Two passersby were lightly injured late Wednesday after a bomb exploded in front of a charity in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses said that a small device exploded at the main door of the Jebous charitable association, injuring a woman and child who were passing the area. Locals said the charity was affiliated to Fatah. No-one has claimed responsibility for the bomb. In November, a series of bombs targeted the homes of Fatah officials in the Gaza Strip. more

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The autopsy results of Palestinian minister Ziad Abu Ein show that he died after a powerful blow to the diaphragm and the heavy use of tear gas, Palestinian minister of civil affairs Hussein al-Sheikh said. "The reason for the death of Abu Ein was his being hit by (Israeli) occupation troops and because of the heavy use of tear gas," al-Sheikh told AFP. "We will refer the autopsy results to the Palestinian leadership to take the decisions they want," al-Sheikh told reporters, adding that "if Israel admits to the murder of Abu Ein, there will be no need to go to the International Criminal Court." Sabir al-Aloul, director of forensic medicine in the Ministry of Health, told Ma'an that a strike to Abu Ein's face dislodged his front teeth and forced them to the back of his throat, near the epiglottis. There was also bruising on both sides of his neck and thyroid cartilage, indicative of heavy pressure. Food was found in ...

Domestic-use gas shipments to the Gaza Strip will resume Thursday after being suspended since Monday due to a dispute between the Palestinian General Directorate of Petroleum and the Gaza offices of the Palestinian Ministry of Finance, a PA official said Wednesday. Gaza office director of the General Directorate of Petroleum Ahmad al-Shanti told Ma’an that an agreement was reached to unify gas prices in the West Bank and Gaza. The Gaza office, he said, pledged to adhere to gas prices set by the Palestinian national consensus government every month. "After deliberations with the General Directorate in Ramallah, they promised to resume gas shipment on Thursday." more

In what seems to be an attempt to nullify a ruling by the Israeli High Court, allowing the Palestinians to use bypass road #443, Israel decided to illegally expropriate 321 Dunams of Palestinian lands, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. The military decision robs 321 Dunams (79.3 Acres) of privately owned Palestinian lands belonging to residents of Beit ‘Or al-Foqa village, Beit ‘Arik village and the town of Betunia. Head of Beit ‘Or al-Foqa Village Council Rami ‘Alawi said Israel is alleging the decision was made due to “security considerations,” while in fact, "is nothing but theft of Palestinian orchards containing thousands of olive trees." ‘Alawi stated the “decision is vague and ambiguous, and would lead to completing the chain of illegal colonies surrounding the village along with the military base in the area.” He added the decision also prevents the villagers from using road #443, or even approach it, which turns it into another settler-only road...

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Wednesday shot and injured a Palestinian teenager in the head during clashes at the entrance of al-Jalazun refugee camp near Ramallah, medics said. Raouf Hussein Snubar, 14, was hit in the head with a live bullet, causing fractures to his skull, medical sources told Ma'an. They said he was in serious but stable condition. Several other Palestinians were injured with live fire and rubber-coated bullets, and others suffered from tear gas inhalation. Clashes erupted following a march that was organized in the camp in protest of the death of Palestinian Authority official Ziad Abu Ein. more

The Palestinian leadership has decided to end all security coordination with Israel in response to the death of a PA official on Wednesday, a senior official said. Jibril Rajoub told press that the PA will end "all forms of security coordination with Israel for deliberately killing Minister Ziad Abu Ein." Three soldiers grabbed Abu Ein and hit him in the chest, an AFP photographer said. Abu Ein fell and an Israeli army doctor rushed to treat him before he was evacuated to hospital. Another witness, Kamal Abu Safaka, said that Abu Ein was "beaten by a soldier" in the chest "after having a conversation with the officer in charge." His death was condemned by Palestinian factions, with immediate calls to halt security coordination with Israeli forces, a policy already widely unpopular with Palestinians. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad called on the PA to halt all security coordination following news of Abu Ein's death, with Islamic Jihad leader Khalid a...

The head of the Palestinian Authority committee against the separation wall and settlements died Wednesday after Israeli soldiers assaulted him in a village near Ramallah, committee sources said. Ziad Abu Ein died after an Israeli soldier beat him on the chest with his helmet in the village of Turmsayya in the Ramallah district, the director of the committee's information center, Jamil al-Barghouthi, told Ma'an. Abu Ein also suffered severe tear gas inhalation as Israeli soldiers fired canisters in the area. A Palestinian security source told AFP that Israeli forces beat Abu Ein with the butts of their rifles and their helmets during a protest march. more

The union of civil servants in the Gaza Strip announced Tuesday that all government employees would go on strike Thursday, union officials said. In a statement, the civil servants union said that schools would go on strike next Sunday after the first break, and teachers would picket outside offices of the Ministry of Education. The statement urged President Mahmoud Abbas to make his position clear after he was accused of prohibiting the payment of salaries to Gaza civil servants who were hired by the former Hamas-run government. more

LONDON (AFP) -- The Israeli military committed war crimes during its Gaza offensive this summer and must be investigated, human rights monitor Amnesty International said on Tuesday. The destruction of four multi-story buildings during the last four days of the 50-day war were in breach of international humanitarian law, the group said in a report. "All the evidence we have shows this large-scale destruction was carried out deliberately and with no military justification," said Philip Luther, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa program. "War crimes must be independently and impartially investigated and those responsible should be brought to justice in fair trials." Evidence including statements by the Israeli military at the time indicate the attacks were "a collective punishment against the people of Gaza" designed to destroy their livelihoods, Luther added. There was no immediate reaction to the Amnesty statement fro...

A number of Palestinians were allowed to enter Israel on Monday to visit their jailed relatives, a Red Cross spokeswoman said. Suhair Zaqqut, a spokeswoman of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told Ma'an that 21 Palestinians including two children left Gaza through the Erez crossing. They visited a total of 16 Palestinians jailed in the Israeli prison of Eshel, Zaqqut said. She said Israel issued permits for a limited number of Palestinians from Gaza to visit their jailed relatives every Monday. more

A group of Israeli rightists toured the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday under police escort, a mosque official said. Director of Al-Aqsa, Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani, told Ma'an that groups of Israeli right-wingers "stormed the compound and toured its' squares under the so-called foreign tourism program." A group of Israeli intelligence officers also toured the compounds, he added. The Ministry of Endowment complained to Israeli police, expressing their objection to the visits, al-Kiswani said. Meanwhile, Israeli police detained a woman, Umm Radwan Omar, at one of the gates leading to the holy site. Omar usually gives religious lectures inside the compound. Israeli police collected the identity cards of all Palestinian men and women who entered the compound on Monday. more

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained 12 Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip early Sunday, sources told Ma'an. A researcher for the Gaza-based al-Mezan Center For Human Rights told Ma'an Israeli naval forces detained fishermen from four boats near the al-Sudaniyya area. Forces first detained Mahmoud Zayid and his brother Ahmad from Beit Lahiya. They then detained three more fishermen from Gaza City and later six more, the researcher said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Israeli gunboats confiscated the four fishing boats, taking them to an unknown destination. The researcher said the arrests were the largest "detention campaign" against Gaza fishermen since a ceasefire between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces was announced. An Israeli army spokeswoman said that over the course of the night, five fishing boats were apprehended after veering from the permitted fishing zone. more

Israeli settlers, on Saturday, attacked Palestinian homes in the Hebron neighborhood of al-Ja‘bari with stones, while Israeli soldiers stood by and watched indifferently, and without taking any actions to stop them, WAFA reports. Hurling stones at the homes, the extremists cursed the owners and shouted anti-Arab racist slogans, including “Death to the Arabs”, spreading panic and fear among Palestinian locals. Locals called upon human rights organizations to intervene and provide them with protection. In the Nablus village of Aqraba, on Friday, Israeli settlers again cut down over 50 olive trees. Over 7,500 olive trees were damaged or destroyed by settlers between January and mid-October in 2012, according to OCHA. more

A Palestinian worker from the Nablus district was killed in Israel Saturday when unidentified gunmen opened fire at him, a local official said. Kathem Ramadan Sami Odeh, 25, was killed when three unidentified gunmen attacked a workers' apartment in the town of Qalansuwa in the triangle region, the head of the Odeh's hometown village council told Ma'an. Abd al-Azim al-Wadiya, the head of the village council of Qusra in the Nablus district, said two bullets hit Odeh in the stomach and one hit him in the neck. Other workers in the apartment at the time managed to escape, after being "assaulted" by the gunmen, al-Wadiya said, without providing further details. The motives behind the shooting remain unclear. Odeh's body is being held in the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv, where an autopsy will take place, al-Wadiya said. more

A Palestinian teenager in Gaza was injured on Friday after an Israeli ordnance exploded near Rafah, a health ministry official said. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman of the Ministry of Health, told Ma'an that the unidentified 14-year-old had surgery to amputate the fingers on his right hand following the explosion. He is now in a stable condition at hospital. In October, Muhammad Sami Abu Jrad, four, was killed after touching an unexploded Israeli ordnance left over from the summer military offensive. A month earlier, three Palestinians were killed and two were injured when an unexploded Israeli bomb blew up in the Shujaiyya neighborhood of eastern Gaza City. more

Israeli forces arrested a 14-year-old Palestinian girl at Qalandiya checkpoint on Thursday evening after allegedly wielding a knife at border police. Yathrib Salah Rayyan, 14, from Beit Duqqu village northwest of Jerusalem, was overpowered by Israeli forces as she walked in the car lane leading to the military checkpoint. Witnesses initially said that the girl had been shot twice by Israeli forces. An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an that a "female Palestinian suspect" approached a "civilian security guard" at Qalandiya carrying a knife. Israeli border police fired shots in the air and then detained the girl, she said. The suspect is currently being interrogated, she added. Witnesses at the scene refute claims that she attempted to stab a soldier. more

A Palestinian fisherman was injured by fire from an Israeli naval boat, Wednesday, while sailing offshore of Gaza City, according to witnesses. They said that an Israeli naval boat opened fire at 23-year-old fisherman Fakher Abu Rayyala, while he sailing within the six-nautical-miles allowed fishing zone, seriously injuring him. Abu Rayyala was transferred, with serious wounds, to a hospital for medical treatment, where he was set to undergo emergency surgery. WAFA notes that the Israeli navy continues to target Palestinian fishermen sailing off the coasts of Gaza despite a ceasefire deal, made on August 26th, and which recently put an end to the latest Israeli military aggression on the region. more

The Gaza Strip’s main medical complex Shifa and other public hospitals are facing a very serious problem after cleaning workers have completely suspended work in protest against not having received salaries for some seven months. Director of Shifa medical complex Dr Nasser al-Titir told Ma’an Thursday that “all wards including the reception, the emergency room and the intensive care unit are full of garbage.” He added that surgery rooms and delivery rooms “are very dirty and in a disastrous condition.” Al-Titir warned of possible dangerous repercussions of this crisis on the health conditions of Palestinian citizens. “The emergency department can barely receive serious cases and operating rooms can’t afford numerous surgeries because there is nobody to clean after operations.” He added that some doctors and nurse volunteer to do some cleaning despite the fact that doctors and nurses do not receive their salaries regularly. In addition, some of them haven’t been paid for sever...

A Palestinian fisherman was critically injured on Wednesday after Israeli warships fired several shells toward the coast near Gaza City, a union official said. Nizar Ayyash, head of the Gaza fishermen's union, told Ma'an that fisherman Fakher Nizar Abu Riyaleh, 32, was critically injured in the head by shrapnel from Israeli shells. Abu Riyaleh was taken to al-Shifa hospital for treatment. An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an she was not familiar with any shells fired at the Gaza City coast. She said that there was a Palestinian "vessel" that deviated from the "permitted fishing zone," and that Israeli forces fired warning shots in the air. The spokeswoman said no shots were fired at the vessel and that there were no hits confirmed. A ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza on Aug. 26 stipulated that Israel would ease its blockade on the Strip and lighten restrictions on fishermen. Since the agreement, ...

A Palestinian teenager was shot and injured by Israeli troops early Wednesday morning in clashes in Askar refugee camp east of Nablus in the northern West Bank. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an that Israeli forces stormed the city of Nablus as well as Askar camp and the al-Makhfiyya neighborhood east of the city and clashed with young Palestinian men. The sources reported that 14-year-old Ahmad Mazin was shot in his foot. more