Beyond Borders

Scores of UNRWA employees demonstrate today Monday against US policy in cutting the fund to the agency. In a speech by the head of UNRWA staff union, Ameer Al-Meshal said that U.S fund cuts threaten to put the vital services at risk and he called to enable UNRWA to carry out its duties towards Palestinian refugees. The development of UNRWA crisis comes after Trump decision to withhold $65 million of a planned $125 million funding installment. “We would like to see some reforms be made,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, adding that changes are needed to the way the agency operates and is funded. “This is not aimed at punishing anyone.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the move and accused the agency of perpetuating the Palestinian refugee problem and narrative of erasing Zionism, "This is the first time this thing is challenged. It’s a good thing that they’re moving forward and challenging this body.” In contrast, The Israeli army warned the gove...

Israel plans to deduct from tax funds it collects for the Palestinians to compensate Israelis living near the Gaza Strip who have fallen victim to a wave of arson attacks. Israel has been battling fires caused by kites rigged with incendiary devices or attached to burning rags launched by Palestinians in Gaza due to Israeli excessive force used against Palestinians in Great March of Return rallies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted on Sunday that he had asked for the deduction. The kites have been flown by Gazans who have staged weekly protests since late March, during which more than 120 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire and injured thousands. On Monday, the Israeli military said it fired at two Palestinians who were attempting to breach the border fence, killing one of them. The Palestinian Authority condemned the move, saying it would violate past agreements signed with Israel and called it “robbery and cowardly aggression” against the Palestinians....

Israeli Bulldozers demolished on Wednesday, a Palestinian home, hair salon, a barn and a Palestinian home funded by EU in different parts of Jerusalem under the pretext of having no .building license Many army jeeps and bulldozers, in addition to police officers and workers of the City Council invaded Shu’fat neighborhood, after isolating it, and demolished a home and a barn, owned by Saleh Abu Khdeir. Abu Khdeir told the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) that his home was 115 square meters and was built in 2006, but he and his family were only able to inhabit it in 2012, after completing all the needed work and furnishing. He added that the City Council issued the demolition order in October 2017, but Abu Khdeir managed to obtain a court order halting the demolition until further deliberations are held, but the soldiers went ahead and demolished the property. The house that funded by UN  was owned by Hani Abu-Eweeda and a 13-member fam...

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned the Guatemala`s decision to move its  embassy to Jerusalem and it described this move as” shameful “. “It’s a shameful and illegal act that goes totally against the wishes of church leaders in Jerusalem”  and violates a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution condemning the US move, the ministry said in a statement. “The state of Palestine considers this as a flagrant act of hostility against the inalienable rights of the  Palestinian people and international law,” it added. “The state of Palestine will act with regional and international partners to oppose this illegal decision,” the ministry stressed. Guatemala’s President Jimmy Morales announced that the Central American country will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, becoming the first country to follow the lead of US President Donald Trump in ordering the change. Guatemala was one of nine countries that voted with the Unite...

The Local Committee for Planning and Construction in the Jerusalem municipality is expected to approve on Wednesday a plan to expand the Israeli settlements of Nof Zion in east Jerusalem, Israeli media reported. If the plan of constructing new buildings is approved, Nof Zion will be the biggest Israeli settlement in Arab areas of east Jerusalem. For now, there are 91 housing units in the neighborhood, which is surrounded by the southeastern Arab neighborhood of Jebel Mukaber. In 1994, the construction of 395 housing units was approved, and in the early 2000s the first phase of the project saw the construction of the current 91 housing units in Nof Zion. Left-wing NGO Peace Now condemned the future move, saying that the expansion of settlements in east Jerusalem will harm Israel’s international status and will be a big obstacle to achieve the two-state solution.”

Palestinians gather to celebrate the Israeli removal of metal detectors that were  installed after a deadly shooting inside the shrine. In addition to newly installed railings and scaffolding where cameras were previously mounted have  now also been removed from at least one main entrance to the Haram al-Sharif compound. A tense standoff has been underway between Israel and Muslim worshippers at the holy site despite the removal of metal detectors on Tuesday, with concerns of major unrest later this week if no resolution is found. It was unclear whether Muslim authorities would now grant approval for worshippers to re-enter the site, which houses the revered Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. However, Palestinians are very happy after days of tension. They refused to enter the site and pray outside in streets protesting Israeli measures that are seen as a move in asserting further control over the site. This situation leads to more tensi...

Israeli forces attacked, on Sunday evening, dozens of Palestinians who gathered for evening prayers near the Bab al-Asbat (The Gate of the Tribes), in occupied East Jerusalem, wounding 21 of them, after preventing them from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the soldiers shot and injured fifteen Palestinians with rubber-coated steel bullets and that six of them suffered moderate wounds that required moving him to a hospital for further treatment. The PRCS added that the soldiers also assaulted many Palestinians, causing various cuts and bruises to at least six. Also on Sunday, the soldiers abducted two Palestinians from East Jerusalem, after stopping and searching their car, and locating what the army described as “dangerous fireworks.” Furthermore, the soldiers invaded Beit Ummar town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron clashed with local youths and caused many Palestinians to suffer the severe effects of tearg...