Ministry of Foreign Affairs /Media Unit,  January 26th 2015

• Gaza says readying sea port for international travel
• Israeli forces detain 2 teens in Beit Ummar
• Democratic Arab Party opts out of coalition ahead of Israeli elections
• Family visits graves via tunnel under separation wall near Bethlehem
• UN accuses Israel of illegally razing homes of 77 Palestinians
• UN accuses Israel of illegally razing homes of 77 Palestinians
• Child Abuse Cases In Israeli Prisons Continue to Grow

Gaza says readying sea port for international travel
GAZA CITY (AFP) -- A ministerial committee in Israeli-blockaded Gaza announced plans on Sunday to ready the enclave's sole seaport to allow Palestinians to travel abroad.

The enclave, home to 1.8 million people, has been under an Israeli land and sea blockade since 2006. Its sole gateway to the world not controlled by Israel is the Rafah border with Egypt, which has been largely closed since late October.

Alaa al-Batta, spokesman for the committee formed to lift the blockade, said preparations are under way to launch within two months a boat service for the sick and students studying overseas.

The port in Gaza City is currently restricted to fishermen, whom Israel only allows to fish up to a maximum of six nautical miles from the shore.

Israeli forces routinely fire on any vessel close to the outer limit.

Opening a port was one of the main Palestinian demand to be tabled during negotiations with Israel to firm up a truce agreement which ended a 50-day war in July and August.

But the negotiations failed to get off the ground and the demand was never tabled.

"We are taking the necessary measures to allow maritime transport and to prepare for the construction of a port which will link Gaza with the outside world," Batta said.

There was no immediate reaction from Israel to the Gaza port plan.

Several ships manned by pro-Palestinian activists have tried to run the blockade and reach the shores of Gaza, but they have all been repelled by the Israeli navy.

In 2010, Israeli commandos staged a botched raid on a six-ship flotilla in international waters, killing 10 Turkish nationals and sparking a diplomatic crisis with Ankara that has yet to be resolved

Israeli forces detain 2 teens in Beit Ummar
HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained two teenagers in Beit Ummar at dawn on Monday, a local committee said.

Spokesman Ayyad Awad told Ma'an that Ibrahim Yusuf Ikhlayyil, 17, and Omar Suleiman Abu Ayyash, 19, were arrested in the al-Bayada neighborhood.

Youths in the town threw stones and empty bottles at Israeli military jeeps during the raid.

A total of 38 youths have been detained in the the town in January, the local committee says.

Family visits graves via tunnel under separation wall near Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinians have suffered in many ways as a result of the Israeli separation wall, and in the case of one family in al-Walajah west of Bethlehem, the wall separates them from the graves of their relatives.

Ahmad Barghouth, 66, told Ma'an he buried his parents and grandparents years ago in his field near his home. But the Israeli separation wall was built on his land between the small family cemetery and his house.

When Barghouth saw the blueprints of the wall, he knew that the route of the wall would isolate his family's graves, he said.

But he can visit the graves through a small tunnel under the separation wall -- Barghouth managed to obtain permission for the tunnel from the Israeli Supreme Court.

"I managed several times to stop the contractors from working in the area until the court finally decided that a tunnel must be built under the wall so my family can access the graves."

The tunnel was built with an iron gate at the entrance, and the keys were given to the family.

Democratic Arab Party opts out of coalition ahead of Israeli elections
NAZARETH (Ma'an) -- The Democratic Arab Party, a political party made up of Palestinian citizens of Israel, has decided not to join with a united coalition of Arab parties recently established for upcoming elections, the party announced Sunday.

A statement from the party said the decision was made "to fulfill the aspirations of the people in a true unity that respects the volition of Arab people in making an impact and creating change."

"The Democratic Arab Party had decided to run in elections in a comprehensive coalition, believing that our people would be done right by it, but it was let down ... after some parties conspired against it to eliminate the goals ... and aspirations of our people under the guise of unity."
With Israeli Knesset elections upcoming in mid-March, parties came together to form an Arab coalition called the United Democratic Party, bringing together Balad, Ra'am-Ta'al, the Arab-Jewish socialist party Hadash, and the Islamic Movement.

The party of Israeli Foreign Ministry Avigdor Liberman called in a statement Saturday for the disqualification of the new coalition, saying that "whoever casts his lot with Balad, whose whole raison d'etre is to support terror groups and cooperate with Israel's enemies, does not deserve to be part of the Israeli Knesset," Israeli media reported.

The statement called on other parties to petition against the united coalition "to avoid an absurd situation in which members of Knesset act against the state," according to a report by The Times of Israel.


UN accuses Israel of illegally razing homes of 77 Palestinians
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- The United Nations has accused Israel of illegally demolishing the homes of 77 Palestinians, mostly children, this week in occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

"In the past three days, 77 Palestinians, over half of them children, have been made homeless," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement issued Friday evening.

"Some of the demolished structures were provided by the international community to support vulnerable families.

"Demolitions that result in forced evictions and displacement run counter to Israel's obligations under international law and create unnecessary suffering and tension. They must stop immediately," said OCHA.

The demolitions took place in East Jerusalem and the districts of Ramallah, Jericho, and Hebron, it added.

OCHA said that during 2014 Israel carried out a record number of demolitions in east Jerusalem and a zone of the West Bank under full Israeli control known as Area C.

"In 2014, according to OCHA figures, the Israeli authorities destroyed 590 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C and east Jerusalem, displacing 1,177 people -- the highest level of displacement in the West Bank since OCHA began systematically monitoring the issue in 2008."

It did not specify how many of the structures were homes.

Israel says such demolitions are carried out because the structures have been built without the required construction permits. Palestinians and rights groups say such authorization is routinely denied, forcing unlicensed building.

"The planning policies applied by Israel in Area C and east Jerusalem discriminate against Palestinians, making it extremely difficult for them to obtain building permits," said OCHA.

"As a result, many Palestinians build without permits to meet their housing needs and risk having their structures demolished.

"Palestinians must have the opportunity to participate in a fair and equitable planning system that ensures their needs are met," it said.

Child Abuse Cases In Israeli Prisons Continue to Grow
Palestinian prisoners representative in Hasharon Israeli prison, Amin Zaida revealed increasing cases of abuse of juvenile prisoners while being transferred to other prisons.

These statements came during the attorney Fawaz Shludi's visit to juvenile prisoners detained at Hasharon prison.

Shaludi said that Malik Hamdan (17), of Jerusalem, was the latest of prisoners who witnessed aggression from the "Nahchon" forces during his transfer to prison.

Hamdan was severely beaten on his face and the rest of his body, as a result he was transferred to Ramleh prison clinic, stressing that the prisoners had filed a complaint about it.

It should be noted that about 38 prisoners below the age of 18 are imprisoned in Hasharon occupation cells, in addition to 71 minors in Megiddo, and 84 in Ofer prison.

According to Census Department of the Palestinian Commission of Detainees report, Israeli forces kidnapped 3755 children in the last four years, including 1266 in 2014.

Israeli forces as well keep violating the international law by kidnapping children. On Friday, Israeli occupation court sentenced 14 Year-Old Girl to 2 Months in Prison and $1523 Fine.