14 apr 2017
The Energy Authority in the blockaded Gaza Strip announced a provisional cut-off off all power lines and generators between 07:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on Friday.
According to a statement by the Energy Authority, the move falls in line with a series of popular events staged in protest at apathy maintained by the Palestinian Authority (PA) vis-à-vis the crises rocking the Gaza Strip, including the acute shortage in much-needed fuel supplies.
The Energy Authority on Thursday warned of a sudden power breakdown in Gaza as of Sunday due to the end of the Qatari power grant and the PA’s steep taxes.
The Energy Authority announced its intent to purchase tax-fee fuel so as to secure regular power distribution in the besieged enclave.
Over the past three months, Qatari and Turkish power grants helped to alleviate the electricity crisis in Gaza. However the situation has taken a turn for the worse after enclave had run out of the donated fuel supplies.
The expensive taxes enforced by the PA, chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, has added insult to the injury, aggravating even further the tragic state of affairs in the blockaded coastal enclave.
According to a statement by the Energy Authority, the move falls in line with a series of popular events staged in protest at apathy maintained by the Palestinian Authority (PA) vis-à-vis the crises rocking the Gaza Strip, including the acute shortage in much-needed fuel supplies.
The Energy Authority on Thursday warned of a sudden power breakdown in Gaza as of Sunday due to the end of the Qatari power grant and the PA’s steep taxes.
The Energy Authority announced its intent to purchase tax-fee fuel so as to secure regular power distribution in the besieged enclave.
Over the past three months, Qatari and Turkish power grants helped to alleviate the electricity crisis in Gaza. However the situation has taken a turn for the worse after enclave had run out of the donated fuel supplies.
The expensive taxes enforced by the PA, chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, has added insult to the injury, aggravating even further the tragic state of affairs in the blockaded coastal enclave.
13 apr 2017
The Palestinian Energy Authority in Gaza Strip warned on Thursday that the coastal enclave's sole power plant will be forced to shut down after the expiry of Qatar’s fuel grant and in light of imposing taxes on fuel supplies by the Palestinian government in Ramallah.
In a statement on Thursday, the Authority announced its readiness to purchase tax-free fuel in order to operate the power plant and guarantee regular distribution programs.
The Authority also stressed that the issue of the power plant’s fuel taxes is the main crisis in the mean time. It called on competent authorities to urgently import tax-free fuel into the besieged enclave so that a new power crisis would be avoided.
In a statement on Thursday, the Authority announced its readiness to purchase tax-free fuel in order to operate the power plant and guarantee regular distribution programs.
The Authority also stressed that the issue of the power plant’s fuel taxes is the main crisis in the mean time. It called on competent authorities to urgently import tax-free fuel into the besieged enclave so that a new power crisis would be avoided.
For the first time in years, the Israeli municipality in occupied Jerusalem has enforced a law against public displays of leavened bread during Passover at the Old City’s gates.
Haaretz Hebrew newspaper said that the law permits the Israeli municipality to ban the sale of bagels during Passover.
However, the law has not been enforced in most of the Old City in years.
According to the paper, municipal inspectors arrived Wednesday morning in the Old City and confiscated the wares of a bagel vendor at the site and prevented others from selling their goods.
Most of the vendors either moved elsewhere or simply stopped selling. However, Zaki Sabah, a longtime bagel vendor, refused to either leave or close, so his wares were confiscated.
“They didn’t listen to me,” Sabah said. “The inspector told me it’s Passover and I have to close.”
Haaretz Hebrew newspaper said that the law permits the Israeli municipality to ban the sale of bagels during Passover.
However, the law has not been enforced in most of the Old City in years.
According to the paper, municipal inspectors arrived Wednesday morning in the Old City and confiscated the wares of a bagel vendor at the site and prevented others from selling their goods.
Most of the vendors either moved elsewhere or simply stopped selling. However, Zaki Sabah, a longtime bagel vendor, refused to either leave or close, so his wares were confiscated.
“They didn’t listen to me,” Sabah said. “The inspector told me it’s Passover and I have to close.”
12 apr 2017
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) forced Wednesday afternoon all Palestinian commercial shops in al-Khalil’s Beer Sheva Street to shut down under the pretext of Jewish holiday.
Tight military restrictions were also imposed at the entrances to the city and the neighboring towns to provide protection to the settlers’ marches which coincide with the second day of the Passover, according to the PIC reporter.
The settlers are expected to carry out collective break-in into an ancient building in the area marking the second day of Passover.
Along the same line, several military checkpoints were erected at the southern and western entrances to the city where all passing-by vehicles were stopped and searched.
Tight military restrictions were also imposed at the entrances to the city and the neighboring towns to provide protection to the settlers’ marches which coincide with the second day of the Passover, according to the PIC reporter.
The settlers are expected to carry out collective break-in into an ancient building in the area marking the second day of Passover.
Along the same line, several military checkpoints were erected at the southern and western entrances to the city where all passing-by vehicles were stopped and searched.
11 apr 2017
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), on Tuesday, called upon the UK government to help ensure that the lives of Palestinians in Gaza are not put at greater risk as a result of the critical lack of fuel, there.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the fuel at its disposal to run generators at hospitals and other medical facilities will deplete in about one week. There is a tangible risk of operating theatres and hospital departments having to close, endangering the lives of patients.
Fikr Shalltoot, Director of Programmes for MAP in Gaza warned: “The lack of fuel at Gaza hospitals is as dangerous as the lack of life-saving drug items. The absence of either one will cause the death of seriously ill patients.”
“Most at risk are the lives of seriously ill patients in intensive care, and in neonatal and kidney dialysis units which lack the fuel to keep their ventilators and hemodialysis equipment running.”
MAP, a British humanitarian and development organisation, is calling on the UK government and the international community to urgently intervene, to avert the worsening crisis. In the immediate and short term, adequate emergency funding for fuel must be delivered to Gaza to sustain Gaza’s already overstretched health services.
PNN further reports that chronic fuel shortages mean that the only power plant in Gaza is only able to operate at or below half capacity. Hospitals, therefore, usually receive between eight to 12 hours of mains electricity per day.
Electricity outside of these hours must be provided by generators, fuel for which is dangerously close to depletion. The constant fluctuations in the power supply have, furthermore, resulted in damage to sensitive medical equipment such as X-rays, neonatal incubators and cardiac monitors.
The root causes of the crisis are the decade of closure and blockade imposed by Israel, and the ongoing separation of the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The international community is being urged to prioritize efforts to resolve these issues, and the 50-year occupation of which they are components, in order to resolve the long-term humanitarian crisis affecting Gaza.
The World Health Organisation has led a call from agencies working on health issues in Gaza for international assistance to alleviate the crisis.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the fuel at its disposal to run generators at hospitals and other medical facilities will deplete in about one week. There is a tangible risk of operating theatres and hospital departments having to close, endangering the lives of patients.
Fikr Shalltoot, Director of Programmes for MAP in Gaza warned: “The lack of fuel at Gaza hospitals is as dangerous as the lack of life-saving drug items. The absence of either one will cause the death of seriously ill patients.”
“Most at risk are the lives of seriously ill patients in intensive care, and in neonatal and kidney dialysis units which lack the fuel to keep their ventilators and hemodialysis equipment running.”
MAP, a British humanitarian and development organisation, is calling on the UK government and the international community to urgently intervene, to avert the worsening crisis. In the immediate and short term, adequate emergency funding for fuel must be delivered to Gaza to sustain Gaza’s already overstretched health services.
PNN further reports that chronic fuel shortages mean that the only power plant in Gaza is only able to operate at or below half capacity. Hospitals, therefore, usually receive between eight to 12 hours of mains electricity per day.
Electricity outside of these hours must be provided by generators, fuel for which is dangerously close to depletion. The constant fluctuations in the power supply have, furthermore, resulted in damage to sensitive medical equipment such as X-rays, neonatal incubators and cardiac monitors.
The root causes of the crisis are the decade of closure and blockade imposed by Israel, and the ongoing separation of the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The international community is being urged to prioritize efforts to resolve these issues, and the 50-year occupation of which they are components, in order to resolve the long-term humanitarian crisis affecting Gaza.
The World Health Organisation has led a call from agencies working on health issues in Gaza for international assistance to alleviate the crisis.
10 apr 2017
Shahar with his son Bilal (5-yo) and daughter Sahar (8-yo)
At 2am on Wednesday morning, three intelligence vehicles and six military vehicles arrived at the building where Shahar Dharma lives with his family in Kafr ad Dik; Salfit municipality. For over two hours, Israeli forces raided and searched the apartments of the three families living in the building, harassing the occupants.
According to the International Solidarity Movement, soldiers kicked and banged on the door with their rifles until Shahar Dharma went down the stairs to open it. He told the soldiers that his children were asleep, and that they should wait until they had been woken up, as they would be scared if they saw the soldiers. However, Israeli forces pushed him aside and almost 60 soldiers poured into the building to search the three apartments.
Shahar’s daughter, Sahar, awoke to the sight of Israeli soldiers in her bedroom and froze in fear. Her father managed to enter the room and reassure her, as she started to cry, whilst waking the other children – Bilal, 5, and Sahjar, 13 – to take them into the living room. Sahar held onto her father with a tight grip, and asked for her mother. Shahar had to remind his daughter that her mother passed away last year, but Sahar insisted: ‘I don’t care,’ she cried, ‘I want to be with my mother.’
Israeli forces spent two hours turning the apartment upside-down, searching every nook and cranny of the home. During the raid, the family’s mobile phones were confiscated whilst they were forced to stand in the living room and were not allowed to sit down. Shahar’s wife, who is eight-months pregnant, became sick and dizzy, whilst his mother, who suffers from cancer was not allowed to go to the bathroom.
A paper, written in Arabic, was posted on the workshop door claiming intelligence had informed them that people in the area were aiding terrorists by constructing military equipment, and were a threat to Israel and the security in the area. The paper continued to say that people would not be harassed by Israeli forces, but would be left to live and work freely if they did not support ‘terrorists’. On the other hand, Israeli forces could not guarantee the safety of anyone who helped ‘terrorists’, nor the safety of their families and livelihoods. The locals claimed this was part of a ‘media operation’ by Israeli forces to claim a victory over ‘terrorism.’ But, as Shahar says, ‘If they had found anything illegal in my workshop I would already be in prison’.
Shahar refused to sign the receipt for over half an hour, partly because he could not read what it said, but also because it became clear that the Israeli soldiers had written that only one piece of equipment had been confiscated from his workshop. In fact, Israeli forces had confiscated various tools and materials from his workshop, including a welding torch, a drill, and a disk cutter, with a total worth of over 4,000 shekels.
Eventually, Shahar was punched in his left eye by one of the soldiers and told that if he did not sign the receipt, they would arrest him: ‘What do you think?’ asked one of the Israeli soldiers, ‘Sign and stay with your children, or we can arrest you? You choice.’ After signing the receipt under duress, Shahar was taken outside and pushed against a jeep by two Israeli soldiers, who held up a sign in Hebrew whilst a third took a photograph. Finally, the captain of the Israeli forces told Shahar that if he reopened his workshop they would return with a bulldozer to demolish the building, for which the family would have to pay. The soldiers finally left the house approximately at 3:30 am.
Shahar does not know if he will ever get his property back. Having contacted the DCO (Distric Coordination Office) regarding the confiscation he was told that they would not help him as they were on holiday for Pesach for the next week.
The last time Shahar’s mother experienced a similar raid was ten years ago, during which four of her sons were detained. Two were released shortly after, but the other two men spent three years and four years in prison, respectively.
The young Sahar has been unable to attend school or leave the house at all since that early morning, saying that she is ‘scared of the army’. Of the 25 people living in the building, sixteen of the residents are under the age of eighteen. Shahar sees this as just another form of ‘psychological warfare’ conducted every day against Palestinians by the occupying Israeli forces.
At 2am on Wednesday morning, three intelligence vehicles and six military vehicles arrived at the building where Shahar Dharma lives with his family in Kafr ad Dik; Salfit municipality. For over two hours, Israeli forces raided and searched the apartments of the three families living in the building, harassing the occupants.
According to the International Solidarity Movement, soldiers kicked and banged on the door with their rifles until Shahar Dharma went down the stairs to open it. He told the soldiers that his children were asleep, and that they should wait until they had been woken up, as they would be scared if they saw the soldiers. However, Israeli forces pushed him aside and almost 60 soldiers poured into the building to search the three apartments.
Shahar’s daughter, Sahar, awoke to the sight of Israeli soldiers in her bedroom and froze in fear. Her father managed to enter the room and reassure her, as she started to cry, whilst waking the other children – Bilal, 5, and Sahjar, 13 – to take them into the living room. Sahar held onto her father with a tight grip, and asked for her mother. Shahar had to remind his daughter that her mother passed away last year, but Sahar insisted: ‘I don’t care,’ she cried, ‘I want to be with my mother.’
Israeli forces spent two hours turning the apartment upside-down, searching every nook and cranny of the home. During the raid, the family’s mobile phones were confiscated whilst they were forced to stand in the living room and were not allowed to sit down. Shahar’s wife, who is eight-months pregnant, became sick and dizzy, whilst his mother, who suffers from cancer was not allowed to go to the bathroom.
A paper, written in Arabic, was posted on the workshop door claiming intelligence had informed them that people in the area were aiding terrorists by constructing military equipment, and were a threat to Israel and the security in the area. The paper continued to say that people would not be harassed by Israeli forces, but would be left to live and work freely if they did not support ‘terrorists’. On the other hand, Israeli forces could not guarantee the safety of anyone who helped ‘terrorists’, nor the safety of their families and livelihoods. The locals claimed this was part of a ‘media operation’ by Israeli forces to claim a victory over ‘terrorism.’ But, as Shahar says, ‘If they had found anything illegal in my workshop I would already be in prison’.
Shahar refused to sign the receipt for over half an hour, partly because he could not read what it said, but also because it became clear that the Israeli soldiers had written that only one piece of equipment had been confiscated from his workshop. In fact, Israeli forces had confiscated various tools and materials from his workshop, including a welding torch, a drill, and a disk cutter, with a total worth of over 4,000 shekels.
Eventually, Shahar was punched in his left eye by one of the soldiers and told that if he did not sign the receipt, they would arrest him: ‘What do you think?’ asked one of the Israeli soldiers, ‘Sign and stay with your children, or we can arrest you? You choice.’ After signing the receipt under duress, Shahar was taken outside and pushed against a jeep by two Israeli soldiers, who held up a sign in Hebrew whilst a third took a photograph. Finally, the captain of the Israeli forces told Shahar that if he reopened his workshop they would return with a bulldozer to demolish the building, for which the family would have to pay. The soldiers finally left the house approximately at 3:30 am.
Shahar does not know if he will ever get his property back. Having contacted the DCO (Distric Coordination Office) regarding the confiscation he was told that they would not help him as they were on holiday for Pesach for the next week.
The last time Shahar’s mother experienced a similar raid was ten years ago, during which four of her sons were detained. Two were released shortly after, but the other two men spent three years and four years in prison, respectively.
The young Sahar has been unable to attend school or leave the house at all since that early morning, saying that she is ‘scared of the army’. Of the 25 people living in the building, sixteen of the residents are under the age of eighteen. Shahar sees this as just another form of ‘psychological warfare’ conducted every day against Palestinians by the occupying Israeli forces.
9 apr 2017
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at daybreak Sunday stormed a Palestinian blacksmith shop in al-Shouyoukh town, northeast of al-Khalil, and seized all its equipment.
A PIC news correspondent said heavily armed Israeli patrols, escorted by military vehicles and a truck, rolled into a lathe owned by al-Kurki family in al-Shoyoukh and confiscated all the machines and equipment, before they sealed off its doors on claims that it is used to manufacture weapons.
The assault falls in with a mass abduction sweep launched by the IOF across al-Khalil and Bethlehem.
Reporting from al-Khalil, a PIC correspondent said the Israeli troops wreaked havoc on the family home of ex-prisoner Luay al-Tawil before they seized his car.
A number of Palestinian anti-occupation protesters were kidnapped by the IOF in the campaign.
A PIC news correspondent said heavily armed Israeli patrols, escorted by military vehicles and a truck, rolled into a lathe owned by al-Kurki family in al-Shoyoukh and confiscated all the machines and equipment, before they sealed off its doors on claims that it is used to manufacture weapons.
The assault falls in with a mass abduction sweep launched by the IOF across al-Khalil and Bethlehem.
Reporting from al-Khalil, a PIC correspondent said the Israeli troops wreaked havoc on the family home of ex-prisoner Luay al-Tawil before they seized his car.
A number of Palestinian anti-occupation protesters were kidnapped by the IOF in the campaign.
7 apr 2017
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) have announced the closure of all points of access out of and into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank for the Jewish holiday of Passover.
The Israeli army said in a statement the blockade will be in effect as of Sunday evening, April 9, and lifted on Monday evening, April 17.
Palestinian citizens will be denied access into Israel (Palestinian territories occupied in 1948) and their workplaces in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The IOA regularly closes off access to the occupied territories for Palestinians during major Jewish festivals.
Thousands of Israeli settlers flock to Occupied Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque—the third holiest site in Islam—during the seven-day holiday of Passover, which commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egypt in Biblical times.
The Israeli army said in a statement the blockade will be in effect as of Sunday evening, April 9, and lifted on Monday evening, April 17.
Palestinian citizens will be denied access into Israel (Palestinian territories occupied in 1948) and their workplaces in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The IOA regularly closes off access to the occupied territories for Palestinians during major Jewish festivals.
Thousands of Israeli settlers flock to Occupied Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque—the third holiest site in Islam—during the seven-day holiday of Passover, which commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egypt in Biblical times.
3 apr 2017
The Israeli occupation authority on Monday morning uprooted 135 olive trees from Palestinian-owned agricultural lands in Wadi Qana area, west of Deir Istiya village in the West Bank province of Salfit.
Director of Salfit agriculture department Ibrahim al-Hamad said that the Israel nature and parks authority had already notified owners of the olive grove of its intention to remove the trees at the pretext that Wadi Qana is a nature reserve where planting activities are prohibited.
For his part, field researcher Khaled Maali said that Wadi Qana is a valley encircled by eight illegal Israeli settlements expanding at the expense of the so-called reserve while local farmers are barred from planting trees or setting up structures on their own lands in the area.
Maali affirmed that Israel violated the international humanitarian law when it classified the area as a nature reserve because such a step adversely affected the lives of the local residents, especially the farmers
Wadi Qana has historically been an agricultural and recreational area for local Palestinians who own lands there, although it was declared a nature reserve by the Israeli army’s civil administration in 1983.
Israel has used this designation for years as a pretext to justify uprooting Palestinian crops and trees and forcing the natives out of the area, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Director of Salfit agriculture department Ibrahim al-Hamad said that the Israel nature and parks authority had already notified owners of the olive grove of its intention to remove the trees at the pretext that Wadi Qana is a nature reserve where planting activities are prohibited.
For his part, field researcher Khaled Maali said that Wadi Qana is a valley encircled by eight illegal Israeli settlements expanding at the expense of the so-called reserve while local farmers are barred from planting trees or setting up structures on their own lands in the area.
Maali affirmed that Israel violated the international humanitarian law when it classified the area as a nature reserve because such a step adversely affected the lives of the local residents, especially the farmers
Wadi Qana has historically been an agricultural and recreational area for local Palestinians who own lands there, although it was declared a nature reserve by the Israeli army’s civil administration in 1983.
Israel has used this designation for years as a pretext to justify uprooting Palestinian crops and trees and forcing the natives out of the area, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
31 mar 2017
The Israeli government is planning to illegally confiscate 100 Dunams of Palestinian lands, in Salfit district, in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank, to build a college and many colonialist units, in addition to planning two railroad lines.
Jamal al-Ahmad, the coordinator of the Committee for Defending Salfit Lands, stated that Israel wants to build a technical campus belonging to “ORT Israel” college, in addition to constructing 250 colonialist units on Palestinian lands in Masha and az-Zawiya villages, west of Salfit.
Al-Ahmad added that Israeli is also planning two railroad lines on Salfit lands, to link the colonies in the area with Tel Aviv, and that Israel is constantly expanding its industrial areas on the expense of the Palestinians and their land.
Talking to Maan News al-Ahmad said that Salfit is subject to most of Israel’s illegal colonialist activities, especially since it is comprised of 204 square/Kilometers, and most of its lands (%74.5) are in Area C of the West Bank, and complete Israeli civil and military control.
There are 18 Palestinian communities in Salfit, with 72.000 inhabitants as shown by statistics of the Palestinian Census Bureau in its 2016 survey, while the number of illegal Israeli colonists in the area Is around 55.000, in addition to 15.000 students studying in Ariel colony college.
Israel has 28 colonies in Salfit, including Industrial Zones in Ariel, Buchanan, Ze’ev, Emanuel and Carnie Shomron, while their chemical waste is devastating the Palestinian agricultural lands, in addition to the serious environmental damage.
Al-Ahmad stated that all Palestinian communities in Salfit are constantly suffering due to the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations, and are becoming more isolated and fragmented, surrounded by illegal colonies and army bases.
“The world needs to know what Israel is doing; the ongoing theft of Palestinian lands, the isolation of Palestinian communities, in addition to all crimes and violations of International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and all related agreements.” He said.
He also stated that the strategic aim is ongoing resistance to Israel’s violations, especially its colonies, and that the current focus is on trying to find support for prosecuting Israel, preventing the annexation of Palestinian lands, and helping the villages.
“We are trying to provided free legal support to the villages, and to provide them with saplings and agricultural tools; this is meant to help them rehabilitate their lands and surveying all lands close to the illegal colonies, especially since Israel keeps working on expanding them,” Al-Ahmad stated, “Israel’s crimes and violations must be exposed to the whole world; they are escalating to a very dangerous level, isolating entire communities, and stealing the lands, the only sources of livelihoods, from their Palestinian owners.”
Jamal al-Ahmad, the coordinator of the Committee for Defending Salfit Lands, stated that Israel wants to build a technical campus belonging to “ORT Israel” college, in addition to constructing 250 colonialist units on Palestinian lands in Masha and az-Zawiya villages, west of Salfit.
Al-Ahmad added that Israeli is also planning two railroad lines on Salfit lands, to link the colonies in the area with Tel Aviv, and that Israel is constantly expanding its industrial areas on the expense of the Palestinians and their land.
Talking to Maan News al-Ahmad said that Salfit is subject to most of Israel’s illegal colonialist activities, especially since it is comprised of 204 square/Kilometers, and most of its lands (%74.5) are in Area C of the West Bank, and complete Israeli civil and military control.
There are 18 Palestinian communities in Salfit, with 72.000 inhabitants as shown by statistics of the Palestinian Census Bureau in its 2016 survey, while the number of illegal Israeli colonists in the area Is around 55.000, in addition to 15.000 students studying in Ariel colony college.
Israel has 28 colonies in Salfit, including Industrial Zones in Ariel, Buchanan, Ze’ev, Emanuel and Carnie Shomron, while their chemical waste is devastating the Palestinian agricultural lands, in addition to the serious environmental damage.
Al-Ahmad stated that all Palestinian communities in Salfit are constantly suffering due to the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations, and are becoming more isolated and fragmented, surrounded by illegal colonies and army bases.
“The world needs to know what Israel is doing; the ongoing theft of Palestinian lands, the isolation of Palestinian communities, in addition to all crimes and violations of International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and all related agreements.” He said.
He also stated that the strategic aim is ongoing resistance to Israel’s violations, especially its colonies, and that the current focus is on trying to find support for prosecuting Israel, preventing the annexation of Palestinian lands, and helping the villages.
“We are trying to provided free legal support to the villages, and to provide them with saplings and agricultural tools; this is meant to help them rehabilitate their lands and surveying all lands close to the illegal colonies, especially since Israel keeps working on expanding them,” Al-Ahmad stated, “Israel’s crimes and violations must be exposed to the whole world; they are escalating to a very dangerous level, isolating entire communities, and stealing the lands, the only sources of livelihoods, from their Palestinian owners.”
