Skip to main content

Israeli occupier attacks threaten historic Christian presence in West Bank town

In Taybeh, one of the few Palestinian communities with a Christian majority in the occupied West Bank, fears are growing that Israeli occupier attacks on farmland and property could push more families to emigrate, threatening the town’s demographic character and historic Christian presence. Local officials and clergy warned of the impact of rising violence by Israeli occupiers, which has coincided with worsening living and economic conditions in the town. Taybeh, east of Ramallah, is one of the few Palestinian towns in the West Bank that still has a Christian majority, according to church and local accounts. Residents say the town’s Christian roots go back thousands of years. Residents say the attacks have deepened fears in the town, even as they stress their determination to remain on their land. Also Read: Pakistan raises red flag over illegal settlements in West Bank, calls for Israel accountability In recent years, Israeli occupiers have established several ill...

Hamas hands over two deceased Israeli hostages

Palestinian group Hamas handed over two bodies of deceased Israeli hostages on Thursday, a day after the tenuous Gaza ceasefire was violated by a series of deadly Israeli strikes across the enclave. The bodies of hostages Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch were returned to Israel for burial after an identification process was completed, the Israeli military said in a statement late on Thursday. Under the ceasefire accord, Hamas released all living hostages in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees, while Israel pulled back its troops, halted its offensive and increased aid into the enclave. Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of all 28 dead hostages in exchange for 360 Palestinian militants killed in the war. Up to Thursday, it had handed over 15 bodies. Israel says Hamas has been too slow to hand over the remaining bodies of hostages still in Gaza. Hamas says it will take time to locate and retrieve all of the remains. Families of some of the hostages are desperate to provide a proper burial for their loved ones and fear their remains will be lost forever beneath the ruins of Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians believed to be dead are still missing amid the vast destruction. MAJOR OBSTACLES TO TRUMP'S PLAN The dispute over the recovery and handover of bodies of hostages has been one of the difficulties complicating U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war for good. Numerous major obstacles still lie ahead, including the future administration of Gaza and the demand for Hamas to disarm. At the same time, the sides have been trading blame for violating the truce. Read: Residents report heavy bombardment as Israel tests fragile truce in Gaza From Tuesday into Wednesday, Israel retaliated for a Palestinian attack on its troops, which left one soldier dead, with bombardments that Gaza health authorities said killed 104 people. The Gaza health ministry said 46 children and 20 women were among the 104 people killed in the airstrikes. Israel said its strikes had targeted dozens of militants. MORE AIRSTRIKES ON THURSDAY Witnesses said Israeli planes carried out 10 airstrikes in areas east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, while tanks shelled areas east of Gaza City in the north before dawn on Thursday. No casualties were reported. The Israeli military said it carried out "precise" strikes against "terrorist infrastructure that posed a threat to the troops" in the areas of Gaza where its forces are still deployed. Gaza residents said they feared a resumption of hostilities. "We're scared that another war will break out, because we don't want a war. We've suffered two years of displacement. We don't know where to go or where to come," said a displaced man, Fathi Al-Najjar, in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. At the tent encampment where Najjar spoke, girls and boys were filling plastic bottles with water from metal containers placed on the side of the street, and women cooked food for their families using clay-made firewood ovens. The war has displaced most of Gaza's more than two million people, some of them several times. Many haven't yet returned to their areas, fearing they could soon be displaced once again.

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/GY7s42J

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...

Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

The private jet parking lots at airports near the Indian city of Ayodhya are full and the shops have run out of gold-plated idols, as wealthy devotees prepare for the invite-only opening ceremony of one of Hinduism's holiest temples. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani are among the 8,000 or so attendees at Monday's inauguration event for the Ram Temple, which devotees believe is built on the birthplace of Lord Ram, a sacred Hindu deity. The construction of the temple, which began after the Supreme Court awarded the site to Hindus in 2019 more than two decades after a Hindu mob razed a mosque there, triggering deadly riots, fulfils a key campaign promise of Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Read BJP-promised temple transforms Ayodhya: Muslims, locals feel neglected The opening ceremony, organised by the trust that built the temple, comes months before a national election which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to w...

Indian opposition supporters detained ahead of protest at Modi's home

Police in the Indian capital detained dozens of opposition supporters on Tuesday as they attempted to march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence to protest against last week's arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal, a key opposition leader whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has governed the national capital territory for a decade, was arrested by the financial crime-fighting agency on corruption charges relating to the city's liquor policy, weeks before India begins voting in general elections on April 19. He was remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate until March 28, with the lawyer for the agency arguing he was the "kingpin" in the case and needed to be interrogated. Kejriwal's party, all of whose main leaders are now imprisoned in connection with the case, says he has been "falsely arrested" in a "fabricated case". The federal government and Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deny political interfere...