Palestine

23 Dec 2021; MEMO: Israel has threatened to assassinate senior Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri if the movement's activities and operations against the occupation in the West Bank continue, local news sites reported on Tuesday.

According to Hebrew news site Maariv and other Israeli media, Hamas replied to the threat saying, "the killing of any of its leaders would ignite a new war that Israel will not be able to handle."

24 Dec 2021; MEMO: An Egyptian medical delegation has arrived in the occupied Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, the enclave's Ministry of Health announced yesterday.

In an official statement, the ministry said that the delegation included "ten medical and surgical specialists, such as cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, orthopaedics, spine and surgery, deformities and limb reconstruction."

24 Dec 2021; MEMO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday said that Christmas was a "Palestinian message of hope that our people continue to embrace with love and aspirations toward the achievement of justice, freedom and peace."

"The historic status quo of all holy sites, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, as well as the Ibrahimi Mosque and in the rest of Palestine, are at the core of our national struggle," he said in a statement, addressing the Palestinian people.

RAMALLAH, Dec 23 (NNN-WAFA) – A Palestinian young man was killed last night, by Israeli soldiers, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, medics and eyewitnesses said.

Mohammed Eassa Abbas, 26, from al-Ama’ri refugee camp near Ramallah, was shot in the back by Israeli soldiers, on the outskirts of the refugee camp, and died shortly after being brought to Ramallah Hospital, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, in a statement.

Eyewitnesses said, intensive gunfire was heard on the outskirts of the refugee camp, apparently as a result of clashes with Israeli soldiers.

RAMALLAH, Dec 22 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, yesterday called on Israel to implement the agreements it signed with Palestine and resume the Middle East peace process, which has been stalled for seven years.

Abbas made the remarks during a meeting with Acting Assistant Secretary of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Yael Lempert, in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

21 Dec 2021; MEMO: Christians in the occupied Palestinian territories face the "threat of extinction" from "radical" Israeli groups, church leaders have warned in a startling message in the run up to Christmas. They have called for help from the worldwide Christian community of 2.3 billion people.

21 Dec 2021; MEMO: Israeli occupation authorities yesterday handed a Palestinian family an evict order telling them to vacate their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem, Wafa reported and to seize a piece of land owned by the family.

Mahmoud Salhia was handed the order for the second time in four months, with the occupation authorities saying the seizure of his land was in the "public interest" to establish a school there.

22 Dec 2021; MEMO: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have taken over privately-owned Palestinian land in three different areas across the occupied West Bank, Anadolu reported on Tuesday.

"An Israeli army bulldozer protected by troops raided a farm near the settlement of Halamesh," explained a member of Deir Nizam municipality in Ramallah. "The soldiers erected a fence around more than an acre of land under the pretext of security," added Monjed Al-Tamimi.

22 Dec 2021; MEMO: Israeli authorities yesterday extended a travel ban imposed on the Al-Aqsa Mosque Imam, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri.

"The so-called Israeli interior minister has issued an order to ban Sabri from travelling outside the country for another four months, ending on 29 March 2022," the cleric's office said in a statement.

The statement pointed out that the extension was "the third in a row," noting that the first ban order was issued in March.

RAMALLAH, Dec 21 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestine yesterday condemned the Israeli army’s reported decision, to allow Israeli soldiers to directly open fire at Palestinian stone throwers in the West Bank, even after they had run away.

“The decision serves as a green light to commit more field executions against the Palestinians, according to the whims, moods, and assessments of the Israeli soldier,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said, in a press statement.