25 mar 2017
Israeli factories damaging Palestinian farms
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Since the beginning of the year, some 60 new Israeli companies have moved into the occupied West Bank, according to local media reports.
But Palestinians say that, as more factories open, the increased pollution destroys their farmland. |
22 mar 2017
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at daybreak Wednesday seized Palestinian vehicles east of Tubas city, in the northern West Bank.
Speaking with a PIC reporter, Palestinian citizen Omar Na’naghiya, a resident of Bzeiq Hamlet, said the Israeli soldiers seized a car of the Mitsubishi brand and another vehicle owned by Palestinian citizen Hayel Turkman, along with an agricultural tractor belonging to citizen Namer Harroub.
He added that residents of Bzeiq Hamlet have been subjected to simmering crackdowns and had their tractors often seized by the Israeli forces under the pretext that they are used to cultivate military lands and carry water tanks to Palestinians.
According to Na’naghiya, the move makes part of Israeli attempts to force the Palestinians out of the area.
Speaking with a PIC reporter, Palestinian citizen Omar Na’naghiya, a resident of Bzeiq Hamlet, said the Israeli soldiers seized a car of the Mitsubishi brand and another vehicle owned by Palestinian citizen Hayel Turkman, along with an agricultural tractor belonging to citizen Namer Harroub.
He added that residents of Bzeiq Hamlet have been subjected to simmering crackdowns and had their tractors often seized by the Israeli forces under the pretext that they are used to cultivate military lands and carry water tanks to Palestinians.
According to Na’naghiya, the move makes part of Israeli attempts to force the Palestinians out of the area.
21 mar 2017
Israeli soldiers invaded, earlier Tuesday, Yatta, Doura and ath-Thaheriyya towns, in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, searched many homes and abducted four Palestinians, including a teenage boy and his mother, and a legislator. The soldiers also confiscated a bulldozer and a truck.
The soldiers invaded Yatta town, south of Hebron, searched homes and abducted Mokhles Ahmad Najjar, 16, and his mother Tamara Zein.
The soldiers also invaded homes in Doura town, south of Hebron, and abducted a young man, identified as Khader Edrees Nammoura.
In addition, the soldiers broke into the home of legislator Mohammad at-Till, in the ath-Thaheriyya town, also south of Hebron, and abducted him, after searching his property and several nearby homes.
Furthermore, the soldiers illegally confiscated a bulldozer and a truck, owned by Wael Ali Ekhlayyel, while he was conducting initial work on a new road, meant for linking Sho’ab al-Batm village with nearby communities in Yatta.
The soldiers invaded Yatta town, south of Hebron, searched homes and abducted Mokhles Ahmad Najjar, 16, and his mother Tamara Zein.
The soldiers also invaded homes in Doura town, south of Hebron, and abducted a young man, identified as Khader Edrees Nammoura.
In addition, the soldiers broke into the home of legislator Mohammad at-Till, in the ath-Thaheriyya town, also south of Hebron, and abducted him, after searching his property and several nearby homes.
Furthermore, the soldiers illegally confiscated a bulldozer and a truck, owned by Wael Ali Ekhlayyel, while he was conducting initial work on a new road, meant for linking Sho’ab al-Batm village with nearby communities in Yatta.
18 mar 2017
Palestinian farmers from the villages and towns of Salfit province in the central West Bank have pleaded for assistance to get rid of the growing problem of wild boars that keep destroying their cultivated fields.
They reiterated their accusation that Jewish settlers from the illegal settlement of Ariel had brought those pigs to the area intentionally in order to destroy their agricultural lands, and force them to leave their lands and stop their farming activities.
Pigs have ballooned very fast in Salfit and turned into large sounders, causing widespread damage every day to cultivated plots of land owned by Palestinian farmers, according to local officials.
Field researcher Khalid Maali said that the disturbing problem of pigs had never been there before the existence of settlements, affirming that all the Salfit farmers incur heavy losses every growing season as a result of those wild animals that come from nearby hills and mountains and wreak havoc on their lands.
He expressed his belief that the Jewish settlers plagued Salfit with pigs in order to drive the farmers away from their lands and make it easy for the Israeli occupation authority to seize them later on allegations they were neglected and abandoned by their owners.
They reiterated their accusation that Jewish settlers from the illegal settlement of Ariel had brought those pigs to the area intentionally in order to destroy their agricultural lands, and force them to leave their lands and stop their farming activities.
Pigs have ballooned very fast in Salfit and turned into large sounders, causing widespread damage every day to cultivated plots of land owned by Palestinian farmers, according to local officials.
Field researcher Khalid Maali said that the disturbing problem of pigs had never been there before the existence of settlements, affirming that all the Salfit farmers incur heavy losses every growing season as a result of those wild animals that come from nearby hills and mountains and wreak havoc on their lands.
He expressed his belief that the Jewish settlers plagued Salfit with pigs in order to drive the farmers away from their lands and make it easy for the Israeli occupation authority to seize them later on allegations they were neglected and abandoned by their owners.
17 mar 2017
Muayad Afaneh, a Palestinian financial expert, said that the Israeli government deducted 300 million dollars (over a billion shekels) from the Palestinian Authority (PA) tax money under various pretexts.
Quds Press quoted Afaneh as saying, in a workshop held in the chamber of commerce in Tulkarem, that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) deducts 28 million dollars (100 million shekels) annually from the PA tax money as a compensation of stolen vehicles in Israel whether the thieves were known or not.
Afaneh opined that the PA postponement of its general budget to the current year instead of the previous date scheduled in last October is a legal violation by the PA.
Quds Press quoted Afaneh as saying, in a workshop held in the chamber of commerce in Tulkarem, that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) deducts 28 million dollars (100 million shekels) annually from the PA tax money as a compensation of stolen vehicles in Israel whether the thieves were known or not.
Afaneh opined that the PA postponement of its general budget to the current year instead of the previous date scheduled in last October is a legal violation by the PA.
16 mar 2017
A group of Israeli settlers uprooted on Thursday dozens of grape vines in Khader town south of Bethlehem, local sources revealed.
The local activist Ahmed Salah affirmed that 90 grape vines were uprooted and damaged in Khader town.
The destroyed vines belonged to the farmer Nader Abdul Salam, he added.
Palestinian residents of occupied West Bank are accustomed to various acts of violence from Israeli settlers, who regularly attack Palestinian agricultural fields under the protection of Israeli soldiers.
The local activist Ahmed Salah affirmed that 90 grape vines were uprooted and damaged in Khader town.
The destroyed vines belonged to the farmer Nader Abdul Salam, he added.
Palestinian residents of occupied West Bank are accustomed to various acts of violence from Israeli settlers, who regularly attack Palestinian agricultural fields under the protection of Israeli soldiers.
Head of the water authority in Gaza Yaser al-Shanti said that the annual shortage percentage in the underground water reservoir in the enclave has reached 100 million cubic meters. He affirmed that water wells in Gaza do not meet the standards of the World Health Organization. 85% of water wells in Gaza are not safe for domestic use because of high chloride and nitrate, he highlighted.
In a press conference held in Gaza on the World Water Day on Thursday, Shanti warned of the gravity of the situation in the besieged enclave in accordance with international and local reports that confirmed the existence of acute shortage of water in quantity and quality.
He underlined that the shortage of water supply is mainly caused by the increasing urban expansion. This has led to the shortage in the level of the underground water in addition to high salinity, he said. The lack of good infrastructure and sanitation networks is another reason, Shanti pointed out.
He announced the launch of a series of events with the participation of a number of ministries and private local authorities on the World Water Day which coincides on March 22. The events aim at deliberating the reality of water and sewage conditions in the Gaza Strip and urging people to decrease water consumption.
In a press conference held in Gaza on the World Water Day on Thursday, Shanti warned of the gravity of the situation in the besieged enclave in accordance with international and local reports that confirmed the existence of acute shortage of water in quantity and quality.
He underlined that the shortage of water supply is mainly caused by the increasing urban expansion. This has led to the shortage in the level of the underground water in addition to high salinity, he said. The lack of good infrastructure and sanitation networks is another reason, Shanti pointed out.
He announced the launch of a series of events with the participation of a number of ministries and private local authorities on the World Water Day which coincides on March 22. The events aim at deliberating the reality of water and sewage conditions in the Gaza Strip and urging people to decrease water consumption.
Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza warned on Thursday of a new fuel shortage in its facilities in two months. It appealed to donor international and Arab institutions for urgent intervention in order to guarantee enough fuel amounts at hospitals and primary health centers.
The spokesman of the Ministry, Ashraf al-Qudra, told the PIC reporter that his ministry complains of continuous shortage in fuel supplies for power generators.
The Palestinian official said that the Ministry consumes 450,000 liters of fuel every month distributed over 13 hospitals including 3 grand medical compounds that use too much fuel when power cut offs exceed 8 hours a day.
The besieged Gaza Strip experiences every now and then a power crisis that leave it with only 6 to 8 hours daily of power connection.
The spokesman of the Ministry, Ashraf al-Qudra, told the PIC reporter that his ministry complains of continuous shortage in fuel supplies for power generators.
The Palestinian official said that the Ministry consumes 450,000 liters of fuel every month distributed over 13 hospitals including 3 grand medical compounds that use too much fuel when power cut offs exceed 8 hours a day.
The besieged Gaza Strip experiences every now and then a power crisis that leave it with only 6 to 8 hours daily of power connection.
The electricity distribution company in the Gaza Strip said on Thursday that three power lines feeding some areas in the besieged enclave broke down during Israel’s aerial attacks last night.
A senior official from the company said that two power lines feeding Gaza province in addition to another line coming from the power plant collapsed during the air raids that took place on Wednesday night.
As a result, large areas in Gaza City and the north plunged into darkness, yet the official did not say how long it would take to repair the damage.
Israeli warplanes on Wednesday night carried out strikes on a resistance post and a cultivated field in the eastern and central districts of Gaza Strip after a rocket allegedly fell in an empty field in Sdot Negev regional council earlier on the same day.
A senior official from the company said that two power lines feeding Gaza province in addition to another line coming from the power plant collapsed during the air raids that took place on Wednesday night.
As a result, large areas in Gaza City and the north plunged into darkness, yet the official did not say how long it would take to repair the damage.
Israeli warplanes on Wednesday night carried out strikes on a resistance post and a cultivated field in the eastern and central districts of Gaza Strip after a rocket allegedly fell in an empty field in Sdot Negev regional council earlier on the same day.
15 mar 2017
Israeli settler bulldozers on Wednesday morning leveled Palestinian lands in Deir Balout town.
Speaking to the PIC, eyewitnesses said Israeli bulldozers from Leshem illegal settlement outposts razed Palestinian cultivated lands and olive orchards east of Deir Balout.
According to the Palestinian locals, Palestinian lands in the area were being leveled by Israeli bulldozers around the clock.
The Israeli illegal outpost of Leshem is built on Palestinian lands in Kafr al-Deek, Deir Balout, Rafat, Sirtah, and al-Zawiya.
Speaking to the PIC, eyewitnesses said Israeli bulldozers from Leshem illegal settlement outposts razed Palestinian cultivated lands and olive orchards east of Deir Balout.
According to the Palestinian locals, Palestinian lands in the area were being leveled by Israeli bulldozers around the clock.
The Israeli illegal outpost of Leshem is built on Palestinian lands in Kafr al-Deek, Deir Balout, Rafat, Sirtah, and al-Zawiya.