27 oct 2016
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Thursday morning decided to reduce the number of cargo trucks allowed to enter the besieged Gaza Strip through the Karam Abu Salem crossing to 340 vehicles per day.
In press remarks to the Palestinian Information Center (PIC), Ra’ed Abul-Fotouh, head of the civil authority that coordinates the entry of goods to Gaza, said the Israeli authorities informed the Palestinian side of its intention to decrease the number of trucks crossing into Gaza every day, without providing an explanation for its decision.
350 cargo trucks used to enter Gaza through the crossing almost every day, but now 250 trucks carrying different goods and 90 others laden with cement shipments will be allowed in, according to Abul-Fotouh.
The Karam Abu Salem crossing is the only portal for the access of vital goods and supplies to the Gaza. It is closed every Friday and Saturday as well as during Jewish holidays and festivals.
For his part, the Popular Committee against the Siege warned of the Israeli decision to decrease the cargo trucks entering Gaza, describing it as “a serious development and a measure that would worsen the already tight blockade.”
In press remarks to the Palestinian Information Center (PIC), Ra’ed Abul-Fotouh, head of the civil authority that coordinates the entry of goods to Gaza, said the Israeli authorities informed the Palestinian side of its intention to decrease the number of trucks crossing into Gaza every day, without providing an explanation for its decision.
350 cargo trucks used to enter Gaza through the crossing almost every day, but now 250 trucks carrying different goods and 90 others laden with cement shipments will be allowed in, according to Abul-Fotouh.
The Karam Abu Salem crossing is the only portal for the access of vital goods and supplies to the Gaza. It is closed every Friday and Saturday as well as during Jewish holidays and festivals.
For his part, the Popular Committee against the Siege warned of the Israeli decision to decrease the cargo trucks entering Gaza, describing it as “a serious development and a measure that would worsen the already tight blockade.”
A group of Israeli settlers attacked Wednesday evening a Palestinian farmer while picking his olive trees in Turmus'ayya town, north of Ramallah.
Local sources affirmed to the PIC reporter that four Israeli settlers coming from Adi Elad settlement, illegally built near the town, brutally attacked the farmer while picking olives in his agricultural land.
The sources pointed out that Israeli forces, who were stationed in the area, did not intervene to stop the attack.
Local sources affirmed to the PIC reporter that four Israeli settlers coming from Adi Elad settlement, illegally built near the town, brutally attacked the farmer while picking olives in his agricultural land.
The sources pointed out that Israeli forces, who were stationed in the area, did not intervene to stop the attack.
26 oct 2016
Dozens of Palestinian engineers, technicians and workers have been busy building the first seawater desalination project in Gaza, which would partially solve the deteriorating water crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The plant is about 500 meters away from the coast of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza Strip, and spans over a total area of five acres. There are plans to make it the main water desalination plant in Gaza on an area of 80 acres.
Facing degradation of water resources
Zidan abu Zuhri, a supervisor on the project, said that the importance of this project arose as specialized studies showed that water resources in the Gaza Strip have dramatically degraded. It has become a must to look for alternative water resources to at least to keep Gaza a livable place, he added.
The United Nations has concluded in a recent report that %97 of the Gaza Strip water is unfit for drinking or domestic use.
The project provides water for almost 75,000 people in the south of Gaza in three phases.
According to Abu Zuhri, the first phase is to remove impurities and suspended solids using layers of fine sand, rough gravel and carbon through which water seeps and gets purified. Then water is pumped into another device to remove smaller impurities and suspended solids.
In the third phase, the desalinated water is provided for the people through an 18-kilometer-long pipe.
The estimated annual consumption rate of drinking and agricultural water wells in the Gaza Strip is about 200 million cubic meters (cmc). And it is estimated to reach 260 (cmc) by the year 2020.
Stages of development
The supervisors of the plant said it would be developed through three stages. The first stage, which is the current stage, produces 6000 cubic meters of purified water a day. The second stage would reach 14,000 cubic meters; and funding has been ensured for the second stage. The third stage would produce 20,000 cubic meters a day.
Abu Zuhri said, “Desalinated water is being mixed with municipal water wells to reach the international water quality standards.”
“The main obstacle that delayed the start of the project is importing the needed machinery. The Israeli occupation viewed most of the machinery as dual-use and took time to allow them into Gaza,” he added.
One month to go
Rebhy el-Sheikh, the Palestinian Water Authority's deputy chairman, stated that the first phase of the project cost 10 million euros to produce 6,000 cubic meters of desalinated water a day for 75,000 Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis cities.
He confirmed that the project is going to start pumping water within a month, describing it as “the largest vital and strategic project in the Gaza Strip.”
The plant is about 500 meters away from the coast of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza Strip, and spans over a total area of five acres. There are plans to make it the main water desalination plant in Gaza on an area of 80 acres.
Facing degradation of water resources
Zidan abu Zuhri, a supervisor on the project, said that the importance of this project arose as specialized studies showed that water resources in the Gaza Strip have dramatically degraded. It has become a must to look for alternative water resources to at least to keep Gaza a livable place, he added.
The United Nations has concluded in a recent report that %97 of the Gaza Strip water is unfit for drinking or domestic use.
The project provides water for almost 75,000 people in the south of Gaza in three phases.
According to Abu Zuhri, the first phase is to remove impurities and suspended solids using layers of fine sand, rough gravel and carbon through which water seeps and gets purified. Then water is pumped into another device to remove smaller impurities and suspended solids.
In the third phase, the desalinated water is provided for the people through an 18-kilometer-long pipe.
The estimated annual consumption rate of drinking and agricultural water wells in the Gaza Strip is about 200 million cubic meters (cmc). And it is estimated to reach 260 (cmc) by the year 2020.
Stages of development
The supervisors of the plant said it would be developed through three stages. The first stage, which is the current stage, produces 6000 cubic meters of purified water a day. The second stage would reach 14,000 cubic meters; and funding has been ensured for the second stage. The third stage would produce 20,000 cubic meters a day.
Abu Zuhri said, “Desalinated water is being mixed with municipal water wells to reach the international water quality standards.”
“The main obstacle that delayed the start of the project is importing the needed machinery. The Israeli occupation viewed most of the machinery as dual-use and took time to allow them into Gaza,” he added.
One month to go
Rebhy el-Sheikh, the Palestinian Water Authority's deputy chairman, stated that the first phase of the project cost 10 million euros to produce 6,000 cubic meters of desalinated water a day for 75,000 Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis cities.
He confirmed that the project is going to start pumping water within a month, describing it as “the largest vital and strategic project in the Gaza Strip.”
25 oct 2016
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has agreed to expand the fishing zone off the coast of the Gaza Strip from six to nine nautical miles as of next November.
Mohamed al-Maqadma, spokesman for the Palestinian general authority of civil affairs, told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC), that the IOA would increase the fishing zone for one renewable month.
Maqadma added that the fishermen would be able to sail up to nine nautical miles at sea as of the first of November.
Under the 1993 Oslo accords, the Palestinians are supposed to be allowed to fish within a range of 20 nautical miles off the shores of Gaza, but this agreement has not been honored by Israel for 15 years.
The Palestinian fishermen are also exposed to gunfire attack and detention by the Israeli navy almost every day.
Mohamed al-Maqadma, spokesman for the Palestinian general authority of civil affairs, told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC), that the IOA would increase the fishing zone for one renewable month.
Maqadma added that the fishermen would be able to sail up to nine nautical miles at sea as of the first of November.
Under the 1993 Oslo accords, the Palestinians are supposed to be allowed to fish within a range of 20 nautical miles off the shores of Gaza, but this agreement has not been honored by Israel for 15 years.
The Palestinian fishermen are also exposed to gunfire attack and detention by the Israeli navy almost every day.
24 oct 2016
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Monday that 242 refugee families in the Gaza Strip received more than $1.7 million in aid for reconstruction and repair works, more than two years after the besieged coastal enclave was devastated by an Israeli aerial offensive.
The UN agency disbursed more than $951,000 towards reconstruction, and more than $759,000 for “severe repair works” to the 242 families, who “were able to access their assistance this week,” according to the statement.
Meanwhile, despite a ceasefire agreement that ended the 2014 war, the Israeli army has continued to launch airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, while also regularly opening fire on unarmed Palestinian farmers and fishermen, as well as at demonstrators during weekly protests held near the border. At least 29 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces since a wave of violence erupted last October -- the majority of whom were shot dead during protests.
Last week, the director of operations for UNRWA in the Gaza Strip, Bo Schack, warned of increasing desperation, frustration, and the absence of opportunities in the small Palestinian territory, which coincided with a $70-million budget deficit for UNRWA.
In spite of severe funding shortages, Schack said that the international organization hadn't reduced its services to Palestinian refugees.
He highlighted that the ongoing Israeli blockade and restrictions on movement were preventing improvements in the Gaza Strip, mentioning that "Israel hasn't yet approved a list of names of Gaza citizens submitted in May 2015 whose houses have been damaged during Israeli military offensives and need construction."
The near decade-long Israeli blockade has plunged the Gaza Strip’s more than 1.8 million Palestinians into extreme poverty, and one of the highest unemployment rates in the world.
Gaza's infrastructure has yet to recover from the devastation of three Israeli offensives over the past six years. The slow and sometimes stagnant reconstruction of the besieged coastal enclave has only been worsened by the blockade, leading the UN in September to warn that Gaza could be “uninhabitable” by 2020.
The UN agency disbursed more than $951,000 towards reconstruction, and more than $759,000 for “severe repair works” to the 242 families, who “were able to access their assistance this week,” according to the statement.
Meanwhile, despite a ceasefire agreement that ended the 2014 war, the Israeli army has continued to launch airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, while also regularly opening fire on unarmed Palestinian farmers and fishermen, as well as at demonstrators during weekly protests held near the border. At least 29 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces since a wave of violence erupted last October -- the majority of whom were shot dead during protests.
Last week, the director of operations for UNRWA in the Gaza Strip, Bo Schack, warned of increasing desperation, frustration, and the absence of opportunities in the small Palestinian territory, which coincided with a $70-million budget deficit for UNRWA.
In spite of severe funding shortages, Schack said that the international organization hadn't reduced its services to Palestinian refugees.
He highlighted that the ongoing Israeli blockade and restrictions on movement were preventing improvements in the Gaza Strip, mentioning that "Israel hasn't yet approved a list of names of Gaza citizens submitted in May 2015 whose houses have been damaged during Israeli military offensives and need construction."
The near decade-long Israeli blockade has plunged the Gaza Strip’s more than 1.8 million Palestinians into extreme poverty, and one of the highest unemployment rates in the world.
Gaza's infrastructure has yet to recover from the devastation of three Israeli offensives over the past six years. The slow and sometimes stagnant reconstruction of the besieged coastal enclave has only been worsened by the blockade, leading the UN in September to warn that Gaza could be “uninhabitable” by 2020.
23 oct 2016
The Israeli occupation army on Saturday evening slapped a total closure on the West Bank and Gaza, which will last until Monday night, ahead of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers will not be able to enter/exit the occupied territories as a result of the measure, which will be in place from midnight Saturday until midnight Monday.
Similar closures have been placed on the West Bank in the past during Jewish holidays, particularly Yom Kippur and Passover. Those holidays are often associated with increased terrorism and break-ins by Israeli fanatic settlers at Islamic holy sites, particularly the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The crossings on the Gaza border have also been closed off for the holiday period.
During such holidays the occupation army seals off border crossings into Gaza and partially opens the Karem Abu Salem and Beit Hanoun crossings. Hundreds of fixed and makeshift checkpoints have also been pitched to block Palestinians’ movement in and out.
Sukkot is a week-long Jewish festival which falls shortly after Yom Kippur. Sukkot in Israel is a time of vacation – the first and last days are national holidays.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers will not be able to enter/exit the occupied territories as a result of the measure, which will be in place from midnight Saturday until midnight Monday.
Similar closures have been placed on the West Bank in the past during Jewish holidays, particularly Yom Kippur and Passover. Those holidays are often associated with increased terrorism and break-ins by Israeli fanatic settlers at Islamic holy sites, particularly the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The crossings on the Gaza border have also been closed off for the holiday period.
During such holidays the occupation army seals off border crossings into Gaza and partially opens the Karem Abu Salem and Beit Hanoun crossings. Hundreds of fixed and makeshift checkpoints have also been pitched to block Palestinians’ movement in and out.
Sukkot is a week-long Jewish festival which falls shortly after Yom Kippur. Sukkot in Israel is a time of vacation – the first and last days are national holidays.
22 oct 2016
A horde of Jewish settlers, believed to be from Elei Zahav settlement, have appropriated a tract of Palestinian-owned agricultural land in Kafr ad-Dik town, west of Salfit.
Local farmers said that the settlers had planted perennial olive trees in parts of Dohr Sobh area to the north of the town, pointing out that the Israeli army already bulldozed the same area.
The area of Dohr Sobh belongs to farmers from the town according to ownership documents in their possession.
Local farmers said that the settlers had planted perennial olive trees in parts of Dohr Sobh area to the north of the town, pointing out that the Israeli army already bulldozed the same area.
The area of Dohr Sobh belongs to farmers from the town according to ownership documents in their possession.
20 oct 2016
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) forced Thursday afternoon Palestinian farmers to leave their agricultural lands east of Nablus.
Local activist Asid Murad affirmed that Israeli forces brutally stormed the land and prevented the farmers from picking their olive harvest.
The Israeli measure aimed to provide protection for scores of settlers who broke into the area to perform provocative Talmudic rituals.
Olive season is one of the main links that connects Palestinians to their lands and embodies their resilience and identity. According to Palestinians, Palestine and olives are synonyms in the Palestinian lexicon.
The Palestinians' harvesting of olive trees is confronted with the Israeli settlers’ theft, arson and vandalism of their trees. These settlers also confiscate olive trees and assault the Palestinian farmers to prevent them from reaching their fields.
Such Israeli practices aim to wipe out the Palestinian culture, represented by the deeply-rooted olive trees, especially as the Israeli occupation forces have uprooted around 1.5 million Palestinian olive trees since 1967.
Local activist Asid Murad affirmed that Israeli forces brutally stormed the land and prevented the farmers from picking their olive harvest.
The Israeli measure aimed to provide protection for scores of settlers who broke into the area to perform provocative Talmudic rituals.
Olive season is one of the main links that connects Palestinians to their lands and embodies their resilience and identity. According to Palestinians, Palestine and olives are synonyms in the Palestinian lexicon.
The Palestinians' harvesting of olive trees is confronted with the Israeli settlers’ theft, arson and vandalism of their trees. These settlers also confiscate olive trees and assault the Palestinian farmers to prevent them from reaching their fields.
Such Israeli practices aim to wipe out the Palestinian culture, represented by the deeply-rooted olive trees, especially as the Israeli occupation forces have uprooted around 1.5 million Palestinian olive trees since 1967.
The tough Israeli blockade has started to affect chicken business in the blockaded Gaza Strip as a large number of people have decided to forego selling poultry meat.
Poultry sales have gone sharply down in Gaza for the second month running while experts have warned of an unabated crisis rocking the poultry market due to the unstable weather conditions that have recently swept the region.
Heavy losses have been inflicted on the poultry business with chicken meat being sold at no more than nine shekels a kilogram. Farmers reportedly spend up to eight shekels to raise just one chicken.
Speaking to a PIC news reporter, Palestinian citizen Muhammad Abu Tabaq, an owner of a poultry farm, said: “I was hit hard by the volatile weather shifts. My family and I have had low spirits as a large number of hens—our sole source of income—have died.”
“I am afraid of losing my farm due to the frequent power cuts and the solar crisis,” he stated.
He added that he has been forced to sell chicken at six shekels a kilogram (a dollar and a half) due to the decline in the purchasing power.
Poultry dealer Suhail Nahal attributed the sharp nosedive in poultry prices to the degeneration of Gazans’ purchasing power and the poor socio-economic conditions in the besieged coastal territory.
“Most of the poor families tend to buy frozen poultry at a lower price than fresh poultry,” said Suhail.
Stricken by poverty and unemployment, Palestinian families embarked on small poultry projects to feed their children, using a room in their homes or a corner in their rooftops to rear chicken and put them up for sale at very low prices.
Head of the Department of Animal Production at the Ministry of Agriculture, Taher Abu Hamad, also told the PIC that urgent measures have to be taken to make up for such heavy losses.
He recommended recourse to water-spraying poultry roofs and walls in case of a sudden upsurge in the average temperature. He further suggested noshing poultry with vitamin C so as to curtail thermal shock.
He added that the Ministry of Agriculture will keep in touch with poultry farmers so as to caution them against any projected weather fluctuations both in the summer and winter seasons.
The Gaza Strip is in need of about two million mature chickens reared in nearly 1,400 farms, along with hundreds of tons of frozen chopped chicken imported from the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.
The crisis in poultry business is another red alert that has been declared in Gaza, mostly inhabited by small artisans, farmers, fishermen, and traders. A one-decade-long blockade imposed by the Israeli occupation has made life in the enclave a hell on earth.
Poultry sales have gone sharply down in Gaza for the second month running while experts have warned of an unabated crisis rocking the poultry market due to the unstable weather conditions that have recently swept the region.
Heavy losses have been inflicted on the poultry business with chicken meat being sold at no more than nine shekels a kilogram. Farmers reportedly spend up to eight shekels to raise just one chicken.
Speaking to a PIC news reporter, Palestinian citizen Muhammad Abu Tabaq, an owner of a poultry farm, said: “I was hit hard by the volatile weather shifts. My family and I have had low spirits as a large number of hens—our sole source of income—have died.”
“I am afraid of losing my farm due to the frequent power cuts and the solar crisis,” he stated.
He added that he has been forced to sell chicken at six shekels a kilogram (a dollar and a half) due to the decline in the purchasing power.
Poultry dealer Suhail Nahal attributed the sharp nosedive in poultry prices to the degeneration of Gazans’ purchasing power and the poor socio-economic conditions in the besieged coastal territory.
“Most of the poor families tend to buy frozen poultry at a lower price than fresh poultry,” said Suhail.
Stricken by poverty and unemployment, Palestinian families embarked on small poultry projects to feed their children, using a room in their homes or a corner in their rooftops to rear chicken and put them up for sale at very low prices.
Head of the Department of Animal Production at the Ministry of Agriculture, Taher Abu Hamad, also told the PIC that urgent measures have to be taken to make up for such heavy losses.
He recommended recourse to water-spraying poultry roofs and walls in case of a sudden upsurge in the average temperature. He further suggested noshing poultry with vitamin C so as to curtail thermal shock.
He added that the Ministry of Agriculture will keep in touch with poultry farmers so as to caution them against any projected weather fluctuations both in the summer and winter seasons.
The Gaza Strip is in need of about two million mature chickens reared in nearly 1,400 farms, along with hundreds of tons of frozen chopped chicken imported from the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.
The crisis in poultry business is another red alert that has been declared in Gaza, mostly inhabited by small artisans, farmers, fishermen, and traders. A one-decade-long blockade imposed by the Israeli occupation has made life in the enclave a hell on earth.
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Thursday at dawn, a print shop in the al-Ram town, north of occupied East Jerusalem, violently searched it, and confiscated all of its equipment, and printed materials.
The Israeli army released a statement confirming the invasion and confiscation, and also alleging that the print shop “produced incitement materials,” after printing posters of Misbah Abu Sbeih, who was killed by the army, on October 9th, after carrying out a drive-by shooting in Jerusalem, killing two Israelis and wounding six others.
The army said it confiscated the equipment from the print shop, and also claimed to find more materials that were regarded as incitement, including posters located in Abu Sbeih’s home, and various homes that were invaded and searched by the military after the shooting.
The Israeli army released a statement confirming the invasion and confiscation, and also alleging that the print shop “produced incitement materials,” after printing posters of Misbah Abu Sbeih, who was killed by the army, on October 9th, after carrying out a drive-by shooting in Jerusalem, killing two Israelis and wounding six others.
The army said it confiscated the equipment from the print shop, and also claimed to find more materials that were regarded as incitement, including posters located in Abu Sbeih’s home, and various homes that were invaded and searched by the military after the shooting.
19 oct 2016
The Energy and Natural Resources Authority in the Gaza Strip announced on Tuesday that the second generator of Gaza's sole power station will resume operating following the diesel fuel’s access.
The authority expressed in a brief statement hope that diesel fuel’s access will continue without interruption.
We are working hard to guarantee permanent operation of the plant’s generators, the statement said.
Gaza Strip suffers a power crisis for several years due to the Israeli 10-year siege and the continuation of imposing the Blue Tax on the power plant’s fuel by the Palestinian Authority.
The authority expressed in a brief statement hope that diesel fuel’s access will continue without interruption.
We are working hard to guarantee permanent operation of the plant’s generators, the statement said.
Gaza Strip suffers a power crisis for several years due to the Israeli 10-year siege and the continuation of imposing the Blue Tax on the power plant’s fuel by the Palestinian Authority.