#SaveSilwan : Stop the Forced Displacement in the Occupied East Jerusalem

On Friday, an Israeli Jerusalem district court decided to postpone its final ruling in yet another case involving Palestinian citizens fighting eviction orders from their homes in their occupied city by the Israeli occupation authority.

It is not another new episode in the bitter fight over Sheik Jarrah neighbourhood, but it is rather another episode in the older fight over Silwan district of East Jerusalem.

Yes, the district court decided to postpone its final ruling in the case of Silwan’s Btan Al-Hawa neighbourhood till next December where seven Palestinian Jerusalemite families are appealing against the evict orders issued by the Israeli authorities.

Save Silwan from a protest organized by the Palestinians on Friday "AFP"

We are speaking about at least 700 people on the verge of losing their homes.

The Israeli court decided to adjourn its ruling because there are two appeals filed by other Palestinian families in Silwan against the Israeli evict orders.

Israeli authorities claim that those Palestinian families are living on land owned by Jewish owners, which is untrue historically and legally.

Before we go to the history of Silwan, I must state some fundamental facts.

Legally Silwan district is in East Jerusalem, an officially recognized occupied territory by international law, the UN Nations and its Security Council as well as most of the World Community.

Israel, its orders, its laws and courts have no jurisdiction officially in East Jerusalem.  So, all the past, present and future eviction orders are officially null.

It is also worth mentioning that forced displacement can reach the level of a war crime.

The History of Silwan

Historically, Silwan is from the ancient villages in Jerusalem and actually, it is one of the areas that were originally built by the Jebusite Canaanites. The Jebusites were the true builders historically of Jerusalem if we are going to speak ancient history.

Watch “Inside the Battle of Jerusalem” .. inside the battle of Sheikh Jarrah

Please watch this short documentary produced by Vice News about the recent events in Palestine that started technically in the small neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem and the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque. 

The video is focusing on the case of Sheikh Jarrah and its Palestinian residents who are facing illegal forced evictions.

The documentary includes the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on video.

I was following Vice News reporter Hind Hassan on that day the Israeli forces stormed the Aqsa Mosque from two weeks ago.

It turned out that she was doing this short documentary on Sheikh Jarrah but things got escalated fast.

Now this short documentary got a special appearance of the Arab World’s favourite Fauci aka Jacob Fauci or Yacoub Fauci

We knew more information about our infamous blatant illegal settler from New York’s Long Island.

Unsurprisingly, he is a Kahanist Trump support and COVID-19 truther.  It is like a whole package !!

Kodak Agfa Presents: Quick look to Tahrir square after renovations at night

Here is a small glimpse of  World famous Cairo's Tahrir square after its renovation from the car in April.

Tahrir square after renovation 

The facades of the neoclassical, modernist and Art deco buildings were recoloured and re-painted with the pastel beige and had this new lighting system at night.

The building at the intersection of Tahrir square and Mohamed Mahmoud street

The new lighting system was made by the Public sector ministry and it cost LE 60 million. 

I wonder if all those lights are turned off at a certain time at night or how they manage it. Here is a shaky photo of some of Tahrir square’s buildings.

Yes, Israel is an Apartheid state

US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aka AOC hit a nerve from a couple of two days ago when she tweeted that “Apartheid states are not democracies” hinting out to Israel without naming it.

Apartheid states aren’t democracies.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 15, 2021

The tweet went viral, and the US media did not like that much and the crazy woman screaming online card was pulled for the young Congresswoman from New York, but it did not intimidate her.

So are the extensively researched, painstaking conclusions from the UN, Human Rights Watch, and B’Tselem (among the largest human rights orgs in the world and in Israel) considered “outbursts” too?

Or is that just a descriptor MSN reserves for the women legislators quoting them? https://t.co/i0c0M3OjGe

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 16, 2021

And yes, Israel is an apartheid state whether you support it or not, it is an apartheid state.

For decades Israel positioned itself as the oasis of democracy in the Middle East full of Arab dictatorships. What helped this perception to be enforced two facts: The Middle East has been ruled so far by dictatorships and Israel has a democracy that enjoyed and is limited to its Jewish citizens only.

This Israeli democracy is too flawed by another fact that has been hidden too long from the world but Arabs especially Palestinians know very well: It is an apartheid occupation state.

Palestinians and Israeli activists protest a plan by the Israeli government
to annex parts of the West Bank, at the Almog Junction
near Jericho in the West Bank on June 27, 2020 "UPI"

Before Human Rights Watch publishes its report on Israel as an apartheid state, Palestinians knew that fact too long especially the Palestinians living in the Greenline aka the 1948 borders and there is a lot of damning evidence that supports this.

By facts and by numbers in 2019 according to Palestinian activists, there are 6.6 million Jewish Israelis who are free to live through Israel and most of the West Bank.

On the other hand, there are 1.6 million Palestinians who are officially citizens of Israel “Living in the 1948 borders” and can vote but barred by the Israeli government and its committees from living in 68% of the towns in Israel!!

There are 0.3 million Palestinians living in East Jerusalem which is according to international law and UN security council resolutions an occupied territory since 1967 that Israel must withdraw from immediately.

The case for the US military aid to Israel or Why actually Israel does not need USD 3 billion annually

Prominent US figures like Senator Bernie Sander, Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Rashida Talib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are demanding that the US military aid to Israel be reconsidered.

It was a historical moment to see a bunch of congressmen and congresswoman demanding what seemed to be impossible to demand at the US Congress from two days ago.

US protesters in solidarity with Palestine 
against US aid to Israel in Atlanta on Saturday 

Protesters all over the United States on Saturday held signs demanding Joe Biden to cut off the US military aid to Israel. “Many Egyptians envy them but I believe the voices in the States were louder and more heard in the West than our Arabic voice that has longed protested but always ignored”.

The protesters held banners saying that the US military aid to Israel kills babies.

Israel is the biggest recipient of US aid. It started as economic aid at first in the 1970s but in the 1990s, it became a military aid

Morally speaking, I do not understand how the US lectures China and Russia “and rightly so” when it supports the Israeli state which is an apartheid state with a very long record of breaking international laws and UN Security Council resolutions. Israel has been occupying Arab land for decades now and discriminants between Jews and Arabs systematically.

So Why does the US support it with the US taxpayers money? 

There are unconfirmed reports already that Israel deployed its F-16s and F-35s in its attacks to Gaza where so far not less than 40 children have been killed alone according to the latest tolls of the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israeli forces have been targeting many civilian targets from houses and towers from the Upper Middle Palestinian class claiming to be legitimate targets of Hamas, but it is untrue, and it is reportedly a tactic used by Israel to create public pressure and anger from the militant group in Gaza. It has yielded negative results.

Away from morals and my Egyptian Arab emotional talks, any fair and balanced observer would wonder why the US would give Israel with its military production excellence military aid in the first place.

Media's different tune, Medical aid and Ceasefire offers: Egypt after Palestine under attack

It is Friday in Egypt and the Friday prayer

The State TV transferred for the first time since quite some time the Friday prayer sermon from Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo and it was all about Palestine and the Israeli Zionists attacks against Palestinians.

Its main title was “To support the occupied territories”.

Veteran Sheikh Ahmed Omar Hashem used strong language to speak about “Occupied Palestine”, “Occupation forces” and “the silence of Arab states".

Al-Azhar is the most prominent Sunni religious institution in Egypt and in the world.

Some will say that recently Al-Azhar institution was not on the same page with the current Egyptian administration on certain issues related to the religious discourse in the country and that it is independent but still it is the Egyptian State TV.

Its grand Emam, Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb has been the most senior Egyptian and Muslim figure to condemn and attack publicly Israel and its actions in the past three months openly. 

Hours after Sheikh Hasham’s sermon, we found former Mufti and close to the regime Sheikh Ali Goma’a sending this message through his official social media networks.

Bibi’s Game or How you make a time bomb and do not know how to stop it

When I saw the photo of the rockets launched from Gaza by Qassam brigades towards Israel in some cinematic scene, all I can think about is how this what current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aka Bibi wanted from the start.

Photo showing the rockets coming reportedly from Gaza on 
Tuesday "Twitter" 

Bibi wanted to remain in the picture and if he has to leave, he will leave behind chaos just like any corrupted Middle Eastern despot.

Yes, Bibi made an achievement and truly became a Middle Eastern corrupted leader whether financially or politically or morally too.

What is better to create chaos or turning things upside down except by launching a war against Gaza once again?

It proved to be a successful tactic in the Middle East to make people forget democracy and human rights when they feel danger and that their own national security.

Bibi and partners in the Gulf do not want the Biden administration to revive the Iran deal.

Bibi does not really want to revive the peace process nor does he want to stop the expansion in settlements.

Erupting a short battle with militant groups of Gaza is a perfect way and he knows very well which buttons to push for this to happen.

Happy Eid Fitr 2021 from Egyptian Chronicles

Happy Eid Fitr 2021 from Egyptian Chronicles to all Muslims and people celebrating it

From Egypt earlier Thursday “Thanks to the amazing Documentaries 2000 Facebook page”. 

A cutie pie twin from Cairo by Mohamed Ibrahim 

Cutie pie twin celebrating Eid Fitr at the Mosque with cool sunglasses by 
Mohamed Ibrahim 

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “The Light at the other side of the mountain” Ep.30

Good evening,
Here we are with the final night of our Radio Arabian Nights for this year.
We will conclude our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab and I hope that you like it.
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

Second, here is the 30th episode in our tale and the 552nd night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “The King of the Ghouls” Ep.29

Here we are on the 29th night of our Radio Arabian Nights this year.
We will continue our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

It is the 29th episode in our tale and the 551st night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “In The Valley of the Ghouls” Ep.28

Here we are on the 28th night of our Radio Arabian Nights this year.
We will continue our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

It is the 28th episode in our tale and the 550th night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break.

Kodak Agfa Presents : Egypt’s Spring Flowers Show 2021

Happy Belated Sham El-Nassim to all Egyptian Chronicles

Last  Monday we celebrated Egypt’s oldest feast that we inherited from the ancient Egyptians themselves.

We celebrated Shamu or the Season of the Harvest.

A partition in Egypt's Spring Flowers show 

On this occasion, Kodak Agfa proudly presents a collection of photos from Egypt’s Spring Flowers Shows 2021.

Yes, Egypt held its oldest exhibit in its modern time once again in March 2021 after it was suspended in 2020 due to coronavirus.

Organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, this year’s show was launched in its 87th edition from 13 March to 13 April right before Ramadan.

Ramadan lanterns were there in an innovative way 

The Ministry hoped that it would attract at least one million visitors in order to compensate for last year’s losses.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “Budur’s Riddles” Ep.27

Here we are on the 27th night of our Radio Arabian Nights this year.
We will continue our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

It is the 27th episode in our tale and the 549th night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break. “P.s, there is a bit of a problem in the recording in a small part but the rest of the old recording is fine”

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “The Copper lion” Ep.26

Here we are on the 26th night of our Radio Arabian Nights this year.
We will continue our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

It is the 26th episode in our tale and the 548th night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “The Safety Road” Ep.25

Here we are on the 25th night of our Radio Arabian Nights this year.
We will continue our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

It is the 25th episode in our tale and the 547th night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break.

Coronavirus on the Nile: 15 months of COVID-19 in Egypt in graphs

Another monthly post as part of the COVID-19 coverage in Egyptian Chronicles.

This time it is a quick look into COVID-19 numbers in Egypt after 15 months since its arrival to the country in February 2020.

A file photo of an Egyptian doctor in PPE "AFP" 

Now we have got three months to compare with the numbers of 2020, specifically February, March and April.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “The Three princes’ Test” Ep.24

Here we are on the 24th night of our Radio Arabian Nights this year.
We will continue our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

It is the 24th episode in our tale and the 546th night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “Three princes” Ep.23

Here we are on the 23rd night of our Radio Arabian Nights this year.
We will continue our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

It is the 23rd episode in our tale and the 545th night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break.

Coronavirus on the Nile: Egypt’s COVID-19 April 2021 numbers in Graph

This is the time of our monthly post about the coronavirus pandemic and its numbers in graphs.

The official numbers of coronavirus cases in Egypt continued officially to Serge steadily in April 2021 following March 2021.

In April 2021 people already were warning that we started to the impact of the coronavirus’ third more vividly unfortunately as the Holy Month of Ramadan Kicked off and people as well as the government despites its restrictions acted as if there is no pandemic.

The restaurants and Ramadan tents, as well as parties, are back under the guise of social distance rules but there is no social distance nor masks rules.

A woman wearing a mask in the famous El-Sayida Zeinab Ramadan Market
in early April 2021. 

April finished and the numbers are increasing and I hope that the government acts quickly and at least gives the Eid week off so people can stay in their homes for a while.

Last year, we had the peak of the coronavirus’ first wave in the month right Ramadan.

Disclaimer: According to Minister of Health Hala Zayed in early January, the official numbers of cases represent between 10%-15% of the real number of cases worldwide Egypt included.

It is enough to know that the Ministry of Health delivered 4,000 of its coronavirus medication bags to the in-house isolation cases in Suhag governorate this month only to know that the numbers are greater in the real world.

Now to the graphs of April numbers.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “The Oasis” Ep.22

Here we are on the 22nd night of our Radio Arabian Nights this year.
We will continue our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

It is the 22nd episode in our tale and the 544th night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “Harut” Ep.21

Here we are on the 21st night of our Radio Arabian Nights this year.
We will continue our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

It is the 21st episode in our tale and the 543rd night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break.

Happy Orthodox Easter 2021 from Egyptian Chronicles

Happy Orthodox Easter from Egyptian Chronicles to all those celebrating it especially in Egypt from dear Coptic Orthodox Egypt.

On this occasion, I would like to share this quick photo taken on the Wadi Al-Natroun-Alamein Highway in Summer 2020 for one of the famous Wadi Al-Natroun Christian Monasteries.

An Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Monastery 

I can't pinpoint which monastery it is, if you do know then please leave a comment. I will be very grateful. 

Wadi Al-Natroun or Al-Natroun valley includes a series of oldest monasteries, not only in Egypt but in the world. Wadi Al-Natroun is also one of the places that were visited by the Holy Family when they came to Egypt.

I hope one day inshallah I can visit this area and see all those places.

This year and due to the coronavirus outbreaks, all the visits to the monasteries are cancelled currently for the time being.

Please stay safe, stay home, keep your social distance and mask on and register to get the vaccine as soon as possible.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2021 : Tale of King Mahorab “The Real King is back” Ep.20

Here we are on the 20th night of our Radio Arabian Nights this year.
We will continue our tale for this year, the tale of King Mahorab
First of all, You can refresh your mind with what happened last night here.

It is the 20th episode in our tale and the 542nd night of our Egyptian Radio show.

You can listen to the episode after the break.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : May’s Coronavirus “Live Coverage”

A new month under the coronavirus pandemic.

It is May and in its first half of it, We got Labor Day, Orthodox Easter,  10 days of Ramadan and Eid during a scary surge of coronavirus cases across the country right now.

I do not know if we are in the middle of the third wave’s peak or the peak will be reached after those two weeks of national holidays and social gatherings.

A Health Ministry worker giving medicine to coronavirus patient at home
in Sohag governorate "Egyptian health ministry"

In 2020, Egypt’s witnessed the peak of the coronavirus’ first wave in June right after Ramadan.

The government does not want a full lockdown or semi lockdown but it may resort to that if things go out of control.

The majority of the people are still careless. In those first 20 days of Ramadan restaurants and Sohour tents are back to business.

The only difference is that they do not offer shisha. Ramadan concerts are back. The public informal markets are over packed.

It is more than alarming because we are still very slow when it comes to vaccination. We still do not have enough vaccines and many people are scared of vaccination too.

Facebook has become like a scary obituary social network.

Stay safe, Stay at home as much as you can, keep your social distance, wear your mask and get vaccinated, please.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus in Egypt and the Arab world.