Tag Archive for Palestinian Authority

Palestinian Airlines back in the air after 7 years

Once hailed as a symbol of Palestinian statehood dreams, the carrier is a tiny operation, with just two 48-seat turboprop planes, two weekly flights and a borrowed hub in Egypt.

 

Palestinian Airlines is back in the skies after being grounded for seven years by the deepening enmities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Once hailed as a symbol of Palestinian statehood dreams, the carrier is a tiny operation, with just two 48-seat turboprop planes, two weekly flights and a borrowed hub in Egypt.

But Palestinians say just being on the map again is what matters. “My hands were shaking when I bought the ticket… and it said the name of the carrier is Palestinian Airlines,” said recent passenger Zuhair Mohammed, a 38 year-old teacher from Gaza. Continue Reading »

Swastikas sprayed on ancient synagogue near Jericho

Worshippers discover Palestinian flags, ‘Palestine is ours’ slogans in synagogue in Naaran

 

Swastikas, Palestinian flags and “Palestine is ours” slogans were spray-painted on the ancient synagogue in Naaran near Jericho overnight.

Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein condemned the act and remarked it was no wonder the Palestinians desecrate an ancient synagogue “after destroying and desecrating Temple Mount remnants.”

The Minister added, “The incident reaffirms the belief that Jewish holy sites must be under Israel’s sovereignty.”

"הזדעזעתי לראות את ההרס הזה". בית הכנסת בנערן, הבוקר

Desecrated synagogue in Naaran

The ancient synagogue in Naaran was built in the Sixth Century and attracts both worshippers and pilgrims. The compound contains an ancient mosaic and archeological treasures. Continue Reading »

Gay Palestinian man petitions for asylum

Nablus resident living with Israeli partner for over decade says he would be killed if deported back to Palestinian Authority

 

A homosexual Palestinian man petitioned the High Court of Justice Thursday against Interior Minister Eli Yishai and the public committee reviewing humanitarian cases at the Interior Ministry following their decision to reject his appeal for legal residency status in Israel.

According to the petitioner, his request was denied despite indication of special humanitarian circumstances and therefore violates the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law. In his petition, the man also requested that the court issue an edict preventing authorities from deporting him until the court rules on his matter. Continue Reading »

PA TV Encourages Violence Against ‘Enemy’ Christians and Jews

New video shows that PA is continuing to air programs that encourage children to hate Jews and Christians.

A new video exposed by the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) research institute shows that the Palestinian Authority is continuing to air television programs which teach children to hate Jews and Christians.

In the latest incident, a young girl was asked to recite a poem during a PA TV children’s program. This poem, according to the host of the show, teaches children “responsibility and belonging.”

Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas - Reuters

The messages of “responsibility and belonging” in the poem include insulting Christians and Jews, referring to them as “the enemies of destiny” and encouraging violence against them. Continue Reading »

Khaled Abu Toameh: ‘How Much Is Mahmoud Abbas Worth?’

Abbas is saying that Rashid stole hundreds of millions of dollars, while Rashid is accusing the president of embezzling “only” $100 million.

 

The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has just discovered what every Palestinian child knows — that hundreds of millions of dollars had been embezzled during the era of Yasser Arafat.

The “discovery”, however, was not the result of a thorough and long investigation ordered by Palestinian leaders in Ramallah with the hope of restoring public funds.

Instead, it came after one of Arafat’s most trusted aides, Mohammed Rashid, threatened to expose corruption scandals in the Palestinian Authority. Continue Reading »

Gaza Banks in Currency Crisis

Gaza banks are answering withdrawal requests with multiple currencies, leading to an exchange rate crisis for local residents.

Gaza banks are experiencing another currency crisis, protesters told the Belthlehem-based Maan News Agency on Thursday.

Palestinian Authority employees reportedly organized a sit-in in front of the Bank of Palestine in Nuseirat to protest the fact that their salaries were distributed in multiple currencies.

“We were surprised today that our salaries were in dollars, (Jordanian) dinars, and shekels which will result in penalties due to the exchange rate,” one employee said.

Hamas, like its Fatah rivals in Ramallah, has experienced numerous cash-flow problems since seizing the coastal enclave from the Palestinian Authority in a bloody 2007 putsch. Continue Reading »

PM Office: Israel-Palestinian prisoners deal is gesture to Abbas

Netanyahu’s spokesperson says PA president requested Israel’s cooperation to end the hunger strike; official says Israel watching how PA handles re-interment of Palestinian bodies released in the agreement.

 

Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev said on Monday that Israel negotiated the deal ending the hunger strike of some 1,600 Palestinian prisoners in Israel in response to a request from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu - Photo: Gali Tibbon/Pool

“It is our hope that this gesture by Israel will serve to build confidence between the parties and advance peace,” he said.

The prisoner strike issue was discussed Saturday night when Netanyahu’s envoy Yitzhak Molcho delivered a letter from Netanyahu to Abbas.

Continue Reading »

IDF: Mainstream Media Ignoring Terrorist Attacks

The IDF confirms mainstream media ignore significant terrorist attacks, nine of which were virtually unreported except by Arutz Sheva.

Mainstream media’s habit of ignoring terrorist attacks has been confirmed by the IDF, which details nine attacks, most of which were virtually unreported except by Arutz Sheva.

The cover-up is part of a general policy of local and foreign media to generate a positive image of the Palestinian Authority and a negative picture of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The media agenda encourages international pressure on Israel to meet PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ demand that Israel stop activities in favor of a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria and parts of Jerusalem, particularly outside of large centers of Jewish population. Continue Reading »

Arab Journalist Blames Radical Islam for Toulouse Murders

‘Palestinian’ journalist faults radical Islam for Toulouse murders, expresses understanding for security checks.

A ‘Palestinian’ journalist, reacting to March’s Toulouse murders, in which a Muslim extremist shot and killed three Jewish children and a rabbi, said that France’s measures against radical Islam are justified.

Lighting a candle in memory of Toulouse terror victims

Lighting a candle in memory of Toulouse terror victims - Reuters

According the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Ahlam Akram, a female Palestinian journalist living in London, wrote: “Wouldn’t any mother [prefer] for her son [to] be detained for a while rather than have him sacrifice his life for the sake of goals that do not [even] serve the Muslims? Continue Reading »

PA arrests dozens of Fatah members, officers

Clampdown comes after unidentified gunmen opened fire at home of Jenin governor Musa, who died of heart attack.

 

Palestinian Authority security forces arrested dozens of Palestinians in Jenin and surrounding villages in the past 48 hours, sources in the city said on Sunday.

Many of those arrested are Fatah members and officers working for PA security services.

They said the clampdown, the biggest launched by the PA in the West Bank, came after unidentified men shot at the home of Jenin Gov. Kadoura Musa last Wednesday.

PA police stang guard in West Bank - By REUTERS

PA police stand guard in West Bank - By REUTERS

Musa was not hurt in the attack.

Continue Reading »

Jewish refugee rights is an unsolved human rights issue

The issue of Jewish refugee rights is not a spanner in the works. It remains a key, unresolved human rights issue.

Refael Bigio remembers the moment in 1962 that the regime of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser seized his family’s property. Police had cordoned off the Bigio bottling plant at 14 Aswan Street in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis. A policeman barked at Bigio and his father: “Hand over the keys!”

The Forgotten Million Jewish Refugees Expelled from Arab countries

The Forgotten Million Jewish Refugees Expelled from Arab countries

The nightmare of dispossession that was destined to afflict some 870,000 Jews across the Arab world – forced out or expelled with just the shirts on their backs – had caught up with the Bigio family. Continue Reading »

Senior Hamas official: No Israel-PA deal will be permanent

Moussa Abu Marzouk’s statements reflect a harder line than the stance of the group’s political leader, Khaled Meshal,

 

Any agreement the Palestinian Authority might reach with Israel would be subject to significant changes, a senior Hamas official has told the American newspaper The Forward.

Moussa Abu Marzouk, left, shaking hands with the imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque.

Moussa Abu Marzouk, left, shaking hands with the imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque, on a recent visit to Egypt - Photo by AP

Moussa Abu Marzouk said in an interview to be published next Friday that if Hamas came to power, any treaty would be an interim truce, a hudna, not a permanent accord. This would be the case even if a referendum ratified the deal.

Continue Reading »

MK Tibi in Canada: Boycott Products from ‘Settlements’

MK Tibi in Ottawa: Settlements are a cancer spreading all over Palestinian land. Boycott products manufactured there.

Arab MK Ahmed Tibi, notorious for making statements against Israel while he serves in its parliament, has called for a boycott of products manufactured in Judea, Samaria, and east Jerusalem.

Tibi made the controversial comments during a visit in Ottawa, Canada, on Monday. According to a report in The Montreal Gazette, Tibi also said he was aware that his remarks were a direct violation of the boycott law approved by the Knesset last July, though he seemed unfazed by that fact.

“I said that I am willing to test this immoral law trying to prevent me, as a member of the parliament, from expressing my views against the settlements in a peaceful way,” The Montreal Gazette quoted Tibi as having said during his visit to Ottawa. Continue Reading »

Fayyad Ignores Israeli Sovereignty, Launches New Dam

PA Prime Minister inaugurates new PA construction project, despite the fact that it is located in an area under full Israeli control.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has inaugurated a new PA construction project, despite the fact that it is located in an area under full Israeli control, the PA-based WAFA news agency reported on Monday.

Salam Fayyad

Salam Fayyad Reuters

According to a statement issued by Fayyad’s office, he inaugurated on Monday stage one of a water dam to be built in “Palestine” at a cost of over $1 million.

The statement quoted by WAFA said that during a visit to the village of Ouja and the Jordan Valley, Fayyad inaugurated the Ouja Dam, which he said is one of the projects to develop Area C, which falls under full Israeli control. Continue Reading »

PA crackdown on journalists angers PLO official

Saleh Ra’fat accuses the Palestinian Authority attorney-general of “cloning the policy of administrative detention.”

 

The Palestinian Authority’s attorney-general, Ahmed al-Mughni, is unlawfully detaining journalists and bloggers, Saleh Ra’fat, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, said on Monday.
Palestinian boy looks over rally in Ramallah -Photo REUTERS/Darren Whiteside
Palestinian boy looks over rally in Ramallah
-Photo REUTERS/Darren Whiteside
Voicing outrage and discontent over the recent PA crackdown, Ra’fat accused the attorney-general of “cloning the policy of administrative detention” by ordering the arrest of journalists and bloggers exposing corruption in the PA and criticizing Palestinian leaders.

Over the past few weeks, PA security forces in the West Bank arrested four journalists and a blogger on orders of the attorney-general.

Continue Reading »