by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jerusalem : The European Union made a new contribution of €2.37 million to support Palestinian farmers and agro-businesses in the West Bank.
The contribution was channeled through the Palestinian Authority’s program “Assistance to Agriculture in the West Bank (AAWB)”, the EU said in a statement published Thursday by Palestinian news agency WAFA.
A total of 241 Palestinian farmers and agro-businesses affected by the Israeli occupation in the West Bank will benefit from this new contribution. This support will help the farmers relaunch, repair or replace damaged businesses through different activities including the acquisition of agricultural supplies, rehabilitation of land and other small infrastructure works.
This contribution also brings the total beneficiaries of the program up-to-date to 365 farmers, according to the EU statement.
”The agricultural production is a crucial sector of the Palestinian economy. The support to the agricultural sector is essential to build a future Palestinian State with a viable economy. In this context, the EU contributes to programs run by the Palestinian Authority to support agro-businesses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” said EU Representative Ralph Tarraf.
The overall financial envelope of AAWB program amounts to €7 million. It is expected to serve about 450 eligible beneficiaries in the West Bank with a focus on Area C. The program is managed by the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture and the Palestinian Agriculture Disaster Risk Reduction and Insurance Fund. The payments are made by the PA’s Ministry of Finance and Planning through a network of local banks in the West Bank.
—AB/UNA-OIC
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
Ramallah : The Israeli government on Wednesday approved construction of 450 new Jewish-only settlement units in the occupied West Bank.
According to Israel’s Channel 7, the government’s planning and building committee approved construction of the new housing units in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem.
Roughly 600,000 Israeli settlers currently live on more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which were occupied by Israel in 1967.
The Palestinians, for their part, want these areas — along with the Gaza Strip — for a future state of Palestine.
International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as “occupied territories” and considers all settlement-building activity on the land as illegal.
—AG/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Ramallah, Palestine: Israeli forces detained eight Palestinians during overnight raids in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a Palestinian NGO reported Thursday.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, four Palestinians were arrested in the city of Bethlehem while another three were arrested in Jenin and Jericho.
“Wa’ad Tamimi, brother of [Palestinian resistance icon] Ahed Tamimi, was arrested from his house in the village of Nabi Saleh north of the West Bank city of Ramallah,” it added.
The Israeli army frequently conducts wide-ranging arrest campaigns in the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.
According to Palestinian figures, more than 6,500 Palestinians — including 300 children — are currently languishing in Israeli prisons.
—AA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
A view of an old market in Hebron, West Bank.
By Muhammed Ferid Mahmud Abdullah, Mohamed Sabry Emam Muhammed,
Jerusalem : U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has negatively affected businesses in the holy city, according to Jerusalem’s chamber of commerce.
“Trump’s decision has adversely affected the city market and tourism business,” chamber’s director Fadi al-Hidmi told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.
He said there has been a dramatic decline in the number of tourists and hotel reservations in recent days, causing an economic recession in the city.
“Security concerns are the main reason for this decline,” al-Hidmi said. “Many reservations have been canceled after the U.S. recognition.”
He said even before the U.S. move, Palestinian entreprenuers have complained of the difficulty of getting Israeli licenses to start a tourist business or repair existing shops.
“It will probably be impossible to get a licence from now on,” he said, adding that Israel would use the U.S. move to increase pressure on Palestinians and business owners in the city.
Hidmi said land and apartment prices in Jerusalem were likely to increase dramatically after the U.S. decision.
“In spite of opposition to the U.S. move, companies planning to move their headquarters to Jerusalem will get panicked, which will surely lead to an increase of prices,” he said.
Last week, Trump announced recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The move has invited a storm of condemnations and triggered protests in the Palestinian territories and several Arab and Muslim countries.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem — now occupied by Israel — might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
* Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara
—AA
