The West Bank update

A Palestinian man was shot and killed on Monday around midday by Israeli army gunfire in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The Israeli military offensive in the city continues for the second consecutive day. The Israeli army invaded Nablus yesterday under the pretext of cracking down on ‘wanted Palestinians’.

Local medical sources reported that Annan Al Tibi, 41, was killed when an Israeli troop shot him in his own home, in Al Yassamein neighborhood in the old city of Nablus.

Tibi's son was also injured during the attack on the family home; Palestinian medical teams reported that the they were denied access for several hours, by Israeli soldiers..

Also on Monday around midday, Israeli tanks bombed a second building in downtown Nablus city. Local sources reported that Israeli forces are attacking civilian cars and destroying them. In the meantime, the Israeli army has turned two local schools into detention camps, and is gathering men aged from 15 to 35 inside the schools for interrogations. Anna, an American volunteer in Nablus talked to IMEMC



Dr Ghassan Hamdan, the director of the Palestinian medical relief services in Nablus stated that soldiers attacked hospitals in the city and attacked a field hospital that belongs to the PMRS in the old city of Nablus:

" The Israeli Occupation Forces broke into the emergency clinic setup in the Yasmina neighborhood and held the medical team several times. Troops also searched the clinic and messed up the medical supplies."

The Israeli army attacked scores of Palestinian residential buildings in the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday morning, media reports said. Local sources confirmed that at least 50 Palestinian-owned houses across the city have been raided as inhabitants have been forced outside.

The sources said that the attacks on houses included the arrest of approximately 100 people, who have been transferred to the Huwara detention center to the south of the city. In the suburbs to the west of Nablus, the Israeli army opened heavy gunfire at the Sal’ous residential building then forced all inhabitants outside, witnesses said.
The Palestinian city of Nablus is being exposed to the harshest Israeli military offensive it has seen in recent years. Ten Palestinian civilians were abducted from a village near the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Monday, after troops invaded the village and searched several homes.

Settler killed in the southern West Bank

An Israeli illegal settler was found dead late on Sunday night near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. The Israeli police stated that the man was stabbed to death and his body was found in the farm lands of Beit Omer village north of Hebron. The police added that the man's family wished not to publish his name but confirmed that he is an Israeli settler who was reported missing late Sunday afternoon.

Israeli authorities accused Palestinian resistance groups of the attack; so far no Palestinian resistance group has claimed responsibility. Media sources in Israel stated that Palestinian civilians found the man and his car on their farm land; they called the Palestinian police, who then informed the Israeli police force.

Israeli soldiers and police rushed to the scene and searched the farm lands. Despite the fact that residents of Beit Omer had helped to locate the missing illegal settler, the Israeli forces attacked and searched the village and ransacked families' belongings on Monday at dawn. Two teens were abducted during the attack on the village. They were named as Mussa Quqass, and Mudar Abu Daiah, both aged 17.

The Gaza Update

Palestinian security sources reported Sunday that a member of Hamas' executive force was shot and wounded by unknown gunmen in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. The sources said that Hassan Shorrab, 23, was wounded in his legs and then transferred to the Nasser Medical center in the city.

A Hamas statement emphasized the need to put an end to actions by ‘suspicious elements’ and bring those involved to justice. The shootout on Sunday came after family feuds in Khan Younis claimed the lives of four people and caused the injury of a dozen others.

Recent civil unrest in the Gaza Strip comes amidst an agreement between Palestinian factions to end infighting, and advance in talks on a national unity government that is capable of lifting the internationally-imposed embargo that has been in place since a Hamas-led government was elected last year.

Conclusion

Thank you for joining us from Occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, brought to you by Oliver Eacott and Ghassan Bannoura.