Day: 25 March 2024

HEBRON: Israeli occupation forces this evening installed iron gates and placed cement blocks at the entrances of several villages in the Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron, said local sources.

WAFA correspondent reported that Israeli forces installed iron gates and placed cement blocks at the entrances of the villages of Ma’in, Khirbet Shaab al-Batm and Um al-Khair in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron.

Residents of the mentioned villages told WAFA that Israeli forces installed the gates to prevent and hinder their movement and tighten the noose on them to force them to leave their lands to seize them for colonial expansion.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA

Zarqa: Truck head clearances surged in 2023, with 1,738 truck heads cleared at the Zarqa Free Zone, said Muhammad Bastanji, Chairman of the Jordan Free Zones Investor Commission (JFZIC).

In an interview with Petra, he said clearances shot 1,115 percent, compared to 2022, when only 143 truck heads were cleared, while in 2021, the clearance volume stood at 408.

This significant increase, he noted, followed a key decision by the Cabinet permitting the import of truck heads less than eight years old before the clearance date.

Bastanji underscored the pivotal decision in bolstering the shipping sector and modernizing the fleet, a move poised to substantially benefit the broader economic landscape.

He highlighted that the decision was informed by a comprehensive study conducted by JFZIC, which underscored the necessity of importing locomotive heads no older than seven years to elevate efficiency, enhance performance and boost regional competitiveness within the shipping sector.

Source: Jordan News Agency

RAMALLAH: Prime Minister of the caretaker government, Mohammad Shtayyeh, expressed his hope that the draft resolution, which will be voted on Monday evening, by the Security Council, will be unanimously voted on for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the delivery of aid.

“I hope that Israel will be forced to implement the decision, as Israel’s criminal behavior as a rogue state above the law, and as a criminal state, makes whoever stands with it an accomplice in the crime,” he said.

Shtayyeh stressed that what is required of the United States and permanent member states is not to use a veto against the resolution adopted by 10 member states of the Security Council, to stop supplying Israel with weapons and money, and to stop double standards.

“Is it reasonable for the US to use its veto 4 times since the start of the aggression, on October 7th, to prevent a resolution calling for a ceasefire? It is unreasonable and impermissible. Protection of Israel in the United Nations must be stopped because it is a (ro
gue) state,” he noted.

“We are working with the world to stop the aggression, and this is the basis of everything,” he added.

“Is it not enough for Israel to kill more than 32,000 people, most of whom are children and women? Is it not enough for Israel to wound more than 72,000 people, most of whom are women and children? Is it not enough for Israel to destroy more than 281,000 housing units between complete and partial destruction? And displace more than 1.6 million people?”, Shtayyeh said.

“Is it possible that the maritime aid corridor that is being built on the Gaza coast from the remains of demolished buildings is filled with the bodies of martyrs that were buried under the rubble? This is the a maritime corridor with the smell of death.”

Shtayyeh pointed out that the Cabinet is following up on the crimes committed against Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and is doing everything possible to alleviate their suffering by delivering water, coordinating aid, etc.

Source: Palestine News and Informat
ion Agency – WAFA

Amman: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, discussed Monday with Niels Annen, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development enhancing bilateral relations and various regional and international issues, notably the Palestinian cause and the war on Gaza.

Safadi and Annen emphasized the importance of ongoing coordination between Jordan and Germany across multiple sectors, particularly in partnership with the European Union, focusing on areas such as environmental conservation, energy, and water resources.

They deliberated on Gaza’s current situation, underlining efforts to safeguard civilians and ensure the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Gaza Strip.

Safadi underscored the imperative for Israel to adhere to international law and international humanitarian law, urging an end to the raging war on Gaza.

He expressed gratitude for Germany’s assistance to Jordan in addressing developmental challenges
and managing the impacts of regional and global crises, notably the refugee influx.

Safadi and Annen highlighted the crucial role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), with Safadi commending Germany’s support for the agency.

Annen praised Jordan’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza and its broader contributions to regional security and stability.

Annen’s visit to the region includes announcing a pound 15 million increase in UNRWA support for 2024-2026, covering Jordan and Lebanon. He will also participate in agreements’ signing ceremonies between the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and the German Development Bank (KfW).

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, discussed Monday with Niels Annen, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development enhancing bilateral relations and various regional and international issues, notably the Palestinian cause and the war on Gaza.

Safadi and Annen emphasized the importance of ongoing coordination between Jordan and Germany across multiple sectors, particularly in partnership with the European Union, focusing on areas such as environmental conservation, energy, and water resources.

They deliberated on Gaza’s current situation, underlining efforts to safeguard civilians and ensure the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Gaza Strip.

Safadi underscored the imperative for Israel to adhere to international law and international humanitarian law, urging an end to the raging war on Gaza.

He expressed gratitude for Germany’s assistance to Jordan in addressing developmental challenges
and managing the impacts of regional and global crises, notably the refugee influx.

Safadi and Annen highlighted the crucial role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), with Safadi commending Germany’s support for the agency.

Annen praised Jordan’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza and its broader contributions to regional security and stability.

Annen’s visit to the region includes announcing a pound 15 million increase in UNRWA support for 2024-2026, covering Jordan and Lebanon. He will also participate in agreements’ signing ceremonies between the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and the German Development Bank (KfW).

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, discussed Monday with Niels Annen, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development enhancing bilateral relations and various regional and international issues, notably the Palestinian cause and the war on Gaza.

Safadi and Annen emphasized the importance of ongoing coordination between Jordan and Germany across multiple sectors, particularly in partnership with the European Union, focusing on areas such as environmental conservation, energy, and water resources.

They deliberated on Gaza’s current situation, underlining efforts to safeguard civilians and ensure the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Gaza Strip.

Safadi underscored the imperative for Israel to adhere to international law and international humanitarian law, urging an end to the raging war on Gaza.

He expressed gratitude for Germany’s assistance to Jordan in addressing developmental challenges
and managing the impacts of regional and global crises, notably the refugee influx.

Safadi and Annen highlighted the crucial role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), with Safadi commending Germany’s support for the agency.

Annen praised Jordan’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza and its broader contributions to regional security and stability.

Annen’s visit to the region includes announcing a pound 15 million increase in UNRWA support for 2024-2026, covering Jordan and Lebanon. He will also participate in agreements’ signing ceremonies between the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and the German Development Bank (KfW).

Source: Jordan News Agency

RAMALLAH: Israeli occupation forces Monday detained 15 Palestinians, including a child and former prisoners, in an ongoing massive Israeli detention campaign across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).

PPS said that the detention campaign were concentrated in the governorates of Ramallah and Qalqilya, while the rest of the arrests were distributed in the governorates of Jenin, Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the detention campaign were accompanied by widespread abuse, severe beatings, and threats against the detainees and their families, added PPS.

The total number of Palestinians, including children, women and elderly men, rounded up after October 7 surged to about 7,770 persons.

Furthermore, the Israeli army continues to carry out the crime of enforced disappearance against detainees in the Gaza Strip, as the occupation refuses to provide human rights institutions with any details regarding their fate ot their places of detention.

Source: Palestin
e News and Information Agency – WAFA

Amman: The Jordan Armed Forces – Arab army, in collaboration with allied nations, executed Monday 8 airdrops of humanitarian and food aid, targeting various locations in the northern Gaza Strip.

Participating in this mission were aircraft from the Royal Jordanian Air Force, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, two from the United States, one from the Federal Republic of Germany, one from the Republic of Singapore, and a British aircraft, marking its inaugural involvement with the Jordan Armed Forces.

This operation is part of the ongoing international endeavors of the Kingdom to alleviate the profound human suffering resulting from the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

The Armed Forces reaffirm their commitment to dispatching humanitarian and medical assistance either via an air bridge from Marka Airport to El Arish International Airport or through airdrops over the Gaza Strip, along with ground aid convoys.

The tally of airdrops conducted by the Jordan Armed Forces has now reached 58, while in collabora
tion with allied nations, it stands at 93 since the outset of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Source: Jordan News Agency

GAZA: At least seven civilians today were killed and others were wounded in a barrage of Israeli airstrikes targeting different areas in the central and southern Gaza Strip.

Medical sources reported that six civilians were killed in an Israeli shelling targeting a group of civilians in the town of Al-Mughraqa in the central Gaza Strip.

Meantime, An Israeli shelling that targeted the Al-Nasr neighborhood, northeast of Rafah, resulting in the killing of a civilian.

In Khan Yunis, multiple of wounded individuals were rushed to the European Hospital, in the south of the city, following intense Israeli bombardment on Abasan area.

In the south of Gaza City, civil defense crews managed to recover the bodies six people who were killed in an Israeli shelling that targeted the town of Hamad, in the north of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip

In a preliminary toll, the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 7 has resulted in at least 32,226 fatalities and 74,518 wounded. Additionally, thousands of indivi
duals are still missing under the rubble.

Many people are still trapped under the rubble of the destroyed homes or scattered on the roads, as Israeli occupation forces continue to obstruct the arrival of civil and rescue crews.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA

Gaza: The Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) has lost one of its workers in the Gaza Strip following an Israeli airstrike.

Saher Akram Rayan was killed along with his son, Anas, at the Haidar Abdel Shafi roundabout, west of Gaza City, while trying to rescue their wounded neighbors from Hamada family.

The General Supervisor of Official Media, Chairman of the Board of Directors of WAFA, Minister Ahmad Assaf, extended his deepest condolences to the Rayan’s family.

Rayan worked with WAFA for more than twenty years.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA

Amman: The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) concluded its Monday trading session, with a decrease of 0.42 percent, settling at 2,473 points.

Trading activity saw the exchange of approximately 2.5 million shares, reaching a total value of around JD3 million through 1,842 transactions.

An analysis of closing figures showed that 33 companies experienced a decline in their share values, while 19 saw an uptick. The prices of shares for 41 other companies remained unchanged.

Source: Jordan News Agency

RAMALLAH: Weather on Tuesday is expected to partly cloudy to clear as temperatures are expected to rise significantly, becoming two degrees Celsius above the annual average, according to the Palestinian Meteorological Department (PMD).

Wind is southwesterly to westerly, and active with strong guts at times and dusty. Sea waves are high.

Wednesday’s weather is expected to be mild as temperature rises again and becomes six degrees Celsius above the annual average.

Weather on Thursday is expected to be partially cloudy to hot and dry with yet another rise in temperature, approaching 9-10 degrees Celsius above the annual average

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA

Yazid Abu Laila: the national team’s goalkeeper, described the degree of the excitement that flooded through the emotions of the team’s players when His Majesty met them and spoke to them in emotive words that will serve as a beacon for them in the days ahead.

He added that the royal support for the Nashama continues, noting that during the recent Asian Cup matches in Qatar, His Majesty the King spoke with us to congratulate us on our achievement. Also, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s support provided us with an additional incentive during the tournament matches, as the Crown Prince was eager to visit Qatar and follow the team from the stadium, which had the greatest impact on the hearts of the players.

Nizar Al-Rashdan, a team player, reaffirmed that the Hashemite king, who supports and loves the teams despite his various interests, is a blessing for Jordanian sports in general and the national football team in particular. This love and support inspires the squad to strive for success.

Al-Rashdan st
ated that the squad is privileged to have this royal distinction, which generates pride and appreciation, and that the team also has the backing of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was in Qatar to stimulate the players during the competition.

Source: Jordan News Agency