http://www.youtube.com/v/xeaBWXqIdmI?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Excerpt from: Prophet Muhammad’s Night of Ascension
Israel prepares to build 1,000 new homes in occupied East Jerusalem
Construction contracts for 300 homes in the northeastern settlement of Ramot were signed, and another 797 land plots in the much larger settlement of Gilo in Jerusalem were listed for sale. Danny Seidemann, a director of the Jerusalem settlement watchdog group Terrestrial Jerusalem, told AFP that the building was quietly ordered last year by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The housing project is certain to draw the ire of the international community, which cites international law nullifying Israel’s domain over the region, which the country annexed after the 1967 Six-Day war. Netanyahu has reportedly pushed the project under the carpet temporarily so as not to impact US Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to bridge peace talks between Israel and Palestine. The news of the land purchases is said to have been leaked by Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel in an effort to pressure the prime minister. “This does not mean that the show is over, it does mean that Netanyahu’s minister of construction is trying to achieve that,” Seidermann told the AFP. “There is a de facto freeze at the moment, there have been no new units since the elections. This is an attempt to force Netanyahu’s hand.” The leak coincides with news that Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes in Beit Hanina, in East Jerusalem. The destruction was closed off to media and pedestrians but Badran al-Salameh, who owns the homes, told the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency he was not given prior notice of the demolition. “My son’s wife and his two kids were the only ones inside the house,” he said. “I tried to reach my home when I heard from neighbors but Israeli officers banned me. I wanted to take out my wife’s gold and money from one of the drawers.” The incident in question came as a result of the Salameh family reportedly lacking Israeli building permits, a justification Tel Aviv has used to forecefully displace over 1,630 non-Jewish families since 1967. Palestinian leaders have demanded a halt to Israeli settlement construction before the continuation of so-called peace talks, which have remained stagnant for nearly three years. Despite Kerry’s four trips to the region since being made Secretary of State, those close to the situation say the instability is unlikely to be resolved. “Kerry is still unable to put pressure on the Israeli government to meet its obligations under the terms of the peace process,” Palestinian negotiator Nabil Sha’ath told the Jerusalem Post Wednesday. “This is not because Kerry does not want but because he is unable to exert pressure on Israel. Israel is responsible for obstructing the peace process.” … Read More
Rocket fired at Israel from south Lebanon
It was not clear where the rocket landed and there were no immediate reports of damage and casualties, Reuters reports.The rocket launch could be heard from an area about 10 kilometers from the Israeli border, Lebanese residents and security sources said.The attack has prompted the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to intensify patrols in the region, Jerusalem post reports. The IDF has started a search of the area for a potential rocket impact site. … Read More
Clashes as thousands of Palestinians mark 65 years since displacement
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly had to use teargas and rubber bullets in response to Palestinian protesters throwing rocks at soldiers.In Jerusalem, two policemen were wounded as a result of clashes, reports Haaretz. A fire bomb was thrown at an IDF vehicle injuring four soldiers near the city of Hebron in southern West Bank.According to Palestinian WAFA news agency, several “peacefully demonstrating” Palestinians were injured during confrontations with IDF at Kalandia checkpoint, between Jerusalem and Ramallah. Violence broke out after Israeli soldiers fired teargas and acoustic bombs at protesters, the agency states.The IDF spokeswoman, however, said it was Palestinians who sparked the clashes, throwing stones at soldiers, while Israeli forces had to respond with crowd dispersal techniques, reports the Jerusalem Post. Clashes were also reported in other locations in the region, including Kadum and at Rachel’s tomb in Bethlehem.On May 15, thousands of Palestinians throughout Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip took part in events to mark 65th anniversary of the Nakba Day – the day after the creation of the State of Israel, which resulted in the mass displacement of Palestinians. At noon, sirens wailed in the West Bank for 65 seconds to commemorate the event. … Read More
Thousands flood Israeli streets in anti-austerity protest
Rallies on Saturday took place in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Modiin, Rishon Lezion and Ashdod with more than 12,000 people protesting across Israel.In Tel Aviv alone, 10,000 outraged people were carrying signs “Where’s the money? With the tycoons, dummy” and “Look us in the eyes tomorrow,” Ynetnews reports.Some 200 people were demanding social justice in Jerusalem while several hundred blocked an intersection in Haifa.Protesters were calling Israel’s February election the biggest lie in the country’s history, demanding that the elected parties fulfill their promises.“The Yesh Atid and Habayit Hayehudi parties would not have gotten all their votes had it not been for the social protest,” Daphni Leef, one of the leaders of the protest told Ynetnews. “It is our responsibility to go out there and do whatever we can to make them stop digging deep into our pockets and start to impose real corporate tax.”One of the leaders of the 2011 social protest, MK Itzik Shmuli, was marching with the crowd claiming that Finance Minister Yair Lapid’s plan will severely hurt the working man and will trample the weak sectors of the economy.”To block it, we will wage a persistent battle on the streets and in the halls of the Knesset,” Shmuli told Haaretz. “Israelis don’t expect their finance minister to be a socialist, but they don’t expect him to be a populist, either. [They expect him] only to fulfill the promises he has been making up until last week.”The austerity plan, which the Israeli cabinet is expected to discuss on Monday, includes a $1.8 billion cut in government’s 2013 budget and a further $5 billion cut during 2014.The Finance Ministry is also pushing forward an increase of income and value added taxes by 1.5 and 1 per cent respectively. … Read More
Women harrassed as they pray at Western Wall in Jerusalem
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The Western Wall in Jerusalem has a new historical footnote, as Jewish feminists prayed legally for the first time at one of Judaism’s holiest sites.
Under police protection the Women of the Wall wore traditional shawls to pray at the female section. It follows a court ruling which overturned a ban on women performing religious rituals which Orthodox Jews say are reserved for men.
After 20 years of fighting for women’s right to pray at the wall, the issue continues to divide opinion in Israel.
Knesset Member on the committee dealing with holy places, Miri Regev was following the event closely.
“For me, as a woman, a traditional woman, it is hard to see women wrapped up in prayer shawls. On the other hand, I also understand that all citizens of the State of Israel want to pray at the places that are sacred to them.”
Calling the police ‘nazis’, spitting and throwing objects at the women, according to reports, hundreds of Orthodox Jewish protesters showed their anger over the ruling.
Three orthodox men have been arrested for disturbing the peace and two policemen were injured in the scuffles at the holy site.
More about: Human Rights, Israel, Jerusalem, Women’s rights
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