2020-03-31: News Headlines

Miko Peled (2020-03-31). Remembering Theresa Halsa: Revered Veteran of the Palestinian Resistance. mintpressnews.com Amman, Jordan — "I didn't join the Palestinian resistance because I experienced suffering, I joined out of a sense of patriotism," Theresa Halsa, a revered veteran of the Palestinian resistance said this in an In 1972, Halsa was one of four Palestinians who hijacked a Belgian Sabena airliner en route to Tel-Aviv. The objective was to keep the passengers hostage until the Israeli government agreed to release Palest…

teleSUR (2020-03-31). UN Regrets Lack of Progress in Middle East Peace. telesurenglish.net UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Monday said he regretted the lack of progress on the ground, expressing concern over Israeli settlements and its plans to annex Palestinian land. | RELATED: | The expansion of Israeli settlements continues to pose a significant obstacle to achieving a viable two-state solution, Mladenov told the Security Council via video teleconference…

Jonathan Cook (2020-03-31). As Israel's Netanyahu uses Coronavirus to Consolidate Power, his Chief Rival Caves In. dissidentvoice.org Benny Gantz, the former Israeli general turned party leader, agreed late last week to join his rival Benjamin Netanyahu in an "emergency government" to deal with the coronavirus epidemic. Two weeks ago he had won a wafer-thin majority vote in the parliament that gave him first shot at trying to put together a coalition government. …

Susan Price (2020-03-31). Palestinians face two enemies: Occupation and pandemic. greenleft.org.au The number…

RT (2020-03-30). WATCH: Jerusalem's Church of Holy Sepulchre closes for first time since BLACK DEATH. rt.com Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre has closed its doors to the public for the first time since the Black Death ravaged the city in 1349, as authorities try and get to grips with the modern coronavirus plague. | The custodians of one of the holiest buildings in Christianity were forced to lock the highly carved wooden doors after the Israeli government shut down places of worship in a bid to contain the spread of the Covid-19 illness. | The restrictions ban residents from leaving their homes, except to buy food and medicine, to seek medical treatment or for essential work. The clergy at the extraordinary…

Staff (2020-03-30). Palestinians Cancel Land Day March Over Coronavirus Concerns. imemc.org March 30th marks Palestinian Land Day, commemorating the day on March 30, 1976, when Palestinians inside Israel protested against the Israeli government announcement of the seizure of 21,000 dunams (5,189 acres) of Palestinian land. The Israeli police violently suppressed the demonstrations, killing 6 young Palestinians, and injuring and arresting many …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-30). Israeli Authorities to Uproot Ancient Palestinian Trees in Northern Nablus. imemc.org Israeli authorities in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, reportedly warned Palestinian residents in the area, that Israeli forces would soon uproot dozens of trees in the tourist zone of Almasoudiya. Palestinian Chief of Israeli colonial settlements file in northern West Bank, Ghassan Daghlas, told local media outlets that …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-30). Palestinian Prisoners Concerned, as Coronavirus Hits Israeli Prisons. imemc.org The Ramallah-based Palestinian Committee for Prisoners and Ex-prisoners, said on Monday, that Israeli authorities have reported three Coronavirus-positive cases among Israeli wardens in both the Ofer and Nitsan jails, where there are hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The committee added that the discovery of such positive cases signals a crisis for …

Ali Salam (2020-03-30). Israel's Shin Bet Slaps PLC Member with Administrative Detention. imemc.org The Shin Bet, Israel's intelligence agency, on Sunday, decided to renew the detention of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member and Hamas leader, Hasan Yousuf, for four months, under administrative detention. Sheikh Hasan Yousuf, 65, was scheduled for release on March 31, 2020, and just two days before his release, …

PCHR (2020-03-30). PCHR Calls upon International Community to Assist Healthcare System in Gaza Strip to Fight Coronavirus. imemc.org The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is closely monitoring the health conditions in the Gaza Strip, and the healthcare system's preparedness to combat the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and its possible outbreak. PCHR confirms that the healthcare system will not be able to deal with patients infected with the coronavirus …

yenisafak (2020-03-30). Netanyahu to go into quarantine after aide tests positive. yenisafak.com Netanyahu decided to enter self-quarantine until he receive the test result, according to his office.Netanyahu's parliamentary adviser Rivka Paluch tested positive for the novel coronavirus.Israeli PM will undergo a coronavirus test for a second time after Paluch tested positive, local media said.Paluch reportedly spent the last few days "in the vicinity" of Netanyahu, Knesset members and other advisers, the Jerusalem Post reported.Netanyahu had tested negative for coronavirus after he and his immediate circle underwent tests for the virus on March 15.Israeli health authorities have so far confirmed 16 deaths and…

sputniknews (2020-03-30). IDF, US Military Hold Joint Drills Using F-35 Jets in Southern Israel Amid COVID-19 Outbreak – Photo. sputniknews.com Earlier in March, the two countries called off the cheduled joint exercise Juniper Cobra over concerns that it might facilitate the spread of the virus among the military.

Fréa Lockley (2020-03-30). Amid a global pandemic, Palestine has been wiped from the map. Again. thecanary.co Amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Palestine has been removed from the map. The global tracker for cases from Johns Hopkins University no longer lists Palestine. This couldn't come at a more poignant time. Because 30 March is Land Day in Palestine. This has been an important date since Where is Palestin…

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-03-29). Analysis: Palestine Is Occupied, Segregated, And About To Face COVID-19. imemc.org Israel's military control of Gaza and the West Bank has only grown more brutal during the pandemic. Workers are held in quarantine, prisoners have been infected, and Israel is withholding money that could be used to help contain the outbreak. By Taya Graham for The Real News Network Israeli Journalist …

Ali Salam (2020-03-29). Dr. Ashrawi Sends Message of Solidarity from Palestine. imemc.org Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, on Saturday, sent a message of solidarity to the rest of the world, in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. | Dr.

PCHR (2020-03-29). PCHR Condemns Israeli Authorities Discriminatory Treatment of Palestinian Workers Suspected with Coronavirus. imemc.org The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli occupation authorities' discriminatory and unethical treatment towards Palestinian workers in Israel, by dumping workers suspected with coronavirus symptoms in the West Bank at checkpoints and seam points within the Annexation Wall that separates Israel and the West Bank without providing …

teleSUR (2020-03-29). Palestinian Shoemaker Starts West Bank's Mask Factory Overnight. telesurenglish.net As soon as Amjad Zaghir got word of the COVID-19 outbreak in Bethlehem, the 30-year-old Palestinian shoemaker from Hebron decided to transform his shoe factory into the only manufacturer of face masks in the occupied West Bank, as +972 Magazine reported Monday. | RELATED: | "I approached my friend, a pharmacist, and asked him what materials are used to make masks," recalled Zaghir. "He explained that what we use in…

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-29). Israeli Police in Occupied East Jerusalem Invade a Number of Palestinian Neighborhoods, Abduct One. imemc.org Israeli police forces, at dawn Sunday, invaded the occupied city of East Jerusalem, storming a number of Palestinian neighborhoods, according to local sources. Palestinian sources and witnesses said that Israeli police forces invaded through out Saturday night and early on Sunday, al-'Isawiya village and stormed a number of neighborhoods. Sources …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-29). League of Arab States Reiterates Support to the Palestinian People. imemc.org The Cairo-based League of Arab States, comprising of 22 Arab countries, reiterated on Sunday its support to the Palestinian people's struggle against the Israeli occupation and called for unveiling all Israeli practices that undermine the existence of Palestinians on their own homeland. The league's reiteration came in a statement, issued …

Ali Salam (2020-03-29). Israeli Navy Shoots, Injures Palestinian Fisherman off Gaza Coast. imemc.org One Palestinian fisherman was wounded by Israeli forces on Sunday, while fishing off the coast of the northern besieged Gaza Strip, according to local sources. Sources told Quds News Network (QNN) that the fisherman was in his boat fishing, when Israeli soldiers opened fire at him, wounding him with a …

Ali Salam (2020-03-28). Isareli Settlers Attack Palestinians, Injure One near Hebron. imemc.org Israeli settlers attacked, on Friday, Palestinian herders and other civilians in the village of Al-Tuwani, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, according to a local activist. Fo'ad Amour, a local rights activist, told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that illegal colonial settlers, accompanied by attack dogs, assaulted herders …

news.un (2020-03-28). COVID-19: UN envoy hails strong Israel-Palestine cooperation. news.un.org Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, has praised the coordination between the Israeli and Palestine authorities in reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-28). Palestinian Political Parties Call for Digitally Marking Land Day. imemc.org The Higher Committee for Follow-up, consisting of majority of Palestinian political factions in the occupied West Bank, decided Saturday that due to current widely-spread Coronavirus in Palestine and other world countries, there will be no marches for marking the Palestinian Land Day of March 30, 2020. Instead, the committee urged …

Ali Salam (2020-03-28). 300 Palestinian-owned Olive Trees Cut by Illegal Settlers near Bethlehem. imemc.org Israeli settlers, on Saturday, cut down 300 olive trees on Palestinian owned land in the southern occupied West Bank, according to a local official. Hasan Breijieh, a member of the Anti-Wall, Anti-Settlements Commission, told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that the illegal colonial settlers cut the trees in an area close …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-28). Israeli Troops Open Fire on Palestinian Farmer in Southern Gaza. imemc.org Israeli troops opened fire at Palestinian farmers and shepherds, early on Saturday, near the border fence in eastern Khan Younis city, southern Gaza Strip, according to local sources. Local Palestinian media sources and witnesses said that Israeli troops, stationed on the Israeli side of the border, opened their machine guns …

Miko Peled (2020-03-27). From Electoral Politics to Coronavirus Response: In Israel, Apartheid Mentality Reigns. mintpressnews.com Israel's longstanding political crisis didn't end due to some altruistic desire to pull together in a time of crisis, it ended because Israelis were faced with a choice, work with Arabs or throw it all away, writes Miko Peled.

Fight Back (2020-03-25). MN shows solidarity with Palestine during COVID-19 pandemic. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – The MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) wanted to be a part of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network's global week of action for Palestinian Land Day but they couldn't do it as a protest the way they had originally planned. Instead on March 24 the MN AWC reorganized their protest as a call-in day, and then did a five-person social distancing bannering protest. | In 1976, Land Day marked a turning point as the first mass mobilization by Palestinians within Israel against colonialism and land theft. Israeli police shot and killed six Palestinian citizens of Israel for protesting the Israeli go…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-03-25). BJP and Israel: Hindu Nationalism is Ravaging India's Democracy. dissidentvoice.org It was only a matter of time before the anti-Muslim sentiment in India turned violent. A country that has historically prided itself on its diversity and tolerance, and for being 'the largest democracy in the world' has, in recent years, exhibited the exact opposite qualities — chauvinism, racism, religious intolerance, and, at times, extreme violence. …

Miko Peled (2020-03-24). King David's Ancient Road: How Israeli Archaeologists Are Aiding the Theft of Silwan. mintpressnews.com Claiming "science" as their reason and in total disregard for the wellbeing of the population, tunnels are dug under Palestinian homes in Silwan, destroying foundations and forcing residents to flee.

Staff (2020-03-23). Headlines for March 23, 2020. democracynow.org Global COVID-19 Death Toll Passes 15,000 as Italy Drafts Military to Enforce Lockdown, Angela Merkel to Self-Quarantine After Her Doctor Tests Positive for COVID-19, First COVID-19 Cases Reported in Occupied Gaza, War-Stricken Syria and Afghanistan | , Coronavirus Cases Mount Across Africa, Two Nigerians Overdose Self-Medicating with Chloroquine After Trump Praised Anti-Malaria Drug as Possible COVID-19 Treatment, Coronavirus Leads to Lockdowns, Travel Bans in Latin America, as a Colombian Prison Riot Turns Deadly | , Fate of Tokyo Olympics Still Unknown as Canada, Australia Refuse to Send Athletes | , India Lock…

CounterSpin (2020-01-31). Omar Baddar on Israel/Palestine 'Peace' Plan, Rainey Reitman on Greenwald Persecution. fair.org MP3 Link This week on CounterSpin: It is strange to think that you could create a plan to shape the relationship between two entities, in consultation with one but not the other, and then not just declare it, yourself, a "win-win," but also say to the unconsulted party, "You better take it, or else." Yet …