Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

Haniya Appeals to Arab, World Leaders to Help Palestinians in Besieged Gaza Strip, After Bad Weather Conditions, No Power,

December 15, 2013

Severe weather conditions in the Palestinian territories of Gaza (above) and the West Bank (bottom left). A Palestinian boy injured by fire from Israeli occupation soldiers north of Gaza Strip (bottom right), December 15, 2013.



Palestinian Prime Minister in Gaza, Isma'il Haniya

Haniya asks Arabi to break the blockade on Gaza, send aid

[ 14/12/2013 - 05:24 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Gaza premier Ismail Haniya asked secretary general of the Arab League Nabil Al-Arabi to immediately implement the League’s decision on breaking the siege on Gaza and to allow entry of all basic needs via the Rafah crossing.

Taher Al-Nunu, the media advisor to Haneyya, said in a terse statement on Saturday that the premier reached Arabi on the phone and briefed him on the difficult living conditions in Gaza.

Arabi, for his part, said that he was following up development of events in Gaza and was holding contacts with Arab countries to send relief to the enclave.

Haniya had appealed to the world leaders on Friday to urgently step in and find a solution to the fuel and power crisis in Gaza and end the siege.

The premier said during an inspection tour of houses affected with the low depression that he made contacts with PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, the Emir of Qatar, the foreign minister of Russia, and the prime minister of Turkey to brief them on the humanitarian condition in Gaza as a result of the siege, which was aggravated by the harsh weather conditions.

Misha'al discusses negotiations, reconciliation with Abbas

[ 15/12/2013 - 12:20 PM ]

DOHA, (PIC)--

Political bureau chairman of Hamas Khalid Misha'al reached PA chief Mahmoud Abbas over the telephone at a late night hour on Saturday and discussed with him tragic conditions in Gaza Strip.

Sami Khater, political bureau member of Hamas, told Quds Press that the telephone contact was one the results of the recent meetings between delegations from Fatah and Hamas in Doha.

He said that Mishaal asked about progress of the negotiations with Israel, if any. He added that Abbas was informed that he went to the negotiations alone without the participation of any other Palestinian faction and that Hamas’s message to him was to stick to constants and not to surrender any of them.

Khater said that Judaization threats to the Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem were also tackled, adding that Mishaal affirmed that such issues should top the list of the Palestinian leadership’s priorities.

Discussion then touched on the blockade on Gaza, Khater said and quoted Misha'al as saying that maintaining the siege on Gaza till now was not acceptable.

Mishaal appreciated Abbas’s response to Gaza premier Ismail Haniya’s phone call and his assistance to the Gaza population in face of floods, the political bureau member said.

The telephone conversation also tackled the issue of reconciliation, Khater said, adding that Misha'al affirmed his movement’s commitment to all what had been agreed upon in this regard.

The Hamas leader called for approving a unified Palestinian strategy to administer the “struggle with the enemy”, Khater concluded.

Qatari fuel allowed into Gaza to run its power plant

[ 15/12/2013 - 12:11 PM ]

RAFAH, (PIC)--

Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) started to pump industrial diesel donated by Qatar into the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning through Karm Abu Salem crossing.

An official in the Palestinian government in Gaza told a PIC correspondent that 450,000 liters of diesel donated by Qatar was being shipped to Gaza on Sunday morning in order to re-operate the Strip's sole power plant.

Qatar has donated 10 million dollars to pay taxes imposed on fuel allocated to Gaza power plant by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya announced on Tuesday that Qatar will send a ship carrying fuel needed to run the plant for about 4 months.

Palestinian minor wounded in IOF shooting

[ 15/12/2013 - 09:06 AM ]

BEIT LAHIA, (PIC)--

 A Palestinian minor was shot and wounded when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired at him east of Beit Lahia, north of Gaza Strip, on Sunday morning.

Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra, the health ministry spokesman, said on his Facebook page that the 16-year-old boy was hit with a bullet in his left foot.

He described the boy’s condition as moderate, adding that he was taken to Kamal Edwan hospital. 

IOF opens Wadi Salaqa dams and dozens of homes flooded

[ 15/12/2013 - 11:46 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Hundreds of houses in central Gaza Strip were flooded as the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Saturday afternoon opened the earth dams east of the town of Wadi Al-Salaqa in Dair El-Balah.

The IOF established many earth dams east of the Gaza Strip to collect rainwater to use it; however in case the levels of water increase they open these dams and water flows to Gaza.

Palestinian sources told Quds Press that the rescue teams and civil defense have evacuated 40 families including 200 people from the town of Wadi Al-Salaqa and brought them to a shelter center.

The sources added that 300 families have been moved to the shelter center of Hussein School run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees "UNRWA" in Jabalya north of the Gaza Strip.

The Municipality of Gaza appealed to the residents living in low-lying areas in the Gaza Strip to evacuate their homes before the evening for fear their houses will be flooded with rainwater.

Chairman of the Emergency Committee in the town of Rafah Osama Abu Naqira confirmed that two houses in Rafah, southern Gaza, were seriously damaged, pointing out that a specialized engineering committee was formed to evacuate the hazardous areas.

He explained that the damages were caused by the heavy rainfall, and warned that many homes are threatened with collapse, especially in light of the poor infrastructure.

Abu Naqira stressed that civil defense and emergency committees have not stopped working since last Wednesday, and appealed to citizens to cooperate with the Committees and evacuate the houses threatened with collapse.

Unusual regional snowstorm paralyzes life in W. Bank

[ 15/12/2013 - 11:02 AM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)--

The cold air depression "Alexa" has completely paralyzed the daily life in the occupied West Bank and unveiled how much fragile its infrastructure is.

The "Palestine Weather" website said that the snowstorm that has lashed Palestine is the most vicious since 1878.

The PA municipal authorities in the West Bank on Saturday urged the citizens not to leave their homes, except in situations of vital importance to them.

Consequently, scores of citizens kept flooding to grocery stores and bakeries in the West Bank to stock up on supplies as all public services and businesses started to come to a halt.

Despite the formation of emergency units and the mobilization of the civil defense forces in all West Bank cities, yet the heavy snowfall caused road blockages and subsidence, and widespread material damage to private and public property.

Imminent humanitarian disaster threatens Gaza due to blockade and bad weather

 [ 15/12/2013 - 09:52 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Palestinian government in Gaza warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, because of the bad weather that exacerbated the suffering of the besieged people.

The government called upon the world to exert pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to allow entry of fuel to run Gaza's sole power plant, and to take the necessary measures to put an end to the suffering of Gaza residents.

Isra Mudallal, a government spokeswoman, urged, at a press conference held on Saturday evening at a shelter center, the international community to shoulder its legal and ethical responsibilities to end the illegal blockade imposed on Gaza, and to provide humanitarian assistance to the people in order to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

She said: "The acute shortage of fuel and the lack of equipment made alleviating the suffering of the people an almost impossible task," and noted that the blockade has caused serious adverse effects on all aspects of life.

Mudallal added that the health sector in Gaza has been seriously affected by the crisis, while water services and sanitation have deteriorated due to lack of fuel and the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation.

She stressed that since the very first moment the Palestinian government in Gaza declared a state of emergency and formed rescue teams that have been working non-stop to help the citizens in the affected areas, which became flooded due to heavy rainfall.

Rafah border terminal closed for third day

[ 15/12/2013 - 09:03 AM ]

RAFAH, (PIC)--

The Egyptian authorities continued to close the Rafah border terminal with Gaza Strip for the third day on Sunday.

The Egyptian authorities have been closing the only border crossing with Gaza for long periods ever since the army ousted president Mohammed Morsi last July.

The Egyptian authorities had opened the crossing last Sunday for five days after nine days of closure and only for certain passengers and for the entry of mainly medical aid.

Meanwhile, the PIC reporter quoted security sources as saying that Israeli warplanes were seen hovering over the southern border city of Rafah since the early morning hours on Sunday.