25 jan 2020
Two Palestinians were critically injured today evening after they were attacked by Jewish settlers in the village of Sawiya, to the south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.
Head of the Sawiya village council, Morad Abu Ras, told WAFA that a group of settlers attacked a Palestinian farmer identified as Mohammad Hamed Khalil, 62, and his son, Nizar, while they were working in a farm of their own near the village.
The father reportedly sustained a serious injury in the head as a result of being beaten and pelted with stones.
Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property is commonplace in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
It includes arsons of property and mosques, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.
Israeli Colonists Seriously Injure A Palestinian Man Near Nablus
Palestinian medical sources have reported that a man was seriously injured, on Saturday evening, after a group of fanatic illegal Israeli colonists invaded the as-Sawiya village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and attacked him and his son.
Morad Abu Rad, the head of as-Sawiya Village Council, said the colonists attacked Abdul-Jawad Mohammad Hamed Khalil, 62, and struck him on the head as well as several parts of his body, causing serious wounds.
He added that the colonists also attacked Mohammad’s son, Nizar, wounding him, before the two were rushed to a local hospital.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers used batons and rocks in attacking the two Palestinians, while working on their own lands in Harayeq Rayyan area, in the village, which is subject to constant invasions and violations.
The Israeli assailants came from Rahalim illegal colony, which was built on stolen Palestinian lands.
In related news, several colonists invaded Burin village, southwest of Nablus, and tried to attack homes, but the locals managed to intercept them and forced them away.
Head of the Sawiya village council, Morad Abu Ras, told WAFA that a group of settlers attacked a Palestinian farmer identified as Mohammad Hamed Khalil, 62, and his son, Nizar, while they were working in a farm of their own near the village.
The father reportedly sustained a serious injury in the head as a result of being beaten and pelted with stones.
Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property is commonplace in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
It includes arsons of property and mosques, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.
Israeli Colonists Seriously Injure A Palestinian Man Near Nablus
Palestinian medical sources have reported that a man was seriously injured, on Saturday evening, after a group of fanatic illegal Israeli colonists invaded the as-Sawiya village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and attacked him and his son.
Morad Abu Rad, the head of as-Sawiya Village Council, said the colonists attacked Abdul-Jawad Mohammad Hamed Khalil, 62, and struck him on the head as well as several parts of his body, causing serious wounds.
He added that the colonists also attacked Mohammad’s son, Nizar, wounding him, before the two were rushed to a local hospital.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers used batons and rocks in attacking the two Palestinians, while working on their own lands in Harayeq Rayyan area, in the village, which is subject to constant invasions and violations.
The Israeli assailants came from Rahalim illegal colony, which was built on stolen Palestinian lands.
In related news, several colonists invaded Burin village, southwest of Nablus, and tried to attack homes, but the locals managed to intercept them and forced them away.
24 jan 2020
The severity of Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is currently growing in magnitude, as a result of Israel tightening its 15-year long, illegal siege of the poverty-stricken Palestinian territory.
Due to Israel’s restriction of gas, prevented from entering the besieged coastal enclave, the people of Gaza are facing a lack of sufficient heating, lighting, and the ability to properly deal with sewage, all this and more whilst their Arab neighbor, Egypt, is purchasing stolen Israeli gas.
Last February, Egypt signed a 19-billion-dollar gas deal with Israel. A few days ago, Israel officially began pumping that gas into Egypt via an ‘Eastern Mediterranean Gas’ pipeline formerly used to supply Israel with Egyptian gas (during the rule of ex-president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak).
Israel restricts the gas it is allowing into Gaza, collectively punishing the Palestinian people — which constitutes a crime against humanity — for what Israel decides is the illegitimate actions of Gaza’s democratically-elected government.
Egypt’s coup leader, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has not only sold the soul of Egypt by purchasing the Israeli occupying entity, but has also participated in enforcing Egypt’s side of the illegal blockade of Gaza. Sisi has continuously watched on as the two-million-strong population of the besieged Gaza Strip suffers untold misery.
Besides Egypt’s collaboration with Israel’s racist persecution of the Palestinian people in Gaza’s death camp is also the most shameful of deliberate targeting of Gaza’s food and resources by Israel itself.
The Palestinian Agricultural Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that Israel had purposely flooded and destroyed roughly 920 acres of farmlands in Eastern Jabalia and Beit Hanoun, Northern Gaza, causing 500,000 dollars worth of damage. On top of this, Israel has also begun spraying dangerous chemicals over farmland to the East of Khan Yunis and Rafah, located in the South of Gaza. The Gaza Strip has very scarce amounts of agricultural land and is already operating in a declared state of emergency, as of February 2018.
Adding to the list of Israeli crimes in Gaza is the fact that the Gaza gas fields, which were discovered in 1999 and belong to the Palestinian people under international law, still have not been excavated. The only reason for the Palestinians not being able to take advantage of their own oil is that Israel’s illegal blockade prohibits them from doing so, meaning that the people of Gaza are living in an area which has been deemed ‘unlivable’ by experts at the United Nations, suffering unimaginable pain, whilst literally sitting right next to a treasure trove of natural gas.
Approximately two weeks ago, Israel decided to cut off the main supply of gas from entering the Gaza Strip. Since then, Egypt has let in 10 trucks, which have entered the besieged territory, but according to Gaza’s residents, this simply has not been enough to supply the people with a sufficient source of gas. Khaled Tabasha, a Palestinian activist living in Gaza’s al-Bureij refugee camp, spoke to me, informing me that his family and many others living in his camp have not been able to cook properly. Khaled even said that things have gotten so bad that he and others have begun looking for wood, in order to start fires from which they can cook their food.
The term “sending Gaza back to the stone age” has been often used by Israeli politicians, referring to the military bombardments of the territory by Israel, but it seems by the blockade alone, Israel is achieving this aim.
In the Gaza Strip, a lack of gas not only means that Palestinians are having to resort to using wood fires to cook, it also affects motor vehicles, hospitals, and of course the heating inside houses. In addition to this, Gaza is again having an electricity crisis, which means that right now the people only have access to roughly four and a half hours of electricity per day. This is during a time where the climate is very cold in Gaza. To give an example of how cold Palestine has been lately, just yesterday, it snowed in al-Khalil (Hebron), located to the North of Gaza, in the West Bank.
Toxic Pesticides have also recently been sprayed along the separation fence, illegally built between Gaza and Israel. The spraying of these potentially lethal substances along the separation fence — a violation of international law — is justified by the Israelis as being a “security” precaution.
The question now remaining is: how long can Gaza continue to suffer as the conditions get more and more severe?
Due to Israel’s restriction of gas, prevented from entering the besieged coastal enclave, the people of Gaza are facing a lack of sufficient heating, lighting, and the ability to properly deal with sewage, all this and more whilst their Arab neighbor, Egypt, is purchasing stolen Israeli gas.
Last February, Egypt signed a 19-billion-dollar gas deal with Israel. A few days ago, Israel officially began pumping that gas into Egypt via an ‘Eastern Mediterranean Gas’ pipeline formerly used to supply Israel with Egyptian gas (during the rule of ex-president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak).
Israel restricts the gas it is allowing into Gaza, collectively punishing the Palestinian people — which constitutes a crime against humanity — for what Israel decides is the illegitimate actions of Gaza’s democratically-elected government.
Egypt’s coup leader, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has not only sold the soul of Egypt by purchasing the Israeli occupying entity, but has also participated in enforcing Egypt’s side of the illegal blockade of Gaza. Sisi has continuously watched on as the two-million-strong population of the besieged Gaza Strip suffers untold misery.
Besides Egypt’s collaboration with Israel’s racist persecution of the Palestinian people in Gaza’s death camp is also the most shameful of deliberate targeting of Gaza’s food and resources by Israel itself.
The Palestinian Agricultural Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that Israel had purposely flooded and destroyed roughly 920 acres of farmlands in Eastern Jabalia and Beit Hanoun, Northern Gaza, causing 500,000 dollars worth of damage. On top of this, Israel has also begun spraying dangerous chemicals over farmland to the East of Khan Yunis and Rafah, located in the South of Gaza. The Gaza Strip has very scarce amounts of agricultural land and is already operating in a declared state of emergency, as of February 2018.
Adding to the list of Israeli crimes in Gaza is the fact that the Gaza gas fields, which were discovered in 1999 and belong to the Palestinian people under international law, still have not been excavated. The only reason for the Palestinians not being able to take advantage of their own oil is that Israel’s illegal blockade prohibits them from doing so, meaning that the people of Gaza are living in an area which has been deemed ‘unlivable’ by experts at the United Nations, suffering unimaginable pain, whilst literally sitting right next to a treasure trove of natural gas.
Approximately two weeks ago, Israel decided to cut off the main supply of gas from entering the Gaza Strip. Since then, Egypt has let in 10 trucks, which have entered the besieged territory, but according to Gaza’s residents, this simply has not been enough to supply the people with a sufficient source of gas. Khaled Tabasha, a Palestinian activist living in Gaza’s al-Bureij refugee camp, spoke to me, informing me that his family and many others living in his camp have not been able to cook properly. Khaled even said that things have gotten so bad that he and others have begun looking for wood, in order to start fires from which they can cook their food.
The term “sending Gaza back to the stone age” has been often used by Israeli politicians, referring to the military bombardments of the territory by Israel, but it seems by the blockade alone, Israel is achieving this aim.
In the Gaza Strip, a lack of gas not only means that Palestinians are having to resort to using wood fires to cook, it also affects motor vehicles, hospitals, and of course the heating inside houses. In addition to this, Gaza is again having an electricity crisis, which means that right now the people only have access to roughly four and a half hours of electricity per day. This is during a time where the climate is very cold in Gaza. To give an example of how cold Palestine has been lately, just yesterday, it snowed in al-Khalil (Hebron), located to the North of Gaza, in the West Bank.
Toxic Pesticides have also recently been sprayed along the separation fence, illegally built between Gaza and Israel. The spraying of these potentially lethal substances along the separation fence — a violation of international law — is justified by the Israelis as being a “security” precaution.
The question now remaining is: how long can Gaza continue to suffer as the conditions get more and more severe?
23 jan 2020
The municipality of Khan Yunis City in southern Gaza has accused the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) of intentionally releasing collected rainwater from dams in the east and swamping many areas of the city, especially the Salahuddin Street.
Mohamed al-Asttal, head of the municipality’s emergency committee, said on Wednesday that enormous amounts of water gushed out from dams in the east of Khan Yunis flooding agricultural areas near the border and penetrating the Salahuddin Street and other roads.
Asttal added the massive quantities exceeded the capacity of the drainage system in the street and swamped large parts of the road, prompting municipal emergency teams to move immediately to address the situation and prevent the closure of the street, which he described as a vital route for people coming from northern Gaza to the south and vice versa.
Recently, large swathes of cultivated land and farmlands were also flooded on different occasions when the IOA released collected rainwater into Gaza, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to agricultural areas in Gaza.
With no prior notice or regard for the local residents and their property, the IOA deliberately opens the floodgates of its dams and canals in the direction of the Gaza Strip in order to discharge water that accumulates due to heavy rains in the region.
Mohamed al-Asttal, head of the municipality’s emergency committee, said on Wednesday that enormous amounts of water gushed out from dams in the east of Khan Yunis flooding agricultural areas near the border and penetrating the Salahuddin Street and other roads.
Asttal added the massive quantities exceeded the capacity of the drainage system in the street and swamped large parts of the road, prompting municipal emergency teams to move immediately to address the situation and prevent the closure of the street, which he described as a vital route for people coming from northern Gaza to the south and vice versa.
Recently, large swathes of cultivated land and farmlands were also flooded on different occasions when the IOA released collected rainwater into Gaza, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to agricultural areas in Gaza.
With no prior notice or regard for the local residents and their property, the IOA deliberately opens the floodgates of its dams and canals in the direction of the Gaza Strip in order to discharge water that accumulates due to heavy rains in the region.
22 jan 2020
Israeli planes have reportedly sprayed toxic chemical substances and dangerous pesticides on farmlands near the Gaza Strip as the Tel Aviv regime presses ahead with its acts of aggression against the besieged Palestinian coastal enclave.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Wednesday that the Israeli army sprayed the area in close proximity to the fence separating the Gaza Strip from the Israeli-occupied territories for three days last week.
The report added that the Israeli ministry of military affairs has defended the aerial spraying after having refrained from it throughout last year, claiming that it was necessary to destroy “vegetation that obscures soldiers’ view of the area.”
According to the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry, Israeli pesticides damaged 14,000 dunams (3,459 acres) of agricultural land in Gaza from 2014 through 2018, destroying all the crops that had been sown there.
Palestinian farmers told Haaretz that 2019 was an excellent year for them as there was no spraying.
Three human rights organizations, namely Gisha, Adalah and al-Mezan, immediately urged Israeli authorities to cease spraying after the practice resumed last week, saying there were “serious fears” that it had already harmed farmers in the area.
Anwar Jamali, a Gazan farmer, said he and his fellow farmers were given no advance notice of the spraying.
“In previous years, there was major damage. Sometimes dozens of dunams of wheat, barley and parsley were completely lost,” he said.
Jamali added that the stench of the pesticides causes people to leave the area if they can, “but barley can’t get up and leave.”
According to Palestinian farmers, while spraying is done on the Israeli-occupied territories, “the wind then carries the pesticides into Gaza.”
A Forensic Architecture report from 2019 confirmed Palestinian claims that the pesticides spread into Gaza, reaching a distance of more than 300 meters from the Gaza-occupied territories fence.
Gaza has been under Israeli siege since June 2007.
Since 2008, Israel has waged three wars against Gaza, where about two million Palestinians live under a 12-year Israeli blockade. Thousands of Gazans have been killed in each of these deadly wars.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Wednesday that the Israeli army sprayed the area in close proximity to the fence separating the Gaza Strip from the Israeli-occupied territories for three days last week.
The report added that the Israeli ministry of military affairs has defended the aerial spraying after having refrained from it throughout last year, claiming that it was necessary to destroy “vegetation that obscures soldiers’ view of the area.”
According to the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry, Israeli pesticides damaged 14,000 dunams (3,459 acres) of agricultural land in Gaza from 2014 through 2018, destroying all the crops that had been sown there.
Palestinian farmers told Haaretz that 2019 was an excellent year for them as there was no spraying.
Three human rights organizations, namely Gisha, Adalah and al-Mezan, immediately urged Israeli authorities to cease spraying after the practice resumed last week, saying there were “serious fears” that it had already harmed farmers in the area.
Anwar Jamali, a Gazan farmer, said he and his fellow farmers were given no advance notice of the spraying.
“In previous years, there was major damage. Sometimes dozens of dunams of wheat, barley and parsley were completely lost,” he said.
Jamali added that the stench of the pesticides causes people to leave the area if they can, “but barley can’t get up and leave.”
According to Palestinian farmers, while spraying is done on the Israeli-occupied territories, “the wind then carries the pesticides into Gaza.”
A Forensic Architecture report from 2019 confirmed Palestinian claims that the pesticides spread into Gaza, reaching a distance of more than 300 meters from the Gaza-occupied territories fence.
Gaza has been under Israeli siege since June 2007.
Since 2008, Israel has waged three wars against Gaza, where about two million Palestinians live under a 12-year Israeli blockade. Thousands of Gazans have been killed in each of these deadly wars.
19 jan 2020
A Palestinian young man suffered a rubber bullet injury during clashes on Saturday evening between local youths and Israeli troops at the western entrance to Azzun town in the east of Qalqilya.
According to local sources, a military jeep went on fire after it was attacked with Molotov cocktails during the events.
In the nearby village of Kafr Qaddum, an Israeli military force was attacked with a teargas grenade during clashes with local youths.
In Jerusalem, Israeli police forces raided a commercial store belonging to a Palestinian citizen in Issawiya district and wreaked havoc on its contents.
Police forces also raided other stores in Ein Luza neighborhood in Silwan in search for West Bank workers. video
According to local sources, a military jeep went on fire after it was attacked with Molotov cocktails during the events.
In the nearby village of Kafr Qaddum, an Israeli military force was attacked with a teargas grenade during clashes with local youths.
In Jerusalem, Israeli police forces raided a commercial store belonging to a Palestinian citizen in Issawiya district and wreaked havoc on its contents.
Police forces also raided other stores in Ein Luza neighborhood in Silwan in search for West Bank workers. video
18 jan 2020
For the third time in one week, Israel opened today dams collecting rain water towards lands east of Gaza City, flooding hundreds of dunums of agricultural land, said witnesses.
WAFA correspondent reported, quoting witnesses, that Israel has intentionally opened the dams and drained the collected rainwater toward the Gaza Strip flooding and damaging hundreds of dunums of land planted with wheat, barley, peas, cabbage, and cauliflower. video
Losses to farmers were estimated in the thousands of dollars.
Last week, large tracts of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip were also flooded when Israeli authorities twice released the collected rainwater toward the coastal enclave.
Israeli drones were also seen spraying farmlands with poisonous pesticides, damaging large amounts of crops as a result.
WAFA correspondent reported, quoting witnesses, that Israel has intentionally opened the dams and drained the collected rainwater toward the Gaza Strip flooding and damaging hundreds of dunums of land planted with wheat, barley, peas, cabbage, and cauliflower. video
Losses to farmers were estimated in the thousands of dollars.
Last week, large tracts of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip were also flooded when Israeli authorities twice released the collected rainwater toward the coastal enclave.
Israeli drones were also seen spraying farmlands with poisonous pesticides, damaging large amounts of crops as a result.