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News Topics:

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)

East Jerusalem

• 09.05.19 Israeli Forces Attack Palestinian Worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque (VIDEO)

West Bank

• 03.05.19 Israeli Forces Arrest 15 Activists in Hebron
• 07.05.19 Has Israel already annexed the West Bank?
• 09.05.19 A checkpoint and a wine opener: Israeli soldiers turn couple’s road trip into a nightmare
• 09.05.19 Israel seals off vital road for Ramallah-area villages
• 09.05.19 Israeli forces detain 9 Palestinians in West Bank

Gaza

• 04.05.19 Four Palestinians killed during weekly protest and Israeli raid
• 05.05.19 Netanyahu pledges ‘massive strikes’ in Gaza as death toll rises
• 06.05.19 Israel and Gaza reach ceasefire agreement amid tense calm
• 06.05.19 ‘What’s the sin of my children?’: Infants killed in Gaza shelling
• 06.05.19 ‘Stories of devastatingly normal suffering in Gaza
• 07.05.19 13 Gaza Schools Severely Damaged by Israeli Airstrikes
• 07.05.19 ‘Watch my proficiency in toppling your 7-story building’ — Israeli taunts Gaza landlord
• 08.05.19 In photos: after airstrikes and funerals, Palestinians in Gaza celebrate Ramadan
• 09.05.19 Life returns to normal in Gaza, but wounds are still open
• 09.05.19 ‘My kids think I’m a hero. They have no idea I’m also afraid.’
• 10.05.19 Israel expands Gaza’s fishing zone after week-long closure

Settlers and Settlements

• 08.05.19 Israeli court releases settler suspected of killing Palestinian mother
• 09.05.19 Settlers break into Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Israel’s Independence Day
• 09.05.19 Right-wing Israelis storm Solomon’s Pools near Bethlehem

Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions

• 08.05.19 Gaza artists urge Eurovision singers to boycott Israel
• 08.05.19 Australian, Canadian firms pull out of Israeli settler railway
• 08.05.19 The Eurovision boycott row confirms it: Palestinian lives don’t matter

Domestic Affairs

• 10.05.19 US crafting surrender document not a peace plan: Palestine FM

Foreign Affairs

UK

• 07.05.19 Britain needs to recognise Palestine as an independent state
• 10.05.19 Why supporters of the Palestinian people are marching in London on the 11th of May
• 11.05.19 London protest demands Israel end ‘unprecedented attacks’ on Palestine

EU

• 07.05.19 The EU’s destructive “peace” partner

Israel

• 06.05.19 As the Gaza crisis continues, Jewish-Palestinian solidarity is growing. Netanyahu must be terrified
• 08.05.19 Netanyahu Worried about PA Financial Crisis (VIDEO)

US

• 07.05.19 First-ever reveal of ‘Deal of the Century’ details
• 08.05.19 Video: What do Palestinians think of Trump’s “deal of the century?”
• 09.05.19 The ‘deal of the century’: US blessing for Israel’s land theft and ghettoisation of the Palestinians

Middle East

• 07.05.19 Qatar to send $480m to West Bank, Gaza after truce with Israel

Rest of World

• 09.05.19 Canada provides $2.4m for 128,000 Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank
• 10.05.19 New Zealand pledges $2m to support UNRWA’s vital programs

Legal

• 07.05.19 Kushner’s peace plan is ‘pretext’ for Israeli land grab: Palestinian UN ambassador
• 09.05.19 UN: 1,700 in Gaza Risk Amputations Due to Lack of Health Funding

‘Israeli forces attacked worshippers leading the old city through Damascus Gate after performing night prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque last night.

In video footage which has circulated on social media, occupation officers could be seen assaulting Palestinians in the area before sound bombs and tear gas were used to dispersing the peaceful crowds.’

Read the rest of the article at Palestine Chronicle

‘Israeli occupation forces this morning arrested 15 Palestinian and foreign solidarity activists who took part in efforts to fix a road in the southern West Bank governorate of Hebron (Al-Khalil), the Anadolu Agency reported.’

Read the rest of the article Palestine Chronicle

07.05.19 Has Israel already annexed the West Bank?

‘Ramallah, occupied West Bank – While the international community and media created an uproar when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intent to annex the West Bank in a bid to garner votes during last month’s elections, many Palestinians living in the occupied territory were not fazed by the right-wing leader’s words.’

Read the rest of the article at Al Jazeera

09.05.19 A checkpoint and a wine opener: Israeli soldiers turn couple’s road trip into a nightmare

‘The attack happened on April 26th. Aseel Baidoun, 28, and her husband Ameer Malhees, 27, and their friend Wisam were on their way from their home in Ramallah to a friend’s engagement in Bethlehem.’

Read the rest of the article at Mondoweiss

09.05.19 Israel seals off vital road for Ramallah-area villages

‘RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israeli forces sealed off a major and vital road connecting the northwest villages of the central occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and the town of Birzeit, on Thursday, in addition to imposing a general closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.’

Read the rest of the article at Maan News

09.05.19 Israeli forces detain 9 Palestinians in West Bank

‘RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained at least nine Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, on predawn Thursday.
According to Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS), Israeli forces detained four Palestinians in the central occupied West Bank district of Jerusalem. Two of the four detainees were identified as Mahdi Abu Asab and Muhammad Abu Asab.’

‘Four Palestinians were killed and 51 injured by Israeli forces during the weekly Friday protests in the eastern Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told reporters that two demonstrators, Raid Abu Tair, 19, and Ramzi Abdo, 31 were shot dead in the eastern Gaza Strip, near the Israeli fence.’

Read the rest of the article at Al Jazeera

05.05.19 Netanyahu pledges ‘massive strikes’ in Gaza as death toll rises

‘Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered “massive strikes” on the Gaza Strip after a two-day escalation that killed 24 Palestinians and four Israelis.

Israeli warplanes and gunboats continued to target the Gaza Strip on Sunday as fighters in the besieged enclave fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel.’

06.05.19 Israel and Gaza reach ceasefire agreement amid tense calm

‘Palestinian officials say a ceasefire agreement has been reached with Israel to end a surge of violence in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel that has led to the deaths of at least 25 Palestinians and four Israelis.

Gaza officials confirmed to Al Jazeera that a deal was reached at 1:30 GMT, and no Israeli air raids on the Palestinian territory have been reported since the deal came into effect.’

06.05.19 ‘What’s the sin of my children?’: Infants killed in Gaza shelling

‘Gaza Strip – One-year-old Seba was killed along with her aunt in an Israeli air attack at their house in Gaza on Saturday.

With her wounded hand, Seba’s mother, 27-year-old Rasha Abu Arar, wiped her tears, ruing the incident that took place following the escalation of violation that has killed at least 24 Palestinians and four Israelis.’

06.05.19 Stories of devastatingly normal suffering in Gaza

‘A popular social media figure from Gaza tweeted yesterday that if he had to choose a movie that most resembled life in the Strip it would be Groundhog’s Day. In the 1993 comedy, the main character is forced to re-live the same day over and over. It may seem like a flippant observation, given that yesterday was the single deadliest day of fighting between Israel and Gaza since the 2014 military operation, with 27 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and four Israeli citizens killed by rockets fired from Gaza. The death, destruction, and fraught anticipation of another war experienced by millions are hardly things to be light-hearted about.’

07.05.19 13 Gaza Schools Severely Damaged by Israeli Airstrikes

‘Thirteen Palestinian schools in the besieged Gaza Strip were severely damaged by the Israeli airstrikes, which claimed the lives of 27 Palestinians and injured at least 154 others, on Tuesday.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education in Gaza said in a statement that the windows and doors of 13 schools were completely damaged, as well as the walls cracked.’

07.05.19 ‘Watch my proficiency in toppling your 7-story building’ — Israeli taunts Gaza landlord

‘Azmi Doghmush, a building owner in Gaza, says that he received a taunting phone call from an Israeli intelligence officer on Sunday: “Sheikh Doghmush! How are you doing?… Count down five minutes and watch my proficiency and accuracy in toppling your building, but keep 50 meters away.”’

08.05.19 ‘In photos: after airstrikes and funerals, Palestinians in Gaza celebrate Ramadan

‘After a weekend of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and rocket fire into Israel, Palestinians began the holy month of Ramadan amid clearing rubble from destroyed buildings and holding funerals. Over the course of two days Israeli forces killed 24 Palestinians including two pregnant women and two babies, and Palestinians fire killed four Israelis, with a tentative ceasefire taking effect in the early morning hours on Monday, the first day of Ramadan.’

09.05.19 Life returns to normal in Gaza, but wounds are still open

‘Gaza City – Normal life has trickled back onto Gaza’s streets after a three-day escalation in the besieged enclave last week that saw at least 25 Palestinians and four Israelis killed.

Following a ceasefire agreement between Gaza and Israel, stores have reopened, students have headed back to schools, and people have resumed work.’

09.05.19 ‘My kids think I’m a hero. They have no idea I’m also afraid.’

‘It’s strange to think that less than a week ago, Israel and Hamas were closer to war than they have been since 2014. As airstrikes pummeled Gaza and rockets rained down on southern Israel — which left 27 Palestinians and four Israelis dead — I spoke to Abu Ali, a friend of mine who lives in Gaza City. Abu Ali had been up all night, fearful that one of his children would wake up scared and shaking from the sounds bombs falling.’

10.05.19 ‘Israel expands Gaza’s fishing zone after week-long closure’

‘GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities decided to expand the permitted fishing zone off Gaza’s coast, on Friday, to 12 nautical miles after drastically reducing the zone to only six over a week ago.
Head of the Fishermen Union in Gaza, Nizar Ayyash, said that Israeli authorities notified Palestinians in the Gaza Strip of their decision to allow the expansion of the permitted fishing zone starting from 10 a.m. on Friday morning.’

10.05.19 Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Youth, Injure Others in Gaza Protests

‘At least one Palestinian was killed and 32 others, including four children, were injured by Israeli forces while demonstrating along the fence separating besieged Gaza Strip from Israel, according to medical sources.

Israeli troops fired live bullets and rubber-coated steel rounds at the protesters, killing Abdullah Jumaa Abdul-Al, 24, and injuring 32 other protesters.’

08.05.19 Israeli court releases settler suspected of killing Palestinian mother

‘BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli court released the Israeli settler suspected of killing a Palestinian mother of eight, Aisha Muhammad Talal al-Rabi, near the Zaatara checkpoint in Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank, on Tuesday.’

09.05.19 Settlers break into Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Israel’s Independence Day

‘Dozens of Israeli settlers broke into the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, guarded by Israeli military police, to mark Israel’s Independence Day, local media have reported.

Around 137 Israeli settlers entered the compound on Thursday through the Moroccan Gate, which leads to the Western Wall plaza inside the Old City of Jerusalem, Quds News said.’

Read the rest of the article at Middle East Eye

09.05.19 Right-wing Israelis storm Solomon’s Pools near Bethlehem

‘BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Dozens of right-wing Israeli settlers entered and held religious prayers at the Solomon’s Pools area south of Bethlehem, in the central occupied West Bank, on Thursday, under the protection of heavily armed Israeli forces.’

08.05.19 Gaza artists urge Eurovision singers to boycott Israel

‘Palestinian artists called on Eurovision song contestants to boycott the international music competition that Israel is hosting next week.

The Gaza Strip-based Palestinian Artists Association said Wednesday that Israel is using the event to “perpetuate oppression, promote injustice or whitewash a brutal apartheid regime”.

The artists cited the killing of more than 60 Palestinians during protests in Gaza along the Israeli fence on May 14 last year, the same day Israel won the Eurovision.’

Read the rest of the article at Al Jazeera

08.05.19 Australian, Canadian firms pull out of Israeli settler railway

‘The Electronic Intifada can exclusively reveal that Canadian engineering giant Bombardier has pulled out of a bid to expand and operate an Israeli tramway linking settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Bombardier is one of several global firms – two others being Australia’s Macquarie and Germany’s Siemens – to drop out of the tender to build the next phase of the Jerusalem light rail.

The light rail system links settlements to each other and to Jerusalem, helping to entrench and facilitate Israel’s colonial expansion in the occupied territory – a war crime.’

Read the rest of the article at Electronic Intifada

08.05.19 The Eurovision boycott row confirms it: Palestinian lives don’t matter

‘Eurovision has always been an exercise in bad taste, but this year’s event takes things to an extreme. If you want to enjoy the kitschy song contest, which will take place from 14 to 18 May in Tel Aviv, Israel, then you have got to ignore the bloody political context that surrounds it. Indeed, Israel is so intent on keeping Eurovision politics-free that anyone it says might disrupt the event will be blocked from entering the country.’

Read the rest of the article at The Guardian

10.05.19 US crafting surrender document not a peace plan: Palestine FM

‘The United States is crafting a surrender document, not a peace plan, and the Palestinians will not accept it regardless of how much money is offered, Palestine’s foreign minister said addressing a United Nations meeting.

Riyad al-Maliki was on Thursday expressing the Palestinian stance on the proposed plan by the Trump administration to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“This is not a peace plan but rather conditions for surrender,” al-Maliki said as the US’s Middle East peace negotiator, Jason Greenblatt, listened on. “And there is no amount of money that can make it acceptable.”‘

Read the rest of the article at Al Jazeera

07.05.19 Britain needs to recognise Palestine as an independent state

‘Over the Bank Holiday weekend, coinciding with the start of the Ramadan fast for Muslims and the run-up to Israel’s Independence Day, it was touch and go whether the latest outbreak of violence – fatalities on the border, rockets fired into Israel, airstrikes against the Gaza Strip – would escalate into all-out war. Twenty-five Palestinians and four Israelis was a modest death toll compared with summer 2014, when 2,250 Palestinians and 67 Israelis were killed in Operation Protective Edge…’

Read the rest of the article at The Guardian

11.05.19 London protest demands Israel end ‘unprecedented attacks’ on Palestine

‘Thousands have demonstrated in central London to demand an end to the “unprecedented attacks” against the Palestinian people at the hands of Israel.

Marching from Portland Place to Whitehall, a diverse crowd chanted “Palestine will be free” and called for the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, while holding banners calling on the UK to stop arming Israel, as part of a demonstration organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War Coalition, among others.

Protesters gathered next to the cenotaph to hear speeches from the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s (PLO) representative, union officials, MPs and campaigners.

Ahed Tamimi, who became a symbol of resistance for the Palestinian people after she was jailed for slapping soldiers outside her home in the West Bank, took to the stage and said she refused to be defined as a victim, but instead a freedom fighter.’

Read the rest of the article at The Guardian

10.05.19 Why supporters of the Palestinian people are marching in London on the 11th of May

‘It is not 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70 years since the Nakba, the Palestinian people’s Catastrophe. This year the Palestinians will be marking the 71st year since their dispossession and the creation of Apartheid state, Israel, in their homeland and against their will. Enough is enough. The Palestinian people have waited long enough. They are entitled to receive justice without any further delay.’

Read the rest of the article at Middle East Monitor

07.05.19 The EU’s destructive “peace” partner

‘While the defenseless population of Gaza was being pummeled by the Israeli military on Saturday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief condemned the firing of rockets from the territory in a nakedly one-sided statement.

“These attacks provoke unspeakable suffering to the Israelis and serve only the cause of endless violence and of an endless conflict,” Federica Mogherini admonished, making no mention of the Palestinian victims of massive Israeli bombing.’

Read the rest of the article at Electronic Intifada

06.05.19 As the Gaza crisis continues, Jewish-Palestinian solidarity is growing. Netanyahu must be terrified

‘My first memory of the news was when I was five, after hearing that former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin had been assassinated. As a Jew, my relationship with Israel developed against a backdrop of the separation barrier, settlements and the open air prison that is Gaza.’

Read the rest of the article at The Independent

08.05.19 Netanyahu Worried about PA Financial Crisis (VIDEO)

‘Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is concerned about the possible collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA) due to the financial crisis it is currently facing, local media reported.

The Palestinian newspaper Al-Resalah said that the Israeli TV Channel 12 had reported a meeting between Netanyahu and his Financial Minister Moshe Kahlon to discuss the crisis facing the PA.’

Read the rest of the article at Palestine Chronicle

07.05.19 First-ever reveal of ‘Deal of the Century’ details

‘BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The main points of the United States’ anticipated Middle East peace plan, the so-called “Deal of the Century,” were revealed by a Hebrew-language news outlet, on Tuesday.
Israel Hayom news outlet published the main points of the “Deal of the Century” from a leaked document, which was circulated by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.’

08.05.19 Video: What do Palestinians think of Trump’s “deal of the century?”

‘With no mention so far of Palestinian sovereignty and statehood, we asked Palestinians in the West Bank what they think of the peace proposal and its impending release’

09.05.19 The ‘deal of the century’: US blessing for Israel’s land theft and ghettoisation of the Palestinians

‘A report published this week by the Israel Hayom newspaper apparently leaking details of Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” reads like the kind of peace plan that might be put together by an estate agent or car salesman.’

07.05.19 Qatar to send $480m to West Bank, Gaza after truce with Israel

‘Qatar has said it will send $480m to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip after a ceasefire deal ended the deadliest fighting between Israel and Palestinian factions since a 2014 Israeli assault on the enclave.

A statement from Qatar’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday morning said $300m would support health and education programmes of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA), which controls parts of the West Bank.’

09.05.19 Canada provides $2.4m for 128,000 Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank

‘BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Government of Canada has provided the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) with a contribution of CAD$3.2 million (approximately US $2.4 million) to support 128,000 vulnerable Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, on Thursday.’

10.05.19 New Zealand pledges $2m to support UNRWA’s vital programs

‘BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Pierre Krahenbuhl, and the Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations, Craig Hawke, signed a three-year commitment, for the period between 2019 and 2021, of $2 million to support core UNRWA programs, on Thursday.’

07.05.19 Kushner’s peace plan is ‘pretext’ for Israeli land grab: Palestinian UN ambassador

‘UNITED NATIONS — The Trump administration’s long-awaited plan peace for the Middle East is really a cover for Israel’s annexation of West Bank settlements, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations Dr. Riyad Mansour said Tuesday.

A peace deal devised by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is expected to be released in June, after Ramadan, following repeated United States moves that appear to embolden Israel and hurt the Palestinians.’

Read the rest of the article at Mondoweiss

09.05.19 UN: 1,700 in Gaza Risk Amputations Due to Lack of Health Funding

‘A lack of health funding in Gaza means 1,700 people shot by Israeli forces may have to face amputations in the next two years, Jamie McGoldrick, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for occupied Palestinian territory, told reporters on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

McGoldrick said 29,000 Palestinians had been wounded in protests in the past year, and 7,000 of them had gunshot wounds, mostly in the lower legs.’

Read the rest of the article at Palestine Chronicle