Day: 20 March 2022

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh today called on the Republic of Singapore to recognize the state of Palestine in order to protect the two-state solution.

Shtayyeh met today at his Ramallah office with Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, and discussed with him the latest political developments and the evolving situation in the Palestinian territories.

He stressed that Israel’s measures kill any opportunities for establishing the Palestinian state, adding that the realities on the ground are gradually deteriorating.

“We are not seeking to simply improve the living conditions of the Palestinian people under the occupation, we seek to end the occupation of our land and establish our independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” said Shtayyeh.

He expressed his rejection of the international double standards and called for implementing international law and United Nations resolutions with respect to Palestine.

They also discussed promoting mutual cooperation between the two countries.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad Al-Maliki discussed today during a meeting in Ramallah with Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and bilateral relations between the two countries.

Malki brought his Singaporean counterpart up to date on the situation in the Palestinian territories and the mounting violations of the Israeli occupation; its colonial projects and racist policies in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem.

Malki further briefed Balakrishnan on the occupation’s policies aimed at deepening the apartheid regime, referring to the latest reports of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Israeli human rights group (B’Tselem), which affirmed that Israel, the occupying power, implements an apartheid regime and adopts racial laws against the Palestinian people.

He also briefed his Singaporean counterpart on the difficulties impeding the return to negotiations with the Israeli side, including the intransigence of the Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett.

Concerning the bilateral relations, Malki thanked the Singaporean government for the support it provides in the framework of building Palestinian capacities and supporting the health sector in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, and for supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), calling for strengthening and developing the bilateral relations between the two countries in many fields.

For his part, the Singaporean minister announced his government’s intentions to open a representative office in Palestine to coordinate and facilitate Singaporean technical assistance.

He affirmed his country’s position in support of a negotiated two-state solution; with two states living side by side in peace and security, and his country’s commitment to continue providing support and assistance to the State of Palestine.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Occupation forces dismantle shelters near Jericho

Israeli occupation authorities today released the Palestinian Authority’s Governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, on a bail of 10,000 shekels ($3,300) after detaining him for 24 hours and blocking him from travelling abroad via Allenby Bridge border crossing.

Yesterday, Israeli occupation authorities at the border crossing detained Ghaith and his aide, Marouf al-Rifai, and informed them that they were not allowed to travel. Ghaith was on his way to Saudi Arabia to represent Palestine in the 2022 Arab Cities Conference when they were stopped at the crossing and turned back.

Throughout the past four years, Ghaith has been under Israeli movement restriction repeatedly, including a ban from entering the West Bank and contacting Palestinian officials, as well as a ban on attending political meetings or gatherings in occupied Jerusalem.

The PA official has also been arrested several times by Israeli occupation authorities since he assumed his current office as Governor of Jerusalem in August 2018.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Israeli occupation forces last night and today detained at least nine Palestinians during raids into towns and villages in the occupied West Bank, according to local and Palestinian security sources.

In Hebron, south of the occupied West Bank, forces stormed the town of Sa’ir and detained four Palestinians after raiding and searching their homes.

Israeli occupation forces also stormed the neighboring towns of Yatta and Samou, where they detained another three Palestinians.

In Nablus province, north of the West Bank, Israeli soldiers stormed the village of Till and arrested a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager, identified as Salem Asida, 17.

Israeli soldiers manning a checkpoint to the west of Nablus city also arrested a Palestinian taxi driver from the village of Siris in the West Bank province of Jenin, witnesses said.

In the meantime, Israeli soldiers shut down the entrance to the village of Nabi Saleh in the West Bank province of Ramallah, denying entry and exit of Palestinian vehicles and passengers through the village’s main entrance.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

The Palestinian Ministry of Finance said today that a United States court has dismissed an appeal worth $900 million that had been submitted against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) at US courts.

The Ministry said the lawyers of the PLO and PA achieved another legal breakthrough after the Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed Schlotzsky’s lawsuit filed against Palestine in 2002 on charges of “supporting terrorism”. It said the court found that the recent Congress decision that subjects the PLO and the PA to the jurisdiction of the US law was unconstitutional.

“The US court ruling was issued despite repeated attempts by the plaintiffs and right-wing organizations supporting them to file cases against Palestine for financial compensation worth millions of dollars,” said the Ministry in a statement.

“[These plaintiffs and right-wing organizations] had previously even pressed the Congress to change US law and to obtain legal support for the US administration.”

Finance Minister Shukri Bishara hailed the achievement and thanked President Mahmoud Abbas for his direct involvement in this case.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

The Massachusetts-based Harvard Law School has recognized Israel as an apartheid regime, joining an array of organizations labelling Israel as such for its practices in occupied Palestine.

In a recent report to the United Nations, the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School joined the international community by recognizing the apartheid character of the Israeli regime.

The 22-page joint report titled Apartheid in the Occupied West Bank: A Legal Analysis of Israel’s Actions, which was developed in collaboration with the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, found that the Israel regime’s practices in the occupied West Bank amounted to criminal activities in breach of the prohibition of apartheid.

The report focuses on the legal regime enforced by Israel against Palestinians specifically in the occupied West Bank, and “finds that Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank are in breach of the prohibition of apartheid and amount to the crime of apartheid under international law.”

Last month, Amnesty International issued a “damning” report calling for Israeli authorities to be held accountable for committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians

The Amnesty investigation detailed how Israel enforces a system of oppression and domination against the Palestinian people wherever it has control over their rights. This includes Palestinians living in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), as well as displaced refugees in other countries.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Palestine today recorded 574 new Covid-19 cases, 13 fatalities, and 2043 recovery cases in the last 24 hours, according to Health Minister Mai Alkaila.

She said that 148 cases were recorded in the West Bank, 200 cases in the Jerusalem area, and 226 others in the Gaza Strip.

She added in her daily report on the disease that 2043 Covid-19 patients have recovered; 298 recovery cases in the West Bank, 350 in the Jerusalem area, and 1395 others in the Gaza Strip.

She said that four deaths were recorded in the West Bank, one in the Jerusalem area, and eight others in the Gaza Strip.

The recovery rate in Palestine has so far reached 98.8 percent, while active cases reached 0.3% percent. The death toll stood at 0.9 percent of total infections.

Alkaila said 30 corona patients are in intensive care units, including eight on ventilators.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

A Palestinian youth was shot and injured today with rubber-coated metal bullets fired by the Israeli military during clashes that broke out in central Hebron city, in the southern occupied West Bank, according to security sources.

Clashes broke out between Palestinian youth and Israeli soldiers stationed at the military checkpoint at the entrance to al-Shuhada Street, during which soldiers fired rubber-coated steel bullets towards Palestinian residents, shooting and injuring a youth in the thigh area.

B’Tselem, the Israeli information center for human rights in occupied territories has documented instances in which security forces have fired rubber-coated metal bullets at a closer range than that permitted by the regulations, making it potentially lethal.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)