"Great March of Return" demonstrations in Gaza
A group of Palestinian activists in the Gaza Strip who have been flying incendiary kites and balloons into Israeli territory say they will continue their activities -- despite Israeli threats -- until the 11-year blockade of Gaza is lifted.
“Since morning, our units have been steering flaming kites and balloons over Israeli-occupied territory to show that we don’t take orders from anyone,” the Sons of al-Zawari -- a self-proclaimed “brigade” of Palestinian kite flyers -- said in a Wednesday statement.
“We will continue our peaceful resistance until our demands are met and the siege lifted,” the group added.
It went on to deny Israeli media reports that resistance movement Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, had vowed to curtail the group’s activities.
“These reports are completely false,” the group said. “The Palestinian factions will not stop us from waging peaceful resistance.”
The Sons of al-Zawari take their name from Mohamed al-Zawari, a Tunisian aviation engineer who was assassinated in 2016 by unknown gunmen.
Many observers blame Israel for the death of al-Zawari, who had had reportedly contributed heavily to Hamas’s drone-production program.
In reference to a raft of fresh Israeli restrictions on Gaza, the group said: “The more they tighten the siege, the more fires we’ll set [inside Israel].”
In recent weeks, Palestinian activists in Gaza have been flying flaming kites and balloons over Israeli territory as part of ongoing popular rallies along the Gaza-Israel security fence.
According to Israeli officials, the improvised aerial weapons have caused numerous fires inside Israel, causing considerable material damage -- in some cases -- but no deaths or injuries.
Since the rallies along the security fence first kicked off on Mar. 30, more than 130 Palestinian protesters have been killed -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.
Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes and villages in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.
They also demand an end to Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of basic commodities.
Hundreds of Israeli settlers on Wednesday forced their way into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to a Palestinian official. “Since morning, over 330 settlers have poured into the compound, accompanied by about 20 policemen,” Firas al-Dibis, an official with Jerusalem’s Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority, said in a statement. “Settlers forced their way in through the Al-Mugharbeh Gate and toured the compound before leaving through the Al-Silsila Gate,” he added. Video: Jewish settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque for HanukkahFor Muslims, the Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the “Temple Mount”, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times. Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Jewish state -- a move never recognized by the international community.29 Palestinians arrested in West Bank raids‘Khan al-Ahmar to remain Palestinian land’
Jewish settlers converge on Al-Aqsa complex: Official
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has opened fire on incumbent Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, describing him as a threat to the establishment of a Zionist state in Israel.In a lecture held in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Barak described the current Israeli government as “dark, nationalist government”, according to the Israeli Yediot Ahronot newspaper on Wednesday.“The single inevitable result of this purpose is Israel’s decay into a nation with a Muslim majority [with] constant internal violence and strife, and one that is not Jewish, Zionist, or democratic,” he said.Barak argued Netanyahu’s refusal of accepting the two-state solution would thwart the possibility of separating from the Palestinians.That government, he said, was busy “setting Israelis against each other and sowing the seeds of hatred of foreigners, weak populations, and minorities”.Israel prepared for ‘any scenario’ in Gaza: NetanyahuBarak, 75, had served as Israel’s prime minister from 1999 to 2001.In December, Barak, in a New York Times op-ed, said the Netanyahu government was endangering the entire Zionist project as it inches closer to an annexation of the West Bank, “precluding any permanent separation from the Palestinians.”U.S.-sponsored peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel collapsed in 2014 over the latter’s refusal to halt settlement building in the occupied territories.
Ex-Israel PM says Netanyahu endangering Zionist project
Israeli forces rounded up 29 Palestinians in overnight raids across the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a Palestinian NGO said Wednesday.Eleven people were arrested in Israeli raids on Palestinian homes in the cities of Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement."Eighteen more Palestinians were detained from the cities of Nablus, Jenin, Qalqiliya and Tulkarem," it added.The Israeli army has yet to issue a statement on the arrests.The Israeli army frequently conducts wide-ranging arrest campaigns in the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for "wanted" Palestinians.According to Palestinian figures, more than 6,400 Palestinians are currently being held in detention facilities throughout the self-proclaimed Jewish state.
29 Palestinians arrested in West Bank raids
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that Israel was prepared for “any scenario” in the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to an official statement. “We are in the midst of a battle that involves an exchange of blows and I can tell you that the [Israeli] army is ready for any scenario,” Netanyahu reportedly said during a military inspection with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Asked whether ongoing tension along the Gaza-Israel border fence might be resolved non-militarily, he added: “I believe we are taking the right steps.”Video: Israeli troops martyr Palestinian on Gaza border Meanwhile, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Egyptian officials had called on Hamas to stop Palestinian activists in Gaza from flying incendiary kites and balloons into Israeli territory. According to the newspaper, Hamas responded to the Egyptian request by saying it had “already conveyed to Cairo this week its inability to end the practice”. In recent weeks, activists in Gaza have been flying incendiary kites and balloons into Israel as part of ongoing demonstrations along the security fence. Since the rallies first kicked off on Mar. 30, more than 130 Palestinian demonstrators have been killed -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire. Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes and villages in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel. Gazan dies of wounds in JerusalemGaza truce doesn't apply to incendiary kites: Israel PMThey also demand an end to Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of basic commodities.
Israel prepared for ‘any scenario’ in Gaza: Netanyahu