Latest news with #SteffenSeibert
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Israeli settlers attack West Bank Christian village: PA
TEL AVIV: Israeli settlers attacked the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, torching cars and spray-painting threatening graffiti, the Palestinian Authority said Monday. "Israeli colonial settlers launched a terror attack tonight on the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh (Ramallah), setting fire to Palestinian vehicles and spray-painting racist threats in Hebrew on homes and property", the Ramallah-based authority wrote on X. A Taybeh resident, speaking anonymously for safety reasons, told AFP the attack occurred at about 2am (2300 GMT), with at least two vehicles burned. They said one vehicle belonged to a journalist, while noting the damage appeared to target Palestinian property broadly. A photo shared by a Palestinian government agency on X showed graffiti on a Taybeh wall that read: "Al-Mughayyir, you will regret", referring to a nearby village that was also attacked by settlers earlier this year. The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry condemned the attack, calling it "settler terrorism." Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also condemned it, writing on X: "These extremist settlers may claim that God gave them the land. But they are nothing but criminals abhorrent to any faith." Taybeh and its surroundings have experienced several bouts of settler violence in recent months, including an arson attack at an ancient Byzantine church. The village – home to about 1,300 mostly Christian Palestinians, many holding US dual citizenship – is known for its brewery, the oldest in the Palestinian territories. Settlers have attacked neighbouring communities in recent months, resulting in three deaths, damage to Palestinian water wells and the displacement of at least one rural herding community. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The territory is home to about three million Palestinians and around 700,000 Israeli settlers, including about 200,000 in east Jerusalem. Last week, 71 members of Israel's 120-seat parliament, or Knesset, passed a motion calling on the government to annex the West Bank.
The Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Israeli settlers attack Christian village in West Bank, burn cars
TAYBEH: Israeli settlers launched an attack on the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, burning cars and spray-painting threatening graffiti, according to the Palestinian Authority. The incident occurred early Monday, escalating tensions in the region. The Ramallah-based authority stated on X, 'Israeli colonial settlers launched a terror attack tonight on the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh (Ramallah), setting fire to Palestinian vehicles and spray-painting racist threats in Hebrew on homes and property.' A local resident, speaking anonymously, confirmed the attack took place around 2:00 am, with at least two vehicles destroyed. One of the burned cars reportedly belonged to a journalist, suggesting a broader targeting of Palestinian property. Graffiti left on a wall in Taybeh read, 'Al-Mughayyir, you will regret,' referencing a nearby village previously attacked by settlers. The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry condemned the violence, labelling it 'settler terrorism.' Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also denounced the attack, stating on X, 'These extremist settlers may claim that God gave them the land. But they are nothing but criminals abhorrent to any faith.' Taybeh, home to around 1,300 mostly Christian Palestinians—many with US dual citizenship—has faced repeated settler violence, including an arson attack on a historic Byzantine church. The village is also known for its brewery, the oldest in the Palestinian territories. Recent months have seen increased settler aggression in the West Bank, resulting in fatalities, damaged water wells, and displaced herding communities. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, with approximately 700,000 settlers now living among three million Palestinians. Last week, 71 members of Israel's Knesset passed a motion urging the government to annex the West Bank, further heightening tensions. – AFP
Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Israeli settlers attack West Bank Christian village: PA
JERUSALEM: Israeli settlers attacked the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, torching cars and spray-painting threatening graffiti, the Palestinian Authority said Monday. 'Israeli colonial settlers launched a terror attack tonight on the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh (Ramallah), setting fire to Palestinian vehicles and spray-painting racist threats in Hebrew on homes and property,' the Ramallah-based authority wrote on X. A Taybeh resident, speaking anonymously for safety reasons, told AFP the attack occurred at about 2:00 am (2300 GMT), with at least two vehicles burned. They said one vehicle belonged to a journalist, while noting the damage appeared to target Palestinian property broadly. A photo shared by a Palestinian government agency on X showed graffiti on a Taybeh wall that read: 'Al-Mughayyir, you will regret,' referring to a nearby village that was also attacked by settlers earlier this year. The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry condemned the attack, calling it 'settler terrorism.' Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also condemned it, writing on X: 'These extremist settlers may claim that God gave them the land. But they are nothing but criminals abhorrent to any faith.' Taybeh and its surroundings have experienced several bouts of settler violence in recent months, including an arson attack at an ancient Byzantine church. The village — home to about 1,300 mostly Christian Palestinians, many holding US dual citizenship — is known for its brewery, the oldest in the Palestinian territories. Settlers have attacked neighboring communities in recent months, resulting in three deaths, damage to Palestinian water wells and the displacement of at least one rural herding community. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The territory is home to about three million Palestinians and around 700,000 Israeli settlers, including about 200,000 in east Jerusalem. Last week, 71 members of Israel's 120-seat parliament, or Knesset, passed a motion calling on the government to annex the West Bank.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German ambassador 'worried' as correspondent detained in West Bank
The German ambassador to Israel on Tuesday said he was "worried" after a correspondent for a German newspaper was detained in the West Bank. Steffen Seibert said reporter Christian Meier from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (faz) faced "unjustified detention" when "extremist settlers" harassed him in the Palestinian territory. "It is not journalists who disturb the peace," added Seibert. Meier was held in the West Bank on Friday and only released after several hours in custody, faz said on Monday. The correspondent had been investigating attacks on Palestinian shepherds with a group of Israeli human rights activists when the group was reportedly harassed by Israeli settlers. Meier was allegedly forced to sign a document stating that he would not return to the West Bank for two weeks. Press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders called the incident an "unacceptable and arbitrary encroachment on the freedom of the press." In a statement to the faz, the German Foreign Office said it "condemns the completely unfounded and unlawful detention."
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police raid at a rare island of dialogue in Jerusalem sparks fears of a free speech crackdown
JERUSALEM — For years, the Palestinian-owned Educational Bookshop in east Jerusalem has been a rare island of dialogue in an increasingly divided city, but an Israeli police raid on the store this week has sparked fears about the suppression of free speech. While the well-known store and its smaller branch across the street were open Tuesday, the bust saw detectives confiscate books in trash bags and arrest two members of the owner's family. The incident has raised broader concerns about the status of shared places where Israelis and Palestinians can peacefully come together and debate. 'I, like many diplomats, enjoy browsing for books at Educational Bookshop. I know its owners, the Muna family, to be peace-loving proud Palestinian Jerusalemites, open for discussion and intellectual exchange,' Steffen Seibert, Germany's ambassador to Israel, said in a post on X. 'I am concerned to hear of the raid and their detention in prison,' he added. The store, founded on Salah al-Din Street in 1984 by the Muna family, sells books in many languages that largely focus on the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has long been known in the area as an intellectual oasis where readers from across the political divide can share ideas. Security footage from Sunday afternoon that the Muna family shared with NBC News showed plainclothes officers rifling through books and taking away some of them in garbage bags. During the raid on the predominantly English-language store, officers also arrested the manager, Mahmoud Muna, and his nephew Ahmad. Both have since been released. Mahmoud's brother, Morad, said that the police had taken books with a Palestinian flag or icon printed on them and that they used Google Translate to help understand what the material was saying. 'In our book, anyone from any religion, from any side, can say his opinion without being afraid. He can discuss any kind of thing,' he said. 'In the west side of Jerusalem, there are English bookstores that have the same books that we have, and you will never hear that they arrested the owners,' he added. A spokesperson from the Israeli police said that the two were arrested on suspicion of 'selling books containing incitement and support for terrorism at bookstores in Jerusalem.' Police added that the detectives had confiscated from the store 'numerous books containing inciteful material,' pointing to the children's coloring book titled 'From the River to the Sea,' written by South African author Nathi Ngubane, as one example. The police added that they had also raided a bookshop in Jerusalem's Old City last week, which had material supporting Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic State group. The title of the coloring book is also a pro-Palestinian slogan often used at protests against Israel and refers to the geographical area between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea that encompasses Israel and the Palestinian territories. The American Jewish Committee says on its website that the slogan 'can be used to call for the elimination of the State of Israel and/or ethnic cleansing of Jews living there,' while the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies protested the publication of the book when it was initially released. Wasim Khalis, who owns a clothing store next door to Educational Bookshop, said he had been drinking coffee in the bookstore around 3 p.m. local time when four plainclothes officers entered. After a few minutes, he said, the officers flashed a warrant and asked customers to leave, while a second group of officers went across the street to another store owned by the family. 'It was very strange,' he said. 'This isn't a new store; it has been here for decades. They took items that were very normal and could be found anywhere, including on the internet.' Some 10 diplomats including those from the European Union and the United Kingdom sat in on a debate Monday on the Munas' release date at Jerusalem's District Court. Meanwhile, supporters of the Educational Bookstore wrote about their alarm at the raid online, with a smaller number gathering outside the courthouse. 'We fear that the raid on the store, the confiscation of books from it, and the imprisonment of its owner under the pretext of 'violating public order' is a regime provocation designed to erase the Palestinian cultural narrative and harass those involved in it,' Israeli author Ilan Sheinfeld said in a post on X. One of the in-person protesters was Galit Samuel, an Israeli patron who had traveled from Tel Aviv to be there. She said of the Munas that 'they are both men of peace, and they are promoting Palestinian culture in peaceful ways.' 'It's unimaginable that such people were arrested and books were confiscated,' she added. 'It's a grave attack on free speech and free thinking.' This article was originally published on
