by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jerusalem : The Israeli occupation authorities on Monday approved permits for 31 settlement units in the West Bank city of Hebron, the first such approvals for the flashpoint city since 2002.
An Israeli committee approved construction permits for the 31 units, Anat Ben Nun of Israeli NGO Peace Now told AFP. Several hundred Israeli settlers live in the heart of Hebron under heavy military guard among some 200,000 Palestinians.
The approvals are among some 4,000 settler home plans to be advanced as part of a push to greatly boost settlement growth, an Israeli official has said.
Peace Now, which closely monitors settlement construction, said a planning council meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday is expected to have more than 2,000 units on the agenda.
Settlement building in the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem is considered illegal under international law. It is also seen as a major obstacle to peace as the settlements are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
Palestinian activist Issa Amro, the founder of NGO Youth Against Settlements, said this announcement would contribute to strengthening the policy of apartheid, as well as increasing the violent attacks by settlers and consolidating the military presence and closures against the Palestinians.
Amro said the approvals come within the Israeli plan to continue Judaizing the Old City of Hebron in a blatant challenge to the decision of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In July, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee declared the Palestinian Old City of Hebron to be a “protected area” and a “world heritage” site. Hebron was also included into UNESCO’s Endangered World Heritage List.
—AB/OIC-UNA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jerusalem : Palestine’s Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) signed the agreement of the Youth Economic Empowerment Project with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which is part of the Palestinian People’s Economic Empowerment Program, funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) through the UNDP in partnership with the Palestinian Ministry of Social Development.
UAWC said the project, which will extend for 20 months, targets students of agricultural sciences, environment and veterinary medicine at Palestinian universities in the West Bank, through supporting them with small-scale income generating projects within their majors.
It is noteworthy that UAWC has been working within the Economic Empowerment Program for the Palestinian People since 2007, to serve different sectors, to reach the current stage of the program, which is the empowerment of the Palestinian youth.
—Khalid Al-Khalidi/AB/IINA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jerusalem : The European Union (EU) will increase its financial assistance to the government of Palestine following the signing of the intra-Palestinian reconciliation agreement and ending the division, EU officials told Palestine’s Ambassador to the bloc Abdel Rahim al-Farra.
Speaking to the Voice of Palestine, Farra said that the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council will hold a meeting, during which the Palestinian reconciliation and enabling the legitimate government to operate in the Gaza Strip will be discussed.
On the other hand, Farra confirmed that he was informed by EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn that the time has come to implement development projects in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian ambassador said that Hahn stressed the need to start building the Gaza desalination plant at the cost of $600 million, noting that this amount will be collected soon during the conference of donor countries in Brussels.
Farra welcomed the statement of the EU missions, which hailed the signing of the Palestinian reconciliation agreement that ended the Palestinian split. “There is a great response to developments in the Palestinian reconciliation,” he said.
—AB/IINA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jerusalem : Israel on Wednesday fumed over a vote by the Interpol that approved the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) as a member in the international police body.
Earlier in the day, Palestinian membership to the Interpol was approved by 74 to 24 votes, exceeding the two-thirds requirement of the yes-to-no ratio.
The decision was made despite Israel’s diplomatic campaign to thwart the vote, Xinhua reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the approval. In a meeting in Jerusalem with the US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Jason Greenblatt, and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Netanyahu charged that the resolution “violates signed agreements with Israel.”
Netanyahu said the actions of the Palestinian leadership in recent days severely impairs the chances of achieving peace and added that the Palestinian diplomatic warfare would not go unanswered.
Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection, Zeev Elkin, who is also a close ally of Netanyahu, said Israel should “cancel gestures granted to the Palestinians,” including work permits in Israel, and special travel permits for Palestinian leaders.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak condemned it as “yet another failure” for Netanyahu.
The PNA applauded the approval. “This victory was realised because the majority of the Interpol members defended the raisons d’etre of the organisation and basic principles,” said Palestinian Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Riad Malki.
He added that the approval reflects the trust of the international community in Palestine’s capabilities.
“Palestine will commit to obligations and contribute to combating crime and law enforcement on the international level,” Malki noted.
The move was part of the Palestinian campaign to gain international diplomatic recognition as a state.
Established in 1923, Interpol is the world’s largest police organization aimed to struggle crime and terrorism. Currently, it has 192 members after the admission of Solomon Islands and Palestine on Wednesday.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Amman : The Joint Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee’s preparatory panel held a meeting in Amman, which was headed by Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Yarub Qudah and Palestinian Economy Minister Abeer Odeh to discuss prospects for cementing economic ties between the two sides.
The meeting which took place on Tuesday endorsed the agenda of a meeting of the higher committee, which is due to be held on Wednesday and will be co-chaired by Prime Minister Hani Mulki and his Palestinian Counterpart Rami Al Hamdallah.
Qudah said the encounters came three years after a meeting of the higher committee, a delay which was due to the tough conditions the Palestinians were facing as a result of Israeli-imposed obstacles. However, he added, other bilateral meetings were ongoing at various levels to develop cooperation in all fields.
He expressed hope the meetings would remove trade barriers and find mechanisms to solve such impediments to enhance the private sector’s role in trade exchange and launch joint ventures.
—SM/IINA
