PA Rejects Kerry's Proposal to Delay Palestinian State Resolution Bid

PNN/ Bethlehem

 Published on Monday, 22 December 2014

Palestine foreign minister, Dr. Riad Malki, said that the Palestinian leadership rejected US State of Secretary, John Kerry's proposal of pushing the Palestinian Statehood resolution bid until after the Israeli elections in March.

Malki said that Kerry tried to convince Palestinian leaders during talks last week, to delay presenting state resolution proposal before the International security council, saying that it would harm the Israeli elections.

Senior PA officials over the weekend said that they were under heavy pressure not to request a vote on the Palestinian resolution presented last week to the United Nations Security Council.

On the other hand, previous Justice minister and Israeli chief negotiator, Tzipi Livni asked Kerry, to delay the Palestinian UN bid for statehood, as it supports the right.

Occupation foreign policy reported that Livni had made the recommendation along with former president Shimon Peres, AFP says.

However, Right-wing politicians, Netanyahu and Bennett on Saturday fiercely blasted Livni for asking Kerry to delay the Palestinian UN bid for statehood.

PM Benjamin's Netanyahu's office accused Livni, and Hertzong of being two-faced and cared for their own interest. 

On the other hand, Palestinian leadership on Monday announced making changes to the Palestinian statehood bid, including East Jerusalem being its fundamental capital, and setting state on the 1967 occupied borders. 

Changes included halting any Israeli provocative actions including successive attacks on AlAqsa mosque compund and descerating Christian and Muslim holy sanctities.

Adjusments also included lands under threaten of Israeli occupation seizure or attacks. 

Source : http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/politics/8859-pa-rejects-kerrys-proposal-to-delay-palestinian-state-resolution-bid

Japan Provides Emergency Funding for Rubble Removal in Gaza Through UNDP

PNN/ Jerusalem

UNDP's Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) has been entrusted with a USD500,000 contribution from The Government of Japan to remove rubble and debris in the Gaza Strip.

With the Government of Japan's contribution, around 30,000 tonnes of rubble will be removed over the period of 10 months, generating approximately 5,400 workdays.

UNDP will move rapidly in clearing the rubble in order to provide more than 187,000 people residing in the Middle Area of the Gaza Strip with access to basic services, reduce the risk of collapsing buildings and the threat of UXOs and other remnants of war. The rubble, once crushed, will be recycled and used for road rehabilitation.

UNDP estimates that around two million tonnes of rubble have been generated during the 51 day Israeli military operation on Gaza, which is three times more than the amount of rubble generated during 2008-09 Gaza conflict.

It is worth noting that the Government of Japan's contribution will bring the total amount of funding for UNDP's Emergency Rubble Removal Programme to USD 13.7 million out of approximately USD 20 million.

UNDP's Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People is responding to the Gaza crisis by enhancing livelihoods through emergency employment, rubble removal, repairing essential infrastructure, restoring solid waste services and providing institutional support towards a unified civil service and institutional harmonization.

Source : http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/international/8822-japan-provides-emergency-funding-for-rubble-removal-in-gaza-through-undp

UN Votes for Palestinian Permanent Sovereignty Over National Resources

PNN/New York

Published on Saturday, 20 December 2014 

The UN General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution that provide permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian territories as well as the sovereignty of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources.

The resolution was adopted by voting 165 states in favor, 6 states against (Israel, US, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau), while 9 states abstained.

The resolution asserted the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the people of of the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, including land, water and energy resources, and demanded that 'Israel' cease the exploitation, damage, cause of loss or depletion and endangerment of the natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territory.

It also called upon Israel, the occupying Power, to bring a halt to all actions, including those perpetrated by Israeli settlers, harming the environment, including the dumping of all kinds of waste materials, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, which gravely threaten their natural resources, namely water and land resources, and which pose an environmental, sanitation and health threat to the civilian populations.

Also, the General Assembly nearly approved a resolution urging Israel to pay Lebanon compensation to cover the clean-up cost of an oil spill caused in 2006 by the Israeli air attacks on oil storage tanks during the war with Hezbollah.

Source : http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/international/8840-un-votes-for-palestinian-permanent-sovereignty-over-national-resources

Palestinian academics, advocates targeted for imprisonment without charge or trial

The Israeli Supreme Court rejected a petition by Palestinian political detainee Dr. Ghassan Thuqan, 57, an academic lecturer in the Faculty of Education at An-Najah University, on Tuesday, 16 December.

Thuqan was arrested on 9 July as part of a wave of mass arrests by Israeli ocupation forces throughout the West Bank; he is held in administrative detention, imprisoned without charge or trial. His administrative detention term will expire on 9 January, but his lawyer informed his family that he expects the term to be renewed, particularly following this court decision. The petition was rejected on the basis of a “secret file” on his case; he has already had his three-month administrative detention order renewed twice. Thuqan, held in the Negev desert prison, suffers from asthma, dental pains and arthritis, and is not receiving appropriate treatment from the prison medical clinics.

Dr. Imad Barghouthi, a Palestinian astrophysicist and professor at Al-Quds University who formerly worked at NASA in the United States, is now being held in three months administrative detention (imprisonment without charge or trial.)

Barghouthi, 52, from Beit Rima, has been ordered held without charge or trial from 9 December until 5 March 2015 under a three-month, indefinitely renewable, military court order.

He was arrested on 6 December as he attempted to cross to Jordan at the Karama border crossing in order to attend a scientific conference in the United Arab Emirates. Barghouthi’s scientific work is widely published internationally in academic journals. This is the first time he was arrested by Israeli occupation forces. It was reported that he was investigated for participating in a mass march against the assault on Gaza over the summer.

Also held in administrative detention without charge or trial is Osama Hussein Shaheen, 32, the director of the Prisoners of Palestine Studies Center in al-Khalil. He was arrested on 11 December as he traveled through the Container checkpoint and was taken to Ofer military prison. Shaheen, a prominent activist on prisoners’ issues, was released only 3 months ago from administrative detention without charge or trial. He has spent 7 years total inside Israeli prisons and suffers from several health problems. The Center denounced the arrest of Shaheen, saying that “this action aims to obstruct the center’s work exposing occupation crimes against prisoners of war and documenting them on a daily basis.”

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society reported that 54 administrative detention orders for imprisonment without charge or trial have been issued by Israeli military courts against Palestinians since the beginning of December 2014.

Source: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Gerald Kaufman MP "You cannot appeal to the Israelis’ better nature, bec...

Australian film on Israel's torturing of Palestinian children sparks controversy

Published on Dec 15, 2014

A controversial film which has been produced by a group of Australian journalists has sparked an international outcry against Israel after it explicitly deta.

Israelis torturing non-Jewish children documentary film full length. Viewer discretion. The still picture shows Palestinian girl Nesreen Hash'hash after bein.

Israelis torturing non-Jewish children documentary film full length. Viewer discretion. The still picture shows Palestinian girl Nesreen Hash'hash after bein. Israelis torturing non-Jewish.

Palestinian shot dead by Israeli troops

Today 16/12/2014: Mahmoud Adwan,21 year old was shot dead during a clash early this morning,at Qalandia checkpoint, between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Another brutal murder.
With complete impunity.
Another martyr whose only crime was to be PALESTINIAN in OCCUPIED PALESTINE.
Haitham Al Khatib

Source : http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestine/palestinian-shot-dead-by-israeli-troops-1.1427524