Palestine

30 Apr 2021; MEMO: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced last night that the first Palestinian national election in 15 years has been postponed until Israel allows the vote to take place in Jerusalem. The election was due to take place next month, but Abbas made the announcement after a meeting of the Palestinian factions in Ramallah.

30 Apr 2021; MEMO: In a remarkable twist of fate, a Jewish professor at Princeton University has expressed her anguish knowing that two Palestinian families facing eviction in occupied East Jerusalem may have saved her Jewish family from ruin.

RAMALLAH, Apr 28 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestine said yesterday that, it is seeking more international pressure on Israel, to allow its upcoming elections held in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian leadership will “hold a meeting tomorrow, to determine the fate of the elections and reach a unified position,” Palestinian presidential spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said.

Rudeineh reiterated the determination of the Palestinian leadership, particularly President Mahmoud Abbas, that the elections will not take place without East Jerusalem.

28 Apr 2021; MEMO: After an online meeting to discuss the probability that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is going to cancel this year's elections, candidates on fifteen electoral lists have announced their rejection of such a move. Holding the elections, they insist, is a "national necessity".

27 Apr 2021; MEMO: Palestinians in Jerusalem are happy at the success of their campaign to have the barriers installed by Israel at one of the main entrances of the Old City providing access to Al-Aqsa Mosque removed. The Israeli police used the steel barriers at the Damascus Gate to create an obstacle for Palestinian worshippers seeking entry to the Noble Sanctuary.

27 Apr 2021; MEMO: The head of Hamas electoral list said on Monday that the victory of the Palestinians in Jerusalem in their battle against Israeli occupation forces and settler violence proves that resistance is the most successful approach to deal with Israel.

27 Apr 2021; MEMO: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is set to announce the cancellation of the Palestinian elections under the pretext of Israel's refusal to allow Jerusalemites to cast their votes, various local and Israeli sources have reported. Abbas is also the head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation as well as the Fatah movement.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, some of the worst fears are coming true in the crowded Gaza Strip: A sudden surge in infections and deaths is threatening to overwhelm hospitals weakened by years of conflict and border closures.

Gaza’s main treatment center for COVID-19 patients warns that oxygen supplies are dwindling fast. In another hospital, coronavirus patients are packed three to a room.

RAMALLAH, Apr 25 (NNN-PNN) – UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, yesterday called on Israel and Palestine, to avoid escalation in East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

“I condemn all such acts of violence, and I reiterate my call upon all sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further escalation, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan,” he said in a press statement.

24 Apr 2021; MEMO: Before the eyes of the Israeli police, extremist Israeli settlers continued their incitement and aggression on Palestinians in Jerusalem, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Friday.

Arab MKs have warned that continuous incitement may lead to a repeat of the 1994 massacre carried out by the extremist Israeli Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein, which left more than 29 Palestinian worshippers dead and about 120 others wounded in Al-Ibrahimi Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.