Day: August 16, 2024

The last Palestinian families in the Umm al-Jimal community in the northern Jordan Valley were forced to dismantle their homes and forcibly leave the community, under the pressure of settler attacks in the area, which are taking place under the protection and cover of the Israeli occupation forces. The official agency reported that 14 families left the Umm al-Jimal community, after the escalation of settler attacks on the area, their occupation of water springs, closing of pastures, storming of homes and violating their sanctity, entertaining children and women, seizing vehicles and agricultural tractors, stealing livestock, and establishing a pastoral settlement outpost near the homes within the community. The official in charge of the settlement file in Tubas and the northern Jordan Valley Governorate, Moataz Basharat, said that the last Palestinian families in the community left their homes and moved to another safer place, due to the escalation of settler violations against the residents, explaining th at the forced migration of families from the community began months ago. According to the semi-annual report of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the measures of the Israeli occupation and its settlers have led to the displacement of 5 Palestinian Bedouin communities consisting of 18 families with 118 individuals, since the beginning of this year, in addition to 24 Palestinian Bedouin communities consisting of 266 families including 1,517 individuals, who were displaced from their places of residence to other places after October 7, 2023. The five communities are: Matla Dhib-Jiftlik and Ein Sukhn in the Jericho and Jordan Valley Governorate, Al-Nasariyah in the Nablus Governorate, Al-Farisiyah in the Tubas and Northern Jordan Valley Governorate, and Wadi Ubayyat in the Bethlehem Governorate. Source: Maan News Agency

Two persons have been reported dead and six injured in four road accidents within the last 24 hours, the Traffic Management Center said on Friday. Source : National news agency - Lebanon

The Hebron Municipality held a meeting at the Child Happiness Complex on the municipality's general budget for the year 2024, with the participation of the Accountants Syndicate in the Hebron Governorate, and representatives of the local community and its institutions, in line with the municipal council's policy of strengthening the relationship with partners and the importance of informing the public of the municipality's financial status. This meeting comes within the framework of adopting management and good governance policies and enhancing governance principles, including disclosure, transparency and community participation policies. The Head of the Budget and Property Department at the Municipality, Mr. Khader Al-Sagheer, presented the municipality's general budget for the year 2024, which was approved by the Ministry of Local Government and published on the municipality's official website. It was presented in the form of a readable budget, or what is known as the (citizen's budget), which answers the important budget questions in a simplified manner: Where does the municipality's money come from? And where does the municipality's money go? The presentation included a classification of revenues into several items, the most important of which are revenues from operational and investment activities and external grants, which are distributed among revenues from water and sanitation activities, revenues from health, environment, public safety, organization, construction, cultural, social and recreational activities implemented by the municipality's social centers, in addition to revenues from various fees, fines, violations and rents generated from municipal properties. As for revenues from grants, they come from external financiers and are distributed under the supervision of the Municipal Development and Lending Fund. Revenues from investment were also presented, which include the annual profits distributed from Hebron Electricity and other projects. The most important expenditure items were presented in a simplified manner, which are distributed among public projects related to infrastructure, such as roads, water and sewage networks, and buildings, in addition to the expenses allocated to acquire fixed assets such as land, vehicles, machinery, equipment, and devices, and expenses related to health, waste, and engineering services, and expenses allocated to cultural, social, sports, and recreational facilities. The remaining allocations are distributed among the operating expenses of other facilities such as the vegetable market, the car inspection station, the slaughterhouse, the central vehicle station, the expenses of the administrative apparatus, the salaries of the various municipality staff, and other general expenses. The most prominent challenges and obstacles facing the municipality were also presented due to the difficult circumstances we are currently experiencing and the repercussions of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip on the situation in the West Bank, which affects daily income and liquidity r ates, which is reflected in the municipality's ability to spend on operational activities and infrastructure projects. Accordingly, it was explained to the attendees that the municipality has adopted an austere plan for the current year 2024, and many projects and expenses have been postponed to avoid financial hardship due to the expected decline in liquidity. At the end of the meeting, the attendees discussed many accounting issues and future projects. Source: Maan News Agency

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned on Friday of the danger of the escalation of crimes committed by terrorist settlers, with the support and protection of the Israeli occupation forces, against Palestinian citizens in the West Bank, as happened yesterday in the village of Jit, east of Qalqilya, where a young man was killed, others were injured, and homes and vehicles were burned. He added that these attacks and crimes by the terrorist settler militias are nothing but a result of the continued war of extermination waged by the Israeli occupation state against our people, their sanctities and their property, holding the occupation government fully responsible for these crimes. Abu Rudeineh added that the genocidal war committed by the occupation in the Gaza Strip, the continued crimes of killing and arrest in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the escalating attacks by settlers, and the attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites, require urgent intervention by the US administration to fo rce the occupation authorities to stop their crimes that have violated all the prohibitions of international law due to the blind US support politically, militarily and financially, stressing that the timid US position is not enough. The official spokesman for the presidency stressed the need for the international community to intervene to implement the decisions of international legitimacy and international courts, the latest of which was the decision of the International Court of Justice, which confirmed that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is illegal, and that Israel must end its occupation, dismantle its settlements and remove its settlers from the occupied Palestinian territories. He stressed that the positions condemning the settlers' attack on the village of Jit by the United Nations, the US administration and the European Union are good, but these positions must be transformed into actions through immediate action to force Israel to stop its comprehensive aggression against our people, their land and their holy sites, and to put an end to all crimes committed by the occupation forces and settlers and impose more sanctions on them to curb their escalating terrorism. Source: Maan News Agency

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported that settlers, under the protection of the occupation army, have set 273 fires on Palestinian lands and property since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip. The Commission said that these attacks come in the context of creating a wide-scale process of forced displacement and confining the Palestinian presence to isolated and besieged cantons. Source: Maan News Agency

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa sent a cable of congratulations to HE Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, on his country's Independence Day. Source: Bahrain News Agency

The Washington Post reported on Friday that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expanded Israel's footprint in the West Bank and increased settlement activity at a new pace. Earlier, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel had approved the construction of a new settlement in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Battir, near Bethlehem. In contrast, the United States condemned Israel's approval of the settlement, pointing out the damage it could cause to the prospects of a Palestinian state. The newspaper reported that the Israeli government approved strategic land confiscations, nearly 6,000 acres (2,428 hectares) this year alone, the construction of major settlements, the escalation of the demolition of Palestinian property and increased state support for illegally built outposts, all of which together constituted 'the most significant territorial changes in the West Bank in decades.' Source: Maan News Agency

A joint statement from the United States of America, Egypt, and Qatar, announced: "Over the last 48 hours in Doha, senior officials from our governments have engaged in intensive talks as mediators aiming to conclude the agreement for a ceasefire and release of hostages and detainees. These talks were serious and constructive and were conducted in a positive atmosphere. Earlier today in Doha, the United States with support from Egypt and Qatar, presented to both parties a bridging proposal that is consistent with the principles laid out by President Biden on May 31, 2024 and Security Council Resolution No. 2735. This proposal builds on areas of agreement over the past week, and bridges remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal. Working teams will continue technical work over the coming days on the details of implementation, including arrangements to implement the agreement's extensive humanitarian provisions, as well as specifics relating to hostages and detainees. Seni or officials from our governments will reconvene in Cairo before the end of next week with the aim to conclude the deal under the terms put forward today. As the leaders of the three countries stated last week, 'There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages and detainees, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement.' The path is now set for that outcome, saving lives, bringing relief to the people of Gaza, and de-escalating regional tensions." Source : National news agency - Lebanon