“الصحة” الفلسطينية تسجل وفاتين و297 إصابة جديدة بـ”كورونا”

أعلنت وزارة الصحة الفلسطينية في رام الله، اليوم الخميس، تسجيل وفاتين و297 إصابة جديدة بفيروس “كورونا”، و230 حالة تعاف، خلال الـ24 ساعة الماضية.

وبينت الوزارة في التقرير اليوم للحالة البوائية في فلسطين، أن نسبة التعافي من فيروس “كورونا” في فلسطين بلغت 97.6%، فيما بلغت نسبة الإصابات النشطة 1.3%، ونسبة الوفيات 1.1% من مجمل الإصابات.

وتوزعت الإصابات الجديدة في المحافظات على النحو الأتي: جنين 14، نابلس 9، طوباس 1، قلقيلية 1، بيت لحم 4، طولكرم 2، الخليل 6، قطاع غزة 260.

ولفتت الوزارة إلى وجود 22 مريضاً في غرف العناية المكثفة، بينهم 3 مرضى على أجهزة التنفس الاصطناعي، فيما يٌعالج في مراكز وأقسام كورونا في المستشفيات في الضفة الغربية 53 مريضاً.

وفيما يخص المواطنين الذين تلقوا الطعومات المضادة لفيروس كورونا، فقد بلغ عددهم الإجمالي في الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة 359 ألفًا و349، بينهم 231 ألفًا و138 تلقوا الجرعتين من اللقاح.

Source: Quds Press International News Agency

“هيئة الأسرى”: أكثر من 2000 حالة اعتقال في الداخل الفلسطيني المحتل

أفادت هيئة شؤون الأسرى والمحررين، اليوم الخميس، أن شرطة الإحتلال الإسرائيلي اعتقلت خلال الفترة القصيرة الماضية ألفين و142 فلسطينيًا، وأصدرت لوائح اتهام بحق 184 منهم حتى اللحظة.

وبينت الهيئة أن هذه الاعتقالات “تعتبر أكبر هجمة يتعرض لها أبناء شعبنا في الداخل المحتل، مقارنة بالفترة القياسية التي نفذت فيها هذه الإعتقالات، والتي وصلت في بعض الأيام للمئات”.

وأضافت الهيئة: “كافة عمليات الاعتقال رافقها اعتداءات وحشية من شتم وضرب وتخريب لمحتويات منازل المواطنين وممتلكاتهم، حيث وثقت عدسات الكاميرات الهجمات العنصرية التي كانت تنفذ من شرطة الإحتلال ومستوطنيه، والوحدات المتخصصة في الاقتحامات والاعتقالات”.

وطالبت الهيئة المؤسسات الحقوقية والإنسانية التحرك السريع لوقف هذه الهجمة العنصرية الحاقدة بحق أهلنا في الداخل المحتل، لأنه عار على المجتمع الدولي أن تمارس هذه الجرائم في ظل صمت المجتمع الدولي، وعدم قدرته على حمايته اتفاقياته ومعاهداته من التجاوز والإختراق اليومي.

Source: Quds Press International News Agency

أكثر من 200 مستوطنًا يقتحمون “الأقصى”

اقتحم نحو 215 مستوطنا يهوديا، اليوم الخميس، المسجد الأقصى المبارك، وسط حراسة شرطة الاحتلال الإسرائيلي.

وذكرت دائرة الأوقاف والمقدسات الإسلامية في القدس، أن اقتحامات “الأقصى” جرت على فترتين: صباحية ومسائية.

وقاد المتطرف يهودا غليك، الاقتحامات الصباحية، من جهة باب المغاربة.

وعادة ما تسهل شرطة الاحتلال الإسرائيلي دخول مجموعات المستوطنين، وتقدّم للمستوطنين الذي يمارسون سلوكيات استفزازية، ويؤدون طقوسًا تلمودية داخل ساحات المسجد الأقصى.

ويقتحم المستوطنون المسجد يوميا ما عدا يومي الجمعة والسبت.

Source: Quds Press International News Agency

غزة.. المقاومة تتصدى لعشرات الطائرات المسيرة وتسقط عددًا منها

تصدت المقاومة الفلسطينية، اليوم الجمعة، لعشرات الطائرات المسيرة التي هاجمت شرقي مدينة غزة بشكل مفاجئ، وأسقطت عددًا منها.

وذكرت مصادر لـ”قدس برس” أن عددًا كبيرًا من الطائرات المسيّرة، هاجمت فجر اليوم المناطق الشرقية لمدينة غزة، لا سيما أحياء الشجاعية والزيتون والصبرة ،وعلى ارتفاعات منخفضة جدا، حيث تعامل معها رجال المقاومة بالنار.

وبينت المصادر، أن رجال المقاومة والمواطنين أطلقوا النار من بنادق آلية وثقيلة تجاه هذه الطائرات، وأسقطوا عددًا منها.

ووفقًا للمصادر ذاتها، فقد عممت فصائل المقاومة الفلسطينية على قياديها وأفرادها، بأخذ أعلى درجات الحيطة والحذر، وتغيير أماكن تواجدهم على وجه السرعة؛ خشية أن يكون الأمر عملية اغتيال مخطط لها.

وطلبت المقاومة الفلسطينية من المواطنين، إغلاق نوافذ بيوتهم لعدم دخول هذه الطائرات الانتحارية إليها.

وغادرت الطائرات أجواء القطاع، عقب التحليق داخل القطاع لمدة نصف ساعة، وسط إطلاق كثيف للنيران.

Source: Quds Press International News Agency

“منظمة التحرير” تحذّر من خطورة المشاريع الاستيطانية في القدس

حذّرت دائرة القدس في منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية من خطورة المشاريع الاستيطانية في المناطق المحيطة بمدينة القدس، وخاصة منطقتي الشيخ جرّاح وباب العامود والتي من شأنها أن تغلق الطريق أمام أي مبادرات سلمية قد تلوح بالأفق، موضحةً أن مثل هذه المشاريع تهدف الى طمس معالم المدينة المقدسة العربية الإسلامية المسيحية وتأجيج الصراع، وتدفع باتجاه موجة من الغضب الفلسطيني.

وأشارت الدائرة في بيان، اليوم الخميس، أن سلطات الاحتلال لم تستخلص العبر من المتغيرات المحلية والإقليمية والدولية، وتواصل تعنتها ومسابقة الزمن وضخ المليارات لتلبية عنجهيتها والتي تحطمت أكثر من مرة على صخرة الصمود الفلسطيني الأسطوري، وتنفيذ سياستها العنصرية بالتطهير العرقي بحق أبناء شعبنا في مدينة وجدت أساسًا لتحقيق المحبة والسلام، ما يؤكد أن حكومة الاحتلال غير مستعدة للسلام وتضرب بعرض الحائط كل المبادرات وتدير ظهرها لقرارات الشرعية الدولية التي من شأنها تحقيق سلام عادل وشامل يضمن تحقيق الحقوق الوطنية المشروعة للشعب الفلسطيني وفي مقدمتها حقه بتقرير مصيره وإقامة دولته المستقلة المترابطة جغرافيًا وذات السيادة الكاملة بعاصمتها الأبدية القدس الشريف.

ودعت الدائرة المجتمع الدولي الى احترام قراراته وترجمتها بإجراءات عملية فاعلة قادرة على إجبار الاحتلال على وقف سياسة التوسع الاستيطاني في أراض دولة فلسطين، وعدم التخلي عن مسؤولياته القانونية والأخلاقية تجاه هذه الشعب الفلسطيني الذي ينشد السلام ويطلب الكرامة والحرية والانعتاق من عبودية الاحتلال.

وكانت مصادر إعلامية إسرائيلية قد ذكرت أن العمل جار على مشروع ضخم لتغيير معالم حي الشيخ جرّاح ومنطقة باب العامود بالقدس، وتحويلها من “مركز صراع” إلى “مركز ترفيهي نابض بالحياة”، على حد تعبيرها، موضحةً أن بلدية الاحتلال تأمل في تغيير صورة منطقة باب العامود وحي الشيخ جرّاح “عن طريق تجديد معماري شامل بتكلفة 70 مليون شيقل”، يشمل “بناء جادة حضرية فسيحة ونابضة بالحياة، ومعروضات ضوئية سيتم وضعها على باب العامود”، وتجديد المنطقة العامة، ومنطقة باب العامود وشارع السلطان سليمان إلى الطرف الجنوبي من حي الشيخ جراح، “مع الحفاظ على القيم التاريخية للفضاء”.

إضافة الى تطوير محور شارع السلطان سليمان والأنبياء المطل على الأسوار، فضلا عن تشييد شارع مظلل به صفان عريضان من الأشجار في الموقع الذي سيربط مركز الأعمال بأبواب المدينة القديمة.

Source: Quds Press International News Agency

Dual National Pakistani Students Have ‘Brighter’ Chances of Securing Visas

LONDON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — There are hundreds and thousands of Pakistani students who travel abroad each year to attain higher education. According to a Lahore-based education consultancy, those with dual citizenship have “brighter chances” to be granted study visas abroad. Currently, Pakistani citizens can travel to a small handful of destinations visa-free or visa-on-arrival, resulting in extensive paperwork and time and money costs when applying for study permits in North America or Europe.

In 2016, a British ranking agency recorded Pakistan as the weakest higher education system out of 50 examined nations while the US and UK topped the list. Pakistani students are increasingly interested in pursuing higher education from abroad because of the better quality education, career growth, and future opportunities available in different countries said Dr Syed Shujaat Ali Shah from FES Higher Education Consultants. For Pakistani students, the most favoured destinations to continue a higher education include the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and Ireland.

Micha Emmett, the CEO of a London-based second citizenship firm CS Global Partners, says that many Pakistani applicants look to citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes to ensure their child can access the world’s most esteemed schools. “Parents want to give their children the tools to succeed in learning and life, and attaining second citizenship through investment is the fastest and easiest route to make that happen,” she said.

Second citizenship from St Kitts and Nevis increases the mobility of Pakistani students and parents needing to travel to international education hubs, she said. “With citizenship of a European or Commonwealth nation like the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, you can enrol in some of the world’s oldest and most prestigious universities, perhaps to complete the Masters’ degree you’ve always wanted to pursue.”

With CBI, new citizens can also take advantage of St Kitts and Nevis’ many internationally-recognised universities like the University of Medicine and Health Sciences (UMHS), which confers upon its graduates the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. Since March 2011, students at UMHS have participated in residency matches every year by being placed into various specialities across the US and Canada. The institution is recognised by the Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine, an international body listed by the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation, part of the US Department of Education.

Through CBI programmes, vetted applicants can legally acquire a second nationality in return for an investment in the host country. St Kitts and Nevis is known as the ‘Platinum Standard’ in the industry for its longest-standing offering globally. It acknowledges the growing importance to investors to obtain citizenship for their families too, which is why, for a limited time, families of up to four can get citizenship for US$150,000 instead of US$195,000 through the fund option. Moreover, St Kitts and Nevis allows future generations of successful applicants to inherit citizenship as well.

Israeli forces detain 11 Palestinians, injure seven others in West Bank

Israeli forces Thursday overnight detained 11 Palestinians and injured seven others in various parts of the West Bank, according to local and security sources.

In the northern West Bank, Israeli forces rounded up four Palestinians, including two brothers, from Salem village, east of Nablus city.

During the raid that lasted for several hours, the heavily-armed soldiers conducted a house-to-house sweep campaign, breaking into over 30 villager houses, smashing their doors and turning them upside down.

They also stormed several houses in Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya village, south of the city, breaking their doors and wreaking havoc inside.

In Tubas district, Israeli soldiers shot and wounded four Palestinians in confrontations at the entrance of al-Far‘a refugee camp, south of the city.

One of the casualties sustained wounds from a live round in the foot, while the three others were injured with rubber-coated steel bullets.

In Ramallah district, Israeli forces re-arrested a former prisoner after storming his house in Kharbatha Bani Harith town, west of the city.

In Bethlehem district, Israeli troops barged their way into Aida refugee camp, north of the city, where they rounded up three others.

During the ensuing confrontations, the soldiers opened fire towards local teenagers who protested the raid, wounding three with live ammunition. The casualties were rushed to a hospital for urgent treatment.

Meanwhile, the sources confirmed that three Palestinians were detained from the southern West Bank district of Hebron; one from Hebron city and the two others from Sa‘ir town, northeast of the city.

On Wednesday evening, Israeli police detained two Palestinians from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Batn al-Hawa, where seven Palestinian families face the imminent risk of forced expulsions.

Police also rounded up five others after provoking them from the vicinity of Bab al-Amoud, also known as Damascus Gate, which has been a spot of simmering tensions in Jerusalem following the Israeli occupation authorities’ decision to ban people from sitting on the stairs outside it and attempts to forcibly expel dozens of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.

Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.

Under Israeli military law army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Israeli forces seal off archaeological site north of Nablus

Israeli forces today sealed off the archeological site of Sebastia, north of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, in preparation for a settler intrusion, local sources said.

Mayor of Sebastia, Mohammad Azem, told WAFA that a sizable Israeli military force raided the town and proceeded to close the site, preventing from Palestinians from accessing it, to ensure protection of dozens of settlers who forced their way into the site.

Located 11 kilometers to the northwest of Nablus, Sebastia is a small historical town located on a hill with panoramic views across the West Bank and has a population of some 3,000 Palestinians.

A prominent settlement during the Iron Age as well as the Hellenistic and Roman eras, the town embraces a Roman amphitheater, temples, a Byzantine and a crusader churches, dedicated to Saint John the Forerunner, who baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River, besides to a mosque built in honor of the saint. Christians and Muslims believe the town to be the burial place of the saint.

Israel has been attempting to take over the town, which has become a site of heated cultural conflict, preventing the Palestinian Authority from conducting restoration works at the site, prohibiting providing tourist services to visitors from around the world, and stealing antiquities from it.

Palestinians complain that Israeli settlers have repeatedly attacked the town and fenced parts of its antiquities, where they hold religious rituals.

Twelve dunums of the archaeological area is located within (B) areas, which are controlled by Israeli military and Palestinian administrative authority, while the other part of the area lies within (C) areas, which falls under complete Israeli administrative and military control.

Owners of restaurants and hotels complain about the Israeli acts in the town which have caused them severe damages and losses.

Israel uses the Jewish nationalist name “Judea and Samaria” to refer to the occupied West Bank to reinforce its bogus claims to the territory and to give them a veneer of historical and religious legitimacy.

There are over 700,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Israeli settlers storm Islamic shrines in Salfit-district town

Hundreds of Israeli settlers today stormed ancient Islamic sites in Kifl Haris town, north of the West Bank city of Salfit, according to local sources.

They said that Israeli forces beefed up their presence at the town entrances and barged their way into the town to provide protection for the settlers who proceeded to break into and desecrate the Prophet Thu Al-Kifl, Prophet Thu An-Noon and Prophet Yosha shrines, causing a state of tension among the town residents.

Israel uses the Jewish nationalist name “Judea and Samaria” to refer to the occupied West Bank to reinforce its bogus claims to the territory and to give them a veneer of historical and religious legitimacy.

There are over 700,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Located some five kilometers to the north of Salfit city, Kifl Haris has a population of some 4,450 and occupies a total area of some 9,300 dunams.

Under the Oslo Accords, an agreement made 25 years ago that was supposed to last just five years towards a self-governing country alongside Israel, the Palestinian Authority was given limited control over 42 percent of the village total area, classified as area B, which constitutes of the built-up area of the village. In contrast, Israel maintains control over the remainder, classified as Area C, which constitutes mostly of agricultural areas, open spaces and lands confiscated for colonial settlements.

Israel has seized large tracts of the village land for the construction of Ariel, the second largest colonial settlement in the West Bank in terms of area. It has confiscated more land for the construction of settler-only by-pass Road 5 and Road 505, which extend for 4.6 kilometers on the village’s land.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Palestinian woman dies of wounds sustained during Israel’s onslaught on Gaza

A Palestinian woman who was critically wounded during the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip which ended on May 21 was announced dead of her wounds today at an Israeli hospital.

Diana Abu-Ouf al-Yaziji was critically wounded in a series of Israeli airstrikes that mercilessly targeted inhabited homes in Gaza’s upscale Remal neighborhood on the night of May 15-16. The airstrikes at that time killed at least 37 civilians, including the woman’s two daughters, Rawan and Shiamaa.

With this latest death, the death toll of the Israeli aggression on Gaza rises to 260, including 66 children, 40 women and 16 elderly.

Earlier today, medical teams announced that a 24-year-old Palestinian young man, Yahya Basem Ejla, died of wounds which he sustained during the Israeli aggression on the coastal enclave.

A fragile ceasefire was announced in Gaza on the dawn of May 21, but efforts have been made, especially by Egypt, to make the ceasefire sustainable.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Two Palestinian prisoners embark on hunger strike against detention without trial

Two Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails went on hunger strike today in protest of their unfair administrative detention without charge or trial, today said the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).

Omar Shami, 18, from the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, was detained by the Israeli occupation army in April 2020, and was sentenced to a year in prison. He was supposed to be released in April 2021, but was astonished that an Israeli court ruled that he would stay in prison for an additional four months without charge or trial.

Meantime, Yousef Imad Amer, 28, also from the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, started a hunger strike today in protest of an Israeli court’s ruling ordering him to serve four months in prison without a charge or trial. He has been in prison since June 2020, and was supposed to be released yesterday.

Amer is a former prisoner in Israeli jails, and has served a total of 8 years in prison.

Israel’s widely condemned practice of administrative detention allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.

Amnesty International has once described Israel’s use of administrative detention as a “bankrupt tactic” and has long called on Israel to bring its use to an end.

Palestinian detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes as a way to protest their illegal administrative detention and to demand an end to this policy, which violates international law.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

France, Egypt and Jordan call out measures that undermine the two-state solution

The French, Egyptian and Jordanian Foreign Ministries stressed today the importance of stopping all unilateral measures that undermine the two-state solution and peace chances, as well as the necessity of upholding the status quo in the holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.

In a joint statement, the three countries reaffirmed their commitment to the two-state solution in accordance with international law and the agreed parameters, the only solution that can lastingly fulfil the aspirations of both Palestinians and Israelis.

Following the tripartite summit between France, Egypt and Jordan on May 18, the French, Egyptian and Jordanian Foreign Ministries held a coordination meeting via videoconference today to help advance the concerted efforts on the three countries’ plans to address the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian Territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency