Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses. Share the link of this article with your facebook friends

 

98% of Gaza Water Polluted, Palestinians Attacked, Abducted, Prevented to Harvest Olives by Israeli Occupation Soldiers

October 1, 2017 

Editor's Note:

The following news stories are just examples of the Israeli occupation government violations of Palestinian human rights, on daily basis. This cannot continue without the full financial and media support from Zionists as well as financial and military support from the US-EU governments, which have been active participant in the persecution and subjugation of the Palestinian people.

The Israeli occupation government has received more than $3.8 billion annually from the US successive administrations, Democrat and Republican alike, to enable it to continue the subjugation and persecution of the Palestinian people. The Obama administration made sure that the US support for the Israeli occupation government will continue by obligating its successors to give the racist, apartheid, Zionist state $38 billion in the next ten years.

 

Palestinian residents of Gaza Strip suffer from water crisis of 98% polluted water, October 1, 2017	Palestinian wome lamenting their olive trees, which were cut by illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank, file, October 1, 2017

Israeli occupation soldiers prevented Palestinian farmers in Qalqilia from harvesting their olives, October 1, 2017

 

PLO Officials Criticize US Ambassador Attempts to Validate the Israeli Occupation of Palestine

October 1, 2017 8:41 PM IMEMC News & Agencies

PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi and the Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee Dr. Saeb Erekat both issued press releases criticizing US ambassador David Friedman, who said that Israel is occupying only 2% of the West Bank, among other statements that show his “blatant bias to Israel,” as Dr. Ashrawi called it, whereas Dr. Erekat said that it is an attempt to normalize Israel’s colonial policies.

According to the PNN, Dr. Ashrawi said that “The US Ambassador to Israel has proved once again that he is completely removed from reality. In addition to his long-standing support for Israeli settlements, and after referring to the “alleged occupation” of Palestinian land, he has the audacity to maintain that Israel occupies only 2% of the West Bank and that illegal settlements that carve, annex and steal Palestinian land are part of Israel. This Ambassador has continued to visit illegal settlements and even joined the Israeli celebrations in June marking the occupation of Palestinian land in 1967.

“Not only does the Ambassador break from long-standing US policy, he is also at odds with the international legal, political and moral consensus. His positions are a mirror reflection of the settlers’ ideology in Israel’s right-wing coalition government rather than that of successive administrations that have claimed to be invested in peace.

“The US Ambassador to Israel cannot impose his alternative facts or realities on an entire people that has been held captive under a brutal occupation for half a century. The occupation exists. Settlements are illegal under international law and constitute a war crime. These facts and realities are not in question.

“If the US Administration is truly committed to peace, it will hold its Ambassador accountable for his consistently outrageous and morally repugnant attitude, actions and statements.”

For his part, Dr. Erekat said that it is not the first time that Mr. David Friedman has exploited his position as US ambassador to advocate and validate the Israeli government’s policies of occupation and annexation. He was the first US ambassador to participate in the Israeli celebrations of the colonial occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem this June, has continuously announced his intention to continue visiting illegal settlements in Occupied Palestine, as well as he has referred to the Israeli occupation of Palestine as “alleged”.

His latest statement about Israel, “occupying only 2% of the West Bank” declaring that “Israeli settlements are part of Israel” is not only false and misleading but contradicts international law, United Nations resolutions and also the historical US position.

Israel is internationally recognized as the occupying power over 100% of Palestine, including in and around Occupied East Jerusalem. Such positions undermine ongoing efforts towards achieving a just and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine on the 1967 border.

Soldiers Injure Many Palestinians, Cause Fire In Two Homes, And Abduct A Woman Near Bethlehem

October 1, 2017 9:40 AM IMEMC News

Several Israeli army jeeps invaded, earlier on Sunday morning, the town of Doha, west of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, searched many homes and injured many Palestinians before abducting one woman, and caused fires in two homes.

The invasion was carried out by a large military force before the soldiers initiated violent searches of many homes after breaking into them, especially near a mosque, in the center of the town.

Medical sources said many Palestinians were injured by live Israeli army fire following clashes that took place in the center of the town.

The soldiers also abducted several Palestinians during the home invasions and violent searches; one of them is a woman, identified as Amal Abdullah Sa’adi, 52.

Also, a fire, resulting from the Israeli concussion grenades, burnt various sections of a home, owned by Mohammad Khalil Soubani, before Palestinian firefighters rushed to extinguish it.

Furthermore, the soldiers surrounded another home, inhabited by members of Sa’ad family, and invaded it before collecting medication and their containers, and detonated them in the property, causing fires and extensive damage. Palestinian firefighters managed to contain the fire, but after it caused serious damage.

It is worth mentioning that the soldiers have abducted at least six Palestinians from their homes, in different parts of the West Bank.

The army also claimed it managed to locate four pistols in Bani Neim town, east of the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Israeli Occupation Soldiers Abduct Thirteen Palestinians In Ya’bad, Near Jenin

September 29, 2017 10:56 AM IMEMC News

Dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded, on Friday at dawn, Ya’bad town, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, searched and ransacked many homes, and abducted thirteen Palestinians, including children.

The WAFA News Agency has reported that the soldiers invaded many neighborhoods in the town, before breaking into dozens of homes and searching them.

The soldiers interrogated many Palestinians after storming their homes, and abducted the seventeen Palestinians.

WAFA stated that the soldiers abducted Nour Abdul-Karim Atatra, Nidal Ya’coub Enfe’at, his underage brother, Qaisar, Abdullah Herzallah, Shamel Farooq Herzallah, Ezz Farooq Herzallah, Arafat Hosni Amro and one of his children, Taher Jawad Badarna, Sharaf Abu Bakr, Mo’taz Abu Bakr, Amer Ba’jawi, Khaled al-Onigiri, Nizar Atatra in addition to Arafat Hosni Amro and two of his children, and another Palestinian whose name remained unknown at the time of this report.

It is worth mentioning that the soldiers also invaded olive orchards in the village, and surrounded many homes near them.

The invasion led to clashes with many youngsters, who hurled stones at the military jeeps, while the soldiers fired many live rounds, gas bombs, and rubber-coated steel bullets.

Medial sources said many Palestinians, including children, suffered the effects of teargas inhalation, and received the needed treatment by local medics.

In addition, the army abducted seven Palestinians; three from ‘Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem, and four in Biddu village, northwest of Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank.

Furthermore, the soldiers abducted four Palestinians from Ya’bad town, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and one from Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin, while he was working in Bisan.

98% of Gaza water polluted due to the Israeli blockade and sieges of the Palestinian territory

October 1, 2017, GAZA, (PIC) + -

Representatives of water institutions operating in the Gaza Strip, international figures and Palestinian activists held a press conference in Gaza city on Saturday about the catastrophic situation of water in the Gaza Strip and asked the international community to resolve the crisis.

The Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza, Bo Schack said, “I hope that we all work together in order to find a solution to the crisis”.

“In light of the Israeli siege and the current crises, we in UNRWA have dealt with big issues that resulted from power shortage which affected all aspects of life including water,” he added.

The UN official opined that finding solutions to the water problem starts from resolving the energy issue.

He pointed out that UNRWA, as part of its works in refugee camps, runs water wells and equip its schools with water filters.

“We try to work with other organizations on coming up with solutions to many issues especially the water crisis”, Bo Schack said.

Maher Salem, Head of Gaza Municipality Water Department, said that Gaza currently has 80 wells with only 67 working.

Salem added, “Unfortunately, there is no well of them suitable for human use, except for house usage only."

Gaza city alone consumes over 30 million cubic meters of water annually while the annual return to the groundwater tank is less than 30% of that quantity, he highlighted.

Gaza municipality set a number of plans and projects to solve the problems of the water situation; most prominently the duplication of water quantities imported from Israel. Gaza Strip imports 30 million cubic meters of water annually from Israel.

Mazin al-Banna, Deputy Head of Water Authority in the Gaza Strip, warned during the press conference of the high water pollution rate in Gaza Strip.

Al-Banna elaborated by saying: “We have a large deficit, which has negative repercussions, including sea water intrusion," noting that the wells near the sea are salty to 1000 mg of chloride and that the maximum water salinity should be 250 mg per liter, according to the World Health Organization.

Al-Banna said that the groundwater reservoir suffers because of its proximity to the surface of the earth and the presence of high permeable sandy soil in addition to the leakage of sewage water to it.

Director-general of the Environment Protection Department in Gaza, Bahaa al-Din al-Agha, said that the percentage of groundwater pollution amounted to 98%, indicating that it is unable to meet world health standards of drinking water.

Al-Agha pointed out that the percentage of the energy shortage reached 70%, which led to shortage in water quantities going to residents’ homes.

A media campaign was launched, by Press House and other organizations concerned with water, during the conference in Gaza city on Saturday about the catastrophic situation of water in the Gaza Strip.

Bilal Jadallah, director of Press House, said that the campaign, which was launched in Arabic and English, will continue for a few days.

According to the latest statistical studies by the Water Authority, the water shortage rate in Gaza Strip reached 110 million cubic meters annually, while the need of the population is 200 million cubic meters per year.

Last July, a UN report stated that ground water in Gaza, the only source of drinking water, would be unusable by 2020 unless urgent moves are taken in order to slove the problem.

 Israeli occupation soldiers prevented Palestinian farmers in Qalqilia from harvesting their olives

October 1, 2017, QALQILYA, (PIC) + -

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Saturday attacked and prevented Palestinian farmers from picking olive harvests in al-Nabi Elyas village east of Qalqilya, in the northern West Bank.

IOF soldiers forced the farmers out of the area and warned them of accessing their lands.

A local source told the PIC that the IOF’s attack came in response to incitement by settlers of the adjacent settlement of Maale Shamron where about 1,000 of Jewish settlers reside illegally over 600 dunums of Palestinian land, which Palestinians are prohibited to access.  

Israeli occupation soldiers prevent Palestinian farmer in Azzoun town to harvest olives

October 1, 2017, QALQILYA, (PIC) + -

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Sunday morning prevented Palestinian farmers in Azzun town, east of Qalqilya, from heading to their fields in a nearby area to harvest olives.

Local activist Hasan Shabita said that security guards from the illegal settlement of Ma'ale Shomron escorted by soldiers forced dozens of local farmers to leave the area.

Shabita told Quds Press that the soldiers claimed there was no prior coordination for their access to their olive groves and ordered them to come back later after the end of the Jewish holidays.

During the olive harvest season, the farmers in the West Bank are either denied access by the army to their lands to pick olives or attacked by extremist Jewish settlers under military protection.

Throughout the year, Palestinian olive trees are also exposed to repeated acts of sabotage and arson attacks by Jewish settlers in different West Bank areas.

Israeli occupation government confiscate more Palestinian lands in Ramallah Provinced

October 1, 2017, RAMALLAH, (PIC) + -

Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) handed over on Saturday confiscation orders stipulating seizing 4 dunums and 700 meters of agricultural land in Deir Nitham village to the northwest Ramallah.

IOA claimed that the confiscation was aimed at building a fence around Halmish settlement which has been under construction for three weeks.

Head of the village’s council Ahmad al-Tamimi told Quds Press that the confiscated land is located at the main road and connects Halmish roundabout to the village’s junction.

Tamimi opined that the confiscation decision declared the seized lands as a state property, saying that it is aimed at expanding the boundaries of Halmish settlement for security reasons.

The village has been suffering from Israeli violations including seizing and leveling of lands and uprooting of trees for 20 years, he pointed out.

Read more at https://english.palinfo.com/28932 @Copyright The Palestinian Information Center. 

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