11 feb 2017
Ismail Haneyya, Deputy Head of Hamas’s Political Bureau, revealed that the Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani approved a bank guarantee of 30 million dollars for three months to start the implementation of 161 Project in order to overcome the power crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Hamas leader called for a serious cooperation by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in order to accomplish the project.
Within the event of handing over the second stage of Hamad City’s housing apartments, Haneyya said that the Qatari Emir approved to deposit 100 million dollars in Gaza Reconstruction Fund.
Qatar has also approved to pay 25 million dollars for the construction of a hospital in Rafah, Haneyya pointed out.
High-level coordination between Qatar and Turkey has been taking place for the sake of resolving the energy crisis in the blockaded enclave, he highlighted.
The Hamas leader called for a serious cooperation by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in order to accomplish the project.
Within the event of handing over the second stage of Hamad City’s housing apartments, Haneyya said that the Qatari Emir approved to deposit 100 million dollars in Gaza Reconstruction Fund.
Qatar has also approved to pay 25 million dollars for the construction of a hospital in Rafah, Haneyya pointed out.
High-level coordination between Qatar and Turkey has been taking place for the sake of resolving the energy crisis in the blockaded enclave, he highlighted.
Ambassador Mohamed al-Emadi, head of the Qatari committee for the reconstruction of Gaza, has said his country is keenly following up the issue of the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip and seeking to execute proposed solutions to end it.
In a news conference held in Gaza on Sunday evening, Emadi said he would discuss the Gaza power crisis with Palestinian premier Rami al-Hamdallah next Sunday to find solutions to the issue for years to come.
He stated that his country wants long-terms solutions to the power crisis, pointing out that Qatar provided the Palestinian government in Ramallah with proposals to solve the problem, including connecting Gaza with the power line 161 and establishing renewable energy projects.
As for Qatar’s construction efforts in Gaza, the ambassador said that his country finished several major projects in different service sectors and there are other projects underway, affirming that the construction of a hospital in Rafah area could be among the priorities of the new Qatari grant.
The Qatari official made his remarks during the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Hamad bin Jassim Daily Care Center in Gaza City.
The care center, which will be built near Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Hospital, will provide housing services for patients with cerebral palsy and the wounded from poor families, in addition to family and educational services.
In a news conference held in Gaza on Sunday evening, Emadi said he would discuss the Gaza power crisis with Palestinian premier Rami al-Hamdallah next Sunday to find solutions to the issue for years to come.
He stated that his country wants long-terms solutions to the power crisis, pointing out that Qatar provided the Palestinian government in Ramallah with proposals to solve the problem, including connecting Gaza with the power line 161 and establishing renewable energy projects.
As for Qatar’s construction efforts in Gaza, the ambassador said that his country finished several major projects in different service sectors and there are other projects underway, affirming that the construction of a hospital in Rafah area could be among the priorities of the new Qatari grant.
The Qatari official made his remarks during the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Hamad bin Jassim Daily Care Center in Gaza City.
The care center, which will be built near Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Hospital, will provide housing services for patients with cerebral palsy and the wounded from poor families, in addition to family and educational services.
10 feb 2017
The statement warned that, as a result, the power station might be shut down and the strangling crisis would return back again to the Gaza Strip during next few days.
The Authority appealed to all competent and concerned bodies to take urgent action in order to avoid a potential new crisis, and called for cancelling all taxes on fuel prices. It also asked donor countries to accelerate the entry of the second batch of fuel grants.
Palestinian Energy Authority revealed on Thursday evening that the Finance Ministry in the West Bank returned to impose taxes on Gaza power plant’s fuel after the first batch of Qatari and Turkish fuel grants had finished. It warned of possible aggravation of the power crisis in the besieged enclave.
In a statement, the Energy Authority pointed out that it rushed to buy fuel in order to guarantee the continuation of operating the power generation station without any obstacles until the arrival of the second batch.
The statement highlighted that the petrol authority in Ramallah informed Energy Authority in Gaza that the fuel price has jumped to 5.4 shekels per liter, which is three times the original price.
It stressed that the price is too expensive and runs contrary to the understandings sponsored by Palestinian factions as well as the national committee of power crisis for the exemption of taxes.
The statement warned that, as a result, the power station might be shut down and the strangling crisis would return back again to the Gaza Strip during next few days.
The Authority appealed to all competent and concerned bodies to take urgent action in order to avoid a potential new crisis, and called for cancelling all taxes on fuel prices.
The Authority appealed to all competent and concerned bodies to take urgent action in order to avoid a potential new crisis, and called for cancelling all taxes on fuel prices. It also asked donor countries to accelerate the entry of the second batch of fuel grants.
Palestinian Energy Authority revealed on Thursday evening that the Finance Ministry in the West Bank returned to impose taxes on Gaza power plant’s fuel after the first batch of Qatari and Turkish fuel grants had finished. It warned of possible aggravation of the power crisis in the besieged enclave.
In a statement, the Energy Authority pointed out that it rushed to buy fuel in order to guarantee the continuation of operating the power generation station without any obstacles until the arrival of the second batch.
The statement highlighted that the petrol authority in Ramallah informed Energy Authority in Gaza that the fuel price has jumped to 5.4 shekels per liter, which is three times the original price.
It stressed that the price is too expensive and runs contrary to the understandings sponsored by Palestinian factions as well as the national committee of power crisis for the exemption of taxes.
The statement warned that, as a result, the power station might be shut down and the strangling crisis would return back again to the Gaza Strip during next few days.
The Authority appealed to all competent and concerned bodies to take urgent action in order to avoid a potential new crisis, and called for cancelling all taxes on fuel prices.
A group of Israeli settlers occupied by force a residential room, stores, and a house yard in Wadi Hilweh village in Silwan town, south of al-Aqsa Mosque, at dawn Friday.
According to Wadi Hilweh Information Center, the Israeli settlers forcibly took control over a 30-square-meter room as well as a house yard with an area of 50 square meters which the family of the Jerusalemite Izzat Salah use as a corridor leading to their house.
The settlers also broke into stores owned by Qaraeen family over an area of about 200 square meters which were used as livestock barns.
Eyewitnesses reported that a group of Israeli settlers, escorted by Israeli police forces, stormed at dawn the Qaraeen's barns and completely cordoned them before changing the locks of the doors and surrounding them with an iron fence. The settlers scuffled with the people who own the barns who were trying to prevent them from approaching their property.
The family members of Izzat Salah are now trapped in their own house as the Israeli police forces, who were present at the scene to secure the Israeli settlers, prevented them from going out after the settlers took over the corridor and closed the iron gate leading to the house, Wadi Hilweh Information Center said.
Following the takeover, the Qaraeen family went to the court in an attempt to get a judicial order to evict settlers from their property.
This is the fourth time the settlers seize property in occupied Jerusalem since the beginning of 2017.
An atmosphere of anger and resentment overshadowed Silwan town and its neighborhoods and inhabitants, especially that settler associations, in cooperation with some brokers and with the support of Israel, constantly seek to seize more Palestinian property in the region and turn them into settlement outposts.
According to Wadi Hilweh Information Center, the Israeli settlers forcibly took control over a 30-square-meter room as well as a house yard with an area of 50 square meters which the family of the Jerusalemite Izzat Salah use as a corridor leading to their house.
The settlers also broke into stores owned by Qaraeen family over an area of about 200 square meters which were used as livestock barns.
Eyewitnesses reported that a group of Israeli settlers, escorted by Israeli police forces, stormed at dawn the Qaraeen's barns and completely cordoned them before changing the locks of the doors and surrounding them with an iron fence. The settlers scuffled with the people who own the barns who were trying to prevent them from approaching their property.
The family members of Izzat Salah are now trapped in their own house as the Israeli police forces, who were present at the scene to secure the Israeli settlers, prevented them from going out after the settlers took over the corridor and closed the iron gate leading to the house, Wadi Hilweh Information Center said.
Following the takeover, the Qaraeen family went to the court in an attempt to get a judicial order to evict settlers from their property.
This is the fourth time the settlers seize property in occupied Jerusalem since the beginning of 2017.
An atmosphere of anger and resentment overshadowed Silwan town and its neighborhoods and inhabitants, especially that settler associations, in cooperation with some brokers and with the support of Israel, constantly seek to seize more Palestinian property in the region and turn them into settlement outposts.
9 feb 2017
Israeli settlers on Thursday uprooted 400 olive seedlings grown in Bethlehem’s southern town of al-Khader.
Coordinator for the popular anti-settlement committee Ahmad Salah said Israelis residing in the illegal Sidi Boez outpost stole 400 newly-planted olive trees from al-Shaaf area, in al-Khader town.
The Palestinian land owner, Ali Ahmad Issa, was reportedly shocked as he caught sight of the theft.
According to Salah, Palestinian lands in al-Khader town have increasingly come under the threat of such Israeli assaults and theft attempts.
A couple of weeks earlier, Israeli settlers uprooted 450 olive and grape seedlings owned by the Palestinian farmer Mohamed Abdul Salam Saleh.
Coordinator for the popular anti-settlement committee Ahmad Salah said Israelis residing in the illegal Sidi Boez outpost stole 400 newly-planted olive trees from al-Shaaf area, in al-Khader town.
The Palestinian land owner, Ali Ahmad Issa, was reportedly shocked as he caught sight of the theft.
According to Salah, Palestinian lands in al-Khader town have increasingly come under the threat of such Israeli assaults and theft attempts.
A couple of weeks earlier, Israeli settlers uprooted 450 olive and grape seedlings owned by the Palestinian farmer Mohamed Abdul Salam Saleh.
Violent clashes broke out in Doheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, when Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed the area at dawn Thursday and carried out a raid campaign.
According to the PIC reporter, IOF stormed a local printing shop and confiscated all its equipment for unknown reasons.
A Palestinian-owned car was also confiscated during the raid which led to the outbreak of violent clashes amid heavy firing of teargas bombs and rubber bullets.
During the confrontations, dozens of youths suffered breathing problems while a youngster suffered a rubber bullet injury.
According to the PIC reporter, IOF stormed a local printing shop and confiscated all its equipment for unknown reasons.
A Palestinian-owned car was also confiscated during the raid which led to the outbreak of violent clashes amid heavy firing of teargas bombs and rubber bullets.
During the confrontations, dozens of youths suffered breathing problems while a youngster suffered a rubber bullet injury.
7 feb 2017
On Tuesday, Several Israeli military vehicles, and bulldozers, invaded Beit Hanina neighborhood, north of occupied East Jerusalem, and demolished an under-construction building.
Media sources in Jerusalem said dozens of soldiers surrounded and invaded the area, after declaring it a “closed military zone.”
The soldiers then proceeded to demolish the building, in addition to detaining and interrogating several Palestinians.
In related news, the army invaded Kardala village, in the West Bank’s Northern Plains, and demolished several barns owned by a few shepherds.
Media sources in Jerusalem said dozens of soldiers surrounded and invaded the area, after declaring it a “closed military zone.”
The soldiers then proceeded to demolish the building, in addition to detaining and interrogating several Palestinians.
In related news, the army invaded Kardala village, in the West Bank’s Northern Plains, and demolished several barns owned by a few shepherds.
6 feb 2017
Palestinian residents of the Nablus-area village of Burqa went to check on their farmlands on the outskirts of the village Monday to find some 700 olive and almond trees cut down, allegedly by Israeli settlers from a nearby illegal settlement.
Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement related activities in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that the trees, which belonged to Khalid Salah, Mahmoud Daghlas, and Khalid Nasser, were planted nine years ago in the al-Qubeibat and al-Qusour areas east of Burqa.
The trees, added Daghlas, were planted two years after the eviction of the nearby Homesh settlement which was located in northwest Nablus. He explained to Ma'an that after the eviction, the Palestinian land-owners obtained decisions from Israeli courts including the high court that neither settlers, nor Israeli forces would harass the land owners.
However, he said, in 2016 settlers started to "camp" in the area under protection of Israeli troops making it very difficult for farmers to tend their fields and water their trees.
One of the landowners, Khalid Salah, managed to reach his field on Monday and notified other farmers, as well as Daghlas, that Israeli settlers had chopped down all the trees they planted in 2007.
Daghlas added that Burqa villagers will organize a protest in the fields on Friday.
When asked if there were photos of the cut-down trees, Daghlas said the presence of Israeli troops and settlers made it difficult for farmers to reach the fields and take photos.
An Israeli spokesperson for COGAT, the agency responsible for implementing Israeli government policies in the occupied territory, was not immediately available for comment on the incident.
Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement related activities in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that the trees, which belonged to Khalid Salah, Mahmoud Daghlas, and Khalid Nasser, were planted nine years ago in the al-Qubeibat and al-Qusour areas east of Burqa.
The trees, added Daghlas, were planted two years after the eviction of the nearby Homesh settlement which was located in northwest Nablus. He explained to Ma'an that after the eviction, the Palestinian land-owners obtained decisions from Israeli courts including the high court that neither settlers, nor Israeli forces would harass the land owners.
However, he said, in 2016 settlers started to "camp" in the area under protection of Israeli troops making it very difficult for farmers to tend their fields and water their trees.
One of the landowners, Khalid Salah, managed to reach his field on Monday and notified other farmers, as well as Daghlas, that Israeli settlers had chopped down all the trees they planted in 2007.
Daghlas added that Burqa villagers will organize a protest in the fields on Friday.
When asked if there were photos of the cut-down trees, Daghlas said the presence of Israeli troops and settlers made it difficult for farmers to reach the fields and take photos.
An Israeli spokesperson for COGAT, the agency responsible for implementing Israeli government policies in the occupied territory, was not immediately available for comment on the incident.
4 feb 2017
Over 1,200 Jewish settlers from the illegal settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev in Occupied Jerusalem recently signed a petition calling for preventing the establishment of a Palestinian industrial and commercial zone in the nearby town of Shuafat.
According the Hebrew newspaper Iroshalim, the petition claims that this Palestinian business zone will be created near roads leading to Pisgat Ze’ev and thus any riots that may occur in the area would impose a closure on the settlement.
The settlers also expressed fears in their petition that the value of housing units will fall and that the settlement would also be exposed to security threats.
They threatened that any member of the municipal council in the holy city supports this project would not be welcome in the settlement or dealt with, adding that they would also boycott the political party which this member belongs to during elections.
However, there is still no information when this project will be carried out, the newspaper noted.
According the Hebrew newspaper Iroshalim, the petition claims that this Palestinian business zone will be created near roads leading to Pisgat Ze’ev and thus any riots that may occur in the area would impose a closure on the settlement.
The settlers also expressed fears in their petition that the value of housing units will fall and that the settlement would also be exposed to security threats.
They threatened that any member of the municipal council in the holy city supports this project would not be welcome in the settlement or dealt with, adding that they would also boycott the political party which this member belongs to during elections.
However, there is still no information when this project will be carried out, the newspaper noted.