12 july 2018

Nine House Democrats wrote a letter [PDF] on Wednesday, to United States president Donald Trump, requesting him to update the current status of U.S. funding towards Palestinian Authority (PA).
In spite being the largest single donor to UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in January of 2018, the United States withheld $65 million from the organization, as they were “examining” the use of money, responding to the refusal of Mahmoud Abbas’ meeting with US officials following the controversy regarding Jerusalem being the official capital of Israel.
On 23 March, 2018, the United States passed the “Taylor Force Act” which fully cuts off funding for the PA unless it ceases to pay stipends to families of Palestinian prisoners, and revokes laws authorizing this compensation.
The USAID office in the West Bank and Gaza, an American international agency, has not received a budget for the following year, thus placing a halt to its projects, according to the PNN.
According to the letter, the impact of the funding freeze could lead to catastrophic consequences: “140,000 people will cease to receive emergency food and non-food assistance, 42,000 patients will not receive essential health services, 50,000 youths will lack access to life skills development, and 12,250 people will lose paid entrepreneurship opportunities.
“We believe these crucial humanitarian funds must be restored in order to save innocent lives.”
The letter [PDF] was signed by Ted Deutch, Gerald Connolly, David Cicilline, Lois Frankel, Tulsi Gabbard, Brendan Boyle, Ted Lieu, Bradley Schneider, Thomas Suozzi.
In spite being the largest single donor to UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in January of 2018, the United States withheld $65 million from the organization, as they were “examining” the use of money, responding to the refusal of Mahmoud Abbas’ meeting with US officials following the controversy regarding Jerusalem being the official capital of Israel.
On 23 March, 2018, the United States passed the “Taylor Force Act” which fully cuts off funding for the PA unless it ceases to pay stipends to families of Palestinian prisoners, and revokes laws authorizing this compensation.
The USAID office in the West Bank and Gaza, an American international agency, has not received a budget for the following year, thus placing a halt to its projects, according to the PNN.
According to the letter, the impact of the funding freeze could lead to catastrophic consequences: “140,000 people will cease to receive emergency food and non-food assistance, 42,000 patients will not receive essential health services, 50,000 youths will lack access to life skills development, and 12,250 people will lose paid entrepreneurship opportunities.
“We believe these crucial humanitarian funds must be restored in order to save innocent lives.”
The letter [PDF] was signed by Ted Deutch, Gerald Connolly, David Cicilline, Lois Frankel, Tulsi Gabbard, Brendan Boyle, Ted Lieu, Bradley Schneider, Thomas Suozzi.

Israeli forces raided the Palestinian village of Bardala, in the northern area of the Jordan Valley, and destroyed 400 meters of water pipelines, which Israel claims are illegal, on Thursday.
According to Dirar Sawafta, a member of the Bardala village council, Israeli forces stormed the village, razed and dug several holes in one of the water lines in search of water holes.
Israeli forces destroyed more than 400 meters of water pipelines, which is an important life source to many Palestinians residents of the valley, who are mainly farmers or Bedouins, and mostly living in enclaves closed off by Israeli military zones, checkpoints, and more than 30 illegal Israeli settlements.
Sawafta added, according to Ma’an, that Israeli forces destroyed the water pipelines under the pretext that they are illegal.
Recently, Israeli bulldozers and forces have razed the area, in search of water holes, and destroyed several water sources in the village and several other areas in the Jordan Valley.
The Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area holds nearly one-third of the West Bank’s land and is home to roughly 60,000 Palestinians.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, which delegated various degrees of autonomy to the Palestinian Authority (PA) around built up and urban areas, Israel retained full civil and military control over 60% of the West Bank, which is now known as “Area C.”
“Area A” is under full PA control and “Area B” is under Israeli military control; in this area the PA is in charge of civilian affairs. This has effectively divided the West Bank into three main non-contiguous areas.
According to Dirar Sawafta, a member of the Bardala village council, Israeli forces stormed the village, razed and dug several holes in one of the water lines in search of water holes.
Israeli forces destroyed more than 400 meters of water pipelines, which is an important life source to many Palestinians residents of the valley, who are mainly farmers or Bedouins, and mostly living in enclaves closed off by Israeli military zones, checkpoints, and more than 30 illegal Israeli settlements.
Sawafta added, according to Ma’an, that Israeli forces destroyed the water pipelines under the pretext that they are illegal.
Recently, Israeli bulldozers and forces have razed the area, in search of water holes, and destroyed several water sources in the village and several other areas in the Jordan Valley.
The Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area holds nearly one-third of the West Bank’s land and is home to roughly 60,000 Palestinians.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, which delegated various degrees of autonomy to the Palestinian Authority (PA) around built up and urban areas, Israel retained full civil and military control over 60% of the West Bank, which is now known as “Area C.”
“Area A” is under full PA control and “Area B” is under Israeli military control; in this area the PA is in charge of civilian affairs. This has effectively divided the West Bank into three main non-contiguous areas.

On the record quote from Chris Gunness, UNRWA Spokesperson:
“The recent announcement, by COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories), that new measures will be taken to suspend exports from the Gaza Strip and restrict the import of goods to only humanitarian supplies approved by COGAT, can be expected to have profound and far reaching consequences for already desperate civilians in Gaza, nearly 75 per cent of whom are Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA and more than half of whom are children.
These measures will also likely lead to increased demand for UNRWA services at a time of unprecedented financial crisis and when Gaza is in the midst of a deepening and now protracted humanitarian crisis. Nearly 80 per cent of the population (1.2 million) is forced to rely on humanitarian assistance to cover their basic needs, including food, and the unemployment rate stood at 49.1 per cent as of the first quarter of 2018”.
“These additional restrictions further penalize the entire population in Gaza without regard to individual responsibility. Measures taken by Israel must be consistent with its international legal obligations. These developments risk exacerbating the worst impacts of the blockade and crippling further the economic capacity and livelihoods needed to support two million residents. The UN has repeatedly called for a full lifting of the blockade, a form of collective punishment contrary to Israel’s obligations under international law”.
The Commissioner-General, Pierre Krahenbuhl, pointed out: “These new measures are of great concern. They are counter-productive not least because they impact an entire population and further negatively affect Gaza’s economy. They will have serious repercussions in particular for women and youth.
“After eleven years of blockade, these measures will compound the sense of desperation and isolation, further depriving the next generation of hope and dignity.
“These developments remind us of the imperative necessity to address the underlying causes of the conflict and to take meaningful political action, including ending the illegal blockade of Gaza.”
“The recent announcement, by COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories), that new measures will be taken to suspend exports from the Gaza Strip and restrict the import of goods to only humanitarian supplies approved by COGAT, can be expected to have profound and far reaching consequences for already desperate civilians in Gaza, nearly 75 per cent of whom are Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA and more than half of whom are children.
These measures will also likely lead to increased demand for UNRWA services at a time of unprecedented financial crisis and when Gaza is in the midst of a deepening and now protracted humanitarian crisis. Nearly 80 per cent of the population (1.2 million) is forced to rely on humanitarian assistance to cover their basic needs, including food, and the unemployment rate stood at 49.1 per cent as of the first quarter of 2018”.
“These additional restrictions further penalize the entire population in Gaza without regard to individual responsibility. Measures taken by Israel must be consistent with its international legal obligations. These developments risk exacerbating the worst impacts of the blockade and crippling further the economic capacity and livelihoods needed to support two million residents. The UN has repeatedly called for a full lifting of the blockade, a form of collective punishment contrary to Israel’s obligations under international law”.
The Commissioner-General, Pierre Krahenbuhl, pointed out: “These new measures are of great concern. They are counter-productive not least because they impact an entire population and further negatively affect Gaza’s economy. They will have serious repercussions in particular for women and youth.
“After eleven years of blockade, these measures will compound the sense of desperation and isolation, further depriving the next generation of hope and dignity.
“These developments remind us of the imperative necessity to address the underlying causes of the conflict and to take meaningful political action, including ending the illegal blockade of Gaza.”

The Palestinian government says that the US administration and Israel are working on the first stage of Trump’s Middle East ‘Deal of the Century’ by offering a humanitarian plan in Gaza, according to Al Ray.
In a statement, on Wednesday, the government said that the US exploits humanitarian work in Gaza, and the act of improving its conditions, to draw a beautiful picture for the Israeli occupation.
It also denounced the closing of the Kerem Shalom crossing, along with the reduction of the fishing area in the Gaza Strip, as a new attempt to tighten the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for nearly 11 years.
The statement stressed the role and responsibility of the international community and the United Nations, as well as the need to align with the values of human rights and justice, in order to solve Palestine crisis, by implementing the resolutions of the United Nations and establishing sovereign State of Palestine according to the 1967 Palestinian territories, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It also stressed the need to end the suffering of millions of Palestinian refugees and to enable them to live in freedom and dignity.
It called on the UN to hold to its responsibilities in implementing its resolutions, taking the necessary steps to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people and its violations of the principles of the international legitimacy, obliging it to end what has become the longest military occupation in the modern history.
On the other hand, Hamas said that current plans do not include any decisions to end the punishment measures against Gaza, or attempts to incite the international community, confirming complicity with US and Israeli steps to implement the deal.
The spokesperson for Hamas, Fawzi Barhoum, held both the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority responsible for the repercussions of the siege and the collective punishment measures against Gaza.
In a statement, on Wednesday, the government said that the US exploits humanitarian work in Gaza, and the act of improving its conditions, to draw a beautiful picture for the Israeli occupation.
It also denounced the closing of the Kerem Shalom crossing, along with the reduction of the fishing area in the Gaza Strip, as a new attempt to tighten the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for nearly 11 years.
The statement stressed the role and responsibility of the international community and the United Nations, as well as the need to align with the values of human rights and justice, in order to solve Palestine crisis, by implementing the resolutions of the United Nations and establishing sovereign State of Palestine according to the 1967 Palestinian territories, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It also stressed the need to end the suffering of millions of Palestinian refugees and to enable them to live in freedom and dignity.
It called on the UN to hold to its responsibilities in implementing its resolutions, taking the necessary steps to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people and its violations of the principles of the international legitimacy, obliging it to end what has become the longest military occupation in the modern history.
On the other hand, Hamas said that current plans do not include any decisions to end the punishment measures against Gaza, or attempts to incite the international community, confirming complicity with US and Israeli steps to implement the deal.
The spokesperson for Hamas, Fawzi Barhoum, held both the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority responsible for the repercussions of the siege and the collective punishment measures against Gaza.

Israeli soldiers started, Thursday, bulldozing Palestinian agricultural lands in Bardala village, in the West Bank’s Northern Plains.
The Israeli army claimed the soldiers are searching for what it called “illegal irrigation systems.”
Dirar Sawafta, a member of Bardala Village Council, said many soldiers invaded the lands, and dug three holes around irrigation lands, trying to find what the army described as “illegal connections to the main water system.” video
He added that the soldiers frequently dug around the main line, under the same allegations.
Water shortages are one of the most issues the Palestinians face is the occupied West Bank, not only the Northern Plains of the West Bank, but in many parts of the territory, an issue which severely devastates agriculture, and the livelihoods on hundreds of families.
In Summer, the Palestinians go for several weeks at a time without running water, and in numerous cases, the army demolishes Palestinian water wells, while the illegal colonialist settlers suffer from water shortages, or interruptions, for their homes, colonies’ lands and swimming pools.
The Israeli army claimed the soldiers are searching for what it called “illegal irrigation systems.”
Dirar Sawafta, a member of Bardala Village Council, said many soldiers invaded the lands, and dug three holes around irrigation lands, trying to find what the army described as “illegal connections to the main water system.” video
He added that the soldiers frequently dug around the main line, under the same allegations.
Water shortages are one of the most issues the Palestinians face is the occupied West Bank, not only the Northern Plains of the West Bank, but in many parts of the territory, an issue which severely devastates agriculture, and the livelihoods on hundreds of families.
In Summer, the Palestinians go for several weeks at a time without running water, and in numerous cases, the army demolishes Palestinian water wells, while the illegal colonialist settlers suffer from water shortages, or interruptions, for their homes, colonies’ lands and swimming pools.

The Israeli occupation authorities on Wednesday seized a makeshift home in Shu’fat town, north of Occupied Jerusalem.
Palestinian citizen Ameer al-Kmeiri said Israeli municipal staff members, escorted by armed officers, stormed the Qawasmi auto show in Shu’fat and seized a container comprising two offices.
The container’s owners said they obtained an order to stop the confiscation and the demolition threats. However, the occupation authorities paid no heed.
In June, Israeli bulldozers demolished 15 residential and commercial structures in Occupied Jerusalem. Three Palestinians were forced to self-demolish their homes.
Palestinian citizen Ameer al-Kmeiri said Israeli municipal staff members, escorted by armed officers, stormed the Qawasmi auto show in Shu’fat and seized a container comprising two offices.
The container’s owners said they obtained an order to stop the confiscation and the demolition threats. However, the occupation authorities paid no heed.
In June, Israeli bulldozers demolished 15 residential and commercial structures in Occupied Jerusalem. Three Palestinians were forced to self-demolish their homes.
11 july 2018

Israeli bulldozers are set to demolish a number of Palestinian houses and a car shop in Shu'fat town north of Occupied Jerusalem.
The PIC reporter said that a large police force stormed the town in the early morning hours accompanied by Jerusalem Municipality crews who took measurements of houses owned by al-Ashhab, Maswada and Abu Khdeir families in preparation for their demolition.
He noted that the targeted area was previously announced a "green area" by the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem Municipality who distributed demolition orders against 13 Palestinian houses there.
Although 4 Israeli settlements and a new road were later established in the area, demolition orders against Palestinian houses did not stop.
The PIC reporter said that a large police force stormed the town in the early morning hours accompanied by Jerusalem Municipality crews who took measurements of houses owned by al-Ashhab, Maswada and Abu Khdeir families in preparation for their demolition.
He noted that the targeted area was previously announced a "green area" by the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem Municipality who distributed demolition orders against 13 Palestinian houses there.
Although 4 Israeli settlements and a new road were later established in the area, demolition orders against Palestinian houses did not stop.
9 july 2018

Fishing off Gaza coast to be limited; no imports or exports except humanitarian supplies on case-by-case basis; Hamas slams 'new crime against humanity'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will close the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza over the airborne firebombs being sent into Israel in recent weeks.
"In agreement with the defense minister, we will act with a heavy hand against the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu said.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called the step "a new crime against humanity" that are against international law and human rights.
This was not the only step Israel is taking to counter the threat, Netanyahu said, but refused to elaborate. "As for Gaza, I've already told you that I have no intention to prematurely announce all of the steps we are taking," the prime minister told Likud lawmakers. "There will be other steps which I won't detail."
In recent weeks Israeli fields and forests near the Gaza border have been set ablaze by incendiary kites and helium-filled balloons launched from the Strip. Some balloons carried small explosive devices in a new tactic.
Israel has accused Hamas of stoking violence in an attempt to deflect domestic opinion from Gaza's energy shortages and faltering economy.
Kerem Shalom is the only crossing for goods into the Gaza Strip. There are two other crossings whose use is limited. The Erez crossing is used for people only. The Rafah crossing, on the border with Egypt, opens from time to time to allow the passage of goods and construction materials.
The IDF spokesperson's office said in a statement that the crossing was being shut "in light of the continuation of arson terrorism and other terror attempts" lead by Hamas, and that the step had been recommended to Netanyahu by the IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot.
The crossing would be shut to all good but humanitarian supplies such as food and medicine, the IDF said, adding that such supplies would be allowed into Gaza only on the basis of case-by-case approval by the government's coordinator for the terroritories.
"There shall be no import or export of any goods to and from the Gaza Strip," the statement said.
Gaza fishermen would also be limited to fishing just six nautical miles out to sea, rather than nine miles as had been permitted for the season until Monday, the IDF said.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he had ordered stiffer measures taken at all the crossings.
"They are burning grasslands and fields on a daily basis," Lieberman said, adding that the entire land area that had been torched thus far by burning kites and other incendiary devices was roughly equal to the land areas of Israeli cities such as Netanya and Rehovoth.
"We do not intend to take this and continue on in this fashion. I suggest that they first of all straighten out and stop the provocations along the fence and the fires," Lieberman said.
"In the coming days we will make it more difficult at all the crossings. This cannot go on like this. I have ordered the IDF to take some steps and they shall see that this cannot o on unilaterally," he added.
Mohammed Abu Jiyab, an expert on the Gaza economy and editor of a magazine on the subject said the closure of Kerem Shalom "will lead to the collapse of an economy already in crisis, bankrupt many businesses in the strip, and cost a loss of jobs that will worsen unemployment and seriously hurt the service sector."
On Thursday some 750 acres (3,000 dunams) of brush in the Negev's Gerar Riverbed were set alight as a reslt of either a burning kite or balloon sent from Gaza. There were seven other fires in the Shaar Hanegev region. Fires also erupted in several spots in the Gaza border region as well, including at Beeri and Kissufim.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will close the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza over the airborne firebombs being sent into Israel in recent weeks.
"In agreement with the defense minister, we will act with a heavy hand against the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu said.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called the step "a new crime against humanity" that are against international law and human rights.
This was not the only step Israel is taking to counter the threat, Netanyahu said, but refused to elaborate. "As for Gaza, I've already told you that I have no intention to prematurely announce all of the steps we are taking," the prime minister told Likud lawmakers. "There will be other steps which I won't detail."
In recent weeks Israeli fields and forests near the Gaza border have been set ablaze by incendiary kites and helium-filled balloons launched from the Strip. Some balloons carried small explosive devices in a new tactic.
Israel has accused Hamas of stoking violence in an attempt to deflect domestic opinion from Gaza's energy shortages and faltering economy.
Kerem Shalom is the only crossing for goods into the Gaza Strip. There are two other crossings whose use is limited. The Erez crossing is used for people only. The Rafah crossing, on the border with Egypt, opens from time to time to allow the passage of goods and construction materials.
The IDF spokesperson's office said in a statement that the crossing was being shut "in light of the continuation of arson terrorism and other terror attempts" lead by Hamas, and that the step had been recommended to Netanyahu by the IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot.
The crossing would be shut to all good but humanitarian supplies such as food and medicine, the IDF said, adding that such supplies would be allowed into Gaza only on the basis of case-by-case approval by the government's coordinator for the terroritories.
"There shall be no import or export of any goods to and from the Gaza Strip," the statement said.
Gaza fishermen would also be limited to fishing just six nautical miles out to sea, rather than nine miles as had been permitted for the season until Monday, the IDF said.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he had ordered stiffer measures taken at all the crossings.
"They are burning grasslands and fields on a daily basis," Lieberman said, adding that the entire land area that had been torched thus far by burning kites and other incendiary devices was roughly equal to the land areas of Israeli cities such as Netanya and Rehovoth.
"We do not intend to take this and continue on in this fashion. I suggest that they first of all straighten out and stop the provocations along the fence and the fires," Lieberman said.
"In the coming days we will make it more difficult at all the crossings. This cannot go on like this. I have ordered the IDF to take some steps and they shall see that this cannot o on unilaterally," he added.
Mohammed Abu Jiyab, an expert on the Gaza economy and editor of a magazine on the subject said the closure of Kerem Shalom "will lead to the collapse of an economy already in crisis, bankrupt many businesses in the strip, and cost a loss of jobs that will worsen unemployment and seriously hurt the service sector."
On Thursday some 750 acres (3,000 dunams) of brush in the Negev's Gerar Riverbed were set alight as a reslt of either a burning kite or balloon sent from Gaza. There were seven other fires in the Shaar Hanegev region. Fires also erupted in several spots in the Gaza border region as well, including at Beeri and Kissufim.

Israeli soldiers invaded, Monday, the town of Barta’a ash-Sharqiya, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and summoned the owners of twelve Palestinian homes and five stores, for interrogation in Beit El, near Ramallah in central West Bank, allegedly for building without permits.
Tawfiq Kabaha, a member of Barta’a Town Council, said the soldiers, and personnel of the Israeli “Construction and Planning Committee,” took pictures of two homes, owned by Mohammad Wasfi Kabaha and Falah Hasan Kabaha, in the al-Wad area, and summoned them for interrogation in Beit El, near Ramallah.
Kabaha added that the soldiers also summoned the owners of ten homes, and five stores, for interrogation in Beit El.
The army claimed the constructions were done without permits from the Israel “Civil Administration Office,” run by the military in the occupied West Bank.
Barta’a largely falls in “Area C” of the occupied West Bank, under full Israeli military control.
The village, surrounded by the illegal Annexation Wall, lost thousands of Dunams of Palestinian lands to the wall itself, and the illegal colonies.
Area C is more than 60 percent of the occupied West Bank and is under the direct control of the “Civil Administration Office.”
Almost all construction applications filed by the Palestinian, to build on their own lands in Area C, are denied by the Israeli authorities, an issue that forces dozens of expanding families to build without permits to accommodate their expanding families.
Meanwhile, all of Israel’s ongoing construction and expansion of illegal colonies in the West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, and the Annexation Wall, continue to deny the Palestinians their basic rights, to build on their lands, in addition to the illegal annexation of their lands, while vast areas of agricultural farmlands and orchards, remained isolated.
Tawfiq Kabaha, a member of Barta’a Town Council, said the soldiers, and personnel of the Israeli “Construction and Planning Committee,” took pictures of two homes, owned by Mohammad Wasfi Kabaha and Falah Hasan Kabaha, in the al-Wad area, and summoned them for interrogation in Beit El, near Ramallah.
Kabaha added that the soldiers also summoned the owners of ten homes, and five stores, for interrogation in Beit El.
The army claimed the constructions were done without permits from the Israel “Civil Administration Office,” run by the military in the occupied West Bank.
Barta’a largely falls in “Area C” of the occupied West Bank, under full Israeli military control.
The village, surrounded by the illegal Annexation Wall, lost thousands of Dunams of Palestinian lands to the wall itself, and the illegal colonies.
Area C is more than 60 percent of the occupied West Bank and is under the direct control of the “Civil Administration Office.”
Almost all construction applications filed by the Palestinian, to build on their own lands in Area C, are denied by the Israeli authorities, an issue that forces dozens of expanding families to build without permits to accommodate their expanding families.
Meanwhile, all of Israel’s ongoing construction and expansion of illegal colonies in the West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, and the Annexation Wall, continue to deny the Palestinians their basic rights, to build on their lands, in addition to the illegal annexation of their lands, while vast areas of agricultural farmlands and orchards, remained isolated.