Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat
The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) on Tuesday slammed an Israeli decision to disburse part of the tax revenue collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to the cash-strapped Gaza Strip.
“This decision comes within the framework of the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’, which is based on [Israel’s] racist Nation-State Law, and on the scheme to separate Gaza from the West Bank and Jerusalem,” Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the PLO’s Executive Committee, told Palestine Radio.
The “Deal of the Century” refers to a backchannel U.S. Mideast peace plan, details of which have yet to be made public.
The Israel Prison Service (IPS) had continued to tighten its grip on Palestinian female prisoners because of their refusal to accept the installation of CCTV cameras in the courtyards of the detention facilities in which they are being held. Female captives view the cameras as a violation of their privacy. Thirty-four Palestinian female prisoners, including two minors at Israel’s HaSharon Prison, refused to leave their cells for the 60th day in a row Sunday to protest the draconian measures. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Qadri Abu Bakr, head of the Palestinian Authority's Prisoners Commission, said the IPS had also banned female Palestinian inmates from receiving family visits. “The Israeli authorities also cut their access to hot water to punish them for protesting the cameras,” he said.Abu Bakr described such measures as “illegal”, accusing the Israeli prison authorities of practicing a policy of collective punishment against female Palestinian inmates. “For the last two months, those detained under Israel’s policy of ‘administrative detention’ have continued to boycott Israeli courts to protest their ongoing detention,” Abu Bakr said. “And they plan to escalate their protests further if the Israeli authorities fail to end their administrative detention policy,” he added. According to the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a Palestinian NGO, the Israeli authorities are currently holding 50 women, including eight suffering injuries and two minors. Female prisoners are being held mainly at two detention facilities inside Israel: Hasharon and Damun. According to the rights NGO, Israel has detained a total of 516 women since 2015, 90 of whom were arrested this year alone. Since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Israel has arrested a staggering 10,000 Palestinian women, according to Palestinian figures. "I can only imagine what the 34 female prisoners are going through now after two months of refusing to go out to the courtyards," Najwan Ouda, a former Palestinian prisoner, told Anadolu Agency.Israel’s new favorite: OmanIsrael arrests 19 Palestinians in West Bank raidsSmall cellsOuda, 36, was arrested in 2016 and spent 18 months at Hasharon Prison on charges of working for a “banned organization”. “The five-hour break in the courtyards is the only time when prisoners can exercise, meet and talk. It is also the place where the library is located, so they can also read and study,” Oudeh said. “Most important, it is the only place where they can get any sunlight,” she added. “Many prisoners haven’t seen the sun for a long time, which negatively affects their physical and psychological health," she explained. About two months ago, the IPS revoked an earlier agreement made with female Palestinian prisoners not to install cameras in the courtyards. Most of the female inmates wear the hijab, which they cannot remove because of the cameras. Nor can they wear sports clothing, meaning that they get even less exposure to the sun. Eman Nafe, who spent almost ten years incarcerated by Israel, told Anadolu Agency that prisoners were locked in their cells from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. “Hasharon is a very old prison. It has small, moldy cells with one small window each for ventilation,” Nafe said. “Each cell accommodates up to six prisoners and has a single shared bathroom,” she said. “It’s like a tomb.”“The only time we could move around or speak to one another was in the courtyards,” she added.Calm in West Bank 'deceiving': Israel's Shin Bet chiefIsraeli police shoot Palestinian girl in JerusalemStrip search According to Nafe, female Palestinian prisoners face substandard conditions in Israeli detention facilities. “Women are subjected to various forms of physical and psychological torture inside prisons,” she said. “The worst form of which are the strip searches to which prisoners are repeatedly subjected.” “Each time a prisoner goes to a court hearing she is subjected to a strip search; this is very humiliating,” she added.“Sometimes we’re transferred [from one place to another] with Israeli criminals,” Nafe asserted. “We’re locked in a small cage inside the vehicle, with our arms and legs bound.” "Female inmates are frequently subjected to sexual harassment or verbal abuse by soldiers or criminals,” she said. “They do everything to break your spirit,” Nafe added defiantly. “But they never succeed in doing so.”
Female Palestinian inmates face abuse in Israel prisons
“Israel and the U.S. administration are expediting the separation [of the Gaza Strip from the West Bank] by all means possible,” Erekat said.
The recent Israeli decision, he added, “shows their determination to uncouple the two territories with a view to destroying the Palestinian national project”.
Earlier this week, Erekat announced that Israel had threatened to cut funds from taxes collected on behalf of the PA and disburse them to blockaded Gaza.
Under the terms of the 1993 Oslo Accords, Israel -- on behalf of the PA -- collects roughly $175 million in monthly taxes on Palestinian imports and exports.
As it currently stands, tax revenue represents the main source of the cash-strapped PA's income.
A Palestinian girl was shot in an alleged stabbing attempt in the occupied city of East Jerusalem on Tuesday, according to Israeli police.Police said a girl carrying a knife had attempted to stab civilians and soldiers near a police station in Jerusalem.“Police border police responded to attempted stabbing attack next to petrol station near Mishor Adumim settlement,” police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement.“The attacker was shot and neutralized,” he said.No injuries were reported among Israelis.There was no comment from Palestinian authorities on the incident.On Monday, Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian man in an alleged stabbing attempt in the West Bank city of Hebron.Israel’s new favorite: OmanIsrael arrests 19 Palestinians in West Bank raidsIsraeli army wounds iconic Palestinian protester
Israeli police shoot Palestinian girl in Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Oman, which Tel Aviv does not have diplomatic relations with, reignited the debate about the future of ties between Gulf states and Israel, and thereby the impact this would have on the Palestinian issue. Previously, Yıtzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, also former leaders of Israel, visited Oman in 1994 and 1996, but Netanyahu's visit in late October drew far more attention.Reshaping the Middle EastThroughout history, the Middle East has never before been through such a tumultuous period. The current Middle East is essentially trying to be reshaped today. That is why the relationship developed between actors is now more important than ever. That is why, during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first trip to the Middle East after his election, he stated that it was time for new alliances. The countries and actors that formed a rapport and those that drifted apart must therefore be evaluated carefully.Iran and Palestine are principal mattersThere are two matters that have dominated the international agenda of the Middle East for the past two years. These issues have been held under the spotlight more than the civil war that has ravaged Syria for more than seven years. The first is whether Iran is a threat, and the second is how the lack of a solution in the Palestine-Israel conflict will shape the future. These matters are so deep that even Jamal Khashoggi, who was slain in Istanbul, is not free from these discussions. Because just before his murder, Khashoggi stated that viewing Iran as the main source of the conflicts in the Middle East caused a serious problem and that the pains experienced today were caused by this. According to Khashoggi, the basis of many of the arguments in the Middle East were based on the Israel-Palestine matter.Israel arrests 19 Palestinians in West Bank raidsIs Oman a mediator?There is a rapprochement between Arab countries and Israel that is growing each day in the reshaping Middle East. Saudi Arabia opened its airspace to Israeli airplanes, Arab leaders held secret meetings with Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and finally the Sultan of Oman hosted Netanyahu despite lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Another issue that needs to be noted is that Netanyahu’s visit came just days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas paid a three-day visit to Oman. This situation indicates that Oman is taking on the mediator role. However, this situation should not be explained through mediation alone. It is necessary to recognize that this rapprochement means that the statements which Israel has made over the years regarding improving ties with Arab countries have now been actualized, more than ever before. Israel is legitimizing these moves made based on the common enemy, Iran. In a period where especially the U.S. has demonized Iran, Israel seeks to expand the rift between Muslims by expending chaos in the region.Israel benefitsMuslim communities of the Middle East are entrenched in serious chaos and conflict. Many Muslim countries like Libya, Yemen and Syria are ravaged by war. Despite conducting elections nearly a year ago, Iraq and Lebanon have not been able to form a strong government. Many Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Egypt, have drawn themselves into a number of problems by becoming directly or indirectly involved in the civil wars of their neighbors. In addition to all this chaos, countries have engaged in an arms race by establishing coalitions against each other. When a common enemy is formed, Israel enters these alliances and makes serious gains. While Middle Eastern countries are polarizing among each other in order to overcome the chaos they live in, Israel emerges victorious.Israeli army wounds iconic Palestinian protesterArab nations silencedIsrael opted to maximize its own interests in the region after the Trump administration stepped in. Netanyahu’s Oman visit must be evaluated in this light. With the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement signed in the Obama period, Iran once again became the enemy and began to be perceived as a threat by Middle Eastern states. The fact that Iran is seen as a threat does not only distance the Palestinian issue from the global agenda but also strengthens the position of Israel in this conflict. Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and opening the rights and earnings of refugees to debate can be counted as great victories for Israel during its conflict with Palestine. To pull the U.S. to its side and spread fear among Arab countries by declaring Iran as the common enemy are perhaps the clearest gains of Israel in terms of silencing criticism of its own invasion policies. However, Israel is not just content with these gains, but is also making investments for the future. Oman is one of these investments.Israel is trying to influence OmanOman’s distance from many clashes, especially in the Middle East, makes it a frontrunner for the role of mediator. Oman played a key role in the nuclear treaty with Iran and made a significant contribution to the deal. From this perspective, Oman is expected to become a mediator as the U.S. has lost this role. Israel is trying to direct Oman, which is likely to assume the role of mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, by keeping a grip on it.Iran accuses Israel of failed cyber attackSowing the seeds of harmony or chaos?Netanyahu’s visit was widely covered by Gulf media outlets, and it was evaluated as being significant in terms of Middle Eastern peace. On the contrary, Iranian media, which has good ties with Oman, portrayed the trip as a new seed of chaos. Iranian media stated that this visit would spark conflict and corruption among Muslim countries, and underlined that the Palestinian issue would be overshadowed by these visits and relations. Rather than evaluating this visit as part of an alliance against Iran or as part of such an effort, the Iranian press interpreted it more in the light of the Palestinian issue.Diplomatic success for IsraelIsraeli press evaluated the visit as a strategic move. During the same week, three visits made to Gulf countries at ministerial and prime ministerial levels were highlighted as a diplomatic success. In particular, the symbolic meaning of the recitation of the Israeli national anthem during sporting activities in the United Arab Emirates was noted. Netanyahu's visit to an Iranian friend - Oman - was dubbed as another step in the isolation of Iran and also labeled as important for the continuation of peace and stability in the Middle East.Israel razes Bedouin structures in West Bank
Israel’s new favorite: Oman