by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Washington : US President Donald Trump has ordered more than $200 million in economic aid which was to be allocated to Gaza and the West Bank be redirected elsewhere.
A State Department official said the decision was made after a review “to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests”, BBC reported on Friday.
It has already withheld $65 million from the UN relief agency for the Palestinians.
Relations between the Palestinians and the US have been difficult since Trump took power.
They hit a low point after the US recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017. As a result, the Palestinians said the US was unable to continue its mediation role in the peace process and suspended contact.
The US administration, meanwhile, suspended aid to the Palestinians pending a review in the light of the Taylor Force Act back in June.
The act aimed to force the Palestinian Authority to cease paying stipends to families of individuals convicted of terrorism against Israel.
On Friday, a State Department spokesman said the decision to “redirect” the funds to other “high-priority projects” was made as a result of the review, but did not say where the money would now go.
Both the Palestinians and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency warned cutting funding would make everyday life harder for the territories’ citizens
However, the US official said the decision took into account “the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza’s citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation”.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jerusalem : Israel has carried out large-scale airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, targeting “12 terror sites”, a military spokesperson said.
Israel struck Hamas sites in Gaza, bombing a concrete factory and a maritime assault tunnel shaft, after at least 36 Gaza rockets hit Israel, the army said on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The airstrikes came after an eight-rocket barrage hit the southern city of Sderot, lightly injuring at least six people, the Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon said in a statement.
Afterward, sirens continued to wail throughout southern Israel in the night, warning of more projectiles, as residents took shelter inside their homes.
On Tuesday, two Hamas snipers were killed in Gaza in an Israeli artillery attack, which Israeli forces said was carried out under the misconception that Hamas had shot toward them.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military raised the level of alert along the Gaza border. The military warned Hamas that it “will not tolerate any aggression against Israeli civilians or Israel Defense Forces soldiers, and is prepared for a wide variety of scenarios.”
The recent incidents are expected to distance the chances of a quick Egyptian-brokered cease-fire. Egypt has been taking efforts to achieve a deal between Israel and Hamas, the group that runs Gaza, but has yet to achieve an agreement between the two.
The recent round of violence between Israel and the besieged Palestinian enclave has claimed the lives of at least 140 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick
Jerusalem : United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick has called on the Israeli authorities to immediately allow the entry of UN-purchased emergency fuel into the Gaza Strip.
“Restricting the entry of emergency fuel to Gaza is a dangerous practice, with grave consequences on the rights of people in Gaza,” said McGoldrick in a press statement issued Wednesday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory.
“The well-being of two million people, half of whom are children, is at stake. It is unacceptable that Palestinians in Gaza are repeatedly deprived of the most basic elements of a dignified life,” he added.
The fuel, which is available and awaiting entry by the Israeli authorities, is needed to power backup generators required in the context of Gaza’s chronic energy crisis.
Since August 2, the Israeli authorities have prohibited the entry of fuel into the Gaza Strip, in the context of tightened import and export restrictions. This followed an early restriction on the entry of fuel that lasted from 16 – 24 July. According to the Israeli authorities, the intensified measures come in response to the launching of incendiary kites from Gaza into Israel, which has caused extensive property damage.
“Gaza desperately needs longer-term solutions so we can move past this cycle of repeated or worsening crises, including that Palestinian authorities prioritize the provision of fuel for essential services,” McGoldrick said, adding: “Until that happens, Israel must reverse the recent restrictions, including on the entry of emergency fuel, and donors must step in and fund emergency fuel, in order to avoid a disease outbreak or other major public health concern.”
The recent developments have exacerbated the existing humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli 11-year blockade of the Gaza, raising concerns over collective punishment and human rights violations, alongside an unresolved internal Palestinian political divide.
—AB/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jerusalem : Israel’s Defence Minister on Sunday announced that construction had begun on a marine barrier with the Gaza Strip extending into the Mediterranean Sea.
Avigdor Liberman said in a statement that the barrier aimed to prevent any attempts by Palestinians in Gaza to enter Israeli territory through the sea, Efe news reported.
“This is an additional setback for Hamas, which has lost another strategic capability that it has invested massive amounts in developing. We will continue to protect the citizens of Israel with might and sophistication,” Liberman said.
The barrier is to consist of three layers, one of which is to be underwater, and is expected to be completed within a year, the statement added.
During Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza, members of the military wing of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that governs the Gaza Strip, managed to swim to Israeli territory and launch an attack on a Israeli army installation before being killed.
Israeli authorities are also constructing an underground barrier beneath the Gaza-Israel boundary to stop Hamas from digging tunnels into Israeli territory.
Israel claims Hamas constructs these tunnels to attack Israeli civilians.
An independent inquiry into the 2014 war in Gaza by the UN Human Rights Council concluded that “the tunnels were only used to conduct attacks directed at IDF (Israeli army) positions in Israel in the vicinity of the Green Line, which are legitimate military targets.”
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Gaza : The Gaza municipality on Wednesday declared a state of emergency, citing reduced services caused by resource shortages and foreign aid cuts.
“Much of financial aid has been cut, which has halted basic services linked to fuel and sanitation,” Mayor of Gaza Nizar Hejazi said at a press conference, according to Xinhua news agency.
The entire coast will be closed and untreated wastewater will be pumped into the sea because of power failures, Hejazi noted.
The economic deterioration in Gaza has made residents unable to pay the bills, which, in turn, has impacted the municipality’s ability to pay workers’ salaries, he added.
Hejazi demanded that the Palestinian Authority abide by their responsibility for the besieged coastal enclave.
According to a recent UN report, 110 million liters of raw or partially treated sewage is poured into Gaza’s sea daily, as a result of long power outages.
—IANS
