Palestinian/ Israeli update 11/20/2016..Gazans mourn death of Palestinian man by Israeli forces

Gazans mourn death of Palestinian man by Israeli forces

Israel to build over 30,000 new settler units

Israel approves bill to hush ‘noisy’ mosques

Israel’s new attack on Palestinian culture

Jalal Abukhater

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/jalal-abukhater/israels-new-attack-palestinian-culture

A bill being put forward to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, will, if passed, ban mosques from using loudspeakers to broadcast the call to prayer five times a day. The bill has government backing and support from a significant number of legislators. And though it is currently being appealed, it is likely to pass should the vote take place.

The backers of the bill, which was originally intended to stop the broadcasting of nationalist messages, now claim that the goal is to curb “noise pollution.”

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has stated that “Israel is committed to freedom for all religions,” and the proposed ban serves to “protect [Israel’s] citizens from noise.”

Assault on Palestinian identity

Whatever Netanyahu says, the move to ban the call to prayer should be understood first and foremost as an assault on Palestinian identity. The Israeli European settler colony project has relentlessly manipulated and wholly changed the cultural features of Palestine in its imposition of supremacy over the land and the people who dwell there…….read more…https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/jalal-abukhater/israels-new-attack-palestinian-culture

Israel plays with fire with ban on Muslim calls to prayer: Hamas leader

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/20/494427/Hamas-leader-Khaled-Meshaal-Israel-ban-calls-prayers-US-Donald-Trump

The political bureau chief of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has warned the Israeli regime about the recent ban on the use of speakers for Muslim calls to prayer, stating that such legislation is tantamount to “playing with fire.”

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Turkey’s official news agency, Anadolu, on Sunday, Khaled Meshaal said the controversial and so-called muezzin bill “has drawn a strong reaction from the Palestinian people and Muslims worldwide.” Meshaal added that Israel has opted to reverse the proposed bill for the fear that it would serve as an excuse to stop Jewish rituals in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds, stressing that the Palestinian nation’s outrage signaled that muffling Muslim calls to prayer is their red line. The Hamas leader noted that there will be no stability in the Middle East region, unless Palestinian rights are recognized and Israel withdraws from Palestinian lands.

During a cabinet meeting last Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would support the bill, claiming that calls to prayer make excessive noise. Palestinian leaders argue that the bill is not about noise, but is rather intended only to silence mosques. “This bill is the ugly product of Islamophobia that has come to dominate Israel,” Thabet Abu Ras of the Abraham Fund commented.

Haneen Zoabi, a Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset (parliament), also said, “The issue is not about noise in their ears but about the noise in their minds. What disturbs them so much is the noise of the Palestinians’ presence in their own homeland.”

Meshaal also called on US President-elect Donald Trump to change US foreign policy and strive to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. “We realize that regional and international developments affect the Palestinian cause and all regional issues, but what makes history is the struggle of the peoples,” he said. The Hamas leader further described an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands and sacred sites as the key to regional stability.

On November 10, Meshaal urged Trump to withdraw the longstanding American support for Israel, stating that the Tel Aviv regime is a “burden” for Washington.

Egypt closes Rafah border crossing after 5-day opening

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/20/494431/Gaza-Rafah-Israel-Egypt

Egypt has shut the Rafah border crossing, the only passageway to the outside world for the besieged Gaza Strip, after a five-day humanitarian opening. The Palestinian Border and Crossing Committee said in a statement on Sunday that Egyptian authorities closed the border crossing on Saturday morning, adding that the gateway had been opened for five consecutive days, allowing “humanitarian cases” to go through in both directions.

It further said that 2,664 people, most of whom being humanitarian cases, were able to leave the besieged coastal enclave to Egypt during the few days of opening of the crossing. It added that the non-humanitarian cases were those with Egyptian passports who left from Gaza for Egypt. The statement went on to say that 1,443 passengers were allowed to travel from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. Egyptian authorities, however, turned back 362 Gaza-bound passengers without giving explanation, it added.

The committee said in conclusion that the Rafah border crossing operated for a total of 32 days in the current year.