Palestine News

Ireland’s government Tuesday supported a parliamentary motion condemning the “de facto annexation” of Palestinian lands by Israel in what it said was the first use of the phrase by a European Union government in relation to Israel.

Irish Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney, who has represented Ireland on the United Nations Security Council in debates on Israel in recent weeks, supported the motion and condemned what he described as Israel’s “manifestly unequal” treatment of the Palestinian people.

“The scale, pace and strategic nature of Israel’s actions on settlement expansion and the intent behind it have brought us to a point where we need to be honest about what is actually happening on the ground… It is de facto annexation,” Coveney told parliament.

There are over 700,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are illegal under international law and are viewed as key obstacle to peace.

The number of settlers has almost tripled since the Oslo Accords of 1993, when settlers’ number estimated 252,000. Illegal colonial settlements have leapt from 144 to 515 in that time.

Israel’s nation-state law states that building and strengthening the settlements is a “national interest.”
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

The Israeli authorities today forced a Palestinian citizen of Israel to demolish his own house in the Palestinian city of Tayibe in central Israel, according to a news website.

The Arabs 48 news website, which reports on Palestinians in present-day Israel, said that Nabil Amrour was forced to tear down his own house to avoid paying exorbitant costs if the Israeli Interior Ministry’s bulldozers accompanied by police special forces.

The demolition underscores that citizenship does not protect the 1.5 million Palestinians who are nominally citizens of Israel from the arbitrary and racially motivated state violence that routinely targets Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.

Since its founding, Israel has severely restricted the areas on which Palestinian citizens of Israel are allowed to build and has – with the exception of forced resettlement towns for Bedouins – not allowed a single new town for Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

Palestine today recorded 461 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths, according to Health Minister Mai al-Kaileh.

She announced that 461 Palestinians tested positive for the highly contagious virus and three others died of it in the occupied territories.

Among the new 461 cases, 58 cases were recorded in the West Bank and 403 others in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Al-Kaileh identified the deaths as two deaths from the West Bank and one from the besieged Gaza Strip.

She added that 535 Covid-19 patients recovered; 135 recovery cases in the West Bank and 400 others in the Gaza Strip.

She pointed that 40 Covid-19 patients are getting treatment in intensive care units, including eight who are connected to ventilators, while 79 others are currently hospitalized across the West Bank.

Recoveries account for 97.8 percent of total cases since the pandemic outbreak in March 2020, active cases for 1.1 percent and the death toll accounts for 1.1 percent.

Regarding the Covid-19 vaccination rollout, al-Kaileh said that 293,238 people have received the vaccine so far in the West Bank and Gaza, including 206,747 people who received the second dose of the vaccine.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

Fatah Central Committee member, Hussein al-Sheikh, today welcomed the US decision to reopen its consulate in East Jerusalem.

Speaking to Voice of Palestine radio, al-Sheikh stated that the decision announced by US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, that his country will go ahead with reopening its consulate in the occupied city of East Jerusalem is “deemed the most important decision taken by the new US administration” and “sends a clear message that East Jerusalem is part of the territories that Israel has been since 1967”.

“The announcement on the reopening of the US consulate in East Jerusalem implies the collapse of the so-called Deal of the Century, touted by the former US administration, and serves as a ground for the restoration of normal relations with the US, so that it would function as an effective and influential actor to resume negotiations based on the United Nations resolutions,” he stated.

He pointed to the need to build on these encouraging US positions as he stressed President Mahmoud Abbas’ call for initiating a comprehensive intra-Palestinian dialogue and building a national partnership away from hateful rhetoric.

Commenting on the significance of President Abbas’ meeting with Blinken on Tuesday and US President Joe Biden’s first phone call with Abbas, al-Sheikh considered them as part of the Palestinian official diplomatic efforts against Israel’s policy of expulsions, colonization and assaults against holy sites.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

Four days after the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza, Humanity & Inclusion teams are distributing assistive devices and hygiene kits to civilians in the Gaza Strip, and supporting reconstruction initiatives, according to a statement.

“At this time, it appears the ceasefire is being respected by both sides of the conflict,” says Laurent Palustran, Humanity & Inclusion’s country manager for the Palestinian territories.

After 11 days of violence resulted in 254 deaths and more than 2,600 injures reported by the United Nations, Humanity & Inclusion’s office officially reopened on Monday, May 24.

“The 58 UNWRA schools that previously sheltered more than 77,000 internally displaced individuals are slowly emptying as people return home and reunite with family. However, many are still left without homes. Bombings destroyed 1,042 housing and commercial units and severely damaged nearly 800 other buildings,” the statement said.

“There is an enormous need for reconstruction right now,” Palustran says. “Humanity & Inclusion has experience in building homes and adapting them for people with disabilities, so we’re preparing to provide reconstruction support.”

Teams continue to assess the needs of the affected population, identifying at least 1,045 people in need of materials or assistive devices such as walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, canes and adapted toilets. Humanity & Inclusion is already distributing those items.

Thousands have lost all personal belongings and essentials. Teams are distributing hygiene kits of basic needs such as soap, detergent and disinfectant, with plans to replenish other necessities.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and damage to 54 schools, schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year. Humanity & Inclusion is concerned by the gap in education, and will focus on providing accessible and inclusive education in the coming years for local children, including those with disabilities.

Damage to public infrastructure has left the populations with limited access to essentials such as electricity, water and sanitation. Priority repairs will continue to get these services up and running again, but many key power and water plans are operating at partial capacity.

“With the ceasefire in place, we can take the first steps towards healing,” Palustran says.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

The European Union (EU) has increased its humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people in Palestine by €8 million, taking the total to €34.4 million this year, according to a European Commission press release.

The additional funding will be dedicated to supporting victims of the recent violence. EU humanitarian funding for 2021 will help protect the most vulnerable Palestinians, provide life-saving assistance and uphold human dignity, said the statement.

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “Following the announcement of a ceasefire, urgent humanitarian access is now vital, to relieve the suffering of the many innocent victims.

“Nothing can bring back the many civilian lives that were taken in this latest conflict – and we are dismayed at the deaths of so many children, including 11 children in Gaza who were benefiting from a trauma care programme supported by the EU,” it said.

“The EU is maintaining critical support for protection programmes, health care, education, access to safe water, and cash assistance. The EU insists on respect for international humanitarian law and cannot accept that civilians are displaced by force or that their homes and schools are demolished.”

The funding announced includes €8 million in emergency assistance, and €200,000 in support of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in delivering immediate assistance through 24/7 emergency medical services in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It also includes €300,000 to support Palestinian refugees in Egypt and a contribution of €500,000 from Italy, the statement concluded.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

Minister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs, Riyad al-Malki, met today with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in Ramallah, where they discussed the latest political developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and the latest contacts made by the Palestinian leadership with relevant Arab and international parties to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.

Malki briefed his British counterpart on the ongoing Israeli occupation’s crimes against the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, its continued violations, and brutal suppression of the defenseless Palestinian civilians.

Malki slammed what is happening in Jerusalem as war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli occupation against the defenseless Palestinian civilians, stressing that the Israeli occupation and its leadership must be held accountable for these crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Malki called on Britain to recognize the state of Palestine, emphasizing its centrality in confronting the vicious attacks against the Palestinian cause.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA