Day: 9 May 2022

Israeli forces Monday demolished two under construction residential rooms in the area of Khirbet Ainoon to the east of the occupied West Bank city of Tubas, according to local sources.

Aref Daraghmeh, a local activist, told WAFA that the Israeli forces demolished two under construction rooms made of reinforced concrete, whose area is estimated to be 100 square meters and owned by local resident Kamal Abu Mutawe’.

He added that the forces demolished them under the pretext that they were built without a permit.

In recent years, Israeli occupation authorities demolished hundreds of homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on the grounds of lacking an Israeli construction permit, which is almost impossible to obtain for Palestinians under current Israeli policies.

Israel refuses to permit any Palestinian construction in Area C, makes up more than 60 percent of the occupied West Bank and falls under full Israeli military rule, forcing Palestinians to build without a permit to provide shelters for their families.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

In the village of Beit Dajan, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, the Israeli occupation forces today demolished two Palestinian-owned houses that were in the construction stage under the pretext of construction without a permit, according to the head of Beit Dajan village council Tawfiq al-Haj Mohammad.

He said soldiers raided the village accompanied by bulldozers which proceeded to demolish the two houses, each was two floors and owned by two different local citizens.

The army claims the area the houses were built in was classified as Area C, which is under full Israeli military control.

Local residents attempted to block the demolition and clashed with the Israeli soldiers who fired tear gas canisters at them causing several suffocation cases.

In nearby Foroush Beit Dajan, Israeli forces also demolished a greenhouse owned by a local resident under the pretext of construction in a “firing zone” area.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

The shooting and killing of two Palestinian youths yesterday in two separate incidents in the occupied West Bank by Israelis was highlighted on the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.

The papers said one Palestinian was shot and killed by soldiers as he was trying to go through an opening in the apartheid barrier near Tulkarm and the other was killed by an Israeli settler near the illegal settlement of Tekoa in the Bethlehem area.

In other news, al-Ayyam daily said Israel announced the arrest of the two Palestinians who allegedly attacked Israelis in the two of Elad, near Tel Aviv on Thursday.

It said Israel lifted the four-day closure imposed on the West Bank and Gaza Strip with the exception of the town of Rummaneh, near Jenin in the north of the West Bank where the two Palestinians alleged to be behind the Elad attack have come from. It said soldiers raided the homes of the two alleged attackers in the town.

The paper also said Palestinian residents of Haris town, near Salfit, confronted Israeli settlers who attacked their town.

Al-Quds daily said the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem approved the construction of 1600 settlement units in the industrial areas on the outskirts of the city, including in Qalandia, north of occupied Jerusalem.

It said Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned the Israeli army’s killing of Palestinians in the occupied territories.

The third daily, al-Hayat al-Jadida, said the presidency has stressed that sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem and its holy places is for the state of Palestine.

It said the presidency was reacting to statements by the Israeli premier in which he said that all decisions regarding Al-Aqsa Mosque will be taken by the Israeli government.

It said Finance Minister Shukri Bishara arrived in Brussels to discuss the Palestinian finances at the donors’ meeting.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

At least a dozen Palestinians, including two minors, were detained by the Israeli army in raids across the West Bank last night and this morning, according to various sources.

Four were detained in the town of Rummaneh, in the northern West Bank district of Jenin, following an army raid of the hometown of the two Palestinians alleged to have attacked and killed Israelis in the town of Elad on Thursday.

Further south in the Nablus district, soldiers detained a 17-year-old minor.

In the Salfit area, a Palestinian was also detained.

Another 16-year-old minor was detained in the Hebron area in the south of the West Bank, and another further north in the town of Beit Jala.

Two Palestinians were detained in the Ramallah district, one from Beit Rima and the other from al-Mughayer town after he was beaten and his car sabotaged.

One Palestinian was also detained from the town of Qatanna, west of occupied Jerusalem.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

The results of the Palestinian Monetary Authority’s Business Cycle Index (PMABCI) revealed a remarkable improvement in the overall index, from -0.4 in March to 11.8 points in April, after an increase in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, today said a PMA press release.

These developments are attributed to the religious occasions (Ramadan) and their impact on the recovery of markets and enhancing demand, it said.

The overall index in the West Bank increased from 5.8 points in March to 17.7 points in April. This improvement was led by the significant increase in the manufacturing index (from 2.5 to 6.1), followed by the rise in the trade index (from -4.1 to -1.0), and the construction index (from 1.2 to 4.3).

In addition, the IT and communication index increased from 0.3 to 1.1, and the renewable energy index from 0.5 to 1.0. In the meanwhile, the agricultural index remained relatively stable at around 4.0 points, the transportation and storage index at around 2.3 points, with a positive trend in both indices.

At the same time, the overall index in the Gaza Strip increased from -32.6 points in March to -18.6 points in April, influenced by the rise in higher-weight sub-indices.

This improvement is headed by a significant increase in the trade index (from -15.4 to -3.3), followed by the increase in both the renewable energy index and manufacturing index, (from -1.6 to 1.1) and (from -5.8 to -3.2) respectively. In addition, the transportation and storage index improved from -1.5 to 0.0.

On the contrary, the agricultural index declined from 0.0 to -3.6, and the construction index fell from -8.2 to -9.1). In the meantime, the IT and communication index stabilized at around -0.3 points.

In general, firms’ owners in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip indicated a rise in production level accompanied by a lesser increase in sales level, which caused accumulation in inventory level. Furthermore, they expect that both employment and production levels would enhance during the near future, affected by the positive improvement in the economic activities.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Palestinian administrative detainee in Israel, Khalil Awawdeh, 40, from the southern West Bank town of Idna, who has been on hunger strike for 68 days in a row, persists in his strike until he regains his freedom, today said Awawdeh’s lawyer Ahlam Haddad after visiting him in his prison cell.

She said Awawdeh suffers from headaches, pain in the joints, fatigue, irregular heartbeats, difficulty in breathing, vomiting blood, and loss of weight.

Awawdeh was previously transferred to hospital but then returned to Ramle prison clinic despite a deterioration in his health.

Another administrative detainee, Raed Rayan, 28, has been on hunger strike for 33 days in a row also demanding his freedom. He also is reported to have health issues as a result of the long fast.

Awawdeh, a father of four children, was detained on December 27 of last year and placed in administrative detention without charge or trial and based on secret evidence.

Rayan was detained on October 3 of last year and also slammed with a six-month administrative detention order.

Palestinian administrative detainees in Israel often resort to hunger strikes to force an end to their otherwise prolonged detention.

The Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission said today that Israel issued during April 154 administrative detention orders against Palestinians ranging in time between two and six months, including 68 new orders and 86 renewal of existing orders.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

A number of Palestinians suffocated today evening during clashes that broke out with Israeli forces in the town Azzoun to the east of Qalqilia, according to eyewitnesses.

Israeli forces closed the iron gate erected at the town’s main entrance as settlers gathered there, provoking clashes with residents.

A number of people reportedly suffocated after inhaling tear gas fired at them by Israeli forces.

A Palestine TV crew was also attacked and injured by Israeli settlers who blocked the road.

Settlers reportedly prevented the Palestine TV crew from covering the clashes and attacked them with clubs and stones, causing them multiple cuts and bruises.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

The Ramallah-based Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC), in a meeting for its extraordinary and ordinary general assembly held today in Ramallah, ratified dividend distribution for registered shareholders amounting to $18 million, 17.14% of APIC’s paid-in capital amounting to $105 million to date, around 10.476% as cash dividends amounting to $11 million and around 6.666% as $7 million in bonus shares. Accordingly, APIC’s paid-in capital will reach $112 million following the bonus share distribution.

The general assembly also elected a new board of directors comprising of 13 board members for the next four years and includes businesswomen and businessmen from Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

APIC is a foreign public shareholding investment holding company listed on the Palestine Exchange (PEX: APIC). It holds diversified investments across the manufacturing, trade, distribution and service sectors in Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Turkey through its group of subsidiaries: Siniora Food Industries Company; Unipal General Trading Company; Palestine Automobile Company; Medical Supplies and Services Company; National Aluminum and Profiles Company (NAPCO); Sky Advertising and Public Relations and Event Management Company; Arab Leasing Company and Arab Palestinian Storage and Cooling Company, employing over 2,600 staff through its group of subsidiaries.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)

Israeli forces today evening embarked on opening a settlers-only road on Palestinian land in the village of Wadi Fukin to the west of Bethlehem, according to a local official.

The Head of Wadi Fukin village council, Ibrahim al-Horoub, told WAFA that Israeli forces opened a 300-meter-long road designated for the sole use of settlers on land belonging to a Palestinian resident in the eastern part of the village of Wadi Fukin.

Forces also placed barbed wires on both sides of the road, which is located adjacent to the illegal Israeli settlement of Tzur Hadassah.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)