches, including the Presbyterian Church (USA) have adopted boycotts and divested from companies that profit from Israel’s abuses of Palestinian human rights.
In other actions last week, the Presbyterian Church (USA) defended the free exchange of ideas on Israel/Palestine, refusing to accept a prohibition on describing the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza as “a colonial project.” The church also, by unanimous consent, declined to censor a recent publication from its Israel/Palestine Mission Network entitled Why Palestine Matters: The Struggle to End Colonialism.
The General Assembly considered additional actions relating to Israel/Palestine including a resolution expressing “profound grief and sorrow” for the deaths of 131 Palestinians during the recent protests surrounding the Great March of Return, deploring Israel’s “targeting of more than 20 clearly marked Palestinian medics serving the wounded,” one advocating for equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and one calling on RE/MAX to stop facilitating the sale of properties in settlements built on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law.
The Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is a mission network of the Presbyterian Church (USA) with a mandate from the denomination’s General Assembly (2004) to work “toward specific mission goals that will create currents of wider and deeper involvement with Israel/Palestine.”
According to WAFA, the newly approved policy directs the Presbyterian Church (USA) to “oppose specific US legislation to suppress measures of economic witness…such as ‘The Israel Anti-Boycott Act’.”
The action further instructs the church to join in legislation opposing state anti-BDS laws through the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in coalition with other religious and human rights groups.
Some two-dozen laws have been passed, in Congress and states across the country, that are designed to suppress BDS campaigns in protest of Israel’s abuses of Palestinian human rights. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil liberties groups have condemned these laws as un-constitutional and an infringement on the First Amendment right to free speech.
Earlier this year, in the first decision of its kind, a Kansas judge blocked an anti-BDS law in that state, deeming it un-constitutional. In recent years, a number of US faith groups and churches, including the Presbyterian Church (USA) have adopted boycotts and divested from companies that profit from Israel’s abuses of Palestinian human rights.
In other actions last week, the Presbyterian Church (USA) defended the free exchange of ideas on Israel/Palestine, refusing to accept a prohibition on describing the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza as “a colonial project.” The church also, by unanimous consent, declined to censor a recent publication from its Israel/Palestine Mission Network entitled Why Palestine Matters: The Struggle to End Colonialism.
The General Assembly considered additional actions relating to Israel/Palestine including a resolution expressing “profound grief and sorrow” for the deaths of 131 Palestinians during the recent protests surrounding the Great March of Return, deploring Israel’s “targeting of more than 20 clearly marked Palestinian medics serving the wounded,” one advocating for equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and one calling on RE/MAX to stop facilitating the sale of properties in settlements built on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law.
The Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is a mission network of the Presbyterian Church (USA) with a mandate from the denomination’s General Assembly (2004) to work “toward specific mission goals that will create currents of wider and deeper involvement with Israel/Palestine.”
19 june 2018
The Islamic Christian Commission for the Support of Jerusalem and Holy Sites has warned of a draft law for a project which allows the Israeli occupation government to confiscate land sold by the Orthodox Church to private investors.
According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, the organization stressed, in a statement on Tuesday, its rejection of the imposition of taxes on the churches of Jerusalem and the destruction of their property, which runs contrary to the historical position of the churches in the Holy City over centuries..
The Armenian and Orthodox churches of the Holy Land were called upon to stop the draft law, which aims to confiscate their land, four months after a major crisis led to the closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
The Secretary-General of the Commission, Hanna Issa, stressed the need to oblige the Israeli occupation to abide by the historical situation of the Holy City, based on the Ottoman and the Jordanian guardianship of the Islamic and Christian sanctuaries in Jerusalem.
He stressed that imposing taxes on churches and confiscating their lands, undermines the sacred character of the occupied city, and hinders the churches from performing their role and activities.
The Christian Islamic Organization pointed out that the churches’ commitment to the historical situation of the city of Jerusalem and the rejection of any change to its reality, which is to preserve the historical heritage of the occupied city and to fight systematic methods of Judaization practiced by the occupation against the city and its Islamic and Christian sanctuaries, stressing the Arab nature of Jerusalem culture.
According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, the organization stressed, in a statement on Tuesday, its rejection of the imposition of taxes on the churches of Jerusalem and the destruction of their property, which runs contrary to the historical position of the churches in the Holy City over centuries..
The Armenian and Orthodox churches of the Holy Land were called upon to stop the draft law, which aims to confiscate their land, four months after a major crisis led to the closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
The Secretary-General of the Commission, Hanna Issa, stressed the need to oblige the Israeli occupation to abide by the historical situation of the Holy City, based on the Ottoman and the Jordanian guardianship of the Islamic and Christian sanctuaries in Jerusalem.
He stressed that imposing taxes on churches and confiscating their lands, undermines the sacred character of the occupied city, and hinders the churches from performing their role and activities.
The Christian Islamic Organization pointed out that the churches’ commitment to the historical situation of the city of Jerusalem and the rejection of any change to its reality, which is to preserve the historical heritage of the occupied city and to fight systematic methods of Judaization practiced by the occupation against the city and its Islamic and Christian sanctuaries, stressing the Arab nature of Jerusalem culture.
Israeli official bodies are scheduled to meet Tuesday with private developers who sell Chritians’ lands to discuss ways to solve the tenants crisis, Haaretz paper revealed.
Representatives of Israeli Ministry of Finance, Keren Kayemet, and the Israeli Land Authority will participate in the meeting.
The meeting came after three major Holy Land churches implored Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to prevent the advancement of a draft bill they said was aimed at expropriating their lands.
Heads of the Armenian, Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches in Jerusalem also accused the Israeli authorities of failing to keep a committment made just a few months ago that brought an end to a major crisis between the sides.
In February, the Jerusalem municipality began enforcing tax collection on church property, while separately lawmakers in the parliament worked on advancing a law that would allow expropriation of church property.
The church leaders in protest closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site in Jerusalem where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried, following which Israeli authorities froze both the tax measures and the legislation, committing to a dialogue with the Christians over the issues.
Large swathes of Jerusalem are owned by various churches, which in many cases reached long-term leasing agreements with the state.
Residents living in homes on such lands fear the churches could sell the lands to private developers, who would be free to do as they wish with their property, including raising rents or razing existing structures.
Representatives of Israeli Ministry of Finance, Keren Kayemet, and the Israeli Land Authority will participate in the meeting.
The meeting came after three major Holy Land churches implored Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to prevent the advancement of a draft bill they said was aimed at expropriating their lands.
Heads of the Armenian, Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches in Jerusalem also accused the Israeli authorities of failing to keep a committment made just a few months ago that brought an end to a major crisis between the sides.
In February, the Jerusalem municipality began enforcing tax collection on church property, while separately lawmakers in the parliament worked on advancing a law that would allow expropriation of church property.
The church leaders in protest closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site in Jerusalem where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried, following which Israeli authorities froze both the tax measures and the legislation, committing to a dialogue with the Christians over the issues.
Large swathes of Jerusalem are owned by various churches, which in many cases reached long-term leasing agreements with the state.
Residents living in homes on such lands fear the churches could sell the lands to private developers, who would be free to do as they wish with their property, including raising rents or razing existing structures.
