20 nov 2019
After Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, made a statement Monday reversing decades of US policy, and contradicting international law, by saying that the US did not consider Israel’s colonial takeovers of Palestinian land to be illegal, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu approved a massive expansion of colonial settlements.
The bill approved Tuesday by the Israeli Prime Minister would authorize the Israeli annexation by military force of the Jordan Valley, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom can trace their roots in that area back hundreds and thousands of years.
Netanyahu had campaigned in the recent election partly on a promise to annex the Jordan Valley, the most fertile region of the West Bank, into Israel.
When Pompeo made his statement Monday, Netanyahu heralded it as an ‘historic’ moment, and promptly moved forward with the Jordan Valley Annexation bill.
Though this bill had been introduced in the Knesset several weeks ago, it was subject to a mandatory waiting period before coming to a vote. Netanyahu, as Prime Minister, was able to ‘fast track’ the bill, which will now be voted on next week.
Because of the transition period in the Israeli government right now (Benny Gantz had received a majority of the votes in the September election, but has been thus far unable to muster the necessary coalition of parties to form a government), Knesset (Parliament) Member Haskel stated Tuesday that this is a “one time only chance” to pass the bill.
Pompeo’s Monday announcement was the third major policy shift toward Israel that the Trump administration has taken during his presidency – all of which have denied Palestinians their right to exist, their right to self-determination as people and their internationally-recognized right to return to land from which they were expelled by military force.
The first two were the moving of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of the Golan Heights (a part of Syria that was taken over by Israel in the 1967 war and militarily occupied since then) as part of Israel.
Since its creation in 1948, Israel has never officially declared its borders, and has expanded its territory through military force in the 71 years since then. With each expansion, more Palestinians lose their homes and land and become refugees, forming what has become the largest refugee population on earth.
The Jordan Valley, home to the city of Jericho, lies just west of the Jordan River, and is an area of farmland and orchards – despite the salination and depletion of the river by Israel, it still provides a source of irrigation for farmers in the Jordan Valley. But with the passage of the bill, these indigenous Palestinian farmers and landowners will be subjected to military force and their property taken from them and turned into Israeli settlements.
A September report by Al Jazeera found that many Palestinian residents of Jordan Valley have already been impacted by Israeli colonization of their land and water.
“All our water sources are under Israeli control. We have very little drinking water let alone water for our crops,” Ahmad Atiyat, whose family moved to the area after they were evicted by the Israeli military from along the Jordan River in 1967, told Al Jazeera.
Hussein Saida, another farmer and member of the local municipality, agreed.
“We face ongoing challenges, especially when it comes to accessing our water wells and maintaining them to water our crops. Our water wells are under de facto Israeli control,” said Saida.
All Israeli settlements are considered to be in direct violation of international law.
The bill approved Tuesday by the Israeli Prime Minister would authorize the Israeli annexation by military force of the Jordan Valley, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom can trace their roots in that area back hundreds and thousands of years.
Netanyahu had campaigned in the recent election partly on a promise to annex the Jordan Valley, the most fertile region of the West Bank, into Israel.
When Pompeo made his statement Monday, Netanyahu heralded it as an ‘historic’ moment, and promptly moved forward with the Jordan Valley Annexation bill.
Though this bill had been introduced in the Knesset several weeks ago, it was subject to a mandatory waiting period before coming to a vote. Netanyahu, as Prime Minister, was able to ‘fast track’ the bill, which will now be voted on next week.
Because of the transition period in the Israeli government right now (Benny Gantz had received a majority of the votes in the September election, but has been thus far unable to muster the necessary coalition of parties to form a government), Knesset (Parliament) Member Haskel stated Tuesday that this is a “one time only chance” to pass the bill.
Pompeo’s Monday announcement was the third major policy shift toward Israel that the Trump administration has taken during his presidency – all of which have denied Palestinians their right to exist, their right to self-determination as people and their internationally-recognized right to return to land from which they were expelled by military force.
The first two were the moving of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of the Golan Heights (a part of Syria that was taken over by Israel in the 1967 war and militarily occupied since then) as part of Israel.
Since its creation in 1948, Israel has never officially declared its borders, and has expanded its territory through military force in the 71 years since then. With each expansion, more Palestinians lose their homes and land and become refugees, forming what has become the largest refugee population on earth.
The Jordan Valley, home to the city of Jericho, lies just west of the Jordan River, and is an area of farmland and orchards – despite the salination and depletion of the river by Israel, it still provides a source of irrigation for farmers in the Jordan Valley. But with the passage of the bill, these indigenous Palestinian farmers and landowners will be subjected to military force and their property taken from them and turned into Israeli settlements.
A September report by Al Jazeera found that many Palestinian residents of Jordan Valley have already been impacted by Israeli colonization of their land and water.
“All our water sources are under Israeli control. We have very little drinking water let alone water for our crops,” Ahmad Atiyat, whose family moved to the area after they were evicted by the Israeli military from along the Jordan River in 1967, told Al Jazeera.
Hussein Saida, another farmer and member of the local municipality, agreed.
“We face ongoing challenges, especially when it comes to accessing our water wells and maintaining them to water our crops. Our water wells are under de facto Israeli control,” said Saida.
All Israeli settlements are considered to be in direct violation of international law.
18 nov 2019
Israeli bulldozers, on Monday, razed lands near Jabal al-Baba Bedouin community, located near al-Eizariyah town, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, The Palestinian News and Info Agency reported.
Atallah Mazar’a, a community representative, stated that Israeli forces escorted bulldozers onto Palestinian land, where the heavy machinery proceeded to raze a 500-meter-long earth road, severing Jabal al-Baba community from al-Eizariyah town, destroying the main water pipeline.
The Palestinian Bedouin community depends on al-Eizariyah town for services such as education and health clinics. As a result, the Bedouin community will be forced to travel for water, in addition to being cut off from the health and education resources in the nearby town.
Jabal al Baba is one of the 18 Bedouin communities located within the area Israel has allocated for its E1 settlement plan. Israel wants to displace all communities in this area in order to pave the way for building a large new and controversial settlement that is expected to divide the West Bank and separate East Jerusalem from the West Bank.
Israel demolished dozens of makeshift homes and structures in that area, most of them were donated by the European Union as part of its humanitarian assistance for hard-hit Palestinians in the Israeli controlled Area C of the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, the so-called Israeli Civil Administration, an arm of the military government, informed residents in the area that their homes are going to demolished for construction without permit, despite an order by the High Court freezing the demolitions.
According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, scores of farming-shepherding communities, home to thousands of Palestinians, dot the landscape of Area C, which comprises some 60% of the West Bank.
For decades, the Israeli authorities have been implementing a policy aimed at driving out these communities, making living conditions intolerable, in an attempt to get residents to leave, ostensibly of their own volition.
Atallah Mazar’a, a community representative, stated that Israeli forces escorted bulldozers onto Palestinian land, where the heavy machinery proceeded to raze a 500-meter-long earth road, severing Jabal al-Baba community from al-Eizariyah town, destroying the main water pipeline.
The Palestinian Bedouin community depends on al-Eizariyah town for services such as education and health clinics. As a result, the Bedouin community will be forced to travel for water, in addition to being cut off from the health and education resources in the nearby town.
Jabal al Baba is one of the 18 Bedouin communities located within the area Israel has allocated for its E1 settlement plan. Israel wants to displace all communities in this area in order to pave the way for building a large new and controversial settlement that is expected to divide the West Bank and separate East Jerusalem from the West Bank.
Israel demolished dozens of makeshift homes and structures in that area, most of them were donated by the European Union as part of its humanitarian assistance for hard-hit Palestinians in the Israeli controlled Area C of the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, the so-called Israeli Civil Administration, an arm of the military government, informed residents in the area that their homes are going to demolished for construction without permit, despite an order by the High Court freezing the demolitions.
According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, scores of farming-shepherding communities, home to thousands of Palestinians, dot the landscape of Area C, which comprises some 60% of the West Bank.
For decades, the Israeli authorities have been implementing a policy aimed at driving out these communities, making living conditions intolerable, in an attempt to get residents to leave, ostensibly of their own volition.
8 nov 2019
Following a visit to the occupied West Bank, U.S. Democratic Congressman Andy Levin, earlier this week, criticized Israel for repeatedly demolishing Palestinian homes in a small village that has been rebuilt numerous times, WAFA reported.
The trip included a tour of the Susya village, in the southern occupied West Bank, which has been repeatedly under threat of demolition for the past 30 years based on Israeli claims that homes in the area were erected without the necessary permits.
Levin said he was also deeply concerned to see the Israeli government denying local residents access to water in the village.
He tweeted:
“Yesterday, I travelled to the southern West Bank, including the Palestinian village of Susya, which the Israeli government has destroyed twice and currently denies access to water.”
“Yet we watched the government utility, right before our eyes, lay in pipes right across the village’s land to deliver tap water to an illegal Israeli outpost nearby,”
– as quoted by the London-based Al-Arabi Al-Jadid.
Levin watched how Jewish settlers nearby are granted government-supplied amenities, yet the Palestinians remained “resilient”.
He stated: “It was simply incredible. As angry as the situation made me, the resilience of the Palestinian villagers left an even stronger impression.”
Levin was among the numerous members of US Congress to condemn Israel’s decision to ban Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, also a representative from Michigan, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from visiting Israel.
The trip included a tour of the Susya village, in the southern occupied West Bank, which has been repeatedly under threat of demolition for the past 30 years based on Israeli claims that homes in the area were erected without the necessary permits.
Levin said he was also deeply concerned to see the Israeli government denying local residents access to water in the village.
He tweeted:
“Yesterday, I travelled to the southern West Bank, including the Palestinian village of Susya, which the Israeli government has destroyed twice and currently denies access to water.”
“Yet we watched the government utility, right before our eyes, lay in pipes right across the village’s land to deliver tap water to an illegal Israeli outpost nearby,”
– as quoted by the London-based Al-Arabi Al-Jadid.
Levin watched how Jewish settlers nearby are granted government-supplied amenities, yet the Palestinians remained “resilient”.
He stated: “It was simply incredible. As angry as the situation made me, the resilience of the Palestinian villagers left an even stronger impression.”
Levin was among the numerous members of US Congress to condemn Israel’s decision to ban Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, also a representative from Michigan, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from visiting Israel.
10 oct 2019
Grant contracts for six grassroots human security projects (GGP) were signed today by Masayuki Magoshi, Ambassador for the Palestinian Affairs and Representative of Japan to Palestine, and the representatives of Joint Service Council for Solid Waste Management - North and North West of Jerusalem, Agricultural Society for the Wall Affected, Palestinian Youth Union/ PYU, Jericho Women Charitable Society, Beit Sahour Cooperative Society, and Gruppo di Volontariato Civile at the Representative Office of Japan to Palestine in Ramallah for a total amount of $534,410.
Joint Service Council for Solid Waste Management will use a fund of $90,180 for the installation of 540 waste containers. This project aims at improving the solid waste management and ensuring safe environment and public health for 16 communities in north and northwest Jerusalem.
The Agricultural Society for the Wall Affected will use a fund of $90,000 for installing solar panel system in Alwalaydeh Bedouin community. This project aims at improving the access to electricity, so that farmers will be able to use the electricity in producing dairy products as a source of income.
Palestinian Youth Union/ PYU will use a fund of $89,971 for the installation and the rehabilitation of 11 schools for students with disabilities. The construction under this project will provide 16 wheel chair slopes, 113 toilets (7 multipurpose toilets), and 7 water drinking places.
Jericho Women Charitable Society will use a fund of $90,279 for installing solar panel system at the society school with the aim of providing sufficient power for the operation of air conditioning systems in the classrooms as well as improving the educational environments for the students in the Jericho Women Charitable Society.
Beit Sahour Cooperative Society for Health Welfare will use a fund of $89,500 for providing the hospital with Endoscopy unit. It aims at improving the medical services of the Shepherd’s Field Hospital, so it will no longer refer patients to other medical centers.
Gruppo di Volontariato Civile will use a fund of $84,480 to improve the access to water resources in three areas located in Tubas and Qalqilya governorates. This will be achieved through the construction and the rehabilitation of 15 water cisterns in Khirbet Yarza and Al Aqaba in Tubas Governorate as well as the extension of 1.2 km main irrigation pipeline and the installation of five water tanks in Azzoun in Qalqilya Governorate.
Magoshi congratulated the recipients of the grants and wished them success in their projects. He emphasized Japan’s firm commitment of supporting Palestinian people from human security perspective as well as the importance of implementing social and economic development projects needed for Palestinian communities.
Since 1993 the Government of Japan has extended its official development assistance amounting to approximately $1.9 billion to the Palestinians. GGP projects have been formulated in collaboration with the Palestinian Authority through Ministry of Finance and Planning since 2010.
Joint Service Council for Solid Waste Management will use a fund of $90,180 for the installation of 540 waste containers. This project aims at improving the solid waste management and ensuring safe environment and public health for 16 communities in north and northwest Jerusalem.
The Agricultural Society for the Wall Affected will use a fund of $90,000 for installing solar panel system in Alwalaydeh Bedouin community. This project aims at improving the access to electricity, so that farmers will be able to use the electricity in producing dairy products as a source of income.
Palestinian Youth Union/ PYU will use a fund of $89,971 for the installation and the rehabilitation of 11 schools for students with disabilities. The construction under this project will provide 16 wheel chair slopes, 113 toilets (7 multipurpose toilets), and 7 water drinking places.
Jericho Women Charitable Society will use a fund of $90,279 for installing solar panel system at the society school with the aim of providing sufficient power for the operation of air conditioning systems in the classrooms as well as improving the educational environments for the students in the Jericho Women Charitable Society.
Beit Sahour Cooperative Society for Health Welfare will use a fund of $89,500 for providing the hospital with Endoscopy unit. It aims at improving the medical services of the Shepherd’s Field Hospital, so it will no longer refer patients to other medical centers.
Gruppo di Volontariato Civile will use a fund of $84,480 to improve the access to water resources in three areas located in Tubas and Qalqilya governorates. This will be achieved through the construction and the rehabilitation of 15 water cisterns in Khirbet Yarza and Al Aqaba in Tubas Governorate as well as the extension of 1.2 km main irrigation pipeline and the installation of five water tanks in Azzoun in Qalqilya Governorate.
Magoshi congratulated the recipients of the grants and wished them success in their projects. He emphasized Japan’s firm commitment of supporting Palestinian people from human security perspective as well as the importance of implementing social and economic development projects needed for Palestinian communities.
Since 1993 the Government of Japan has extended its official development assistance amounting to approximately $1.9 billion to the Palestinians. GGP projects have been formulated in collaboration with the Palestinian Authority through Ministry of Finance and Planning since 2010.
Israeli settlers today seized a water spring in Ein el-Hilweh in the northern Jordan Valley, according to a local source.
Mahdi Daraghmeh, head of al-Maleh village council, said that settlers seized the water spring and then immediately started restoration work on it.
They also prevented people from watering their crops from the spring, which they have been doing to decades.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces razed Palestinian lands in al-Himma in the northern Jordan Valley and also handed a halt on construction order against a structure in Homsa.
Motaz Bisharat, in charge of the Jordan Valley file in the Toubas district, told WAFA that the razing took place on lands near an illegal settlement outpost in al-Himma area without any reason.
The army also gave a stop work order in al-Homsa, he said.
Mahdi Daraghmeh, head of al-Maleh village council, said that settlers seized the water spring and then immediately started restoration work on it.
They also prevented people from watering their crops from the spring, which they have been doing to decades.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces razed Palestinian lands in al-Himma in the northern Jordan Valley and also handed a halt on construction order against a structure in Homsa.
Motaz Bisharat, in charge of the Jordan Valley file in the Toubas district, told WAFA that the razing took place on lands near an illegal settlement outpost in al-Himma area without any reason.
The army also gave a stop work order in al-Homsa, he said.
25 sept 2019
Israeli soldiers demolished, Wednesday, a shed and an agricultural structure in Deir Ballout town, west of the central West Bank city of Salfit.
The soldiers surrounded the entire area before invading it and demolished the two structures without prior notice.
Salfit Governor, Lieutenant Dr. Abdullah Kamil, denounced the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations against the residents in Salfit, including the repeated bulldozing and uprooting of farmlands, and the destruction of property.
He called on various international human rights and legal groups to intervene, and stop the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people, and added that “such crimes requires serious international intervention, especially since the silence and idleness of the international community are encouraging Israel to continue and escalate its crimes.”
It is worth mentioning that the soldiers also demolished an agricultural room, and a water tank, east of Hebron.
The soldiers surrounded the entire area before invading it and demolished the two structures without prior notice.
Salfit Governor, Lieutenant Dr. Abdullah Kamil, denounced the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations against the residents in Salfit, including the repeated bulldozing and uprooting of farmlands, and the destruction of property.
He called on various international human rights and legal groups to intervene, and stop the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people, and added that “such crimes requires serious international intervention, especially since the silence and idleness of the international community are encouraging Israel to continue and escalate its crimes.”
It is worth mentioning that the soldiers also demolished an agricultural room, and a water tank, east of Hebron.