Month: August 2022

The Gaza Strip’s only power plant shut down at noon today as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression against Gaza and shortage of fuel, according to the Palestinian Energy Authority.

It said in a statement that the decision to shut down the plant came due to the current situation and the inability of the company running the power plant to supply the fuel needed to keep it running due to the Israeli blockade and week-long closure of the commercial crossing with Gaza.

Israel started yesterday an aggression against the Gaza Strip killing 12 people, injuring around 100, and destroying property. Israel has also closed all crossings with Gaza since early last week, before the start of its aggression.

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency

Stijn Ledegen, a member of a Belgian delegation which was assaulted by Israeli settlers near Ramallah last month, has said that the Israeli settlers are deliberately targeting international humanitarian workers because they are afraid that the human right crimes which they commit will be exposed by journalists and foreign people outside Palestine.

On July 05, Ledegen was among a delegation of Belgian experts, humanitarian workers and journalists en route to a project of Enabel, the Belgian agency for development cooperation, when they were detained for hours and held at gunpoint by an armed Israeli settler near the village of Kafr Ni’ma in the West Bank province of Ramallah.

“I think that Israeli settlers have violent behavior because they are afraid that the human right crimes they are committing will be exposed by journalists and foreign people outside Palestine,” Ledegen told WAFA. “I think the main reason why they are violent is that they want to hide their human rights crimes, they don’t want this to be shown outside Palestine because otherwise there will be international sanctions.”

Ledegen added that the Israeli military actually provides the settlers with protection. “This guy [settler] who was threatening us and doing very dangerous things to us was protected by the Israeli military, and the Israeli government even encourages him to live in an illegal settlement in the West Bank.”

“Look where many Israeli officials live, they live in Israeli settlements and this is their tactic to colonize more and more territory so that they would say ‘look guys we’ve been living here for years then it’s ours,” he continued.

Asked whether the Israeli occupation forces provide a culture of impunity for the Israeli settlers, he said, “Yes, the settlers can do whatever they want, and they still feel protected by law because they [Israeli government] make them feel like they are in danger. Palestinians don’t have weapons while the settlers are walking like you can see in the video with three different machine guns. Meanwhile, the Palestinians are even just accused and can be taken to prison, even if they are elderly or children, while the settlers don’t see the prison even if they kill Palestinian people.”

The Belgian activist pointed out that “Israeli settlers deliberately target international humanitarian workers, and this is clear. Israeli settlers are very aggressive, hateful and suspicious about humanitarian workers, they see them as a kind of threat. In their eyes, the situation of the Palestinian people shouldn’t be improved… So they hope that the Palestinian people will suffer more.”

“This is why they bully the Palestinian people in their villages around their illegal settlements. So, when there are humanitarian workers coming then they are for Israeli settlers the worst because they would improve the situation and make the Palestinian people stronger, which will make their illegal settlements not having the same power as before,” Ledegen said.

He continued, “Settlers attack international workers to intimidate them no to come back, because when humanitarian workers go to Palestine and experience the situation, and when they go back home to their countries and we start advocating for the Palestinian case. This is something that the Israeli government hates and of course the Israeli settlers don’t want.”

“The Palestinian people deserve better protection and their human rights should be respected because they are left in injustice. What I saw in my eyes is insane. The Palestinian people deserve the humanitarian aid as any other kind of people in the world, and above all they deserve justice.”

Ledegen concluded by saying that “the reality of life in the West Bank reminded me of the apartheid regime in South Africa. When I saw the images from South Africa and I compared it with Palestine with my own eyes. When I say a university being built in Ariel my mind went crazy that in 2022 this injustice still exists, when the Palestinian people are left behind, their homes being destroyed.”

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency

Israeli warplanes attacked today and destroyed two residential buildings in Gaza city displacing their residents and damaging nearby houses as dozens of people were injured in the ongoing Israeli airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip, according to WAFA correspondent.

Warplanes fired missiles at a three-story building owned by the Shamlakh family in Sheikh Ijjilin neighborhood of Gaza City apparently minutes after its residents received a phone call telling them to evacuate the building since it was going to be bombed.

Reports from Gaza said the building was totally destroyed and all houses around it were also heavily damaged leaving more than 100 people homeless.

Later reports said an Israeli drone first fired a warning missile near a multi-story building west of Gaza city to force its residents to leave it and minutes later fired missiles directly at the building destroying it in total and making it the second building Israel bombed and destroyed in Gaza city in the current wave of attacks.

Meanwhile, at least 13 people, mainly children, were injured in strikes in Gaza City, all taken to Shifa hospital for treatment.

Warplanes also attacked locations in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, causing injuries and heavy damage to property and causing panic among residents, mainly children.

So far 12 people have been killed in two days of Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, including a 5-year-old girl and a 23-year-old woman, and the injury of around 100 people, including 23 children and 13 women.

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has condemned the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip for the second day in a row, which has resulted so far in the death of 12 Palestinian citizens, including a child and a woman, and the injury of more than 80 others.

“This aggression a manifestation of the arrogance of the Israeli military force, and an extension of a racist colonial mindset that deals with the occupied Palestinian territory as a training field, and with the Palestinian citizen as a target for shooting,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement. “The occupying power determines the course, borders and targets of its strikes without accountability at the international level.”

The statement continued, “Israel is looking for the easiest targets where it can achieve high ‘success’ rates in order to prove to itself and to the countries on its side its ability and its capability of marketing its military technology.”

“Israel has adopted the approach of pre-emptive war to end any danger it faces, even if it is theoretical or has not yet formed, but the question is: Who determines what that danger is? What is the definition of a threat?”

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney called today for an immediate de-escalation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the protection of civilians there, which he said is an obligation under international humanitarian law.

“Ireland calls for de-escalation and the protection of civilians, which is an obligation under international law. I am particularly concerned about the impact on children. Ireland calls for everybody to act with restrain and reduce tensions,” Coveney said in a tweet.

He added that he was “deeply concerned about the escalation in and around Gaza and the impact of the Israeli strikes on civilians.”

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency

Russia called today for an immediate end of the Israeli airstrikes and a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Saturday.

“Moscow is seriously concerned about a new round of armed violence in the zone of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the statement reads. “We call on all the parties involved to show maximum restraint, prevent an escalation of military activities and immediately return to a sustainable ceasefire,” Zakharova added.

According to her, tensions started rising after the Israeli Air Force attacked the Gaza Strip on August 5, making Palestinian groups respond with shelling. “According to the latest information, Israeli attacks killed ten Palestinians and left over 80 wounded,” Zakharova added. “We are deeply concerned about these developments, which can lead to a full-scale military confrontation and further aggravate the already deplorable humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” she noted.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman reiterated Russia’s position in support of efforts to find a comprehensive and long-term solution to the Palestinian- Israeli conflict based on the two-state principle.

“We once again point out that it is only possible to end cycles of violence through a negotiation process that should lead to the implementation of the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to create an independent state within the 1967 borders,” Zakharova emphasized.

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency

A Palestinian woman was killed this evening and five others wounded in an Israeli airstrike which hit a civilian car in the neighborhood of Om al-Nasr, near the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip, according to local sources.

The Ministry of Health said in an update that the death toll of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip which started yesterday has reached 15, while the number of wounded has reached 125.

WAFA correspondent said Na’ama Qaida, a Palestinian woman, was killed in an airstrike which targeted a civilian car in Om al-Nasr, while Hasan Mohammad Mansour, a 25-year-old Palestinian man, was killed a few minutes earlier in an Israeli airstrike which pounded an outskirt east of the town of Jabalia, north of the Strip. Others were also wounded in the strike.

Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling were also reported in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, as well as in many areas across the coastal enclave, which entered today its second day under Israel’s military aggression.

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency

Pakistan has strongly condemned the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza that resulted in the killing of 15 innocent Palestinians so far, including of a 5-year-old girl, and more than 125 injuries.

“The latest spate of aggression is typical of the Israeli atrocities, illegal actions and indiscriminate use of force against innocent Palestinians over the decades in complete defiance of international human rights and humanitarian laws,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement.

The statement added, “Pakistan calls upon the international community to urge Israel to put an immediate end to the blatant use of force and flagrant violations of human rights of the Palestinian people. It is imperative to immediately stop the aggression.”

“We renew our call for a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian State, with pre-1967 borders, and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital being the only just, comprehensive and lasting solution of the Palestinian question, in accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions.”

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory, Lynn Hastings, said today he was gravely concerned by the ongoing and serious Israeli escalation of violence in and around Gaza which so far has claimed the lives of 13 Palestinians by Israeli airstrikes, including a 5-year-old child.

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is already dire and can only worsen with this most recent escalation. The hostilities must stop to avoid more deaths and injuries of civilians,” said Hastings. “The principles of international humanitarian law including those of distinction, precaution and proportionality must be respected by all parties.”

She added, “Fuel for the Gaza Power Plant is due to run out today; electricity has already been cut. The continued operation of basic service facilities such as hospitals, schools, warehouses, and designated shelters for internally displaced persons is essential and now at risk. Movement and access of humanitarian personnel, for critical medical cases, and for essential goods, including food and fuel into Gaza, must not be impeded so that humanitarian needs can be met.”

Hastings urged the Israeli occupation authorities to immediately allow the United Nations and humanitarian partners to bring in fuel, food, and medical supplies and to deploy humanitarian personnel in accordance with international principles. “This includes specifically ensuring access and safety through key border crossings. We stand ready to work with all sides to ensure humanitarian needs are met.”

“I reiterate the United Nations Special Coordinator’s appeal on all sides for an immediate de-escalation and halt to the violence, to avoid destructive ramifications, particularly for civilians.”

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency

Ambassador Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, said today that the UN Security Council will hold a meeting on Monday at the request of the State of Palestine to discuss the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Mansour told WAFA that the State of Palestine has reached out to the Presidency of the Security Council (China) and other members of the Security Council, so that the latter would assume its responsibilities to stop the Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip and provide international protection to the Palestinian people.

Mansour stressed that the Security Council bears the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, responding to the imperatives of condemning and stopping the Israeli aggression and providing international protection for the Palestinian people.

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency

Israeli occupation forces assaulted and dispersed a vigil held today by Palestinian activists in the vicinity of the Damascus Gate plaza in occupied Jerusalem. The vigil was organized in protest of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

WAFA correspondent said Israeli police officers physically assaulted the protesters, beat them up and arrested at least one of them.

Meantime, scores of Israeli settlers took part in a provocative march inside the Old City of Jerusalem and shouted racist slogans under heavy police protection.

The march comes only a day before tensions are expected to rise again tomorrow as Jewish fanatic groups are planning a mass break-in into Al-Aqsa Mosque, a Muslim holy place located in Jerusalem’s Old City.

The so-called Temple Mount groups, who seek to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque and replace it with a Jewish temple, called on their followers to be present at the Muslim holy place on Sunday to mark the Tisha B’av (the ninth of Av) holiday, a day of fasting marking the alleged destruction of the two Jewish temples more than two thousand years ago.

Source: Palestine News And Information Agency