Anger as banks in Palestine follow Israeli orders to close prisoners’ accounts

1 / 2
Israeli soldiers monitor Palestinian demonstrators who gathered to protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank village of Beita near Nablus. (AP)
2 / 2
A Palestinian woman waves her national flag during an event marking Land Day near the Israel-Gaza border as mass rallies planned to commemorate the event were cancelled amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), east of Gaza City. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 09 May 2020
Follow

Anger as banks in Palestine follow Israeli orders to close prisoners’ accounts

  • Problem escalated when the Jordanian-owned Cairo Amman Bank unilaterally closed the accounts of a number of prisoners

AMMAN: The Israeli military has ordered banks in Palestine to close accounts held by Palestinian prisoners, while the prisoners and their families argue that banks licensed by the Palestinian Monetary Authority should not have to follow Israeli orders.

The problem escalated this week when the Jordanian-owned Cairo Amman Bank unilaterally closed the accounts of a number of prisoners. The bank’s owners insist that they have no choice but to obey international regulators who are “biased toward Israel,” sources who asked not to be identified told Arab News.
Global financial institutions use the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) network for US transactions and are subject to American regulations, under which all their assets could be frozen.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh reaffirmed on Thursday his rejection of the Israeli pressure and ordered the formation of a committee to study ways to respond.
Ibrahim Milhem, the government’s spokesman, said the committee is headed by Azzam Shawwa, the governor of the Monetary Authority, and includes the prisoners’ affairs minister and representatives of the Finance Ministry and the Association of Banks in Palestinian. “The committee will examine the Israeli threats against the banks that provide their services to the families of the prisoners and martyrs, and make the necessary recommendations to address them,” Milhelm said.
Shawwa sent a letter on May 7 to the banking society asking banks not to “rush into” any action against their clients.
One source told Arab News that if there is no political solution found to this problem, there are alternative solutions including using the post office and cash payments. But the source warned that if the Israelis and Americans keep pressing, the banking system will collapse. “If the banking system collapses, the Palestinian government will fall,” the source told Arab News.

The committee will examine the Israeli threats against the banks that provide their services to the families of the prisoners and martyrs, and make the necessary recommendations to address them.

Ibrahim Milhem, Palestinian government spokesman

At the same time, however, the source warned that the Palestinian government should respect the independence of the Monetary Authority.
Ghassan Nimer, spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, told Arab News that two branches of the bank were the target of attacks Wednesday and Thursday. “Shots were fired at the front of the Cairo Amman Bank in Jenin on Wednesday, while a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a huge sign bearing the bank’s name in Jericho. Although it appears that the attacks are connected with the closure of the accounts of prisoners, we denounce these attacks on private property regardless of the motive.
“The security forces are investigating both incidents and will deal with them within the context of the law,” he continued.
Palestinian and Jordanian banking officials did not respond to phone calls from Arab News.
A sign was taped on the gate on the Cairo Amman bank’s Jericho branch with the following message: “To our brothers in the Cairo Amman Bank. Your agreement to implement the Israeli occupation’s order to freeze the accounts of our heroic prisoners is a sign of shame. It is a total and clear bias to the Israel terror security forces and it represents the bypassing of national sovereignty. You are obliged to retract your disgraceful decision immediately. Your license is from the Palestinian Monetary Authority so let your decision also be Palestinian.”
Qadura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society and a former PA minister without portfolio told the Middle East-focused US media outlet The Media Line that the new Israeli army policy amounts to imposing Israeli sovereignty on Palestinian institutions that are meant to operate according to Palestinian law. “It’s reoccupying the West Bank,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Nadav Padan of the Israeli army’s Central Command had signed an amendment to an order regarding the West Bank that was “intended to expand the criminal and administrative tools in the hands of the Israeli military commander.”


Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

Updated 8 sec ago
Follow

Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”


Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Updated 56 min 41 sec ago
Follow

Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

  • Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders. 

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force. 

The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.” 

Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area. 

Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family. 

Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.  

In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.” 


Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

Updated 14 November 2024
Follow

Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

  • Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack

CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.


‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

Updated 14 November 2024
Follow

‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

  • Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
  • Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017

High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.

Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.

On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.

Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.

“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul. 

“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”

The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.

She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.

“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.

The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din. 

After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.

Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.


US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

Updated 14 November 2024
Follow

US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

  • The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.