- 4 mrt 2012
IOF soldiers open floodgates on central Gaza
GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened sand barriers to the east of Gaza Strip, which blocked flow of rainwater into the Strip, and flooded many houses.
A statement for the Palestinian civil defense brigades said that the IOF soldiers’ step flooded many houses and roads topped by the main road linking north Gaza to its south.
Heavy rainfall on the western Negev led the IOF to open the floodgates to avoid a flood on their side.
Three years ago the IOF soldiers made the same thing leading to big material losses in Gaza.
http://fwd4.me/0vn5
Dozens of Gaza homes at risk of flooding
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Civil defense crews in the Gaza Strip said Sunday that dozens of homes in the Gaza Valley area are at risk of flooding due to heavy rainfall.
Yusuf al-Zahar, director general of the Civil Defense, told Ma'an that water levels have reached nearly two meters and they have been creating earth-mounds to protect houses from flooding.
Extra equipment will be brought in to drain water and protect homes, al-Zahar added.
The Gaza Valley is located in the central Gaza Strip and is home to wetlands and a diverse coastal ecosystem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=465147
IOF raze agricultural building in Tulkarem city
TULKAREM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) demolished on Saturday afternoon a municipal warehouse used for storing agricultural appliances in Tulkarem city and combed its vicinity.
Local sources said an Israeli military bulldozer escorted by troops knocked down a depot belonging to the municipal council of Qaffin town north of Tulkarem and destroyed all the agricultural materials that were inside.
The sources noted that the IOF had threatened to demolish the depot at the pretext it was set up in an Israeli-controlled area and ordered the municipal council of Qaffin to remove it.
http://fwd4.me/0vmz
IOA planning to turn Islamic museum into synagogue
OCCUPIED JUERSLAEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) is planning to turn an Islamic museum adjacent to the Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem into a Jewish synagogue.
The anti wall and settlement committee in occupied Jerusalem said in a statement on Saturday evening that the IOA controlled-municipality of the holy city was planning in cooperation with Zionist fanatics to control the Islamic museum that is adjacent to the Maghareba gate wall and turn it into a synagogue and a library.
It warned that controlling the 400-square-meter museum and digging tunnels underneath the holy city in search of the alleged temple fell in line with Judaization attempts.
The committee affirmed that the Buraq Wall is an inseparable part of the Aqsa Mosque and there is no such thing as the Wailing Wall, describing the renaming of the Buraq Wall as an attempt to forge Islamic history.
It appealed to the Arab and Islamic countries to resist the Judaization of Jerusalem, which is progressing with encouragement of the Israeli government, and demanded activating popular rallies against the IOA practices in occupied Jerusalem and to maintain permanent presence inside the Aqsa plazas especially near to the Maghareba gate to confront the settlers.
http://fwd4.me/0vmx 5 mar 2012, 13:23 , Respect -
Maria 5 mrt 2012
‘Israel systematically destroys environment in Gaza’
(2:35) Gaza flooded after Israel opens dam gates
A Palestinian environmentalist says the Israeli regime is engaged in systematically destroying the environment in the Gaza Strip by dumping sewage into the Gaza Valley and its surrounding areas, Press TV reports.
Iyad al-Qatrawi, a member of the Environment Quality Authority based in the occupied West Bank, emphasized in a Press TV interview on Sunday that the Israel opens a sewage storage east of the Gaza Valley “every once in a while and causes environmental disasters.”
Dozens of Palestinian homes in Gaza were flooded by untreated sewage after elements of the Tel Aviv regime opened a storage located to the east of the impoverished territory on Sunday.
“Sewage water is surrounding our homes… It flooded our farms… It has destroyed everything. Rescue teams tried their best to help, but they do not have enough equipment to deal with the huge problem,” said a Palestinian resident in Gaza.
In addition to causing environmental problems in Gaza, the Israeli regime persistently denies about 1.5 million people in the besieged Palestinian territory their basic rights, including the freedom of movement and the right to decent living, work, health and education.
“This is new Israeli aggression against the people of Gaza. They (Israelis) are trying to make us abandon our homes. We have been under Israeli blockade for several years. It is about time for the international community to make a move and stand by the people of Palestine,” said another Gaza resident.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/230002.html also see 4 mrt 2012
Jan 19, 2010
(1:30) Israel opens dam to flood Gaza
(2:24) Israel Opens 'Valley of Gaza' Dam Gates and Flood Gaza
Israelis enjoyed themselves
(5:37) ?????? ???? ??? ???? ????? 2010
Successive cave-ins in O. Jerusalem threaten Aqsa Mosque
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The cave-ins and collapses that happen successively in the area extending from Silwan district to the Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem illustrate the density of the Jewish tunnels under the holy Mosque and its vicinity, the Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said on Sunday.
In a press release, the foundation stated that the Israeli occupation is planning to expand its network of tunnels under and around the Aqsa Mosque by digging more of them and link them with its Jewish museums and centers which are intended to be built near the Aqsa Mosque as part of the Jewish alleged temple's premises.
According to the foundation, the Israeli occupation authority will soon build four Talmudic centers in the vicinity of the Aqsa Mosque specifically in its southern and western sides.
http://fwd4.me/0vph 6 mar 2012, 19:07 , Respect -
Maria 6 mrt 2012
Israeli settlement waste 'poisoning Palestinians'
NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Sewage from Israeli settlements near Salfit in the northern West Bank is flowing into nearby Palestinian communities and causing serious disease, a health ministry official said Tuesday.
Speaking at an environmental conference in Salfit, the head of Salfit's ministry of health office said the situation had become "intolerable" for communities affected by disease from the sewage, including cases of cholera.
Waste from factories in an industrial zone inside an Israeli settlement is threatening Salfit's agriculture, the Salfit governor said.
Barqan settlement, near Salfit's Qana Valley, has the largest industrial complex of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Gov. Isam Abu Bakr said.
He warned that the dumping of waste in 11 sites surrounding Salfit had become a major cause of cancer in the area.
All Israeli settlements built in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=465699 7 mar 2012, 20:05 , Respect -
Maria 7 mrt 2012
Israeli forces seize cars in West Bank village
JENIN (Ma’an) – Israeli forces confiscated 15 cars from Bartaa village in Jenin and raided several shops, officials said Wednesday.
Tawfiq Qabha, a member of the local village council, told Ma’an that some 20 military jeeps raided the village at dawn, confiscated cars and broke into shops in the village.
Troops are raiding the village on a near-nightly basis, he said.
Israel's military referred inquiries to the police, which did not immediately return calls.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=465895
Judge Adeis warns of Jewish plan to create artificial quake razing Aqsa Mosque
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Chief justice of the higher sharia judiciary council Yousuf Adeis warned of an Israeli malicious intent to create a false earthquake causing the collapse of the Aqsa Mosque.
In a press release on Tuesday, Adeis said the Aqsa Mosque is in real danger and exposed to the fiercest war by the Israeli occupation government and its Jewish settlers who plan to destroy it and build their alleged temple in its place.
He explained that the widespread and escalating collapses, cave-ins and cracks that happen on the streets and in the homes of occupied Jerusalem in addition to the latest collapse of some parts of Ein Silwan Mosque as a result of the Israeli underground excavations and the underway construction of Talmudic buildings related to the alleged temple are all a prelude to the destruction of the Aqsa Mosque.
The chief justice also noted that there are ongoing secret meetings and activities being held nowadays by leaders of settlers and senior rabbis in coordination with Israeli military and security parties to set mechanisms and plans to destroy the Aqsa Mosque.
http://fwd4.me/0vyz
Israeli bulldozers destroy Palestinian wheat crops in Negev
NEGEV, (PIC)-- Bulldozers of the “Land of Israel” department destroyed wheat crops of Palestinian farmers in the Negev, occupied since 1948.
Radio Israel said that the bulldozing was made without prior notice, adding that the farmers have been cultivating their lands for many years.
The Israeli authorities have been systematically launching harassment campaigns against the Negev Bedouins in a bid to force them out of their ancestral land.
http://fwd4.me/0vyx
IOF troops enter northern Gaza, level land
GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) entered northern Gaza on Wednesday and closed the Beit Hanun (Erez) crossing during the operation, local sources said.
They told Quds Press that the soldiers entered the Strip through the crossing after closing it and advanced about 250 meters in Palestinian land.
They said that the soldiers leveled piles of sand and barriers in the devastated industrial zone, adding that the crossing was re-opened after withdrawal of the soldiers.
IOF troops manning the crossing had detained Ramzi Asaliya, 28, at the crossing on Tuesday night and released him a few hours later but back into the enclave and refused to allow him to travel across Beit Hanun terminal to the West Bank.
http://fwd4.me/0vyy 8 mar 2012, 11:08 , Respect -
Maria 8 mrt 2012
Janba and Bir Al-Ad villagers receive demolition orders
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Wednesday evening stormed Janba and Bir Al-Ad villages south of Al-Khalil city and handed most of the Palestinian families there demolition notices issued against their homes and other buildings.
This was the second time Palestinian citizens from these areas received demolition orders against their homes during this month.
Local sources told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that Israeli troops escorting employees from the Israeli civil administration handed these demolition orders as they did earlier this month.
Most of the Palestinian families in these two villages, most notably, the families of Raba'ee, Mohamed, Idra and Dar Salama, received notices.
The Israeli occupation authority issued demolition orders against all houses in Janba village in addition to its only Mosque and school at the pretext of unlicensed construction, the sources added.
http://fwd4.me/0w3q
IOF soldiers serve demolition notices in Jordan Valley
JORDAN VALLEY, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) served demolition notices to the owners of two houses in the Jordan Valley and told them they should evict their homes within three days because of their proximity to IOF barracks.
The municipal council of Wadi Al-Maleh in the Valley denounced the new demolition notices, adding that villages in the Wadi are the target of a war of annihilation to end the Arab presence in them. He asked for urgent protection for inhabitants of those villages.
It said that the two houses are inhabited by 12 individuals who have been living in the area for decades and have title deeds to prove their ownership.
Most of the houses in the Wadi are threatened with destruction, the council said, adding that the inhabitants live in a Ghetto surrounded by IOF camps and settlements.
http://fwd4.me/0w1G
Israeli authorities raze Araqib village in Negev for 36th time
NEGEV, (PIC)-- The Israeli authorities continued their demolition streak in the Negev, occupied since 1948, and razed two houses in Laqiya village and the entire village of Araqib for the 36th time.
Eyewitnesses said that Israeli occupation forces escorted the bulldozers in the destruction of the Araqib village, which is always rebuilt by its inhabitants after each time it is leveled.
They said that two homes for a 75-year-old woman and a father of three children were razed in Laqiya out of 11 houses threatened with demolition.
Political official of the Islamic movement in the Negev Sheikh Talab Abu Arar lashed out at the Israeli authorities for deliberately razing Palestinian homes in the Negev while ignoring thousands of unlicensed houses owned by Jews.
http://fwd4.me/0w1F 13 mar 2012, 00:21 , Respect -
Maria 12 mrt 2012
New Military Gate Limits Access to Beit Iksa Land
A new military-controlled road gate the Israeli army had set up on Monday in the village of Beit Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem, raised concern of possible takeover of almost 2000 dunums of land as it limits access to agricultural land, according to residents.
The soldiers also took over a house in the area and turned it into a military outpost, said residents.
They said soldiers manning the new gate prevented village residents from reaching their homes for hours under the pretext of security reasons.
Villagers said they expect that the army will not allow them to reach their homes and land behind the new gate without an army-issued permit.
They expressed concern that this Israeli measure aims to eventually seize their land for the benefit of expanding the nearby settlement of Ramot, built illegally on village land.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19250 13 mar 2012, 18:33 , Respect -
Maria 13 mrt 2012
IOF aggression on Gaza displaced dozens of families
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip over the past four days had completely destroyed ten housing units and partially damaged 350 others, the Palestinian government in Gaza said.
Yasser Al-Shanti, undersecretary of the ministry of housing and public works, told Quds Press that dozens of Palestinian citizens were displaced as a result of the Israeli attacks that targeted their buildings.
He estimated that each housing unit used to accommodate between five to eight individuals.
Shanti said that technical teams from his ministry have started to estimate damage, noting that the teams could not reach certain areas due to the ongoing attacks.
The Israeli raids and artillery bombardment over the past four days killed 25 Palestinians and wounded more than 80 others.
http://fwd4.me/0wNC 14 mar 2012, 21:27 , Respect -
Maria 14 mrt 2012
Study: Israeli 'state land' illegally taken from West Bank
(pic. 1 mrt 2010)
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel has designated some 900,000 dunams of the occupied West Bank as Israeli state land, using procedures that break local and international laws, an Israeli human rights group said Wednesday.
"Large swaths of land have been classified state land and designated for use by settlements, despite the fact that they belong to Palestinian individuals or communities," according to a new report by B'Tselem.
The study says Palestinian land "was taken from their lawful owners by legal manipulation and in breach of local law and international law alike."
After an Israeli court ruled the state could not build settlements on private Palestinian land in 1979, Israel's state attorney office redefined the requirements for designating land state-owned, the study says.
The report reviews Israeli policies in light of relevant laws in the West Bank before it was occupied by Israel in 1967.
B'Tselem says Israel disregarded community rights to land used for grazing, redefined what was classified as 'cultivated land' and extended the requirement for continuous cultivation of the land.
Israel's legal stance increased state land in the West Bank from 527,000 dunums prior to Israel's occupation, to more than 1.427 million dunams, an expansion of more than 170 percent, the report says.
Under international law, state land does not belong to Israel, and should be used to benefit Palestinians while the West Bank is under military occupation, B'Tselem adds.
"Despite this obligation, the percentage of state land that Israel has designated for Palestinians is negligible. Virtually all state land has been designated for exclusive use by the settlements," the report notes.
The Israeli rights group says a recent deal to move a settler outpost to state land is thus illegal, calling on the Israeli government to revoke the agreement.
After months of negotiations, on Sunday the government agreed with Migron settlers that they relocate a few kilometers away, to meet a high court ruling that ordered the outpost be removed by by March 31, 2012 as it lies on land with demonstrated Palestinian-ownership.
The families are relocating to another already-established West Bank settlement a few kilometers away.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=468009
IOF soldiers raze car wash
BETHLEHEM, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) razed a Palestinian car wash and repair garage in Husan village to the west of Bethlehem on Wednesday, local sources said.
Owner of the wash Firas Shusha told Quds Press that IOF bulldozers leveled the facility before dawn for the second time in three months at the pretext of lack of license.
Shusha said that the soldiers confiscated all equipment on the facility that used to provide sustenance for five workers and their families. He recalled that the first destruction of the wash cost him 20000 Jordanian Dinars.
http://fwd4.me/0wRn 15 mar 2012, 09:46 , Respect -
Maria 15 mrt 2012
Soldiers Turn Rooftop into Outpost
NABLUS, (WAFA) – Israeli soldiers Thursday turned the roof of a house in the town of Urif, west of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, into an outpost, said security sources.
They said soldiers stormed the town and set up a checkpoint at its entrance, stopping cars and checking papers, while some occupied the rooftop of a local house where they set up an army observation post.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19295
Israeli Forces, Settlers Raze Land, Uproot Trees in West Bank
NABLUS, (WAFA) – Israeli forces and settlers razed large areas of agricultural land and uprooted dozens of olive trees in the northern West Bank cities of Nablus and Salfit, local sources said Thursday.
Israeli bulldozers razed about 12 dunums of land belonging to Abu Kanaan family in Beit Dajan, a village east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, uprooting dozens of olive trees in, according to head of the village council Nasser Abu Jaish.
Meanwhile, Jewish settlers protected by soldiers razed late Wednesday large areas of land and uprooted dozens of olive trees in an area located behind the apartheid wall.
One of the land owners, Ali Yousef, said that when farmers entered their land they were surprised to find a number of settlers from a nearby settlement razing their land and uprooting their trees and when they tried to stop the settlers, Israeli forces asked them to leave the area.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19292
Sheds Demolished in Nablus Area
NABLUS, (WAFA) – Israeli bulldozers Thursday demolished a number of Palestinian sheds in an area east of Beit Forik, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors Israeli settlements activities in the northern parts of the West Bank.
No reason was given for the demolition.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19294
Local official: Army uproot olive trees in Nablus village
NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces uprooted olive trees in the Nablus village of Beit Dajan on Thursday, a local official said.
Village council head Naser Abu Jesh told Ma'an that Israeli military jeeps accompanied by bulldozers damaged trees in the eastern part of the village on the pretext that it is a military zone.
The land is owned by Jamal Abu Kanan.
Beit Dajan is located directly opposite the illegal Israeli settlement of Hamra.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=468137 18 mar 2012, 09:52 , Respect -
Maria 17 mrt 2012
Israel displaces Palestinian families, razes their homes in Jordan Valley
JENIN, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) demolished on Thursday six Palestinian homes in the Jordan Valley and rendered their residents homeless.
Eyewitness told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that Israeli bulldozers escorted by troops knocked down a three-room house owned by a Palestinian civilian called Ayman Ad'eis in Al-Ajaj area and displaced him along with his wife and five children without any mercy.
The IOF also flattened the house of another civilian, Ibrahim Bisharat, without allowing him to get out his furniture and belongings. Now he and his six-member family are homeless and in a miserable condition.
Another victimized family of six individuals was also displaced after the IOF demolished its house in Al-Makhruq area.
In Fasayel area, also in the Jordan Valley, Israeli troops aboard 11 military vehicles and one bulldozer encircled the Palestinian homes and barns and declared the area a closed military zone before embarking on demolishing three houses and five livestock shelters.
30 Palestinian civilians including 21 children were living in these three houses.
http://fwd4.me/0wco
Israel allocates millions of dollars for building synagogues in O. Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli municipality of occupied Jerusalem has earmarked millions of dollars to build more synagogues and other Jewish institutions in a bid to Judaize the occupied holy city.
The Israeli army radio said on Saturday that the municipality’s budget for Jewish religious buildings had doubled since current mayor Nir Barkat took office back in 2009.
It recalled that the municipality’s budget allocated for synagogues was 2.7 million dollars in 2009 and reached 4.5 million dollars in 2011 and is expected this year to reach 5 million dollars.
The radio pointed out that the deputy mayor was the one who demanded the increase and quoted him as saying that he was pleased with Barkat’s approval of the increase and hoped that he would earmark more funds for this purpose
http://fwd4.me/0wcv 19 mar 2012, 14:29 , Respect -
Maria 19 mrt 2012
Mansi denounces Israel for planning 187000 new housing units in O. Jerusalem
GAZA, (PIC)-- Public works minister in Gaza Dr. Yousef Al-Mansi has lashed out at the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) for planning to build 187000 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem.
He said in a press release that the IOA plan aims at changing the demographic nature of the holy city and falls in line with the Judaization scheme of Jerusalem.
Mansi noted that the plan is endorsed at a time the IOA is continuing its demolition streak against Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and occupied Jerusalem and its blockage of main construction material into Gaza.
The minister called on all free people of the world to stand up to the IOA schemes in occupied Jerusalem.
http://fwd4.me/0wid
UN: Settlers grab Palestinian water springs
By Jihan Abdalla
NABI SALEH (Reuters) -- Jewish settlers have seized dozens of natural springs in the occupied West Bank, barring Palestinians or limiting their access to scarce water sources, a United Nations report said on Monday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it had surveyed 530 springs in the West Bank and found that 30, mostly in areas where Israel retains military control, were taken over by the settlers.
It added that Palestinians currently had limited access to 26 other springs where settlers had moved in and threatened to take control. The report said settlers had not encroached on 474 remaining springs surveyed.
"Springs have remained the single largest water source for irrigation and a significant source for watering livestock," the report said, adding that some also provided water for domestic consumption in areas not connected to pipelines.
"The loss of access to springs and adjacent land reduced the income of affected farmers, who either stop cultivating the land or face a reduction in the productivity of their crops," the report said.
It added that settlers had turned dozens of springs into tourist sites and some were used for swimming.
"Settlers have developed 40 springs as tourist sites, deployed picnic tables and benches and given them Hebrew names ... It is generating employment and revenue for the settlements and it is a way of promoting or advertising settlements as a fun place," OCHA researcher Yehezkel Lein said.
David Haivri, a settler leader, said settlers were using the springs "for purposes of recreation and for the people who live here, more so than for tourism purposes."
In 2009 a spring named Ein el Qaws, located near the village of Nabi Saleh, was taken over by settlers from Halamish, forcing villagers to obtain their irrigation water from other sources, the report and residents said.
"The spring was used to irrigate hundreds of olive and fruit trees in the village and the children used to swim in it, now if we try to go to the spring, the settlers and soldiers come and kick us out," said villager Nariman Tamimi.
A spokesman for Israel's military-run Civil Administration in the West Bank said there was free access to the Ein el Qaws spring for everyone, except on Fridays when Palestinians usually mount protests against the spring's takeover and soldiers keep people away.
He said Israel had curbed illegal building at one spring and had started legal proceedings against work at another site.
About 500,000 Israelis and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in a 1967 war.
Palestinians say settlements, considered illegal by the International Court of Justice, the highest UN legal body for disputes, would deny them a viable state. Israel disputes their illegality and says the status of settlements should be decided in peace negotiations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469383
Israeli settlers take over water springs in West Bank: UN report
A United Nations report says Israeli settlers have taken over dozens of natural springs in the occupied West Bank, blocking Palestinians access to the water sources.
“Palestinians have been deterred from accessing the springs by acts of intimidation, threats and violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers,” said a Monday report published by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
At least 30 springs in the West Bank are “completely taken over” by Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents are unable to gain access to the sources “at all,” the report added.
The OCHA report also said the springs have remained the “single largest water source for irrigation and a significant source for watering livestock” for Palestinians.
“The loss of access to springs and adjacent land reduced the income of affected farmers, who either stop cultivating the land or face a reduction in the productivity of their crops.”
Israeli settlers have “undertaken” an effort to turn some of the areas with natural springs into tourist attraction spots, constructing pools, picnic areas and signs carrying a “Hebrew name” for the spring sources, the OCHA said.
The UN report stated that the takeover of springs in the West Bank is “an extension” of illegal Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.
OCHA called on Israeli authorities to stop settlement expansions and “restore Palestinian access to the water springs taken over by settlers.”
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/232432.html 20 mar 2012, 13:51 , Respect -
Maria 20 mrt 2012
IOA serves demolition notice in Al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has served a demolition notice to the owner of a house to the east of Halhul village to the north of Al-Khalil, local sources said.
The land research center in the province said that the IOA civil administration informed Muhanad Al-Aqrat, the house owner, that he should stop building his two-story house that was about to be completed because it was being built without permit.
The center quoted Muhanad’s brother Iyad as saying that the civil administration agents glued the order on the house on Monday.
Rajah Talahme, a researcher with the center, told Quds Press that a family of five including three children was supposed to inhabit the 250 square meters house at its completion.
http://fwd4.me/0wnY
UN report: Israel demolished 574 Palestinian buildings last year
GENEVA, (PIC)-- The UN high commissioner for human rights criticized the Israeli forces for using live ammunition against unarmed Palestinians and for increasing demolition of their property.
The international organization said in a report that the Israeli forces demolished 574 Palestinian buildings in the period December 1st 2010 to mid-November 2011 including 203 houses and displaced 957 Palestinians.
The report noted that Israel was adamant on its demolition policy of Palestinian homes at a time it imposes strict measures on issuing new building permits, describing the act as a flagrant challenge to international laws and doctrines.
The report also lashed out at Israel for its double standards in dealing with Palestinians and its settlers, explaining that settlers are tried before civilian courts while Palestinians attend military trials.
It said that the Israeli blockade on Gaza Strip for more than five years now was affecting the humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
The report urged the Israeli government to adopt all necessary measures to restrict the use of excessive force against Palestinian civilians, to halt settlers’ attacks on the Palestinian citizens and their property, and to halt building the separation wall and to dismantle the sections of it built on Palestinian land.
http://fwd4.me/0wnZ
Negev Bedouins censure Israel’s ‘dangerous’ Praver plan
(2:26) Negev Bedouins undr Israel aggressive policies - Press TV News
The Arab villagers residing in the Negev desert in southern Israel have censured a plan approved by the Tel Aviv regime to “displace” people from their land.
Bedouins of the village of Alsra in Negev criticized the Israeli plan they say will ultimately displace tens of thousands of villagers.
“There is enough room for everybody, but because of the Zionist mentality, they (Israelis) would like to reduce the geographical space of the Bedouins; to transform their life from being semi-nomadic Bedouins to urban people against their will,” an Alsra villager told Press TV on Monday.
Israel approved the Praver plan in September 2011, claiming it will address the problem of “unrecognized Bedouin villages” in Negev.
Human rights groups have also criticized the Israeli plan, saying it will seriously affect the Bedouin rights.
Another Alsra Bedouin told Press TV that plan is like a “daylight robbery.”
“We are facing home demolitions. We do not have any basic services; no schools, no clinics, no roads and no electricity.”
The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, which represents Arab communities in Israel, said last year following the approval of the Praver plan that it was a “disaster” which would have “dangerous” consequences.
A female resident in the Bedouin village of Alsra said, “The danger that awaits us is the danger of displacement; a threat to our existence on this land. Where do we go? I hope the world hears our case.”
About 160,000 Bedouins currently live mainly in and around the Negev desert.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/232568.html
Israel Orders to Stop Construction on Palestinian House
HEBRON, (WAFA) – The Israeli authorities Tuesday issued a notice to stop construction work on a Palestinian house in Halhoul, a town north of Hebron, as a prelude to demolish it under the pretext it was built without permit, according to the Land Research Center (LCR).
LCR told WAFA that Israeli forces and officers from the Israeli civil administration stormed an area east of the town of Halhoul and placed a notice to halt work at Mohannad al-Aqrat’s 250-square-meter house, which is in the final stage of construction to house his family of five.
The notice said there will be a court hearing on April 2nd to look into what it called “demolition of a construction and turning it back to its previous state.”
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19333 21 mar 2012, 21:01 , Respect -
Maria 21 mrt 2012
Israeli Forces Storm Ramallah Area Village, Confiscate Properties
RAMALLAH, (WAFA) – Israeli forces Wednesday stormed the Ramallah area village of Nabi Saleh, raided and ransacked several Palestinian houses, and confiscated private properties, said a statement issued by the village’s popular resistance committee.
It said that Israeli forces raided several houses in the village, including the house of the coordinator of the Popular Committee in the village, Naji al-Tamimi, as well as the house of the detained Palestinian activist Basim al-Tamimi.
The Israeli forces confiscated a number of computers, a camera, official documents and copies of magazines discussing the situation in the village issued by the Popular Committee and the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territory, B'Tselem.
The statement added that Israeli soldiers threatened the villagers in an attempt to halt the popular resistance campaign and weekly protests against the expansion of nearby settlements.
Residents of Nabi Saleh have been organizing weekly protests since December 2009 against the expansion of the illegal Halamish and Neve Tzuf settlements on village land and their takeover of water springs vital for the livelihood of village residents.
The committee said that Israeli forces has been targeting the village for three weeks now, conducting almost daily raids and assaulting residents at the entrance of the village. Three Palestinians have been arrested since then, including a minor.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19342
Foreign Ministry Condemns Knesset Endorsement of Settlements
RAMALLAH, WAFA) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wednesday condemned in a statement the Israeli Knesset’s endorsement of settlement activities in the Palestinian Territory.
The Israeli Knesset Financial Committee approved allocating around $30 million to support settlements, said the statement, adding that the Knesset also approved on the first reading of a bill to endorse settlements by granting tax breaks to funders of settlement projects.
The ministry indicated that the Israeli government continues its aggression and blatant violations against the Palestinian people, works to destroy the applicability of the two-state solution on the ground, and intensifies its settlement activities to Judaize East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The statement also criticized an announcement by the Planning and Building Committee of the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem of plans to confiscate1235 dunums of Palestinian-owned land in al-Walaja, a village south of Jerusalem, to build parks for nearby settlements.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Israeli measures are a breach of international law and resolutions, as well as destroy any possibility for peace and resumption of negotiations.
It called on the international community, the Quartet and the United Nations to condemn Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and to take immediate steps to end occupation and halt the daily assaults targeting the Gaza Strip.
The statement also held the Israeli government responsible for the failure of negotiations and the peace process.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19345
Ir Amim: Israel to seize 1, 235 dunums of Walja village for its Jewish gardens
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Ir Amim society reported that the Israeli district committee for planning and building approved a plan to annex 1, 235 dunums of Palestinian land in Walja village south of occupied Jerusalem to turn them into Jewish gardens.
Senior official from Ir Amim Ahmed Sab-Laban said this Israeli plan is part of a scheme called Emek Refaim gardens which is one of the largest Israeli projects related to gardens and green spaces to be built on about 5, 600 dunums of Palestinian lands in Jerusalem.
Sab-Laban explained that the so-called Jerusalem development authority recently made a proposal to expand this scheme by annexing 1, 235 dunums of Palestinian land south of Jerusalem to build what it described as national parks.
After looking into this matter, the Ir Amim official said, it has been found that these tracts of land to be annexed is the same Palestinian territory which is being separated by the Israeli segregation wall in Waljah village.
Hundreds of trees and vast tracts of green and agricultural land are being destroyed around the village in order to expand the wall and prepare the area for the construction of these national parks, he added.
http://fwd4.me/0wsa 22 mar 2012, 15:50 , Respect -
Maria 22 mrt 2012
Israelis Destroy Agricultural Land near Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM, (WAFA) – Israeli army bulldozers destroyed a large area of Palestinian agricultural land in the town of Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, a local activist said Thursday.
According to the area coordinator of the popular committee against the settlements, Ahmad Salah, a town resident was shocked when he got to his land located near the settlement of Daniel to find out that all 20 dunums planted with olive and almond trees were destroyed.
He said the Israeli army and settlers prevent land owners from working on their land that is located near the illegal settlements and then destroy and uproot whatever trees were planted there.
He said the purpose behind such action is to drive away the Palestinian landowners in order to expand the nearby settlements.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19351 23 mar 2012, 14:06 , Respect -
Maria 23 mrt 2012
Excerpt: Rare peek at nightly raids of West Bank village (Nabi Saleh) with English subs
(9:31) Excerpt: Rare peek at nightly raids of West Bank village (Nabi Saleh) with English subs 1 x viewed
This is footage of Israeli soldiers raiding a home in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh on the night of March 20th, 2012. This video captures a raid on the home of imprisoned Palestinian nonviolent leader Bassem Tamimi. His wife, children, and likely his mother, can be seen in the video reacting in horror to the ransacking of their home, albeit it rather common across the West Bank and in Nabi Saleh itself.
This is an abridged version of the original.
The video was originally posted by Bilal Tamimi and is available here: (12:24) night ride in Nabi saleh ????? ???? 20 3 2012 1 x viewed
The uncut version of the aforementioned video with translations
(12:14) Rare peek at nightly raids of West Bank village (Nabi Saleh) w/English subs