Jewish settlers arrived in buses to an area to the east of Yatta, in Al-Khalil province, on Tuesday night and performed Talmudic rituals, local sources said.
They said that the settlers offered prayers at a 100 dunums area of land where they claim contain Jewish relics. This is the first time they arrive in this area for that purpose.
In the same area, the settlers attacked a number of Palestinian shepherds and beat one of them on the head earlier Tuesday.
Rateb Al-Jabour, the coordinator of popular committees in Yatta, said that the 45-year-old man was hospitalized, adding that fistfights erupted between the settlers and the shepherds.
He noted that Israeli occupation forces arrived to the scene to back the settlers and arrested three shepherds.
28 feb 2012
Settlers Attack Palestinian Shepherds Near Hebron
Israeli settlers from Havat Maon, an illegal settlement south of Hebron, Tuesday attacked Palestinian shepherds and injured one, according to a local activist.
Rateb Jabour, from the local Popular Committee against the Settlements, told WAFA that dozens of settlers, protected by Israeli soldiers, attacked shepherds who were grazing their sheep in the fields and injured a 45-year-old shepherd.
Area residents intervened to protect the shepherds while the Israeli soldiers did not attempt to stop the settlers’ assault, added Jabour.
Settlers Perform Jewish Rituals in Hebron area Mosque
A large group of Jewish settlers Tuesday conducted religious rituals in a mosque in the town of Halhoul, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, according to a local activist.
Mohammad Awad, from the National Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, said a group of settlers entered the mosque under Israeli army protection and performed Jewish rituals, provoking Palestinian residents to clash with the Israeli forces.
The army closed off the area and combed it looking for the Palestinian protesters.
Israeli Settlers, Soldiers Raid House, Arrest Three
Dozens of settlers accompanied by Israeli soldiers Tuesday raided a house in Fara’ta, a village east of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, and arrested three of its residents, according to witnesses.
They said settlers assaulted members of Taweel family in the village while soldiers arrested three of them and took them away.
Witnesses: Settlers raid Hebron village
Settlers raided a Hebron village overnight Monday, local witnesses told Ma'an.
Israeli forces surrounded the village of Hahul as settlers left the area. No injuries were reported.
Seven cars with Israeli number plates entered the village before being escorted out by military jeeps, locals said.
Hebron is split into Palestinian Authority and Israeli military controlled zones. Around 800 Jewish settlers live among 30,000 Palestinians in the parts of the ancient city that are under Israeli control, including Tel Rumeida.
Settler attacks in the West Bank against Palestinians increased by more than 50 percent in 2011, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
They said that the settlers offered prayers at a 100 dunums area of land where they claim contain Jewish relics. This is the first time they arrive in this area for that purpose.
In the same area, the settlers attacked a number of Palestinian shepherds and beat one of them on the head earlier Tuesday.
Rateb Al-Jabour, the coordinator of popular committees in Yatta, said that the 45-year-old man was hospitalized, adding that fistfights erupted between the settlers and the shepherds.
He noted that Israeli occupation forces arrived to the scene to back the settlers and arrested three shepherds.
28 feb 2012
Settlers Attack Palestinian Shepherds Near Hebron
Israeli settlers from Havat Maon, an illegal settlement south of Hebron, Tuesday attacked Palestinian shepherds and injured one, according to a local activist.
Rateb Jabour, from the local Popular Committee against the Settlements, told WAFA that dozens of settlers, protected by Israeli soldiers, attacked shepherds who were grazing their sheep in the fields and injured a 45-year-old shepherd.
Area residents intervened to protect the shepherds while the Israeli soldiers did not attempt to stop the settlers’ assault, added Jabour.
Settlers Perform Jewish Rituals in Hebron area Mosque
A large group of Jewish settlers Tuesday conducted religious rituals in a mosque in the town of Halhoul, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, according to a local activist.
Mohammad Awad, from the National Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, said a group of settlers entered the mosque under Israeli army protection and performed Jewish rituals, provoking Palestinian residents to clash with the Israeli forces.
The army closed off the area and combed it looking for the Palestinian protesters.
Israeli Settlers, Soldiers Raid House, Arrest Three
Dozens of settlers accompanied by Israeli soldiers Tuesday raided a house in Fara’ta, a village east of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, and arrested three of its residents, according to witnesses.
They said settlers assaulted members of Taweel family in the village while soldiers arrested three of them and took them away.
Witnesses: Settlers raid Hebron village
Settlers raided a Hebron village overnight Monday, local witnesses told Ma'an.
Israeli forces surrounded the village of Hahul as settlers left the area. No injuries were reported.
Seven cars with Israeli number plates entered the village before being escorted out by military jeeps, locals said.
Hebron is split into Palestinian Authority and Israeli military controlled zones. Around 800 Jewish settlers live among 30,000 Palestinians in the parts of the ancient city that are under Israeli control, including Tel Rumeida.
Settler attacks in the West Bank against Palestinians increased by more than 50 percent in 2011, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Masked Jewish extremist settlers stone Palestinians in pictures
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Violent clashes in Jerusalem, Qardawi prohibits visiting it for non-Palestinians
Israeli occupation police forces arrested five Jerusalemites on Monday night during violent confrontations with young men in Tur suburb.
Local sources said that the Israeli policemen and border guards fired rubbers bullets, teargas canisters, and stun grenades on the demonstrators.
They said that the clashes, which broke out near Makased hospital, were going on for the fourth day running in protest at the storming of the Aqsa mosque last Friday, adding that the young men threw stones and iron bars at the policemen.
Meanwhile, renowned Egyptian scholar Dr. Yousef Al-Qardawi has renewed an earlier Fatwa (edict) prohibiting on all Muslims, except the Palestinians, to visit occupied Jerusalem.
He said that visiting Jerusalem while under occupation gives legitimacy to that occupation, noting that anyone wishing to visit it is compelled to deal with Israeli embassies to obtain an entry visa.
“We should feel that we are deprived of Jerusalem in order to fight to win it back”, he said, adding that Jerusalem would only return through resistance and Jihad.
Qardawi warned Jewish settlers against consequences of repeatedly storming the holy Aqsa mosque, describing it as a “red line”.
Qardawi’s words, which were in response to PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s call on Muslims to visit Jerusalem, were echoed by a Hamas spokesman in Gaza.
Fawzi Barhoum said in a press release that visiting Jerusalem under occupation is recognition of occupation and a sort of normalization.
He said that Muslims should rather save Jerusalem from occupation and boost steadfastness of its inhabitants.
27 feb 2012
Settler Opens Fire on Farmers near Hebron
A Jewish settler Monday opened fire at Palestinian farmers and their livestock in Khirbet Janba, south of the West Bank city of Hebron, after failed attempts to steal their sheep, according to a local resident.
Khader al-Amour, a school principal in Janba, told WAFA the settler tried to steal some of the sheep using several dogs to scare off the farmers and when failed, he opened fire at the farmers that led to a fistfight between them.
Members of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) arrived at the scene and seized several sheep and told their owners they must pay for them if they wanted them back, he added.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities also imposed almost $2000 on a Palestinian farmer from Khirbet Janba under the pretext that he was herding the sheep in an Israeli army-control area.
Palestinian residents in Khirbet Janba depend on their livestock to make a living.
Report: Deal to move Migron outpost falters
Settlers living in an illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank have failed to sign an agreement with the Israeli government to move their homes, after a high court ruling ordered them to do so, Israeli media reported on Monday.
Two weeks ago, the settlers reportedly reached a deal to move their homes to a nearby hill, but now say a government representative later withdrew aspects of the agreement, Israeli news site Ynet reported.
Israeli Minister Benny Begin called on settlers to accept the compromise even if they don't agree with it in whole, the report added. The deal was set to go before the High Court this week, after it ruled that the outpost near Ramallah is on privately-owned Palestinian land in August.
The settlers refuse the removal of their homes, Ynet said.
All settlements built on occupied Palestinian land are illegal under international law.
After the initial deal was reported, Peace Now director Yariv Oppenhemier said it was "in direct violation of the court order mandating Migron's eviction by the end of March," according to the Ynet.
"Erecting a new isolated settlement, deep within the territories, which will cost millions, goes against Israeli interests and is meant only to appease a radical minority of settlers," he added.
Outposts are settlements built without official Israeli government blessing, typically after the mid-1990s. There are about 100 outposts to date, many of which were supported by the Israeli government.
Jewish settler given community sentence for attempted murder
Israeli occupation police forces arrested five Jerusalemites on Monday night during violent confrontations with young men in Tur suburb.
Local sources said that the Israeli policemen and border guards fired rubbers bullets, teargas canisters, and stun grenades on the demonstrators.
They said that the clashes, which broke out near Makased hospital, were going on for the fourth day running in protest at the storming of the Aqsa mosque last Friday, adding that the young men threw stones and iron bars at the policemen.
Meanwhile, renowned Egyptian scholar Dr. Yousef Al-Qardawi has renewed an earlier Fatwa (edict) prohibiting on all Muslims, except the Palestinians, to visit occupied Jerusalem.
He said that visiting Jerusalem while under occupation gives legitimacy to that occupation, noting that anyone wishing to visit it is compelled to deal with Israeli embassies to obtain an entry visa.
“We should feel that we are deprived of Jerusalem in order to fight to win it back”, he said, adding that Jerusalem would only return through resistance and Jihad.
Qardawi warned Jewish settlers against consequences of repeatedly storming the holy Aqsa mosque, describing it as a “red line”.
Qardawi’s words, which were in response to PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s call on Muslims to visit Jerusalem, were echoed by a Hamas spokesman in Gaza.
Fawzi Barhoum said in a press release that visiting Jerusalem under occupation is recognition of occupation and a sort of normalization.
He said that Muslims should rather save Jerusalem from occupation and boost steadfastness of its inhabitants.
27 feb 2012
Settler Opens Fire on Farmers near Hebron
A Jewish settler Monday opened fire at Palestinian farmers and their livestock in Khirbet Janba, south of the West Bank city of Hebron, after failed attempts to steal their sheep, according to a local resident.
Khader al-Amour, a school principal in Janba, told WAFA the settler tried to steal some of the sheep using several dogs to scare off the farmers and when failed, he opened fire at the farmers that led to a fistfight between them.
Members of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) arrived at the scene and seized several sheep and told their owners they must pay for them if they wanted them back, he added.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities also imposed almost $2000 on a Palestinian farmer from Khirbet Janba under the pretext that he was herding the sheep in an Israeli army-control area.
Palestinian residents in Khirbet Janba depend on their livestock to make a living.
Report: Deal to move Migron outpost falters
Settlers living in an illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank have failed to sign an agreement with the Israeli government to move their homes, after a high court ruling ordered them to do so, Israeli media reported on Monday.
Two weeks ago, the settlers reportedly reached a deal to move their homes to a nearby hill, but now say a government representative later withdrew aspects of the agreement, Israeli news site Ynet reported.
Israeli Minister Benny Begin called on settlers to accept the compromise even if they don't agree with it in whole, the report added. The deal was set to go before the High Court this week, after it ruled that the outpost near Ramallah is on privately-owned Palestinian land in August.
The settlers refuse the removal of their homes, Ynet said.
All settlements built on occupied Palestinian land are illegal under international law.
After the initial deal was reported, Peace Now director Yariv Oppenhemier said it was "in direct violation of the court order mandating Migron's eviction by the end of March," according to the Ynet.
"Erecting a new isolated settlement, deep within the territories, which will cost millions, goes against Israeli interests and is meant only to appease a radical minority of settlers," he added.
Outposts are settlements built without official Israeli government blessing, typically after the mid-1990s. There are about 100 outposts to date, many of which were supported by the Israeli government.
Jewish settler given community sentence for attempted murder
An Israeli court sentenced an Israeli settler to three months community work after dropping the attempted murder charge against him for repeatedly running over an injured Palestinian young man near Kiryat Arba in Al-Khalil in 2009.
The Palestinian young man Wassim Maswada was shot by an Israeli guard, who was in the settlement’s petrol station, before the settler ran over him three times while bleeding, the Israeli TV second channel reported at the time.
Maswada, who had attacked settlers, was hospitalized for four and a half months in Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem after suffering serious internal injuries in his abdomen in addition to broken legs. He was sentenced to 12 years behind bars.
Jewish settlers attack Israeli peace activists
Jewish settlers attacked peace activists of the leftist Israeli party Meretz during their visit to Al-Khalil Old Town and the Ibrahimi mosque.
The activists were protesting the tours organized by the Israeli education ministry for Jewish students to acquaint them with ancient relics in Al-Khalil.
Hebrew media said that the settlers told the Meretz party members “We will teach you what is real democracy”.
Members of the leftist organization “Breaking the silence” accompanied the party officials and explained to them the miserable living conditions of the Palestinians in the visited areas.
A Meretz party official said that the Israeli soldiers did not interfere to stop the savage settlers’ attack.
Report: Police sanction protest against Zoabi in Nazareth
Israeli police have given permission for a right-wing march against a Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament in her home town of Nazareth, Israeli media reported Monday.
Part of a campaign under the slogan "Expel Hanin Zoabi from the Knesset", her fellow parliamentarian Michael Ben-Ari will accompany activists from far-right group Our Land of Israel in the procession through the Palestinian city on March 11, Hebrew newspaper Maariv said.
Zoabi, a member of Palestinian party Balad, said she feared the group would spark clashes with locals.
The first female Palestinian to sit in Israel's parliament, Zoabi has drawn the ire of Israel's right-wing for her outspoken support of Palestinians.
Around 20 percent, or 1.3 million people, of Israel's population are of Palestinian origin.
Nablus village stoned, clashes with settlers
Dozens of Israelis threw stones at a Palestinian house near an illegal settlement in the northern West Bank on Monday, witnesses told Ma'an.
Umm Ayman Sufan said more than 40 residents of Yitzhar settlement pelted her house with stones and bottles, before cutting down olive trees surrounding the home.
Her house, south of Burin village in the Nablus governorate, lies just a few dozen meters from the settlement. The group left when Palestinians came down from Burin to her house, she said.
In a separate incident, Israelis from the settlement on the other side of the village, Bracha, approached the village from the east earlier Monday, and clashes broke out with residents, PA official Ghassan Daghlas said.
No injuries were reported.
25 feb 2012
Jewish settler deliberately run over Palestinian
The Palestinian young man Wassim Maswada was shot by an Israeli guard, who was in the settlement’s petrol station, before the settler ran over him three times while bleeding, the Israeli TV second channel reported at the time.
Maswada, who had attacked settlers, was hospitalized for four and a half months in Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem after suffering serious internal injuries in his abdomen in addition to broken legs. He was sentenced to 12 years behind bars.
Jewish settlers attack Israeli peace activists
Jewish settlers attacked peace activists of the leftist Israeli party Meretz during their visit to Al-Khalil Old Town and the Ibrahimi mosque.
The activists were protesting the tours organized by the Israeli education ministry for Jewish students to acquaint them with ancient relics in Al-Khalil.
Hebrew media said that the settlers told the Meretz party members “We will teach you what is real democracy”.
Members of the leftist organization “Breaking the silence” accompanied the party officials and explained to them the miserable living conditions of the Palestinians in the visited areas.
A Meretz party official said that the Israeli soldiers did not interfere to stop the savage settlers’ attack.
Report: Police sanction protest against Zoabi in Nazareth
Israeli police have given permission for a right-wing march against a Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament in her home town of Nazareth, Israeli media reported Monday.
Part of a campaign under the slogan "Expel Hanin Zoabi from the Knesset", her fellow parliamentarian Michael Ben-Ari will accompany activists from far-right group Our Land of Israel in the procession through the Palestinian city on March 11, Hebrew newspaper Maariv said.
Zoabi, a member of Palestinian party Balad, said she feared the group would spark clashes with locals.
The first female Palestinian to sit in Israel's parliament, Zoabi has drawn the ire of Israel's right-wing for her outspoken support of Palestinians.
Around 20 percent, or 1.3 million people, of Israel's population are of Palestinian origin.
Nablus village stoned, clashes with settlers
Dozens of Israelis threw stones at a Palestinian house near an illegal settlement in the northern West Bank on Monday, witnesses told Ma'an.
Umm Ayman Sufan said more than 40 residents of Yitzhar settlement pelted her house with stones and bottles, before cutting down olive trees surrounding the home.
Her house, south of Burin village in the Nablus governorate, lies just a few dozen meters from the settlement. The group left when Palestinians came down from Burin to her house, she said.
In a separate incident, Israelis from the settlement on the other side of the village, Bracha, approached the village from the east earlier Monday, and clashes broke out with residents, PA official Ghassan Daghlas said.
No injuries were reported.
25 feb 2012
Jewish settler deliberately run over Palestinian
A Jewish settler driving a Mazda car ran over a Palestinian young man near the entrance to the village of Beit Ummar, north of Al-Khalil, on Saturday then sped away.
Medical sources said that the accident was deliberate, adding that the 25-year-old Ali Ekhlil is the chairman of the village’s local council for youth.
Ibrahim, the young man’s brother, said that Ali was injured in his right hand and taken to Al-Khalil government hospital where his condition was described as light to moderate.
Jewish settlers routinely run over Palestinians in West Bank roads some of which led to the death of some of those pedestrians or to serious injuries.
Medics: Israeli hit-and-run driver injures man near Hebron
A 25-year-old man from Beit Ummar was lightly injured when he was hit by a car driven by an Israeli in the southern West Bank.
Hebron Red Crescent medic Nasser Qabaja said ambulances transferred Ali Ahmad Ikhlayel to Hebron hospital after the Israeli drove off from the scene.
24 feb 2012
Jewish settlers break into Al-Aqsa; Israel arrests four Palestinians
Medical sources said that the accident was deliberate, adding that the 25-year-old Ali Ekhlil is the chairman of the village’s local council for youth.
Ibrahim, the young man’s brother, said that Ali was injured in his right hand and taken to Al-Khalil government hospital where his condition was described as light to moderate.
Jewish settlers routinely run over Palestinians in West Bank roads some of which led to the death of some of those pedestrians or to serious injuries.
Medics: Israeli hit-and-run driver injures man near Hebron
A 25-year-old man from Beit Ummar was lightly injured when he was hit by a car driven by an Israeli in the southern West Bank.
Hebron Red Crescent medic Nasser Qabaja said ambulances transferred Ali Ahmad Ikhlayel to Hebron hospital after the Israeli drove off from the scene.
24 feb 2012
Jewish settlers break into Al-Aqsa; Israel arrests four Palestinians
Jewish settler groups stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday morning, under the protection of the Israeli security forces which prevented hundreds of Palestinian worshippers from entering the mosque to protect it from the extremists.
Sources in occupied Jerusalem said that the city is tense after the incursion. It was confirmed that worshippers inside Al-Aqsa confronted the settlers, who entered the Noble Sanctuary from the historic Moroccans' Gate.
A statement from Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage, which is based inside Israel (known by Palestinians as the territories occupied in 1948), condemned the assault on Islam's third holiest site. "Following the incursion by extremist Jews and their calls for more raids against the mosque, the Israeli occupation's police and army have tightened their blockade of Al-Aqsa." Large numbers of worshippers have been stopped from entering the mosque, the Foundation said. Women have been abused and identity cards have been confiscated.
Al-Aqsa Foundation's statement said that 65 Jewish settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in three groups, including a group from the notorious Kiryat Arba illegal settlement near Hebron. Israeli forces have surrounded the mosque and closed its doors. The men and women inside have responded with cries of "Allahu Akbar - God is Great".
Sources in occupied Jerusalem said that the city is tense after the incursion. It was confirmed that worshippers inside Al-Aqsa confronted the settlers, who entered the Noble Sanctuary from the historic Moroccans' Gate.
A statement from Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage, which is based inside Israel (known by Palestinians as the territories occupied in 1948), condemned the assault on Islam's third holiest site. "Following the incursion by extremist Jews and their calls for more raids against the mosque, the Israeli occupation's police and army have tightened their blockade of Al-Aqsa." Large numbers of worshippers have been stopped from entering the mosque, the Foundation said. Women have been abused and identity cards have been confiscated.
Al-Aqsa Foundation's statement said that 65 Jewish settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in three groups, including a group from the notorious Kiryat Arba illegal settlement near Hebron. Israeli forces have surrounded the mosque and closed its doors. The men and women inside have responded with cries of "Allahu Akbar - God is Great".
The Israeli occupation forces arrested three Palestinian citizens of the Zionist state as well as one of the mosque guards. Riad Aghbarieh from Umm Al-Fahm, Tamer Shala'ta from Sakhnin, Ibrahim Khalil from Baana Nujeidat and guard Samer Qwaider were detained by Israeli officers.
A tense atmosphere now prevails in Al-Aqsa.
This latest in a long line of Jewish violations of the sanctity of Muslim and Christian holy places in occupied Palestine was planned by extremist Jews from Kiryat Arba. Their call for a collective break-in of Al-Aqsa was made under the heading, "An ascent of the Temple Mount to cleanse it of Muslims and perform Talmudic rituals". Once their nefarious plans were known, Palestinian religious and national leaders in Jerusalem called for a swift and large presence of Muslims in the mosque to deter the illegal settlers.
A tense atmosphere now prevails in Al-Aqsa.
This latest in a long line of Jewish violations of the sanctity of Muslim and Christian holy places in occupied Palestine was planned by extremist Jews from Kiryat Arba. Their call for a collective break-in of Al-Aqsa was made under the heading, "An ascent of the Temple Mount to cleanse it of Muslims and perform Talmudic rituals". Once their nefarious plans were known, Palestinian religious and national leaders in Jerusalem called for a swift and large presence of Muslims in the mosque to deter the illegal settlers.
In a somewhat surprising move, particularly given how carefully America treads when it comes to Israel, the U.S. State Department has rejected the visa request of an Israeli parliamentarian.
MK Michael Ben Ari, a member of the right-wing National Union party, recently submitted a visa request to the U.S. consulate in order to participate in two conferences this week, one of which promotes American Jews’ emigration from the United States to Israel.
However, to the surprise of Israeli officials, Ben Ari was just denied entry to the U.S. due to his membership in a Jewish terror organization.
As Haaretz reports:
[Ben Ari] was told that he cannot be granted the visa based on a clause that allows the U.S. State Department to prohibit the entrance of people who were involved in terror activities or were members of a terror organization in a foreign country. Ben Ari believes that the U.S. government is referring to his membership in the Kach movement, a far-right political movement that is considered a terror organization in Israel, Canada, the European Union, and the United States.
The Kach movement, which began in America as a militant organization with the professed purpose of protecting American Jews, has since morphed into a nationalist extremist group in Israel.The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland describes the Kach movement in this way:
Rooted in extremist Jewish ideology, Kach sought to restore the Biblical land of Israel by annexing all the disputed territories of Israel and forcibly removing all Arabs. Preaching the motto of “terror against terror,” Kach openly espoused violence against Arabs and actively participated in anti-Arab activities in Israel. As part of its extremist ideology, the group also espoused violence against the Israeli government. In the mid 1970s, Kahane sought to transform Kach into an organized political party, running twice unsuccessfully for the Israeli Knesset. In 1984, Kahane was successfully elected to the Knesset. However, in 1988, Israeli law was amended to forbid racist groups from participating elections, effectively barring Kach from the political scene.
[...]
Kach has vehemently opposed the peace process, threatening and using violence against both Arabs and Israeli government officials. Following the signing of the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the PLO in 1994, a Kach supporter killed 29 people in a mosque in Hebron. As a result of this attack, Israel formally outlawed Kach and designated it as a terrorist organization. Despite its being outlawed, Kach continues its anti-Arab activities within Israel. While the group has not officially claimed many attacks since being outlawed, Kach praises and supports any violence against Arabs.
Now, one might ask how someone affiliated with a listed terror organization in Israel could serve in the Knesset in the first place. However, Israel’s Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, infuriated by the State Department’s visa refusal, had a different question for American officials: how can you recognize an Israeli government official as a terrorist?
Rivlin, in protest, wrote a scathing letter to the U.S. ambassador in Israel, Daniel Shapiro, demanding that the decision be reversed:
“I would like to express my protest against the decision and request that it be reconsidered.”"Mr. Ben Ari is a Knesset member who represents the National Union party, an entirely legitimate party in the Israeli parliament. As a public official in Israel, a close ally of the U.S., he cannot be recognized as a member of a terror group or be prohibited from visiting the U.S.,” Rivlin wrote.
Apparently, the Obama administration sees things differently.
And rightly so.
MK Michael Ben Ari, a member of the right-wing National Union party, recently submitted a visa request to the U.S. consulate in order to participate in two conferences this week, one of which promotes American Jews’ emigration from the United States to Israel.
However, to the surprise of Israeli officials, Ben Ari was just denied entry to the U.S. due to his membership in a Jewish terror organization.
As Haaretz reports:
[Ben Ari] was told that he cannot be granted the visa based on a clause that allows the U.S. State Department to prohibit the entrance of people who were involved in terror activities or were members of a terror organization in a foreign country. Ben Ari believes that the U.S. government is referring to his membership in the Kach movement, a far-right political movement that is considered a terror organization in Israel, Canada, the European Union, and the United States.
The Kach movement, which began in America as a militant organization with the professed purpose of protecting American Jews, has since morphed into a nationalist extremist group in Israel.The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland describes the Kach movement in this way:
Rooted in extremist Jewish ideology, Kach sought to restore the Biblical land of Israel by annexing all the disputed territories of Israel and forcibly removing all Arabs. Preaching the motto of “terror against terror,” Kach openly espoused violence against Arabs and actively participated in anti-Arab activities in Israel. As part of its extremist ideology, the group also espoused violence against the Israeli government. In the mid 1970s, Kahane sought to transform Kach into an organized political party, running twice unsuccessfully for the Israeli Knesset. In 1984, Kahane was successfully elected to the Knesset. However, in 1988, Israeli law was amended to forbid racist groups from participating elections, effectively barring Kach from the political scene.
[...]
Kach has vehemently opposed the peace process, threatening and using violence against both Arabs and Israeli government officials. Following the signing of the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the PLO in 1994, a Kach supporter killed 29 people in a mosque in Hebron. As a result of this attack, Israel formally outlawed Kach and designated it as a terrorist organization. Despite its being outlawed, Kach continues its anti-Arab activities within Israel. While the group has not officially claimed many attacks since being outlawed, Kach praises and supports any violence against Arabs.
Now, one might ask how someone affiliated with a listed terror organization in Israel could serve in the Knesset in the first place. However, Israel’s Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, infuriated by the State Department’s visa refusal, had a different question for American officials: how can you recognize an Israeli government official as a terrorist?
Rivlin, in protest, wrote a scathing letter to the U.S. ambassador in Israel, Daniel Shapiro, demanding that the decision be reversed:
“I would like to express my protest against the decision and request that it be reconsidered.”"Mr. Ben Ari is a Knesset member who represents the National Union party, an entirely legitimate party in the Israeli parliament. As a public official in Israel, a close ally of the U.S., he cannot be recognized as a member of a terror group or be prohibited from visiting the U.S.,” Rivlin wrote.
Apparently, the Obama administration sees things differently.
And rightly so.
23 feb 2012
Witness to storm Al-Aqsa by Zionist this morning launch fundraising campaign to raze Aqsa Mosque
Witness to storm Al-Aqsa by Zionist this morning launch fundraising campaign to raze Aqsa Mosque
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Leaders of Jewish settlers, given the green light from their government, declared the launch of a wide campaign to raise funds for the demolition of the Aqsa Mosque and the building of the alleged temple in its place.
The campaign started Wednesday morning near the Aqsa Mosque, where Jewish leaders and their settlers used loudspeakers to announce the initiation of the fundraising campaign as they were marching under police protection across the streets of the old city of Jerusalem. During the march, the Israeli police closed the roads, escorted the settlers, harassed the Jerusalemite storekeepers and forced them to shut their businesses. As they were marching, the Jewish leaders and their settlers were |
raucously singing and dancing in circles, chanting racist slurs against Arabs and Muslims and attacking Palestinian passersby.
Jewish settlers and troops defile Aqsa Mosque, attack Muslim worshipers
Several groups of extremist Jewish settlers under police protection desecrated the Aqsa Mosque on Thursday morning, while Israeli soldiers prevented hundreds of Palestinians from entering the Mosque to defend it and fend off the attackers.
The Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said that a state of tension is now prevailing among the Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem as a result of the repeated Jewish violations of the Aqsa Mosque's sanctity.
The foundation affirmed that the Palestinian worshipers, who have been inside the Aqsa Mosque and its buildings for days to protect it, clashed with the invading troops and settlers who stormed the Mosque from Al-Maghariba Gate.
The armed Israeli policemen detained three Palestinians from the 1948 occupied lands during the confrontations as well as the Mosque warden, the foundation said.
A large number of Israeli troops and policemen have tightened the blockaded on the Aqsa Mosque from inside and outside and barred all Palestinians from going in.
An Israeli special force was also seen encircling the Aqsa Mosque with the grey dome and closing its doors in the early morning hours while the Palestinian worshipers locked up inside were heard chanting "Allah the Greatest."
Extremist Jewish groups from Kiryat Araba had declared their intent yesterday to organize a mass break-in at the Aqsa Mosque in order to strengthen Israel's sovereignty over their alleged temple mount and purity it from Muslims.
Jewish settlers plan to storm the Aqsa on Thursday
Jewish settlers from Kiryat Arba settlement plan to storm the holy Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday, the Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said on Wednesday.
AFEH said in a statement that a number of Hebrew websites affiliated with the Zionist far right called on its followers to storm the Aqsa on the occasion of the start of the new Hebrew month, adding that buses would be provided free of charge for those settlers.
The foundation warned of the repercussions of the repeated storming of the Aqsa mosque at the hands of Jewish fanatic groups and occupation forces and held the Israeli occupation authority responsible for its consequences.
AFEH urged the Arab and Islamic countries to assume their role in defense of the holy site.
Al-Quds institution warns of Israeli intent to divide Aqsa Mosque
Al-Quds international institution warned of an Israeli scheme to divide the Aqsa Mosque as already happened with the Abrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil city.
In a press release on Wednesday, Al-Quds institution added that this scheme started with the current spate of break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque.
Information director of the institution Hisham Yakoub said the Aqsa Mosque would be exposed to a mounting wave of break-ins by Jewish settlers in the next few weeks.
"The extremist Jewish groups are racing against time to achieve its goal of dividing the Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews as soon as possible, because they feel that the coming stage is not to their advantage especially after the outbreak of revolutions in many Arab countries," Yakoub added.
"The bet today is on the Arab peoples whose spark of revolutions should reach occupied Jerusalem," he underscored.
Israeli court implements Hebron evacuation order
Israeli forces implemented Wednesday the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to evacuate settlers from a building owned by the Tahbub family in the Old City.
The general manager of the reconstructing Hebron committee, their lawyers and a group of people were present during the process. The court decision was issued Sunday.
22 feb 2012
Erekat Condemns Decision to Build 500 Housing Units in Settlements
PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erekat Wednesday condemned an Israel government decision to build 500 housing units in the northern West Bank settlement of Shilo.
He told Voice of Palestine radio that the government of Israel has chosen settlement expansion over peace.
The French news agency, AFP, quoted an Israeli official saying that a planning and building council of the Israeli Civil Administration will approve the building of 500 housing units in Shilo, one of hundreds of illegal Israeli settlements built in the West Bank since its occupation in 1967.
Erekat said the government of Israel will be held fully responsible for failure of peace efforts along with several members of the Quartet who provide it with protection.
He stressed that it is time for the Quartet to stop the Israeli measures and stop dealing with Israel as a state above the law.
Meanwhile, Jewish settlers from Shvut Rachel, another illegal settlement built on land belonging to Palestinians from the village of Jalud, southeast of Nablus, began restoring about 200 depleted homes in the settlement in order to house them, according to Ghassan Douglas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern parts of the West Bank.
France Condemns Vandalism of Church in Jerusalem
France condemned vandalism of the Baptist Church in West Jerusalem calling it unacceptable, according to a statement issued Wednesday.
Bernard Valero, spokesman of the French foreign ministry, said “France condemns the acts of vandalism” perpetrated against the Baptist Church in Jerusalem.
He said that “such an attack against a place of worship is unacceptable.”
Jewish extremists members of the “price tag” group were believed behind the vandalism that included defacing the church walls with anti-Christian graffiti and slashing tires of three church cars.
Valero said France, which reaffirms its attachment to the freedom of religion, worship and belief, “hopes that full light will be shed on these acts and that those responsible will be brought to justice.”
Settlers try to rebuild illegal outpost in Hebron
Israeli security on Tuesday prevented dozens of settlers from rebuilding an illegal outpost near Kiryat Arba east of Hebron in the southern West Bank. The outpost, Mitzpe Avihai was evacuated earlier in February.
Coordinator of a local coalition Youths Against Settlements in Hebron Issa Amr told Ma’an that the settlers have been trying to build the outpost since 2007 as an expansion to the nearby Kiryat Arba and Kharsina settlements. This expansion, he added, will separate Baqaa and Buera neighborhoods of Hebron from the city.
He highlighted that settlers who lived in the outpost were very radical and they used to organize attacks against the Palestinian residents of Baqaa and Buera neighborhoods.
21 feb 2012
Clashes Erupt at Al-Aqsa Mosque
Confrontations erupted Tuesday afternoon between Israeli police and Palestinian worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City after police allowed 22 extremist Jews to enter the Mosque compound, according to witnesses.
They said worshippers protested the entry of the extremists, who came in through Magarbeh Gate under police protection, provoking worshipers to clash with the police.
The worshippers chanted religious slogans at the extremists while police closed all gates of Mosques and deployed its troops inside it.
Calls were earlier made by Jewish extremists to visit the compound of al-Aqsa Mosque to perform religious rituals provoking calls by Muslims to confront them.
Police has been on high alert in the occupied city and banned Palestinians under the age of 40 from entering the Old City and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Cabinet Condemns Raid against Al-Aqsa Mosque, House Demolition
The Cabinet Tuesday condemned continuous attempts by Israeli settlers and extremists to raid Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City and conduct religious rituals on its premises in a manner that provokes Muslim sentiments and creates a state of tension, according to a cabinet statement.
It held the Israeli government fully responsible for the acts of the extremists, demanding from the international community “to pressure Israel to put a stop to the practices of the right-wing extremists and settlers against the citizens and their properties.”
The Cabinet condemned Israeli demolition of more than 40 buildings, including 15 inhabited homes where 126 citizens lived including 62 children.
It called on the international community “to end those crimes against our people’s right to be housed on its land.”
It said this policy “reveals the racism of the occupation which builds settlements and expands them on occupied Palestinian land while the original owners of the land are prevented from building homes.”
Hamas condemns Israeli desecration of Islamic, Christian shrines
Hamas has strongly condemned the Jewish fanatics’ desecration of Islamic and Christian holy shrines in occupied Jerusalem under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
The movement’s statement on Monday was commenting on the Jewish settlers storming of the holy Aqsa mosque and writing of insulting statements about Christianity on the walls of the Baptist Church west of occupied Jerusalem.
It said that such crimes violate heavenly religions and international norms in addition to posing as an evidence of Israel’s racism that targets Palestinian presence in Jerusalem whether it was Islamic or Christian with the final aim of Judaization the holy city.
Hamas asked the UN organizations and human rights groups to condemn such practices and to bring Israel to account at international platforms.
Jewish female extremists declare intent to defile Aqsa Mosque this morning
A large number of Palestinian women from the holy city and the 1948 occupied lands intend to march towards the Aqsa Mosque to counter Jewish female groups who declared their intent to desecrate the Mosque on Tuesday morning and on a regular basis.
Many Palestinian women are expected to flock into the Aqsa Mosque this morning to defend it in response to an urgent appeal made by noted religious and national Jerusalemite women.
This Palestinian female move came after a group of extremist Jewish women naming itself as women for the temple announced their intention to storm the Aqsa Mosque to perform Talmudic rituals and dances.
This Jewish group said it would defile the Aqsa Mosque twice every month under police protection and invited all religious Jewish women to participate in the break-ins they intend to organize.
In an earlier incident, two groups of Jewish settlers escorted by armed policemen profaned the Aqsa Mosque on Monday morning, while the Israeli occupation forces prevented Palestinian young men from entering the Mosque.
Several groups of extremist Jewish settlers under police protection desecrated the Aqsa Mosque on Thursday morning, while Israeli soldiers prevented hundreds of Palestinians from entering the Mosque to defend it and fend off the attackers.
The Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said that a state of tension is now prevailing among the Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem as a result of the repeated Jewish violations of the Aqsa Mosque's sanctity.
The foundation affirmed that the Palestinian worshipers, who have been inside the Aqsa Mosque and its buildings for days to protect it, clashed with the invading troops and settlers who stormed the Mosque from Al-Maghariba Gate.
The armed Israeli policemen detained three Palestinians from the 1948 occupied lands during the confrontations as well as the Mosque warden, the foundation said.
A large number of Israeli troops and policemen have tightened the blockaded on the Aqsa Mosque from inside and outside and barred all Palestinians from going in.
An Israeli special force was also seen encircling the Aqsa Mosque with the grey dome and closing its doors in the early morning hours while the Palestinian worshipers locked up inside were heard chanting "Allah the Greatest."
Extremist Jewish groups from Kiryat Araba had declared their intent yesterday to organize a mass break-in at the Aqsa Mosque in order to strengthen Israel's sovereignty over their alleged temple mount and purity it from Muslims.
Jewish settlers plan to storm the Aqsa on Thursday
Jewish settlers from Kiryat Arba settlement plan to storm the holy Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday, the Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said on Wednesday.
AFEH said in a statement that a number of Hebrew websites affiliated with the Zionist far right called on its followers to storm the Aqsa on the occasion of the start of the new Hebrew month, adding that buses would be provided free of charge for those settlers.
The foundation warned of the repercussions of the repeated storming of the Aqsa mosque at the hands of Jewish fanatic groups and occupation forces and held the Israeli occupation authority responsible for its consequences.
AFEH urged the Arab and Islamic countries to assume their role in defense of the holy site.
Al-Quds institution warns of Israeli intent to divide Aqsa Mosque
Al-Quds international institution warned of an Israeli scheme to divide the Aqsa Mosque as already happened with the Abrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil city.
In a press release on Wednesday, Al-Quds institution added that this scheme started with the current spate of break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque.
Information director of the institution Hisham Yakoub said the Aqsa Mosque would be exposed to a mounting wave of break-ins by Jewish settlers in the next few weeks.
"The extremist Jewish groups are racing against time to achieve its goal of dividing the Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews as soon as possible, because they feel that the coming stage is not to their advantage especially after the outbreak of revolutions in many Arab countries," Yakoub added.
"The bet today is on the Arab peoples whose spark of revolutions should reach occupied Jerusalem," he underscored.
Israeli court implements Hebron evacuation order
Israeli forces implemented Wednesday the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to evacuate settlers from a building owned by the Tahbub family in the Old City.
The general manager of the reconstructing Hebron committee, their lawyers and a group of people were present during the process. The court decision was issued Sunday.
22 feb 2012
Erekat Condemns Decision to Build 500 Housing Units in Settlements
PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erekat Wednesday condemned an Israel government decision to build 500 housing units in the northern West Bank settlement of Shilo.
He told Voice of Palestine radio that the government of Israel has chosen settlement expansion over peace.
The French news agency, AFP, quoted an Israeli official saying that a planning and building council of the Israeli Civil Administration will approve the building of 500 housing units in Shilo, one of hundreds of illegal Israeli settlements built in the West Bank since its occupation in 1967.
Erekat said the government of Israel will be held fully responsible for failure of peace efforts along with several members of the Quartet who provide it with protection.
He stressed that it is time for the Quartet to stop the Israeli measures and stop dealing with Israel as a state above the law.
Meanwhile, Jewish settlers from Shvut Rachel, another illegal settlement built on land belonging to Palestinians from the village of Jalud, southeast of Nablus, began restoring about 200 depleted homes in the settlement in order to house them, according to Ghassan Douglas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern parts of the West Bank.
France Condemns Vandalism of Church in Jerusalem
France condemned vandalism of the Baptist Church in West Jerusalem calling it unacceptable, according to a statement issued Wednesday.
Bernard Valero, spokesman of the French foreign ministry, said “France condemns the acts of vandalism” perpetrated against the Baptist Church in Jerusalem.
He said that “such an attack against a place of worship is unacceptable.”
Jewish extremists members of the “price tag” group were believed behind the vandalism that included defacing the church walls with anti-Christian graffiti and slashing tires of three church cars.
Valero said France, which reaffirms its attachment to the freedom of religion, worship and belief, “hopes that full light will be shed on these acts and that those responsible will be brought to justice.”
Settlers try to rebuild illegal outpost in Hebron
Israeli security on Tuesday prevented dozens of settlers from rebuilding an illegal outpost near Kiryat Arba east of Hebron in the southern West Bank. The outpost, Mitzpe Avihai was evacuated earlier in February.
Coordinator of a local coalition Youths Against Settlements in Hebron Issa Amr told Ma’an that the settlers have been trying to build the outpost since 2007 as an expansion to the nearby Kiryat Arba and Kharsina settlements. This expansion, he added, will separate Baqaa and Buera neighborhoods of Hebron from the city.
He highlighted that settlers who lived in the outpost were very radical and they used to organize attacks against the Palestinian residents of Baqaa and Buera neighborhoods.
21 feb 2012
Clashes Erupt at Al-Aqsa Mosque
Confrontations erupted Tuesday afternoon between Israeli police and Palestinian worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City after police allowed 22 extremist Jews to enter the Mosque compound, according to witnesses.
They said worshippers protested the entry of the extremists, who came in through Magarbeh Gate under police protection, provoking worshipers to clash with the police.
The worshippers chanted religious slogans at the extremists while police closed all gates of Mosques and deployed its troops inside it.
Calls were earlier made by Jewish extremists to visit the compound of al-Aqsa Mosque to perform religious rituals provoking calls by Muslims to confront them.
Police has been on high alert in the occupied city and banned Palestinians under the age of 40 from entering the Old City and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Cabinet Condemns Raid against Al-Aqsa Mosque, House Demolition
The Cabinet Tuesday condemned continuous attempts by Israeli settlers and extremists to raid Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City and conduct religious rituals on its premises in a manner that provokes Muslim sentiments and creates a state of tension, according to a cabinet statement.
It held the Israeli government fully responsible for the acts of the extremists, demanding from the international community “to pressure Israel to put a stop to the practices of the right-wing extremists and settlers against the citizens and their properties.”
The Cabinet condemned Israeli demolition of more than 40 buildings, including 15 inhabited homes where 126 citizens lived including 62 children.
It called on the international community “to end those crimes against our people’s right to be housed on its land.”
It said this policy “reveals the racism of the occupation which builds settlements and expands them on occupied Palestinian land while the original owners of the land are prevented from building homes.”
Hamas condemns Israeli desecration of Islamic, Christian shrines
Hamas has strongly condemned the Jewish fanatics’ desecration of Islamic and Christian holy shrines in occupied Jerusalem under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
The movement’s statement on Monday was commenting on the Jewish settlers storming of the holy Aqsa mosque and writing of insulting statements about Christianity on the walls of the Baptist Church west of occupied Jerusalem.
It said that such crimes violate heavenly religions and international norms in addition to posing as an evidence of Israel’s racism that targets Palestinian presence in Jerusalem whether it was Islamic or Christian with the final aim of Judaization the holy city.
Hamas asked the UN organizations and human rights groups to condemn such practices and to bring Israel to account at international platforms.
Jewish female extremists declare intent to defile Aqsa Mosque this morning
A large number of Palestinian women from the holy city and the 1948 occupied lands intend to march towards the Aqsa Mosque to counter Jewish female groups who declared their intent to desecrate the Mosque on Tuesday morning and on a regular basis.
Many Palestinian women are expected to flock into the Aqsa Mosque this morning to defend it in response to an urgent appeal made by noted religious and national Jerusalemite women.
This Palestinian female move came after a group of extremist Jewish women naming itself as women for the temple announced their intention to storm the Aqsa Mosque to perform Talmudic rituals and dances.
This Jewish group said it would defile the Aqsa Mosque twice every month under police protection and invited all religious Jewish women to participate in the break-ins they intend to organize.
In an earlier incident, two groups of Jewish settlers escorted by armed policemen profaned the Aqsa Mosque on Monday morning, while the Israeli occupation forces prevented Palestinian young men from entering the Mosque.
