File photo
The Israeli army on Monday rounded up eight Palestinians in overnight raids carried out across the occupied West Bank, according to an Israeli army statement.
The nine were detained for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the army asserted without elaborating on the nature of the activities.
They have since been remanded into custody for further investigation, according to the same statement.
Israeli police rounded up seven Palestinians, including a girl, in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, according to a local NGO.Police forces raided a number of houses in the town of Isawiya and arrested a number of people there, Amjad Abu Asab, head of a local committee tasked with following up affairs of Palestinian detainees, said.No details were available about the identity of the detainees.According to local residents, a 15-year-old girl was arrested by Israeli forces shortly after leaving East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque.A Palestinian youth was also detained during an Israeli raid in the Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem, according to Mohamed al-Sadeq, the director of the Jerusalem Media Center.There was no comment from the Israeli police on the report.According to Palestinian figures, some 6,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including scores of women, roughly 350 minors, and at least six members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.Israel’s Lieberman dismisses talk of truce with HamasIsraeli army concludes war-games along 'northern front'Israeli gov’t asked to ‘justify’ Aqsa Jewish prayer banTurkey condemns Israel’s approval of new settlementsUK condemns Israeli plans for new West Bank units
Israeli police arrest seven Palestinians in Jerusalem
The Israeli army frequently conducts sweeping arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.
According to Palestinian figures, some 6,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including scores of women, roughly 350 minors, and at least six members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
The Palestinian National Council on Saturday condemned a decision by the U.S. administration to cut more than $200 million in aid to the Palestinians.Council speaker Salim Zanoun said the U.S. decision was part of “the policy of blackmail and pressure” being practiced on the Palestinian people to accept the so-called “deal of the century” – a backchannel plan to reach peace settlement between Israel and Palestinians.“The U.S. administration proves every day that it is an accomplice in all policies and crimes committed by the Israeli occupation,” he said in a statement issued in the Jordanian capital, Amman.The National Council is the legislative organ of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).A senior State Department official said Friday that the U.S. cut more than $200 million in aid to Palestine following a review initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump.In a statement, the official said the funds originally intended for the West Bank and Gaza Strip will instead be used for "high-priority projects elsewhere.""At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with U.S. national interests and provide value to the U.S. taxpayer," he said."As a result of that review, at the direction of the President, we will redirect more than $200 million in FY2017 Economic Support Funds originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza," the official added, referring to the 2017 fiscal year.In January, the Trump administration had made drastic cuts to its contribution to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.Trump has sparked a global anger over his decision to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital last December. The move undercut long-standing underpinnings of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks where the city's status was to be determined as a final-status issue.The Palestinians have snubbed calls from the Trump administration to return to the negotiating table, arguing Washington gave up its status as a neutral mediator by making the declaration.Trump and his team are preparing a rollout of their long-mulled peace plan to end the decades-long conflict.
PLO legislature decries US aid cut to Palestinians
Israeli soldiers injured 50 Palestinians with live bullets on the 22nd Friday of anti-occupation rallies that have been ongoing since March 30.In a statement, Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinians were injured at the eastern Gaza border.It did not disclose information about the condition of the injured. It added that 139 Palestinians were also affected by tear gas.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 2 million inhabitants of basic commodities.Since the Gaza rallies began on Mar. 30, more than 170 Palestinian protesters have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army troops deployed along the other side of the buffer zone.
50 Palestinians injured by live bullets in Gaza