Latest news with #OsamaMakhamreh
Arab News
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Far-right Israeli group Regavim calls for Palestinian school near Hebron to be destroyed
LONDON: Regavim, an Israeli settler group, on Sunday called for the demolition of a Palestinian school in the Bedouin Badia community, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. Osama Makhamreh, an activist, told the Wafa news agency that members of Regavim posted leaflets on the walls of the Bat Zuwaydin Secondary School in Badia. The leaflets called for the school's destruction and argued that maintaining the school would encourage Palestinians to build and remain in the area. Badia is one of several Palestinian Bedouin communities near Hebron, known collectively as Masafer Yatta, that have endured attacks by Israeli settlers and government policies aimed at pushing them out of the area, designated as a military zone. For more than four years, work has been underway to establish and build Bat Zuwaydin Secondary School, in the Zuwaydin municipal area, Wafa added. Regavim, an extremist organization, was founded in 2006, with far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich being one of its notable founders. It aims to establish 'legal channels' for enforcing Israeli demolition orders against Palestinian structures and operations in the West Bank, particularly Area C, which constitutes 60 percent of the territory. It also operates in Israel, specifically targeting Palestinian citizens living in Bedouin communities in the southern Negev Desert, and conducts detailed aerial photography to document the expansion of Palestinian communities.
See - Sada Elbalad
7 days ago
- Politics
- See - Sada Elbalad
Israeli occupation forces assault journalists, cause fire north of Jerusalem
Amir Hagag Israeli occupation forces assaulted a number of journalists on Monday in the town of al-Judeira, northwest of Jerusalem, while the sound and tear gas they fired caused a fire in the neighboring town of Rafat. The Jerusalem Governorate reported, citing the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), that occupation soldiers fired sound bombs directly at journalists while they were covering events near the town of al-Judeira, causing injuries and panic in the area. A large fire also broke out in agricultural land in the town of Rafat as a result of the bombs fired by the soldiers. In a related development, Israeli settlers continued their attacks against Palestinian civilians in areas south of Hebron. Under the protection of occupation forces, settlers released their livestock to graze on lands planted with seedlings and fruit trees in the villages of Aqwawis and Sha'b al-Batm in Masafer Yatta. Anti-settlement activist Osama Makhamreh told WAFA that settlers deliberately destroyed crops with the aim of seizing citizens' lands for the expansion of settlements. He noted that a bulldozer belonging to them carried out bulldozing operations in the village of Umm al-Khair in the Masafer Yatta area. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Arts & Culture Lebanese Media: Fayrouz Collapses after Death of Ziad Rahbani Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results
Middle East Eye
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
West Bank: Israeli soldiers disrupt funeral of human rights activist killed opposing settlers
The Israeli military stormed the funeral procession of a Palestinian man on Tuesday, Wafa news agency reported. Human rights activist and teacher Odeh al-Hathalin, 31, was fatally shot by an Israeli settler on Monday while he was trying to prevent settlers from bulldozing Palestinian lands in the village of Khirbet Umm al-Khair, southeast of Yatta, in the Hebron Governorate. He died from his injuries on Tuesday. Osama Makhamreh, a human rights activist, witnessed Israeli soldiers assaulting mourners, forcing them out of the funeral procession, and declaring the entire area a closed military zone. During the incident, the soldiers detained two foreign activists who were present to show solidarity with al-Hathalin's family. After forcefully dispersing mourners, Israeli soldiers sealed off Khirbet Umm al-Khair, preventing residents, activists, and members of human rights organisations from entering or attending the funeral. Israeli soldiers then protected Israeli settlers as they resumed their expansion of the Carmel settlement on the Palestinian village of Khirbet Umm al-Khair on Tuesday evening. Since the beginning of the year, Palestinian residents of the villages have endured having their land confiscated, homes demolished, physical assault, and restricted access to their water sources and land, according to Wafa. Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.
Middle East Eye
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israeli army detains Palestinian family members after settlers attack village
The Israeli army on Monday detained several members of the same Palestinian family in Masafer Yatta, in the occupied West Bank, after they attempted to remove a group of settlers encroaching on their land. Armed Israeli settlers brought their livestock to graze on land in Khirbet al-Markaz, a village in the Masafer Yatta area south of Hebron, prompting clashes with the Palestinian landowners. The settlers opened fire, causing no injuries, before the Israeli army intervened to protect the settlers. The Palestinians, all members of the Makhamreh family, remained in detention on Tuesday. Osama Makhamreh told Middle East Eye that armed Israeli settlers had raided Khirbet al-Markaz, a village in the Masafer Yatta area south of Hebron, bringing livestock to graze among olive trees - a pastoral settler policy increasingly used to seize Palestinian land. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In response, local residents headed to the area in an attempt to drive the settlers away, only to find them armed. The settlers opened fire, though no injuries were reported. 'The settlers started shooting to scare the residents, but when they felt they weren't moving away, they called in the Israeli army, which arrested them' - Osama Makhamreh, Khirbet al-Markaz, West Bank Residents said they were shocked when the Israeli army arrived and began attacking and arresting them, without confronting or even speaking to the settlers. "The settlers started shooting to scare the residents, but when they felt they weren't moving away, they called in the Israeli army, which arrested 14 members of the family, including women and children," he added. The soldiers detained several children, the oldest of whom was only 12 years old, for several hours before releasing them. The youngest family member to be still detained is 16-year-old Tahreer Makhamreh. "The detainees were transferred to the Israeli army's Susya camp and then taken by military bus to an unknown location," said Osama Makhamreh. Seizing land through grazing For years, Khirbet al-Markaz has been subjected to regular settler attacks, which have only intensified since the current far-right Israeli government took power in 2022. Israel's pastoral settlement policy has been implemented in this area for more than two years. The policy uses settler livestock grazing to seize Palestinian land in the West Bank, often with army protection, making the areas off-limits to Palestinians. The tactic aims at expanding control without formal annexation, displacing rural Palestinian communities. Masafer Yatta: A Palestinian community under pressure Read More » The Israeli army routinely harasses villagers in Khirbet al-Markaz, denying their access to their own land and launching periodic attacks, particularly following the establishment of a military camp and the construction of the separation wall on village lands. 'The Israeli court issued a decision to displace residents on the grounds that their village lies within an Israeli military training zone, making them frequent targets of army assaults,' Makhamreh explained. Key tactics used against the villagers include detentions and physical assaults, harassment of shepherds, allowing settlers to graze livestock on agricultural land, and blocking Palestinians from reaching their farmland. These practices mirror those in other Masafer Yatta villages, where residents face repeated displacement efforts. At the core of Israel's policy in Masafer Yatta is a drive to seize full control of the land and expand illegal settlements in the area. Masafer Yatta lies in a strategic part of the southern West Bank, situated on elevated terrain with access to major roads and expansive open land. Israel's broader aim is to reduce the Palestinian presence in the region to make way for settlement expansion as part of a long-term effort to assert control over Area C, which makes up about 60 percent of the West Bank.
Saba Yemen
15-05-2025
- Saba Yemen
Israeli forces arrest Palestinian south of Hebron
Hebron - Saba: Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian citizen following a settler attack and the vandalization of olive trees south of Hebron. Activist Osama Makhamreh told the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) that Israeli forces arrested Ahmad Jabr al-Nawajaa after a group of settlers vandalized several of al-Nawajaa's olive trees in the village of Susiya, east of Yatta. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
