Israeli troops shot dead four Palestinians and wounded 367 with live ammunition on Friday, medical officials said, as protests over US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital entered a second week.
Israeli troops kill 4, injure 367 in Jerusalem protests
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1209436/middle-east
Most of the casualties were on the Israel-Gaza border, where thousands of Palestinians gathered to throw stones at Israeli soldiers beyond the fortified fence.
Medics said two protesters, one of them wheelchair-bound, were killed and 150 wounded.
In the occupied West Bank, medics said two protesters were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli gunfire. One of the dead was a man whom Israeli police said was shot after he stabbed a member of their unit.
Washington’s European allies and Russia have also voiced concern.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Trump’s decision is a “bomb” thrown at the entire Middle East, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. “The Jerusalem decision is a harbinger of new operations targeting the Islamic world,” he added. “If Muslims fail to show the necessary reaction on this issue within the law, believe me there will be more to come.”
Palestinians are planning to appeal to the UN Security Council, and Erdogan said Muslim nations will ask the UN for an “annulment” of Trump’s decision.
The initiative will start at the Security Council, and if it is vetoed there, “we will work within the UN General Assembly for the annulment of this unjust and lawless decision,” he added.
Ziad Khalil Abu Zayyad, a Fatah spokesman for international affairs, told Arab News that the US will not be able to use its veto power on this issue because it is involved in the dispute.
The UN Charter gives the Security Council’s five permanent members veto powers with one exception: Article 27-3 states that “a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.”
But Anis F. Kassim, publisher of the Palestinian Year Book for International Law, expressed doubt over whether the world body will agree that the US is party to the dispute, or refer to it as a “situation rather than a dispute.”
Meanwhile,
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that Israel’s legitimacy is in question because of its failure to declare its borders.
“International law stipulates that to be recognized as a state, a country has to meet three conditions: Sovereignty, population and borders. This third condition is not declared in Israel, and I challenge it to say where its borders are… Its recognition is void,” Abbas said.
Kassim said Israel’s recognition by the UN in 1949 was conditional. “Recognition followed commitments made by its representative to honor the partition plan and the right of Palestinian refugees to return,” he told Arab News.
He said while borders are a major issue in terms of recognition, it is not a deciding factor. “Many countries have been recognized without their borders being totally clarified,” he added.
But Kassim believes that recognition of Israel was conditional on the commitments made by its then-ambassador to the UN regarding resolutions 181 of 1947 and 194 of 1948. The 1947 partition plan (resolution 181) declared Jerusalem a corpus separatum (special entity), Kassim said. After the 1967 war, the world recognized the east of the city as “occupied territory,” and continued to reject Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, he added.
Former Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told Arab News that
UN Security Council resolutions refer to all areas seized by Israel in 1967, including East Jerusalem, as “occupied territories.”
Resolution 476 condemned Israel’s 1980 Jerusalem Law, which declared the city its united capital, as a violation of international law, Judeh said. He added that the resolution says the Security Council “will not recognize this law, and calls on member states to accept the decision of the council. It also called upon members states to withdraw their diplomatic missions from the city.”
At least 150 Palestinian protesters were injured during clashes with Israeli forces near Gaza City on December 15, in response to an earlier decision by US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Reported IDF Killing of Palestinian Amputee Provokes Uproar on Twitter (Photos - Video)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201712161060053722-gaza-protests-abu-thuraya-killing/
29-year-old Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, a wheelchair-bound Palestinian man with no legs, was reportedly killed by Israeli troops during Friday's Gaza protests against President Trump's previous declaration on Jerusalem.
His killing immediately caused an international outcry, with Jerusalem-based journalist Nasser Atta writing on his Twitter page that the death of Abu Thuraya may result in the third intifada.
Thuraya lost his legs during Israel's Operation Cast Lead in 2008.
Social media users expressed outrage at Thuraya's killing and squarely pointed the finger at the Israeli troops. According to them, Thuraya was not carrying any weapons and did not pose a threat.
Ahead of Gaza protests, Thuraya reportedly said that "this land is our land." "We are not going to give up. America has to withdraw the declaration it has made," he underscored.
Israeli Defense Force (IDF) officials, for their part, said that they are investigating the death of Thuraya, who was shot and killed after an Israeli officer noticed that Thuraya was wearing "what appeared to be a suicide belt," the Times of Israel newspaper reported.
Earlier, the Israeli military said in a statement that "during the violent riots, IDF soldiers fired selectively at the main instigators."
About 2,500 Palestinians took part in the riots, during which they threw firebombs and rocks at soldiers and border police, who had to retaliate, according to the Israeli military.
In early December, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik that Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital "will start another intifada and will lead to the deterioration of US relations with other Arab and Muslim states."
In early December, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik that Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital "will start another intifada and will lead to the deterioration of US relations with other Arab and Muslim states."
Gaza’s health ministry said a disabled Palestinian man missing both legs was among those killed by Israeli security forces that opened fire on demonstrators in the West Bank and along the border with Gaza.
Wheelchair-Bound Man with No Legs Killed by IDF in Gaza during Jerusalem Protest
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960925001438
Abu Thurayeh, 29, was shot dead East of Gaza City, according to Gaza’s health ministry as cited by the Times of Israel.
He is one of four Palestinians who were killed during a protest over the decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.
Abu had lost his legs in an Israeli attack on Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
“He was injured in 2008 by an Israeli helicopter that targeted him after he brought down the Israeli flag and raised the Palestinian flag along the border,” his brother Samir said, adding that “It did not stop him from demonstrating for Jerusalem. He went alone every day to the border.”
Social media have been flooded with videos and photos of Abu Thurayeh a few hours before his death, sitting in his wheelchair and waving a Palestinian flag.
“This land is our land, we will not give up. America has to withdraw its decision,” Abu Thurayeh reportedly said in a video.
Abu had been earning a living for himself and his family by washing cars.
Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets on Friday in continued protest of US President Donald Trump's announcement last week recognizing Jerusalem, causing clashes with Israeli forces to erupt across the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and besieged Gaza Strip.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has signaled that the Western Wall, a site of worship in Jerusalem al-Quds’ Old City, has to be a part of Israel.
US Signals Western Wall Has to Be Part of Israel
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The declaration by two US senior officials on Friday came amid mounting tension over Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel's capital. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, ruled out any scenario that did not retain Israeli control over the site.
"We cannot envision any situation under which the Western Wall would not be part of Israel. But as the president said, the specific boundaries of sovereignty of Israel are going to be part of the final status agreement," the Associated Press quoted one of the officials as saying.
Another official later added by email that "We note that we cannot imagine Israel would sign a peace agreement that didn't include the Western Wall."
This also came ahead of Vice President Mike Pence's trip to the region on Wednesday, a visit Trump officials said is aimed at reinforcing the president's announcement on Jerusalem al-Quds.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, Turkey stated initiatives at the United Nations to annul a decision by the United States to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a move which faced strong opposition from the international community.
Turkish President: Ankara Starting Initiatives at UN to Annul US President's Decision on Jerusalem
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960925000526
Addressing crowds gathered in the central Anatolian city of Konya at a rally for Jerusalem, known as al-Quds by Muslims, the president said via teleconference that Turkey would first seek the annulment of the US decision in the UN Security Council, and if that fails, the next step would be to apply to the UN General Assembly, Daily Sabah reported.
"We have shown that our brothers in al-Quds are not alone. We are launching new initiatives at the UN for the annulment of the US decision. No country in the world is above international laws," Erdogan said, and continued by adding that the Muslim world's opposing stance is not a retaliation, but rather, a "struggle for justice."
"Separately, we are starting initiatives to increase [the number of] states who recognize the state of Palestine," he stressed.
Erdogan also said that Muslim countries will start new funds to protect Palestinian families, "preventing Israel's seizure of neighborhoods, houses, and workplaces belonging to Muslims."
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu suggested that Ankara will consider opening an embassy in East Jerusalem once an independent Palestinian state is internationally recognized.
Turkey Reveals Plan to Open Embassy in East Jerusalem
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Cavusoglu said there is a “serious determination” among the international community to recognize Palestine, RT reported.
The diplomat added that, once the world acknowledges the claim, he is confident there will be an influx of embassies and other diplomatic services into what would then be the new state’s capital.
“We need to succeed in this,” Cavusoglu said, adding that “Once we succeed, embassies will open in the independent Palestinian state’s capital, East Jerusalem.”
The solidarity shown by the Islamic states' leaders during the Wednesday summit in Istanbul to defend the Palestinian identity of the holy Quds frustrated the US and forced it to raise baseless allegations against Iran, Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of Rai al-Youm newspaper, said.
Arab Analyst: US Enraged by Shiite-Sunni Coalition to Defend Al-Quds
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"The US propaganda and baseless theatre on Iran's sending weapons and missiles to Ansaruallah movement in Yemen was aimed at diverting attention from the Istanbul summit and the Shiite-Sunni coalition to defend the holy Quds," Atwan wrote on Saturday.
During her press conference on Thursday, US Ambassador Nikki Haley appeared standing before what she claimed was debris of a missile from an Iranian-origin dispatched to Yemen and then fired to Saudi Arabia. Tehran immediately and categorically rejected all those charges.
Iran' permanent mission at the UN on Thursday categorically rejected as "fabricated" the evidence presented by Haley that it had supplied Yemen with a missile fired at Saudi Arabia, saying the accusations were baseless.
"As part of the baseless allegations raised by the US administration against the Islamic Republic of Iran throughout the last 10 months, the US ambassador accused Iran of supplying missiles to Yemen once again; a baseless allegation that we categorically reject," Iran's Envoy to the UN Gholamali Khoshrou said.
Atwan believes that the US allegations against Iran was the result of two developments. "First the Istanbul conference in which over 57 leaders and foreign ministers participated and displayed Islamic unity and interest in confronting the US biased support for Israel."
"Second, the Shiite-Sunni coalition beyond the differences and the unprecedented solidarity between the Turkish and Iranian presidents which foiled the US plots to sow discord between the Shiites and Sunnis."
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convened an urgent summit in Istanbul last Wednesday on Washington’s contentious declaration on Jerusalem al-Quds, with the Turkish foreign minister urging Muslim nations to respond by pressing the world for the recognition of the city as the capital of a Palestinian state.
The OIC extraordinary meeting ended with issuance of a final statement, and the participating countries highlighted recognition of the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The meeting was held in response to the US action to recognize Jerusalem as capital of the Zionist regime and was attended by heads and representatives of 57 Islamic countries.
Islamic countries warned that if the United Nations Security Council fails to act in connection with the American decision, they would refer the matter to the General Assembly of the international body.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to the occupied Palestinian territories said that over 560,000 Palestinians in Gaza residing in areas prone to flooding are at risk of temporary displacement due to the precarious state of infrastructure.
UN: Half Million Palestinians in Gaza at Risk of Displacement Due to Flooding
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The OCHA said in its Monthly Humanitarian Bulletin for November that poor infrastructure and lack of funding put over 560,000 people at risk of flooding in the Gaza Strip, WAFA reported.
“In the Gaza Strip, another winter season brings with it the threat of temporary displacement, property losses and health risks due to flooding and poor housing conditions. Insufficient funding, import restrictions, the ongoing energy crisis and the low capacity of the Palestinian Civil Defense are key factors that hinder the ability of the relevant actors to reduce vulnerability and respond effectively,” said the report.
According to media sources, Sabih al Masri, head of Arab Bank, has been repeatedly warned against traveling to Saudi Arabia, however, the businessman insisted he had nothing to fear there.
Palestinian Billionaire Reportedly Detained in Saudi Arabia After Trip to Riyadh
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201712161060053298-palestinian-billionaire-detained-saudi-arabia/
Family members of Palestinian-Jordanian businessman and Arab Bank chairman Sabih al Masri confirmed previous reports that he was arrested during his business trip to Saudi Arabia's capital, Reuters says.
The Palestinian billionaire, who also holds Saudi citizenship, was detained after heading to Riyadh last week to chair meetings of the companies he has holdings in.
The Riyadh's authorities did not respond to Reuter's request to comment on the situation, and Masri was also unreachable.
The detention occurred amid an ongoing massive anti-corruption campaign in Saudi Arabia led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the push which is widely regarded to be an effort to strengthen his power. However, no details on the charges against any of the detainees or about any settlement talks with them have been disclosed yet. In November, the kingdom's authorities announced that over 200 people have been arrested for questioning in its anti-corruption drive.
Masri has close ties with King Abdullah of Jordan, who was warned against participating in a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Turkey, according to media reports. This week East Jerusalem was recognized by the OIC as the capital of Palestine.
Hind Khlaifat, the founder and CEO of Jordan's Alocloud, shared a post on twitter, in which she noted the significance of Sabih al Masri to the economy of Jordan. Economy in Jordan depends on Sabih al Masri. Don't let our economy be destroyed overnight. A tweet for Mohammed bin Salman, with kind regards.
