Latest News Headlines of Palestine
Barcelona took a big step closer to the La Liga title following a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in matchday 30 on Sunday at Camp Nou.
Ferran Torres scored the match-only goal on the edge of half-time to secure three points for the Catalan giants.
Barcelona raised their tally to 76 points with 11 points clear ahead of Real Madrid.
Source: Qatar News Agency
Commercial Manager at Al Shaqab Omar Al Mannai, who is also the vice chairman of the organizing committee of the Longines Global Champions Tour Doha, praised the success of the event’s sixth edition after intense competition over 14 rounds that started last September.
Al Mannai said that the sixth edition of the tournament was more special this year, given Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. This prompted a halt to the competition in November and December, which gave the participants a chance to prepare better. He added that the organizing committee was keen on spreading out the 14 rounds, to give the competitors enough rest.
He explained that the championship in the current season witnessed strong competition in order to win the first places in the rounds and in the general standings, extending his congratulations to the winners of the titles in jumping and dressage. He said that the Organizing Committee is constantly evaluating the competition and hoping to make improvements that makes the event more attractive to riders. He noted that there were a few things that needed improving to make next season even better for riders. On talents discovered during the competition, he said that the continuity of the tournament with a clear schedule helps improve the performance of riders.
Al Mannai revealed, at the end of his statements, that the next season will start next October, when there will be some organizational amendments related to the participation of the riders, which will be announced in due course.
Source: Qatar News Agency
Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa mosque, also commonly known as al-Qibli mosque, overnight, arresting more than 350 people, according to media reports.
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The raids continued into Wednesday morning. In response, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets at Israel.
Appalling violence
Mr. Wennesland issued a statement saying he was appalled by the images of violence inside the mosque, which is located in the Old City of Jerusalem and considered the third holiest site in Islam.
“I am disturbed by the apparent beating of Palestinians by Israeli security forces and large number of arrests. I also strongly reject the stockpiling and use of fireworks and rocks by Palestinians inside the mosque,” he said.
Al-Qibli mosque, within the overall compound of Al-Aqsa, is situated on Temple Mount, which is sacred to Jews.
Violent clashes took place there two years ago, sparking 11 days of deadly conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.
‘This should be a time for peace’ – Guterres
Briefing journalists at UN Headquarters, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, said Secretary-General António Guterres had been “shocked and appalled by the images” he had seen of the violence and beating by Israeli security forces inside the al-Qibli mosque.
“At a time of the calendar which is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, this should be a time for peace and not violence. Places of worship should only be used for peaceful religious observances.”
Safety at holy sites
The latest raid took place during the holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday, against a backdrop of rising unrest between Israelis and Palestinians.
“This holy period and places of worship should be for safe and peaceful religious reflection, noting that nearly 600,000 people have visited the Holy Sites in Jerusalem since the beginning of Ramadan,” said Mr. Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
“I call on political, religious and community leaders on all sides to reject incitement, inflammatory rhetoric, and provocative actions.”
Refrain from escalation
The UN envoy insisted that the “historic status quo” of the holy sites must be upheld, in line with the special role of Jordan, their custodian.
“Leaders on all sides must act responsibly and refrain from steps that could escalate tensions,” he said, adding that “the indiscriminate firing of rockets from Gaza is unacceptable and must stop.”
He said the UN remains in close contact with all parties to de-escalate the situation.
Source: EMM/United Nations
The Palestinian mixed martial arts committee, which is housed under the Palestinian Federation of Kickboxing, obtained full membership in the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Federation.
This came after three years of the committee’s formation, which has worked on founding the game at home and abroad, and on forming the national team, which was awarded with a number of medals at the continental and the regional levels.
The head of the Palestinian mixed martial arts committee, Nizar Taleb, expressed his happiness for gaining full membership at the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Federation, praising the efforts of the members of the team in establishing programs and activities that has led to the formation of the game in the Palestinian sporting arena and made tangible achievements in its worldwide engagement.
The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) will take place in Thailand this year.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency
An Israeli court today extended by eight days the detention of Ahmed Abu Khadija, a football player of Jabal Al Mukaber Club, who was crowned champion of the Professional Football League and arrested hours after his team won the Professional League title on March 3.
WAFA correspondent said that the court extended by eight days the detention of Abu Khadija while he was on his way home only hours after his team won the Professional League title on March 3.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency
The Asian qualifiers for the U-20 women’s teams hosted by Palestine kicks off tomorrow.
The competitions will open with a match between the Palestinian women’s team and the Nepal national team, which will be held at Faisal Husseini Stadium in al-Ram, north of occupied Jerusalem. The Northern Mariana Islands team will also participate in the qualifiers.
The Palestinian women’s team coach, Gina Khanouf, said during a press conference held in Ramallah today that the Palestinian national team is fully prepared to enter these qualifiers and compete in order to qualify for the next stage.
She pointed out that the national team has players in all positions with a promising future and they are ready for the match as they underwent preparation and training for these qualifiers for about eight months.
Khanouf indicated that holding the qualifiers in Palestine is an additional advantage for the players as they play on their land and in front of their fans.
Nepalese national team coach, Liam Gortig, said that his country is fully prepared for the qualifiers for the tournament that will be held in Pakistan next year.
He pointed out that the Nepal national team undertook intensive preparations and training for this tournament over a period of three months.
As for the Northern Marina Islands coach, he said that participating in this tournament is a goal in itself, which will show through the good performance of his team.
Source: Palestine News & Information Agency
The Arab League Council today condemned Israeli crimes against and demanded the provision of international protection to the Palestinian people.
The Council convened an extraordinary meeting at the Permanent Representative level in Cairo to discuss the ongoing deadly Israeli army incursions across the occupied West Bank, including the deadly raid that resulted in the killing of 11 Palestinians, including an elderly and a child, and injuring over 100 others by live bullets, six reported in critical to very critical condition, into the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday.
The Council decried the large-scale Israeli crimes, classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes under international humanitarian law, against the Palestinian people, and called on the international community to implement the resolutions relative to the protection of Palestinian civilians, especially UNSC Resolution 904 (1994), UNSC Resolution 605 (1987) and UNGA Resolution 10\20- RES/ES (201) on the Protection of the Palestinian civilian population.
It urged international actors to actively partake in the protection of Palestinian civilians and form a practical and effective mechanism to implement the UNGA Resolution and United Nations Secretary-General’s report, including the viable options to ensure protection of Palestinian civilians.
It urged the UNSC to shoulder its responsibilities in terms of defending international security and peace and take immediate effective actions to halt all Israeli crimes and practices and bring an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories since 1967.
It called on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to assume their responsibilities in terms of to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, and bring to a halt Israeli violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The Council urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to conduct a genuinely independent and impartial investigation into the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel, including the crimes of aggression, colonial settlement construction, annexation, extrajudicial killings of Palestinians, and forceful displacement, and hold the perpetrators accountable.
It concluded by reiterating the centrality of the Question of Palestinian to the Arab nation as well as its unwavering support to the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, notably the right to self-determination and the right to establish an independent, sovereign State based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency
Flags at the Home of FIFA in Zurich were flown at half-mast today in mourning of Brazilian soccer legend, Pele, who died of colon cancer today at the age of 82.
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) in a tweet mourned Pele, describing him as the eternal king and the only man to win the FIFA World Cup three times.
“FIFA and all of the football world is mourning the death of O Eterno Rei – the eternal king,” said FIFA in a tweet.
“For everyone who loves the beautiful game, this is the day we never wanted to come. The day we lost Pelé,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in tribute to Pelé.
“Rest in peace, Pelé. Our thoughts and sympathies are with your family, friends and all who had the joy of watching you play,” added the organization in another tweet.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has named Palestinian international referee Heba Saadia to participate in the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20, 2023.
This is the first time that a Palestinian referee will participate in refereeing matches in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 is the first in the history of the tournament to be co-organised by two countries, the first to be held in the southern hemisphere and the first to include 32 teams.
Source: Palestine news and Information Agency
Argentina is the 2022 World Cup champion after beating France at the final football match at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.
The match went into extra time after both Argentina and France were level at 2-2 for the entire 90 minutes of the game.
France’s Kylian Mbappé completed a hat-trick for the night after he scored on a penalty kick, and evened the score.
After the extra time, the game went to penalty kicks, where Argentina scored four goals, two more than France, making Argentina the 2022 World Cup winner.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi scored two goals in the regular time.
With Argentina’s victory, Messi has won his first-ever World Cup.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency
Morocco’s historic win yesterday 1-0 against Portugal in the quarterfinals of the Qatar World Cup 2022 made headlines today of the three Palestinian Arabic-language dailies.
These are the main headlines of the three dailies:
Al-Quds:
– First Arab and African country to qualify for World Cup semi-finals… Palestine celebrates [Morocco’s] victory… Morocco beats Portugal 1-0 and reaches the semi-finals for the first time in its history.
– Injuries by Israeli gunfire [in the occupied West Bank].
– US warns Israel against annexation or harming the status quo in Al-Aqsa.
– Palestine celebrates the victory of the Moroccan national team, and the Israeli occupation forces suppress the festivities in Jerusalem.
– The deportation of Salah Hammouri.. Another aspect of racial discrimination against Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida:
– Morocco makes the difference… The Atlas Lions continue to climb to the top.
– The Israeli occupation confiscates a [Palestinian-owned] land in the village of Jinsafut, and suppresses those celebrating the victory of the Moroccan national team in Jerusalem.
– Prime Minister Shtayyeh honors Patriarch Michel Sabah and praises his national and humanitarian role.
– Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails hold the Israeli Prison Service responsible for the life of prisoner Walid Daqqa.
– Palestinians hold a vigil in Tayibe against home demolitions by Israel.
– Palestine TV Tower is lit with the Moroccan flag to celebrate the victory of Morocco’s Atlas Lions.
Al-Ayyam:
– Morocco continues to write history by defeating Portugal… Massive celebrations across the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the occasion.
– Injuries during confrontations [with Israeli forces] in Beit Ummar and Nabi Saleh, and Israel decides to seize hundreds of dunums in Jinsafut.
– Occupation police suppress those celebrating Morocco’s victory in occupied Jerusalem.
– US applies pressure not to update a UN list of companies operating in Israeli settlements.
– A UN envoy arrives in Israel soon to investigate the abuse of Palestinian children.
Source: Palestine News and Information agency
After beating Portugal 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the World Cup 2022, Morocco has become the first Arab and African nation to reach the semi-final stage of the international tournament.
Youssef En-Nesyri delivered the game-winning goal in the 42nd minute. Morocco will face England or France in the semifinal on Wednesday.
Portugal meanwhile struggled to break through the Moroccan defence, and Cristiano Ronaldo who came off the bench six minutes after the break was unable to help his team avoid defeat.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency