Tag Archive for West Bank

| February 26, 2014
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IDF wounded three Palestinians in clashes near the Gaza border fence

Gazans have now incited confrontations with the IDF for the 2nd time in 5 days.

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Three Palestinians were wounded Tuesday in clashes with Israeli soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip near the perimeter fence.

Israeli tank near Gaza border

An Israeli tank near the Gaza border as Palestinians approach, November 2012.- Photo: AP

Palestinians said a press photographer had a moderate gunshot wound to the leg, while two other people were suffering from tear-gas inhalation. The Israel Defense Forces said hundreds of Palestinians had gathered in the area and threw stones at soldiers. The army responded with crowd-dispersal measures and later gunfire.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| February 8, 2014
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Scores of radical Islamists arrested by PA forces in West Bank dragnet

 

The arrests came after Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a radical Islamic group distributed leaflets condemning PA President Abbas’ NATO suggestion.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

Palestinian Authority security forces arrested over the weekend scores of members of the radical group Hizb–ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) in the West Bank.

Members of the Palestinian security forces.

Members of the Palestinian security forces.- Photo: REUTERS

The crackdown came after the party distributed a leaflet strongly condemning PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s recent statements to The New York Times, where he said he would agree to the deployment of NATO troops in a future Palestinian state to prevent weapons smuggling and terrorism.

Founded in 1953, Hizb-ut-Tahrir is an international pan-Islamic political group whose goal is to unify all Muslim countries under an Islamic state or Caliphate. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| February 5, 2014
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Some West Bank CEOs are losing no sleep over boycott threat

In the wake of EU or American threats of boycott, not all Israeli businesses operating in the West Bank are worried.

 

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Of the 200,000 wine bottles Yakov Burg produced last year, 16,000 went to Europe.

Psagot Winery, located in a West Bank settlement, exported 16,000 bottles of wine to Europe in 2013. (Psagot Winery)

Psagot Winery, located in a West Bank settlement, exported 16,000 bottles of wine to Europe in 2013.- Photo courtesy: Psagot Winery

The possibility of a boycott and repeated rumblings that Europe is planning to label goods produced in the settlements could decrease that number, but Burg isn’t worried.

The CEO of Psagot Winery, which is located in a settlement of the same name in the hills of the central West Bank, Burg prides himself on running a Jewish-owned business in the West Bank, even welcoming groups of Christian Zionists who want to volunteer during the harvest.

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Category: Jewish News | Tags: , ,
| February 5, 2014
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Israel indicts Al-Qaida Palestinian for possession of biological weapons


West Bank Palestinian Samar al-Barak, intended on training others to use biological weapons, according to the charges in Israel’s military court.

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A Palestinian has been indicted in a military court on suspicion of being an Al-Qaida activist who possessed biological weapons and planned to train other Palestinians in their use.

Fighters from an al-Qaida-linked Islamist group in Mali.

Fighters from an Al-Qaida-linked group in Mali. Israel is also a target. – Photo: AP

Samar al-Barak was indicted after spending more than three years in administrative detention without trial – a detention the state defended before the High Court of Justice on the grounds that it was essential for security reasons.

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Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| February 3, 2014
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Abbas suggests a NATO presence instead of IDF in future Palestine

Palestinian Authority president extends transitional period of complete IDF withdrawal & Jewish settlement residents from 3 to 5 years.

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an American-led NATO presence in a future Palestinian state, according to a New York Times interview published Sunday.

Abbas speaks at the UN General Assembly.

Abbas speaks at the UN General Assembly. – Photo: AFP

The NATO mission Abbas proposed in talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry would last indefinitely and include troop patrols throughout the West Bank and Gaza, at all checkpoints and within Jerusalem, according to the Times.

Abbas said Israeli military presence and settlements in the West bank could be gradually removed for up to five years after a peace agreement is signed – a departure from the three years he previously proposed. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| January 24, 2014
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Tavor Battalion Commander: ‘Protecting the security fence is a daily fight’

 

The Tavor Battalion, which is just 1 1/2 yrs-old, one of the youngest in the IDF, has already seen its fair share of ambushes & attacks. Just 2 weeks earlier, a company commander protecting the security fence, came under a Molotov cocktail attack.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

 

 

Molotov cocktails, burning tires with exploding gas tanks hidden inside, slingshots that can break bones, shootings – these are the daily security challenges that the Home Front Command’s Tavor Battalion has faced for the past five months, as it defended the West Bank security barrier.

The battalion was deployed in a sector west of Ramallah, covering areas such as the Maccabim checkpoint, Budrus, Bil’in, Ni’lin and Kibya.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| January 23, 2014
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Scarlett Johansson catching slack over SodaStream ad campaign

The humanitarian group Oxfam, says that while it respects the independence of its ‘global ambassador against poverty’, it opposes ‘all trade’ from Israeli settlements.

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Oxfam International is criticizing Scarlett Johansson over her new ad campaign for an Israeli company that operates in the West Bank.

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson – Phot: AP

Israeli drink maker SodaStream International Ltd. recently signed the U.S. actress as its first “global brand ambassador.” She is to appear in a television ad during the Super Bowl on Feb. 2.

SodaStream has come under fire from pro-Palestinian activists for maintaining a large factory in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , ,
| January 12, 2014
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UN strike brings clash between Palestinian police & refugee camp residents

 

Local Palestinian employees of UNRWA strike, shutting down critical services in the West Bank.

West Bank resident says, ‘Situation can’t be tolerated with no schools, no clinics and trash everywhere’

By Reuters

 

At least 50 people were hurt on Sunday in a clash between Palestinian police and residents of a refugee camp protesting against a strike in a UN aid agency that has paralyzed services, police and an ambulance service said.

Palestinian forces arriving at Jenin (file) – Photo: AP

The demonstration, in Jalazoun camp in the West Bank, was the most violent in a series of protests over the past week stemming from a more than month-old strike for higher pay by local employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| January 10, 2014
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Finance Minister: Israel’s economy will be hurt if peace talks fail

Yair Lapid says Jerusalem’s announcement of plan to construct 1,400 more homes in settlements is harmful & will lead to int’l isolation.

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Finance Minister Yair Lapid said Friday that Israel will be hurt economically by growing international isolation if it fails to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid. – Photo: Emil Salman

Yair Lapid said his ministry has run through various scenarios and found that “a continuation of the existing situation will hurt the pocketbook of each of us.”

Lapid spoke to the Israeli news website Ynet in response to an announcement Friday that Israel plans to build 1,400 more homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories the Palestinians seek for a state. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| January 2, 2014
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Deputy foreign minister echos Abba Eban: “The 1967 borders are Auschwitz borders!”

Deputy FM Zeev Elkin added: Likud must reject any proposal to withdraw from the West Bank, “Anyone who gives up the Jordan Valley will turn Kfar Sava into Sderot.”

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Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin said Thursday that “the 1967 borders are Auschwitz borders” and therefore Likud has to reject any proposal to withdraw from the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud hard-liner Zeev Elkin.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin. – Photo: Olivier Fitoussi

Elkin, of the Likud party himself, spoke during a morning tour of settlements in the Jordan Valley attended by parliamentarians and ministers that are members the Land of Israel lobby. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| December 27, 2013
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The Cameri Theater performs in Ariel but without 3 actors

The director of the Ariel theater, “We don’t want those who don’t want to come here.”

The Cameri said in its statement, “Those who are not interested are replaced by their colleagues.”

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Three Cameri and Beit Lessin actors have been excused from performing in a play staged at a cultural center in the West Bank settlement of Ariel.

'Best Friends.'

Members of the cast of ‘Best Friends.’ – Photo by Courtesy Cameri

The cast members will be replaced by understudies for the performances of the play “Best Friends,” the theaters said in a statement.

The Cameri said in its statement that it respects the political views of its employees.  Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| December 26, 2013
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IDF deploys Iron Dome over Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sderot & Beersheba

 

Gaza rocket lands in open area near Ashkelon 00:30 Thursday.

IDF’s missile defense system deployed out of concern for additional attacks.

Def. Min.Ya’alon blames Hamas and PA for heightened tensions.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
 

 

The IDF on Thursday deployed the Iron Dome missile defense system over Ashdod, out of concern over potential rocket attacks amid heightened tensions.

Iron Dome anti-missile system – Photo courtesy: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

In the early hours of Thurday, shortly after 12 a.m, a rocket was launched toward Israel from the Gaza Strip. According to Israel Radio, the Kassam rocket landed in an open area near Ashkelon. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| December 24, 2013
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Jerusalem’s Top Catholic cleric will exploit Christmas address to bash Israel

Sky News reports: Archbishop Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, is expected to condemn Jewish housing construction during Christmas Eve Mass. 

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The Latin Patriach of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, is expected to use his Midnight Mass sermon to criticize Israel’s continued construction of settlements in the West bank, Sky News reported on Tuesday.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal leads a mass as part of the International Day of Faith celebration on Mount Precipice, near the northern Israeli town of Nazareth, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. – Photo: AP

According to the report, the Holy Land’s top Roman Catholic cleric will likely brand settlements an obstacle to regional stability when he addresses pilgrims at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity on Tuesday night.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , ,
| December 23, 2013
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Again Abbas advances fairytale in Christmas message: Jesus was a ‘Palestinian’

Reiterating his commitment to peace, the Palestinian Authority president said in his statement from Ramallah, ‘We celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem under occupation,’

By DPA

 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Jesus a role model for the Palestinians, in a Christmas message from the West Bank Monday.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas – Photo AP

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas – Photo AP

Referring to Jesusas “a Palestinian messenger,” Abbas said that “as we Palestinians strive for our freedom two millennia later, we do our best to follow his example. We work with hope, seeking justice, in order to achieve a lasting peace.”

He criticized Israeli restrictions on the entry of Palestinians living abroad into the West Bank, as well as Israel’s controversial West Bank security barrier, which cuts off Bethlehem, which he charged “steals land.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| December 18, 2013
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West Bank Nature Reserve Denies Entry to Palestinian Security Offenders

Palestinians who served time for security offenses are refused entry by the parks authority inspectors at Ein Prat Nature Reserve.

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Palestinians convicted of security offenses are being barred from entering the Ein Prat Nature Reserve in the Judean Desert, even though visitors’ security records aren’t checked at other West Bank nature reserves.

People cooling off in the waters of Ein Prat in the Judean desert.

People cooling off in the waters of Ein Prat in the Judean desert. – Photo: Amir Aloni / The Israel Nature and Parks Authority

Inspectors from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority kept two Palestinian visitors out of Ein Prat, also called Ein Fara, two weeks ago, said Dror Etkes, a researcher who monitors settlement construction and was with them at the time. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
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