‘We’ve gone beyond the occupation. The Palestinians have been pacified’, says Jeff Halper [GALLO/GETTY] I caught up with Jeff Halper, long time Israeli peace activist, director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) and author of numerous books, while he was on a European speaking tour. Here is what he had to say about [...]
Image Credit: Luis Vazquez/©Gulf News Buying time in Palestine Neither Obama nor Abbas will be able to hold back the tide of a third intifada by the oppressed people By Abdel Bari Atwan, Special to Gulf News Published: 00:00 April 25, 2012 Be the first to comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare [...]
TUBAS (Ma’an) — Israeli soldiers shot an 18-year-old shepherd in the chest on Thursday evening during military training exercises in the northern West Bank, medics said. Yasir Suleiman Nijad Kaabnah was shot while herding sheep and camels near Wadi al-Maleh in the northern Jordan Valley, medics told Ma’an. Salem Kaabneh, the victim’s uncle who was [...]
Collectively Punishing Palestinian Prisoners and Families By Stephen Lendman - Posted on 19 April 2012 Collectively Punishing Palestinian Prisoners and Families by Stephen Lendman William Blum once called the holocaust the worst thing ever to happen to Jews. The second worse thing, he said, “is the state of Israel.” [...]
(MaanImages/file) NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli prison authorities on Thursday prevented relatives from visiting detainees in Gilboa prison in northern Israel, the Prisoners Society said. Family members of detainees from Nablus told the Prisoners Society that they were not allowed to see their relatives. Several detainees were also transferred to nearby Shatta jail as a punishment [...]
(Image Credit: Illustration: Luis Vazquez/©Gulf News) Who Owns the Palestine Solidarity Movement? By Ramzy Baroud A few years ago, after I spoke at a conference in South Africa, Ronnie Kasrils, then the country’s Minister for Intelligence Services, leaned towards me and said, “I agree with everything you said, but in order for the [...]
Firefighters try to save bags of food aid at the United Nations headquarters in Gaza City after it was bombed by Israel on Jan. 15, 2009. (MaanImages/Mohamed Al-Zanon) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestine can still pursue an investigation into possible Israeli war crimes during the last offensive on Gaza at the International Criminal Court, PLO observer [...]
Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi (MaanImages/File) RAMALAH (Ma’an) — Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi expressed concern on Sunday about recent assaults on Palestinian free speech. “Freedom of expression and access to information is enshrined in the basic principles of the Palestinian Basic Law … it is unacceptable to detain journalists, bloggers or Palestinian activists,” the [...]
(MaanImages/file) By Ramzy Baroud Last week Marwan Barghouti, the prominent Palestinian political prisoner and Fatah leader, called on Palestinians to launch a “large-scale popular resistance” which would “serve the cause of our people.” The message was widely disseminated as it coincided with Land Day, an event that has unified Palestinians since March 1976. Its meaning [...]
Reporters Without Borders said it was “shocked” by Israeli forces‘ raid on the launch of Hona al-Quds in East Jerusalem on Monday. (MaanImages/HO, Al-Quds Educational TV) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday it was shocked by Monday’s raid by Israeli security forces on a Palestinian media network set up by Al-Quds University in [...]
Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti is accompanied by Israeli prison guards after a deliberation at Jerusalem Magistrate’s court, January 25, 2012. From his cell in an Israeli prison, Barghouti called on Monday for a new wave of civil resistance in their decades-long quest for statehood and for severing all ties with Israel. (Reuters/Ammar Awad, File) [...]
Focusing on individualised economic growth in the Palestinian territories turns a blind eye to the occupation, thus indirectly consenting to Israeli expansion [GALLO/GETTY] Ramallah, West Bank - The economy of the West Bank has reached a crossroads, and with it so has the Palestinian Authority (PA). As Palestinian lending banks close their doors, development contracts are [...]
A boy holds a flag during a rally calling on Egyptian authorities to supply the Gaza Strip with fuel and electricity in Khan Younis on the southern Gaza Strip March 23, 2012. (REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A senior leader of Hamas criticized the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority for being an ally of Israel [...]
(MaanImages/Stringer) RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Thousands of Palestinian children struggle with mental health problems and reintegration into society after they are detained by Israel, a new report on child detention says. According to the study released by Save the Children Sweden and YMCA-East Jerusalem on Monday, 90.6 percent of detained children suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder [...]
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The head of Gaza’s gas station owners organization said Wednesday that the Gaza Strip is experiencing a domestic-use gas crisis after Israel reduced the amounts of fuel entering the enclave. Mahmoud al-Shawwa said that over the past two weeks, Gaza has received 40 to 60 tons of domestic gas, but it [...]
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A constitutional court in Ramallah on Tuesday postponed a hearing on the legality of President Mahmoud Abbas‘ appointment as prime minister of a unity government to March 20. Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal agreed that the president will lead a unity government in Doha in February. PLO central council member Abdul-Jawwad [...]
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – The Palestinian Authority is describing Wednesday’s raids on TV networks in the occupied West Bank as the possible beginning of a “frequency war” over limited broadcasting space. The confiscation of equipment from Watan TV and Al-Quds Educational TV deprives Palestinians of their right to have frequencies for building modern wireless communication networks, [...]
(MaanImages/Moti Milrod, File) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority on Friday condemned Israel’s approval of 500 new settler homes and retroactive approval of 200 more in the northern West Bank. The settlement expansion in Shilo, near Nablus, and the legalizing of nearby settler outpost Shvut Rahel, announced Wednesday, is a “stark indication of Israel’s policy [...]
Abbas Confirms: Israel Peace Talks Over No Progress in Latest Round of Negotiations by Jason Ditz, January 25, 2012 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum The latest round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, kickstarted by [...]
An Israeli prison guard escorts jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti to a deliberation at Jerusalem Magistrate’s court Jan. 25, 2012. (Reuters/Baz Ratner) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian-Israeli conflict will come to an end only when the occupation comes to an end and Israel withdraws to the pre-1967 borders, jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said Wednesday. [...]
By Daoud Kuttab A few months ago, a group of six Palestinian residents of Ramallah decided to take a bus ride to Jerusalem. This was no ordinary ride. The Israeli government-funded bus they boarded links West Bank Jewish settlements to Jerusalem and Israel. The trip on this settler-only bus that travels on Palestinian roads did [...]
Israeli settlers are pictured at a protest near the city of Tulkarem. (MaanImages/File) NABLUS (Ma’an) — Settlers vandalized a mosque in a Salfit village on Wednesday and attempted to set fire to several vehicles, a Palestinian Authority official said. PA settlement affairs official Ghassan Doughlas told Ma’an that residents in the village of Deir Istiya [...]
(IRIN/Erica Silverman) RAMALLAH (IRIN) — Izz Tawil draws a black circle on the flip-chart in his office in Ramallah, capital of the West Bank in the occupied Palestinian territory. “The Palestinian economy is a closed cash-circle,” the general manager of the Palestinian microfinance network Sharakeh explains. He goes on to draw several small arrows on [...]
President Mahmoud Abbas is on an official visit in South Africa. (MaanImages/HO) JOHANNESBURG (Ma’an) — PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki accused Israeli leaders of trying to undermine the two state solution, in a speech delivered on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas in South Africa on Saturday evening. South Africa’s bitter experience of Apartheid, oppression and [...]
Israeli settlers from Bracha settlement attack villagers from Burin near Nablus during the olive harvest. (MaanImages/Rami Swidan, File) NABLUS (Ma’an) — Armed Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers on Saturday attacked villagers in Nablus in the northern West Bank, Palestinian Authority officials said. PA settlement affairs official Ghassan Doughlas told Ma’an that residents of the illegal [...]
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad helps to rebuild a Bedouin makeshift house near Hebron a day after the Israeli army destroyed it. (MaanImages/Mustafa Abu Dayeh, Pool) By Sam Bahour It’s the end of the year and time to turn the page after a bit of reflecting. What better way to reflect [...]
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Likud party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem Nov. 21, 2011. (Reuters/Baz Ratner) TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he will not negotiate with any Palestinian government that includes Hamas.”If Hamas joins the Palestinian government we will [...]
Netanyahu Office Condemns Palestinians for Efforts at PLO Unity Says Abbas ‘Walking Away From Peace’ by Jason Ditz, December 22, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Reports that Hamas and several other factions are planning to join [...]
A woman holds a photo of her relative held in an Israeli jail during a protest calling for the release of prisoners.(REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini) RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Five female prisoners at Israel’s Hasharon jail started a hunger strike on Wednesday in protest against not being included in the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and [...]
By Sam Bahour – The West Bank Some Palestinians refuse to just sit still and accept their fate as a permanently, militarily occupied people. One would think by now that Palestinians would have received the message loud and clear – the world couldn’t care less about their fate. But no, these Palestinians just [...]
Hamas‘ conundrum may prove too difficult to solve. (Aljazeera) By Ramzy BaroudEver since Hamas emerged victorious in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, myriad public opinion polls revealed that its popularity in the Occupied Territories was on a steady decline. However, there are actually few indications that Hamas as a popular movement will be departing [...]
An Israeli police jeep takes position near a section of Israel’s controversial separation wall north of Jerusalem (MaanImages/Moamar Awad, File) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Israeli mayor of Jerusalem said Tuesday that lands outside of the area allocated for Israel’s West Bank barrier could eventually be abandoned to the Palestinian Authority, Israeli media reported. Nir Barkat [...]
It was interested to see the Australian arrested for spying for Hamas. Israel has declared Hamas to be a terrorist organisation. However, it was the elected government much to the dimasy of the US and Israel and was nwvwe allowed to govern The Palestine Authority just continues on as an unelected governmet for [...]
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority “will not yield to extortion,” presidential adviser Nimir Hammad said Tuesday of threats by Israeli officials to withhold Palestinian money again. Hammad’s comments followed reports in Israel that the government would refuse to pay Palestinian tax revenues if the PLO applied again for full UN membership. Citing political sources, [...]
PA: Settlers kidnap shepherd near Nablus Published today (updated) 05/12/2011 16:59 Israeli settlers have kidnapped a 60-year-old shepherd near Nablus, lofficials said. (MaanImages/Hatem Omar, File) NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli settlers on Monday kidnapped a 60-year-old shepherd after attacking him in Orif village south of Nablus, officials said. Village council head Fawzi Shehadeh said six residents [...]
Japan supports rural communities in West Bank Published Friday 02/12/2011 (updated) 02/12/2011 13:20 RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Japan on Thursday granted funding for two projects to support rural communities in the West Bank. At his office in Ramallah, Japan’s representative to the Palestinian Authority Naofumi Hashimoto signed contracts to fund a compost production plant in Jericho [...]
(MaanImages/File) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip has said that there is a medical crisis in the coastal enclave, with over 260 types of medicines unavailable to residents. On Saturday, the ministry called on President Abbas to protect the rights of sick Gaza residents, a statement said. It urged [...]
Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat on Saturday urged the international community to hold the Israeli government to account in meetings with foreign diplomats. (MaanImages/Rami Swidan, File) JERICHO (Ma’an) — Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat on Saturday urged the international community to hold the Israeli government to account and stop treating Israel as above the law. [...]
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities have extended the closure of four Palestinian NGOs in Jerusalem for another year, the Palestinian Authority said Friday. Police sealed the entrance of the four NGOs on Wednesday, said a statement calling the action reflective of a policy to control and undermine the role of Palestinian civil society in Jerusalem. [...]
ROME (Ma’an) — Italy has upgraded the top Palestinian diplomat in the country to the level of ambassador, official Palestinian Authority media said Thursday. The head of the Palestinian delegation to Italy Sabri Attiyah, will be made ambassador as part of Italy’s efforts to raise the level of the Palestinian representative office in the country, [...]
Government salaries for November will be paid on time, officials said, after Israel released frozen tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority that had threatened to bankrupt public coffers.(MaanImages/Hatem Omar, File) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Government salaries for November will be paid on time after Israel released frozen tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, a PA spokesman [...]
Israel unfreezes Palestinian Authority tax millions West warned against punitive measure for Unesco vote to admit Palestinian Territories as a member Israeli opposition leader urges Palestinian president to renew peace talks. Link to this video Israel is to release millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenues it had frozen as a punitive sanction for the past [...]
A farmer works in a strawberry field in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya. (MaanImages/Wissam Nassar, File) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — One truckload of strawberries left the Gaza Strip on Tuesday for export to Europe, crossings officials said. Farmers in Gaza started to export limited amounts of produce to Europe via the Kerem [...]
A Palestinian boy watches over a rally held in Ramallah. (Reuters/Darren Whiteside) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Fatah and Hamas are in talks to release political prisoners in a bid to end all outstanding disagreements, an official said Monday. “(President Mahmoud) Abbas gave instructions to the director of the Palestinian Authority’s general intelligence service, Majid Faraj, [...]
Palestinian youth throw stones towards Israeli soldiers during protests in the West Bank village of Beit Fajjar, near Bethlehem in 2010. (MaanImages/Luay Sababa) JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli official said Saturday evening on live television that if the Palestinian Authority collapses it would not be the “end of the world for Israel.” Israeli Deputy Foreign [...]
A truck carrying goods and food supplies crosses the Kerem Shalom terminal between Israeli and the Gaza Strip. (MaanImages/Hatem Omar) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israel has set new restrictions on business owners in Gaza, the head of Palestinian contractors said Thursday. At a news conference in Gaza City, Osama Kahil said conditions were more difficult [...]
Saeb Erekat pictured in 2010. (MaanImages/file) JERICHO (Ma’an) — PLO official Saeb Erekat said Saturday that there can not be a two state solution without Palestinian reconciliation. Erekat said he considered political reconciliation a “supporting point” of the peace process. The PLO official made the comments in separate meetings with the British Consul, a UN [...]
Palestinian government employees line up for salary payments in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (MaanImages/Fadi Arouri, File) By Daoud Kuttab Few in Washington may realize that the issue of US funding for Palestine is the talk of the town in Ramallah and other Palestinian cities. And the talk is not pleasant. President Mahmoud Abbas [...]
A truck carrying goods and food supplies crosses the Kerem Shalom terminal between Israeli and the Gaza Strip. (MaanImages/Hatem Omar) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israel has set new restrictions on business owners in Gaza, the head of Palestinian contractors said Thursday. At a news conference in Gaza City, Osama Kahil said conditions were more difficult [...]
Israeli FM Rules Out Future Negotiation With Palestinians Insists Israel Will Continue to Withhold Tax Funds by Jason Ditz, November 23, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Speaking today in a meeting with his Montenegrin counterpart, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman ruled out any future negotiations with the upcoming Palestinian unity government, saying Israel won’t [...]
