Israeli navy targets fishermen offshore Gaza, destroys boat

GAZA, Thursday, May 06, 2021 (WAFA) – The Israeli navy today targeted Palestinian fishermen offshore As-Sudaniya, northwest of Gaza city, destroying a boat, according to WAFA correspondent. He said that the fishermen were sailing within three nautical miles when Israeli naval boats opened gunfire and water hoses toward them, causing damages to a boat and forcing them to flee for safety. No injuries were reported though. Fourteen years following the

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Connecticut Senator pays landmark visit to UNRWA training centre in Jordan

AMMAN, Thursday, May 06, 2021 (WAFA) – U.S. Senator from Connecticut, Chris Murphy, Wednesday paid a landmark visit to the Wadi Seer Training Centre run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Amman, Jordan. Senator Murphy received an on-site briefing about the situation of Palestine refugees in Jordan, the response of UNRWA during the COVID-19 pandemic and the way the

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Palestine records 651 Covid-19 cases, nine deaths

RAMALLAH, Thursday, May 6, 2021 (WAFA) – Palestine today recorded 651 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths, according to Health Minister Mai Al-Kaileh. She announced that 651 Palestinians tested positive for the highly contagious virus and nine others died of it in the occupied territories. Among the new 651 cases, 212 cases were recorded in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and 439 others in the besieged Gaza Strip. In

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Sheikh Jarrah families say no compromise has been reached with settlers

JERUSALEM, Thursday, May 6, 2021 (WAFA) – Palestinian families facing an imminent Israeli threat of eviction in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah told the Supreme Israeli Court today that no compromise has been reached with Israeli settlers concerning land and house ownership claims by the latter. Sami Irsheid, the lawyer of Sheikh Jarrah families, said he had submitted to the court a notification that no agreement was made

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EU says Israeli settlements undermine future negotiations

BRUSSELS, Thursday, May 6, 2021 (WAFA) – The European Union has voiced concern over Israel’s announcement of plans to construct 540 new housing units in Har Homa settlement in occupied Jerusalem, saying that settlements undermine the prospect of a two-state solution. “The implementation of these plans, as well as those for Givat Hamatos, would cut off East Jerusalem from Bethlehem and severely undermine future negotiations towards a two-state solution in

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Israeli Supreme Court postpones ruling on Sheikh Jarrah evictions

JERUSALEM, Thursday, May 6, 2021 (WAFA) – The Israeli Supreme Court postponed today its ruling on the eviction of several Palestinian families from the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah until May 10. The court’s decision came after it was told by Palestinian families facing eviction in Sheikh Jarrah that no compromise has been reached with Israeli settlers concerning land and house ownership claims by the latter. The court

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UN Mideast Coordinator voices concern over imminent evictions in Sheikh Jarrah

JERUSALEM, Thursday, May 6, 2021 (WAFA) – UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said today he was concerned over the latest developments related to the eviction of Palestinian refugee families in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. “I urge Israel to cease demolitions and evictions, in line with its obligations under international humanitarian law,” said Wennesland in a statement. The UN official said also

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Israeli forces blockade Nablus-district town for third consecutive day

NABLUS, Wednesday, May 05, 2021 (WAFA) – Israeli forces today continued to blockade Aqraba town, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, for the third consecutive day, according to local sources. They said that the Israeli soldiers sealed off the town, paralyzing the movement of the town residents and preventing them from entering or leaving purportedly as part of their active pursuit of the suspected perpetrator of a

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Palestine records 815 Covid-19 cases, 21 deaths

RAMALLAH, Wednesday, May 5, 2021 (WAFA) – Palestine today recorded 815 new Covid-19 cases and 21 deaths, according to Health Minister Mai Al-Kaileh. She announced that 815 Palestinians tested positive for the highly contagious virus and 21 others died of it in the occupied territories. Among the new 815 cases, 203 cases were recorded in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and 612 others in the besieged Gaza Strip. In

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Presidential spokesman: The Palestinian national decision, Jerusalem, and PLO are the effective factors to achieve national unity

RAMALLAH, Wednesday, May 05, 2021 (WAFA) – Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh today said that the independent Palestinian national decision, Jerusalem, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) – the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people – are an existential issue and the effective factors to achieve the national unity. Abu Rudeineh stressed that the current stage in the Palestinian issue is the most dangerous for the Palestinian national

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Israel issues 100 administrative detention orders against Palestinians

RAMALLAH, Wednesday, May 05, 2021 (WAFA) – Israeli authorities issued 100 administrative detention orders during the month of April against Palestinian detainees held in Israeli jails. The sentences varied between two and six months and could be renewed at the end of the term. Some of the orders were issued against Palestinian detainees for the first time, while the other detainees had their administrative detention renewed. Israel’s widely condemned policy

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Methodists Divest from Caterpillar citing Palestinian Evictions

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, May 05, 2021 (WAFA) – The Methodist Church has sold its shares in the US-based company Caterpillar, citing the continued use of its equipment to destroy peoples’ homes as part of the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, and its poor record in Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance, said a statement issued by Sabeel-Kairos, an international peace movement initiated by Palestinian Christians. More photographs have recently emerged of

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