Palestine

22 June 2023; MEMO: Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that Palestinians have the right to defend themselves against crimes committed by illegal settlers and the Israeli occupation army.

In a phone call with Turmus Ayya Mayor Lafi Deeb, Abbas offered his condolences following the murder of 25-year-old Palestinian Omar Qattin.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 21 (Reuters) - Israeli settlers rampaged through Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, torching buildings and cars in apparent retaliation for the killing by Hamas of four Israelis near a settlement the day before, residents and officials said.

One Palestinian was shot dead during the rampage, Palestinian health officials said.

In TurmusAyya, a prosperous town near Ramallah popular with wealthy Palestinians, footage showed cars ablaze with thick clouds of black smoke swirling above and Palestinian youths throwing stones.

BATTIR, West Bank (AP) — Generations of Palestinians have worked the terraced hillsides of this West Bank farming village southwest of Jerusalem, growing olives, fruits, beans and exquisite eggplants renowned across the region in a valley linked to the biblical King David.

20 June 2023; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque last night in occupied East Jerusalem and removed hundreds of Palestinian worshippers, including the Islamic Waqf guards.

Israeli soldiers then locked the gates leading to the mosque and prevented access to Palestinians arriving for night-long prayers to mark the first day of Dhu Al-Hijja, the final month in the Islamic calendar, reported Wafa news agency.

20 June 2023; MEMO: At least four Israeli settlers were killed and four others injured in a shooting attack in the Occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to the military, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a statement, the army said two gunmen opened fire at a gas station adjacent to the settlement of Eli, between the cities of Ramallah and Nablus.

One of the attackers was shot dead by an Israeli settler, while the other fled the scene.

The Israeli army launched a manhunt for the other attacker.

20June 2023; MEMO: The Palestinians who witnessed the Israeli army raid on Monday in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, which killed six Palestinians and injured 91 others, likened it to a "war", Anadolu Agency reports.

Mohammed Abu Hatab, 39, a resident of Jenin, told Anadolu on Tuesday that they woke up early in the morning to the sound of heavy gunfire, thinking "there was a war".

21 June 2023; MEMO: Large numbers of extremist Israeli Jewish settlers attacked several Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday evening and attacked Palestinians, setting their cars, homes and fields on fire.

RAMALLAH/GAZA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians strongly condemned the Israeli government's decision to expedite the process for building settlements in the West Bank.

During a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, the Israeli government authorized pro-settlement Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to assume main responsibility for settlement planning and construction in the West Bank, and shortened political approval process for settlement planning and construction that had been in place for 25 years.

20 June 2023; MEMO: The Israeli army yesterday announced that its Apache helicopter was hit by Palestinian resistance fighters while it attacked the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank; seven military vehicles also sustained damages, Anadolu news agency reported.

The army said the Apache helicopter was hit by Palestinian fire during the operation in Jenin, but it continued to operate.

19 June 2023; MEMO: An Israeli settler smashed the stained-glass windows of the room believed by Christians to have hosted the Last Supper in Jerusalem, known as the Cenacle.

The Israeli suspect, whose name has not been made public, threw the stones directly towards the building's windows on Thursday, smashing them. He was detained by a security guard and taken for questioning.