News from the Arab World
NABULUS: In the early hours of Friday morning, a group of Israeli colonists launched an attack on a home in the town of Luban e-Sharkiya, located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
Local sources reported that the colonists targeted a house along the main street of the village, smashing its windows. No injuries were reported among the inhabitants of the house.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
JERUSALEM: Hundreds of worshipers today were blocked by Israeli occupation forces from reaching the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem to perform the second Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan.
Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces significantly increased their military presence around checkpoints in Qalandia, north of Jerusalem, Al-Zaytouna, east of Jerusalem, and Bethlehem to the south. The forces turned back hundreds of worshipers, citing a lack of necessary entry permits.
Simultaneously, the Israeli occupation forces deployed thousands of their police officers in the alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem and the entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, both of which have been under tight siege for nearly six months.
Checkpoints like Qalandia experienced relatively light traffic compared to previous years due to the restrictions imposed by the occupation authorities.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
RAMALLAH: A Palestinian young man was shot dead this morning by Israeli occupation forces near the village of Deir Ibzi’a, located west of Ramallah city in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian security sources.
The sources informed WAFA that the young man-who is not immediately identified-was killed following a chase conducted by Israeli occupation forces, involving both a helicopter and a drone. The incident took place in an area situated between the villages of Deir Ibzi’a and Kafr Ni’ma.
The young man was later identified as Mujahid Barakat Mansour, a resident of the village of Deir Ibzi’a, who is married and a father of two children. The occupation forces seized his body in the aftermath of the incident and raided his house in the village.
Israeli media outlets claimed that an armed confrontation occurred between Mansour and an Israeli military unit between the two villages, lasting for four consecutive hours. The confrontation reportedly resulted in the injury of seven Israeli soldiers and
colonists.
The Israeli reports indicated that the encounter ensued after the young man opened fire towards a bus carrying Israeli colonists in the area, further stating that the “perpetrator was later neutralized.”
A video clip circulating on social media showed an Israeli helicopter launching a missile in the mentioned area. The Israeli media reported confirmed the involvement of two helicopters and a drone in the confrontation.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Presidency has condemned the Israeli government’s decision to seize 8,000 dunams of Palestinian land as part of its efforts to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the official spokesperson for President Mahmoud Abbas, stated that ‘the timing of this decision, coinciding with the arrival of the US Secretary of State to the region, poses a challenge to the American administration and to the international community, which continuously condemns settlements.’
He added that ‘the decisions of this extremist government will not succeed in imposing facts on the ground,’ emphasizing that ‘all settlements are illegitimate. There will be no security or stability without the establishment of a Palestinian state free from settlements and settlers.’
Abu Rudeineh stressed that ‘the US administration must demonstrate its commitment to international legitimacy and international law, and compel the occupying state to cease its war of genocide against the Palestinian
people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem… Otherwise, the alternative will be more violence and more explosive outcomes.’
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
JERUSALEM: Thousands of Muslim worshipers performed today the Friday prayer of the second week of Ramadan in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, despite the strict and unprecedented measures imposed by the Israeli occupation on the holy city and its surroundings.
The Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem stated that nearly 120,000 worshipers were able to reach the holy site and perform the second Friday prayer of Ramadan in the courtyards of the mosque, considered the third holiest place for Muslims worldwide.
The preacher of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Khaled Abu Jum’a, affirmed during the Friday sermon at the holy site that the Palestinian people are steadfast in their land and will thwart all plans to displace them and break their will.
He emphasized that Al-Aqsa Mosque will remain a purely Islamic mosque with all its prayer areas and courtyards, and that our people’s presence in the mosque undermines the Israeli occupation’s schemes to Judaize it and the rest of the city of Jerusalem.
S
ince the early morning hours, the Israeli occupation forces imposed strict restrictions on Palestinians from the occupied West Bank entering Jerusalem to perform the Friday prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the second consecutive week.
The Israeli forces increased their presence at military checkpoints leading to Jerusalem, scrutinizing the identities of citizens and preventing hundreds of worshipers from reaching the holy city to perform prayers, citing lack of necessary permits.
The Israeli military checkpoint at Qalandia north of Jerusalem, as well as Checkpoint 300 south of the city, witnessed light traffic compared to previous years due to the restrictions imposed by the occupation authorities.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
RAMALLAH: Israeli colonists, protected by Israeli occupation forces, attacked today the Palestinian village of Burqa, located east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.
The sources reported that colonists assaulted villagers in Burqa during Friday prayers. Simultaneously, Israeli forces stormed the village, firing live ammunition and tear gas canisters at the homes of residents. No injuries were reported.
The sources added that Israeli forces sealed off the entrances to the village, preventing the movement of vehicles in and out.
In a separate incident, Israeli colonists attacked Palestinian vehicles on the Ramallah-Nablus Road near the village of Al-Luban esh-Sharkiya, pelting them with stones.
WAFA correspondent said dozens of colonists who gathered at the road pelted Palestinian vehicles with stones, causing damage to several vehicles but no injuries.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Anti-Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission declared today that the Israeli occupation government has ordered the seizure of 8,000 dunums of land in the Jordan Valley, east of the occupied West Bank.
Muayyad Shaban, the head of the commission, stated that with the approval of the land confiscation order by hard-right Israeli Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, the occupation government continues its plan to seize control of Palestinian lands under various pretexts, including declaring state lands for the benefit of colonial settlements.
Shaban explained that the year 2024 witnessed the largest land seizure operation by the Israeli occupation by declaring Palestinian lands as state lands, with a total of 10,640 dunums confiscated in two separate announcements so far this year. The first announcement was made a month ago, targeting the lands of Al-Eizariya and Abu Dis, east of occupied Jerusalem, seizing 2,640 dunams of land.
The second announcement, which was made today, targ
ets the lands of the Jordan Valley, totaling 8,000 dunams, for the expansion of the Israeli settlement of Yafit built on the lands of the Palestinian village of Fasayil in Jericho Governorate, in addition to another 500 dunams seized at the end of 2023 from the lands of the village of Jab’a in Jerusalem Governorate.
Shaban pointed out land seizure announcements aim to create a link between existing settlements, as was the case with the Ma’ale Adumim and Kidar settlements, and the Givat Benjamin and Adam settlements, leading to the isolation and suffocation of Palestinian villages, completely cutting off their geographic contiguity.
He said the latest plan comes in the context of imposing full control over the Jordan Valley, the strategic food reserve for Palestinians, which is targeted by many forced displacement and colonial expansion plans by the Israeli occupation.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
GAZA: Dozens of civilians, mostly children and women, were killed and injured over the last hours as the Israeli war of genocide on the Gaza Strip enters its 168th consecutive day, according to local and medical reports.
Local sources reported that 10 civilians were killed as a result of the Israeli occupation’s shelling of the Al-Qouqa family’s house northwest of Gaza City.
Additionally, three civilians were killed after being targeted by a missile from Israeli drones in the Al-Zana area east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Their bodies were transferred to the European Hospital in Gaza, bringing the number of martyrs taken to the hospital since yesterday to 20.
Early on Friday, eight civilians were killed and others were injured in an Israeli airstrike on the house of the Abu Thabet family in the Nasr neighborhood north of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.
WAFA correspondent reported that the Israeli army is continuing its missile attacks and artillery bombardment in the vicinity of Al-Shi
fa Medical Complex and the Al-Rimal neighborhood west of Gaza City, noting that columns of smoke were rising from the complex and nearby houses.
Meantime, medical sources from inside Al-Shifa Medical Complex announced the death of three patients due to the blockade and the Israeli occupation forces’ prevention of medicines from reaching the complex for the fifth consecutive day. Families of patients and the wounded have issued appeals to transfer them to other hospitals after being left without treatment or medical care.
Israeli occupation warplanes also targeted the house of the Abu Eisha family in Deir al-Balah city and launched airstrikes on the Nusairat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, as well as on areas in Jabalia and Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.
At least 32,000 Palestinians, predominantly children and women, have been reported killed and over 75,000 others injured since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli war of genocide on Gaza on October 7th of last year.
Source: Palestine news
& Information Agency – WAFA
GAZA: The Israeli occupation army shelled several buildings and set on fire today the vascular surgery department at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, according to medical sources.
In addition to the bombing and burning of the healthcare facilities, local health authorities in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation forces are detaining about 240 patients along with their caregivers, in addition to 10 healthcare workers at the Prince Nayef Center within the complex.
The Israeli occupation army has arrested dozens of healthcare workers from inside the Al-Shifa Medical Complex since the beginning of the Israeli military offensive in the complex five days ago.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
GAZA: Several Palestinian civilians were reported killed this evening as a result of being targeted by Israeli occupation forces in various areas of the Gaza Strip.
In Rafah, southern Gaza, at least one individual was killed when Israeli occupation forces bombarded a group of civilians west of the city.
Additionally, a Palestinian was killed in an Israeli bombardment which targeted a location near the Mediterranean beach north of the city of Rafah. His body was transported to Al-Kuwaiti Hospital in the city.
In the meantime, two Palestinians were killed and others were injured as a result of Israeli occupation forces targeting the house of the Ayad family in the Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City.
The occupation artillery also shelled the eastern areas of Khan Younis city, while warplanes renewed their airstrikes west of the Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
In central Gaza, at least one Palestinian was injured by Israeli sniper fire in the in the village of Mughragha.
At least 32,0
00 Palestinians, predominantly children and women, have been reported killed and over 75,000 others injured since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli war of genocide on Gaza on October 7th of last year.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
GAZA: Spain has agreed with the leaders of Ireland, Malta and Slovenia to take the first steps towards recognizing an independent state of Palestine, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said today following a meeting of the European Council in Brussels.
Sanchez told reporters that he expects the recognition to happen during the current four-year legislature that began last year, adding that an agreement was reached after meeting with his Irish, Maltese and Slovenian counterparts on Friday morning.
‘We are agreed that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region is through implementation of a two-state solution, with Israeli and Palestinian States living side-by-side, in peace and security,’ read a joint statement issued by Ireland after the meeting.
Arab states and the European Union agreed at a meeting in Spain in November that a two-state solution was the answer to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
BEIRUT: Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes this evening targeting several towns in southern Lebanon, according to local and media sources.
The warplanes conducted airstrikes targeting the towns of Ayta al-Shaab, Al-Khiyam, and Al-Taybeh. Additionally, Israeli artillery targeted the towns of Mari, Aitaroun, and Houla.
This came alongside intensive Israeli reconnaissance flights over villages near the cities of Tyre and Bint Jbeil, extending to the outskirts of the Litani River, and the dropping of flares above border villages.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA