Palestine

27 April 2022; MEMO: Head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem Archbishop Atallah Hanna said yesterday that Israeli aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque is aggression on Church of Holy Sepulchre.

The archbishop's remarks came during a popular action organised in the holy city in support for Al-Aqsa Mosque and Muslim worshippers who have been subjected to Israeli aggression throughout the month of fasting, Ramadan.

27 April 2022; MEMO: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has ordered the security services to take action in the occupied West Bank cities of Jenin and Hebron against anti-occupation armed resistance activities, Khleej.net reported on Tuesday. The security sweep, said PA Interior Minister Ziyad Hab Al-Reeh, will concentrate on the two cities.

27 April 2022; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces have turned Jerusalem into a military base to choke Al-Aqsa Mosque, Grand Imam, Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, said yesterday.

"Israeli measures in Jerusalem and against Al-Aqsa Mosque reiterate the Zionist plans to dominate the holy city," Sheikh Sabri said.

27 April 2022; MEMO: The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the 22-centimeter (6.7-inch) tall limestone head was found while the farmer was working his land in Khan Yunis, and is believed to be dated to around 2,500 BC.

"The statue represents the Canaanite goddess, Anat," Jamal Abu Reda, in charge of antiquities at the ministry, said in a statement.

Anat, one of the best-known Canaanite deities, was the goddess of love and war.

26 April 2022; MEMO: Israeli forces yesterday razed land belonging to Palestinian residents in Bethlehem's southern village of Al-Jab'a.

The director of the Bethlehem office of the Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission, Hassan Breijeh, told Safa that the Israeli occupation forces razed "about 10 dunums [2.5 acres] of Palestinian land and other areas in the Marah Tohme area."

25 April 2022; MEMO: The Israeli Magistrate's Court in Jerusalem today decided today to continue to freeze the eviction of the Palestinian Salem family from their home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem.

According to Wafa news agency, the court decided to continue the freeze order after accepting an appeal by the family against the intended eviction by Israeli settler groups.

25 April 2022; MEMO: The Palestinian Union in Latin America condemned on Sunday Israeli restrictions on Christians' access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied Jerusalem, Quds Press has reported. The union denounced the obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities to hinder Christian celebrations during the Orthodox Easter period.

24 April 2022; MEMO: Israel will close the Erez (Beit Hanoun) crossing to Palestinian workers in the Gaza Strip as of Sunday, according to the military, Anadolu Agency reported.

A military statement said the closure will remain in place until further notice in the wake of rocket fire from the Palestinian territory.

24 April 2022; MEMO: With processions, chants and ululations, thousands of Christian Palestinians and pilgrims celebrated the Holy Fire ceremony at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday, the first to be held since Israel imposed new restrictions on attendance.

Citing public safety, Israeli authorities sought to limit participation to 1,700 worshippers, a move criticised by church leaders as an infringement of the right to freedom of worship. It was subsequently increased to 4,000.

23 April 2022; MEMO: Israeli settlers, yesterday, attacked a number of Palestinian shepherds in Bethlehem's eastern occupied village of Kisan.

Ahmed Ghazal, a member of the village's local council, told Safa that a group of settlers had "assaulted Palestinian shepherds near the Ebi Hanahel settlement, built on the village lands."