Palestine

RAMALLAH (Palestine), Aug 6 (NNN-XINHUA) — A group of diplomats from European countries paid a visit on Thursday to the West Bank village Beita as conflicts and violence between local Palestinians and Israeli forces continued to increase in the area.

“The European Union (EU) and like-minded countries visited Beita village in response to rising levels of settlers’ violence and the building of an illegal Israeli outpost on top of Mount Sabih, resulting in regular clashes and casualties,” said an official statement.

05 Aug 2021; MEMO: Israeli forces yesterday carried out three large-scale demolitions in different areas of the occupied West Bank.

The head of the Palestinian Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bethlehem, Hassan Breija, said an Israeli army bulldozer demolished five agricultural structures in the Shaab Sultan area in the town of Wadi Rahal, south of the governorate.

05 Aug 2021; MEMO: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said yesterday it would resume its activities in the occupied Palestinian territories after a three-year hiatus, Anadolu reported.

USAID suspended its work in the occupied territories following a request by former US President Donald Trump, who stopped all forms of assistance to the Palestinians.

04 Aug 2021; MEMO: Qatar and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have reached a deal on the transfer of aid to the Gaza Strip after Hamas agreed to have the PA involved in the process, Israeli sources reported yesterday.

PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh was reported by Israeli media saying on Monday night that "the PA agrees to be responsible for transferring part of the Qatari grant to the Gaza Strip intended only for needy families."

GAZA, Aug 2 (NNN-WAFA) – The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), warned yesterday of the shortage of raw materials to launch reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.

Director of UNRWA in Gaza, Sam Rose, said in a press statement that, the lack of raw materials for starting the reconstruction plan “was due to the closure of the only commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel.”

GAZA, Aug 2 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestinian health officials said, late last night that, a third wave of COVID-19 is expected soon in the besieged Gaza Strip, home of more than two million people.

Head of the departments to combat coronavirus at the European hospital, Mahmoud al-Sheikh, told reporters that the number of COVID-19 patients admitted in the hospitals is increasing, as a new wave of coronavirus is expected at the end of Aug, and “it will reach its peak between Oct and Nov.”

02 Aug 2021; MEMO: The Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, Fadi Al-Hadmi, yesterday called on the international community to "immediately intervene" in the Sheikh Jarrah case which sees Palestinians being forcibly evicted from their homes to make way for illegal settlers.

Al-Hadmi warned in a statement that the Israeli government describes the case as a "real estate dispute", noting what is happening in Sheikh Jarrah is a "political issue par excellence".

02 Aug 2021; MEMO: The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza on Sunday warned of the repercussions of the lack of medicine and treatment protocols for cancer patients due to the continued Israeli blockade.

02 Aug 2021; MEMO: An Israeli settler shot at Palestinians in the occupied West Bank using an Israeli soldier's weapon, footage released by rights group B'Tselem shows.

Palestinian who witnessed the incident, which took place on 26 June, said the soldier gave the settler the weapon, while the Israeli military claims the settler "took the weapon from the soldier and shot in the air", Haaretz reported.

RAMALLAH, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ending Israeli settlement in the Palestinian territories, mainly in East Jerusalem, is an important step for trust-building with Israel, a senior Palestinian official said on Sunday.

Member of the executive committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Ahmed Majdalani told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah that "the Israeli settlement building and the confiscation of Palestinian land must stop."