Palestine News

A drop in temperature is expected today in Palestine, which nevertheless remains 3°C above the seasonal average, according to the Palestinian Meteorological Department (PMD).

Wind is northwesterly, light to moderate, and sea waves are low.

Temperature in the capital, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem is expected to reach a high of 32°C and a low of 20°C and in Ramallah and Hebron a high of 31°C and a low of 19°C. In Jericho, the Dead Sea, and the Jordan Valley temperature is expected to reach a high of 41°C and a low of 26°C while it is expected to reach a high of 31°C and a low of 23°C in Gaza and the coastal areas.

An additional slight drop in temperature is expected tomorrow, Sunday, to become 2°C above the average.

No change in temperature or weather conditions is expected for Monday and Tuesday, said the PMD, which warned people against being exposed to the sun for long period, particularly from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and setting fire to areas with dry grass.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

A 13-year-old Gaza boy who was shot and seriously wounded by Israeli soldiers last week has died this morning of his wounds, according to medical sources.

They told WAFA that Omar Hasan Abu al-Niel, from Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City, has died of wounds sustained last Saturday when he was shot during a rally held near the northeastern Gaza borders with Israel.

Abu Niel is the second Palestinian to die of wounds sustained during the same activity held marking the anniversary of the burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Osama Khaled Deij, 32, from Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza City, has also died of wounds days after he was shot by Israeli soldiers stationed at the borders with Gaza.

A total of 41 people, mainly children, were injured on that day when Israeli soldiers opened fire at the participants in the rally.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Six Palestinians have died after contracting COVID-19 in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip while 1237 new cases were recorded and 433 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, according to Minister of Health Mai Alkaila.

She said in her daily report on COVID-19 in Palestine that four people died in the West Bank while 510 new cases were recorded and 269 patients recovered.

In the Gaza Strip, two people died, 727 new cases were recorded and 164 patients recovered.

Alkaila said 118 COVID-19 patients are in hospitals and 46 are intensive care, while seven are on ventilators.

She also said that 634,715 people (37.6 percent) in the West Bank have been vaccinated compared to 181,271 people (14.3 percent) in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

After closing Rafah crossing between the besieged Gaza Strip and Egypt for one week, the latter decided to reopen the only international crossing for Gaza on Sunday, according to the Palestine embassy in Cairo.

It said in a statement that the crossing will reopen today in one direction only for people stranded in Egypt to get back to Gaza and will resume operation as normal in both directions for travelers in general starting Sunday.

Hundreds of Palestinians were stranded in Egypt for several days following the sudden closure of the crossing earlier this week.

Gaza has been under tight Israeli land, sea and air siege since 2005. Its only contact with the outside world has been through Rafah crossing with Egypt.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

In mourning of a Palestinian refugee student killed this week by Israeli occupation forces in Balata refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees said it was “deeply saddened” by the killing of the student and called on the Israeli forces to exercise restraint in the use of force.

Imad Saleh Hashash, 15, a ninth-grade student at the UNRWA Balata Boys’ School, was shot in the head and killed in Balata refugee camp during clashes that followed an arrest operation carried out by Israeli forces in the camp on Tuesday.

According to reports, Hashash was standing on the roof of his house when he was shot in the head with live ammunition and pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

“UNRWA calls on the ISF (Israel Security Forces) to exercise restraint in their use of force and to minimize causalities,” said the UN agency in a statement.

“The killing of Imad adds to the ever-growing number of victims killed by the Israeli forces, in 2021 alone the Israeli Security Forces have killed 59 Palestinians in the West Bank including 22 refugees and 13 children. In addition, 984 Palestinians have been injured by live fire since the beginning of the year,” it added.

“UNRWA continues to call on the Israeli forces to investigate these fatalities and use of live ammunition and hold accountable those that violate international standards. Until the Israeli military control over Palestinian civilians’ ceases, Israeli military forces must protect the lives and ensure the dignity of Palestinians living under their control,” the UN refugee agency concluded its statement.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Three people have died of coronavirus in Palestine in the last 24 hours as 1788 new cases were recorded and 343 patients recovered, today said Minister of Health Mai Alkaila in her daily report on the pandemic in Palestine.

She said two people died in the West Bank while 868 new cases were recorded since yesterday and 238 patients have recovered.

In the Gaza Strip, one person died of the disease, 920 new cases confirmed and 105 patients have recovered.

Alkaila said 99 people are getting treatment in hospitals and 33 are in intensive care while four are on ventilators.

With the surge in cases, active ones stand now at 3.7 percent of the total cases registered since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Palestine in March of last year while 95.2 percent have recovered and the death toll stood at 1.1 percent.

She also said that 619,316 people or 36.7 percent of the West Bank residents have been vaccinated compared to 154,063, or 12.2 percent, in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Israeli occupation forces today ordered a halt on the renovation and rehabilitation of a water reservoir in the village of Furush Beit Dajan, east of the northern occupied West Bank city of Nablus, according to a local source.

Coordinator of the Popular committee for the Defense of Furush Beit Dajan, Tawfiq Hajj Mohammed, said Israeli forces stormed the village, ordered to stop renovation work on the 50-year-old water reservoir, and threatened to confiscate the machinery used for the work.

He noted that the Israeli authorities forbid digging of wells in the area, which suffers from water scarcity.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Azzam al-Ahmad, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Fatah Central Committee, today said that a tripartite Palestinian-Egyptian-Jordanian summit is expected to be held soon, likely in Cairo, to coordinate positions ahead of President Mahmoud Abbas’s trip to the United Nations.

He told Palestine TV that the US administration under Joe Biden is required to exert real pressure on Israel, whose prime minister has declared before his trip to Washington that he does not agree to the creation of a Palestinian state and that he will continue with settlements construction.

President Abbas is expected to address the UN General Assembly in September.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

The Palestinian Authority’s Women’s Affairs Minister Amal Hamad today urged the international community to force Israel to release Anhar al-Deek, 26, a pregnant Palestinian woman held in Israel as she is expected to have her baby in few days.

Hamad said in a statement that al-Deek, a mother of a baby girl from the village of Kufr Nimeh, west of Ramallah, is expected to have a cesarean delivery while in custody, which is a blatant violation of international conventions and norms, particularly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions on the Protection of Civilians and Prisoners of War.

She considered the arrest of al-Deek a war crime, pointing out that she was detained on March 8 while she was three months pregnant and put in very difficult conditions without any consideration for her health.

Eleven mothers out of 40 Palestinian women prisoners are currently held in Israel for their political activities.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

In the presence of Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, Minister of Education Marwan Awartani today signed with the Director of German Development Bank (KfW) Office in Ramallah, David Kunze, a grant of €25 million to support the education sector in Palestine.

The grant is provided by Germany, in partnership with Ireland, Finland, and Norway, to support the education sector.

Shtayyeh said that this agreement will cover the building and renovation of schools and the pre-school education, and will provide schools with equipment, as well as help capacity building of educational staff.” He stressed that Germany is the most important supporter of the Palestinian people, thanking Germany not only for supporting the education sector, but for supporting many other sectors, including technical and vocational education, water, infrastructure, and most importantly, the spirit of partnership between Palestine and Germany in order to end the Israeli occupation and establish the state of Palestine and supporting the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

Meanwhile, the representative of Germany, Oliver Owcza, who also attended the signing ceremony, said that education is an investment in the human capabilities of any country as well as a human right.

“Education is a soft power, and we look forward to the continuation of joint cooperation between the two countries in many sectors,” he added.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

كشفت مصادر أمريكية، النقاب عن أن موافقة رئيس الولايات المتحدة جو بايدن على توصية وزارة الدفاع بالالتزام بالموعد النهائي للانسحاب من أفغانستان، جاء مشروط بتسهيل عمليات الإجلاء.

ووفق ما نقلته قناة “الحرة” الأمريكية، اليوم الأربعاء، فإن واشنطن أبلغت حركة طالبان أن إتمام الانسحاب من أفغانستان بحلول الثلاثاء المقبل، مرهون بالتعاون في تسهيل عمليات الإجلاء.

كما أكدت أن بايدن طلب خططا طارئة للبقاء فترة أطول في أفغانستان “إذا كان ذلك ضروريا”.

وكانت وسائل إعلام امريكية متطابقة، أكدت، الثلاثاء، أن الرئيس جو بايدن قرر عدم تمديد الموعد النهائي المحدد في 31 آب/أغسطس الجاري لانسحاب القوات الأمريكية بشكل كامل من أفغانستان.

وكان بايدن لمّح قبلها، إلى إمكانية بقاء قوات أمريكية في أفغانستان بعد انتهاء الوقت المحدد لانسحابها، وذلك حتى يتم إجلاء جميع المواطنين الأمريكيين.

يشار إلى أن القرار الأمريكي، جاء بعيد تحذير حركة طالبان من تبعات إبقاء القوات الأمريكية داخل أفغانستان لما بعد موعد الانسحاب المقرر نهاية الشهر الجاري.

وقال متحدث الحركة، ذبيح الله مجاهد، في مؤتمر صحفي مصور، الثلاثاء: “31 أغسطس آخر موعد لوجود القوات الأمريكية في بلدنا، وسنتخذ موقفا مغايرا في حال تخطوا هذا الموعد”.

وسادت حالة من الفوضى شابها العنف أحيانا في مطار كابل، إذ تحاول القوات الغربية وحراس الأمن الأفغان إبعاد الحشود الراغبة في الفرار من البلاد بعد سيطرة طالبان,

وكانت حركة “طالبان”، فرضت سيطرتها على كابل، خلال الأسابيع الأخيرة، رغم مليارات الدولارات التي أنفقتها الولايات المتحدة وحلف شمال الأطلسي “الناتو” طوال 20 عاما لبناء قوات الأمن الأفغانية، وعلى إثر ذلك تسارع الدول الغربية الوقت لإجلاء رعاياها و”المتعاونين” الأفغان من هناك.

Source: Quds Press International News Agency