Belgian Court Opens Hearing Into Boycott of
Israel Lawsuit, International NGOs Demand Sanctions on
Israel Over Gaza Siege
April 15, 2015
Int’l NGOs demand sanctions on Israel over Gaza
April 15, 2015, GAZA, (PIC)--
Several aids organizations including international ones have urged
sanctions on Israel due to its continued siege on Gaza and its refusal
to allow rebuilding process to kick off.
The report “Charting a
New Course: Overcoming the stalemate in Gaza” says Israel must lift the
blockade and allow free movement between the occupied West Bank and Gaza
Strip or face punitive measures.
The 46 organizations that signed
the report, including Oxfam, Save the Children, KinderUSA, Medical Aid
for Palestinians, CARE International, Norwegian People’s Aid and
Médecins du Monde Switzerland, CCP Japan, Christian Aid, Church of
Sweden, call for a suspension of arms transfers to Israel.
Gaza
is worse off now
The report’s gist is that Gaza is a lot worse
now than it was during the war with the slow death Israel and Egypt are
imposing on Gaza.
The report mentions that “As of January 2015,
only 36 schools with minor damage have been repaired out of a total of
over 258 damaged and eight destroyed in the attacks.”
And more
than 100,000 people, whose homes Israel destroyed, remain displaced and
without proper shelters. At least a dozen children passed away due to
the lack of permanent shelter in previous cold spills.
Israel’s
unexploded munitions, the report states, claimed the lives of at least
10 and injured more than 35, most of whom children.
400 Israeli
violations of ceasefire
The report also states Israel has
violated the ceasefire “more than 400” times, hindering farmers and
fishermen and murdering a fisherman and injuring several other fishermen
and farmers.
According to the report, there must be practical
measures against Israeli illegal policies. That includes making EU and
other international relations with Israel conditional on it meeting its
legal obligations and ensuring that companies that violate international
law in the occupied West Bank and Gaza do not financially benefit from
the reconstruction of Gaza.
Belgian court opens hearing into boycott of Israel lawsuit
BRUSSELS, (PIC)--
The Brussels Court of First Instance held on Monday the first hearing
of a lawsuit brought against the Belgian government to boycott Israeli
goods produced in settlements that were constructed on Palestinian lands
occupied in 1967.
The General Union of Palestinian Communities in
Europe pointed out that the hearing was attended by the Belgian
Ministers of Economy, Finance and Customs as well as the representative
of the Palestinian House in Belgium in addition to Israeli and Belgian
businessmen along with a group of attorneys.
The Union’s lawyers
explained the extent of danger resulting from importing Israeli goods
produced by illegal settlements. They confirmed that the Union refuses
importing such products based on a previous decision.
They
emphasized that the Belgian and the European consumers have the right to
know the sources of these Israeli products as the European peoples in
general refuse supporting Israeli settlements.
The Union’s
attorneys presented several evidence and legal studies which strengthen
their demand of issuing an order to prevent importing Israeli goods
produced in Israeli settlements.
On the other hand, the Belgian
government’s attorneys refused the lawsuit and said the commercial
agreements are conducted directly between Israeli and Belgian companies,
stressing that the government has no responsibility in this regard.
The hearing was concluded by adjourning the trial to May 12 to rule
on the lawsuit which was filed in September, 2013.
Israeli-bombed building collapses in Deir al-Balah
GAZA, (PIC)--
A five-story-building collapsed in central Gaza Strip on Tuesday as
it was bombed by Israeli Occupation Forces in last summer’s aggression
on the enclave. It resulted in big damage in the area with no casualties
reported.
Palestinian security sources told the PIC reporter that
the building which belonged to martyr Abdulaziz Abu Zeaiter started to
fall down gradually in Deir al-Balah town in central Gaza.
Eyewitnesses said the eastern part of the structure gradually crashed
amid very loud sound whereas the western part is still solid.
Policemen and the civil defense rushed to the scene to evacuate
residents amid concerns that the western part may fall down at any
moment.
Sheikh Sabri warns of turning a historical school into a
synagogue
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)--
Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, Head of the Supreme Islamic Council, warned of
the decision made by Jewish extremist groups to turn the historical
Tankaziya school in Jerusalem into a Jewish synagogue.
Sheikh Dr.
Sabri revealed, in a press statement on Tuesday, that the Tankaziya
school is an Islamic Waqf and Mamluk edifice located within al-Aqsa
Mosque vicinity. It belongs to Prince Tankaz al-Naseri who died in 1340
and ruled Jerusalem in the Mamluk era.
The Prince established the
school in 1328AD as an education place and an orphanage. It consists of
two stories including a niche.
Dr. Sabri noted that in the early
thirties of last century, the upper floor was an office for the Mufti of
Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini. Then, It was taken by the Sharia court
as one of its departments before it was used as Al-Aqsa Islamic
Secondary School from the fifties of the twentieth century to the year
1969.
In 1969, it was taken over by the Israeli occupation. The
students were expelled out of the school and it was used by the Israeli
border guards.
Sheikh Sabri himself was the headmaster of the
school at that time before it was taken over by Israeli forces.
The Islamic Supreme Council condemned the Israeli aggressive and
arbitrary seizure of the school and demanded its return to the Islamic
Awqaf management.
Dr. Sabri called on UNESCO, the Islamic
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the Arab
League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) to
bear their responsibilities and to exert efforts in order to protect the
holy and historical sites in Jerusalem.
He also asked them to
urgently move to oblige Israel to return the Tankaziya school to the
endowment properties and to stop turning it into a synagogue.
Israeli minister incites against al-Aqsa Mosque
RAMALLAH, (PIC)--
The Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel has sent ”an urgent letter” to
Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu demanding a stop to the Palestinian
restoration works in al-Aqsa Mosque, Israeli Hayom newspaper said
Tuesday.
Ariel’s letter came shortly after the Islamic Waqf
Department declared intention to carry out excavations to replace the
carpets of the Dome of Rock, the newspaper said.
He said that the
work is being done without permission and was illegally organized, and
therefore the Israeli police should stop the work as soon as possible.
“The work includes lifting flooring and excavation,” Ariel wrote.
“All of this is being done by mechanical equipment.”
According to
the letter, the scope of work being undertaken is unprecedented and
requires review and approval of the ministerial committee for an
archaeological dig in holy places.
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