This week the Israeli army killed 9 Palestinians during attacks in Gaza and in the West Bank while Palestinian Authority published its new platform in which, for the first time, no reference to armed struggle is made. These stories and more coming up. Stay tuned.

Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine

Let's begin our weekly report with the nonviolent action in Bil'in Pagainst the wall and settlements. IMEMC's Rena Sahouri with details:

On Friday, the village of Bil'in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah protested against the illegal Israeli wall that separates the village from its agricultural land. The protest started shortly after Friday prayers.

As is the case each week, the local villagers were joined by international and Israeli peace activists. This week, protestors at Bil'in included visitors from an international training delegation in solidarity with the Palestinian nation. For the past ten days, they have been touring several West Bank cities like Bethlehem, Nablus and Hebron, and participating in non-violent activities protesting the Israeli occupation.

The protestors left the village and marched to the location of the wall, where they were confronted by a massive Israeli army force that opened fire on the protestors, injuring six of them. Medical sources identified the injured as Louisa and Nura from Algeria, Elan Shalif from Israel, and local village residents Soleman Khataab, Binaan Khalil and Mamoon Zalum. Sand bombs and tear gas used by the Israeli troops landed in nearby olive groves, sparking fires which destroyed a number of olive trees.

Late on Thursday evening, the Israeli army attacked the village of Bil'in and searched villagers' homes. These searches are a new method of dissuading the villagers from holding their weekly protest.

For imemc.org. this is Rena Sahouri


Political report

The Palestinian Authority on Friday published its new platform in which, for the first time, no reference to armed struggle is made. While the document speaks of “popular struggle against the Israeli occupation,” this is not thought to include armed resistance. The move is viewed by many as an attempt to encourage Israel to negotiate the terms of “final status” arrangements, principles that the Israeli administration has, this far, been unwilling to discuss.

Elsewhere, the U.S Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, on Thursday voiced her opinion that Israel must bring to an end its occupation of the West Bank. Speaking in an interview with an Arabic-speaking American radio station, Rice stated that Israel's future should be limited to Israel itself by further concentrating on the development of the Galiliee and the Negev areas, and reiterated the commitment of the US to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Rice's statements came as Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers met with senior Israeli politicians in West Jerusalem in a bid to revive the Arab peace initiative. The meeting marked the first official visit ever made to Israel by an Arab League delegation.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, and his Jordanian counterpart, Abdul IIah al-Khatib, met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem to promote the initiative. The plan calls for full recognition of the state of Israel and normalization of relations in exchange for Israel's withdrawal to its pre-1967 borders, the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and "an agreed, just solution" for the Palestinian refugees of 1948-9. Israel previously rejected the plan but has now indicated a willingness to consider it if certain amendments are made
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Ehud Olmert, however, played down the importance of the Arab League, saying that he would not wait for the body to pursue peace with Palestinians. To this end, the emergence of a separate Israeli proposal for general principles of agreement that would potentially form the basis for peace negotiations was reported on Thursday. The Israeli proposal calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state on 90% of the land currently comprising the West Bank and Gaza, with borders likely following the route of the illegal separation wall.

Amidst this meeting, this week also marked the first official visit of Quartet special envoy and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to the region. After several meetings with high-ranking Palestinian and Israeli officials, Blair indicated that his intentions for the visit were "to listen, to learn and to reflect," adding that he sensed an air “of possibility” that he hoped could be translated into results.

Israeli premier Olmert, for his part, noted that the current appointed Palestinian government is the only negotiating partner acceptable to Israel, warning that any future cooperation between Fatah and Hamas would hinder the diplomatic process. In spite of the recent spate of political manoeuvring, Palestinian sources have confirmed that they are yet to receive any official Israeli peace proposal, despite their stated readiness to immediately resume such negotiations.

In other news, the Palestinian legislative council failed to convene once more and as such, did not vote on the legitimacy of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s government. Rather than Hamas boycotting Sunday’s session, it was the Fatah movement and other parliamentary blocs loyal to the Fayyad administration that refused to attend, arguing that Hamas had no legal right to call for the session to be held. Fatah have called for fresh bureau elections in the PLC, a call rejected by Hamas who argue that, as this is an emergency government, such elections cannot legally be held.

Speaking of the boycott, President Abbas stated that he would issue decrees amending the existing electoral law so that parliamentary seats are only contested by national party lists, a move that would make it much more difficult for Hamas to secure seats in the PLC. Abbas also reiterated his intention to issue a decree to hold early elections, but refused to be drawn on a timetable for this proposed move.

Meanwhile, reports indicating a split in the Hamas movement over their rise to power in the Gaza Strip have been rejected by Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesperson for Hamas. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Abu Zuhri stated that Hamas was justified in taking control of Gaza but emphasized his discomfort with the way that the takeover took place.

Finally, in other Gaza-related news, the Fatah Parliamentarian and head of the National and Internal security committee in the Palestinian legislative council, Mohamed Dahlan, announced on Thursday his immediate resignation, citing health problems as the basis for his action. Dahlan, the commander and founder of the Fatah-allied preventative security forces, left the Gaza Strip during the internal infighting which left Hamas in total control of the coastal region.

Voices in the Fatah movement and other Palestinian political factions have blamed Dahlan for Fatah’s defeat in Gaza. Hamas officials have repeatedly accused the former head of security of having connections with the financial and political corruption that the Palestinian Authority is facing, in addition to collaborating with the Israeli occupation.

Israeli attacks

The West Bank

During the week, the Israeli army conducted at least 29 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. During these attacks, the Israeli army killed nine Palestinians and kidnapped 72, including one child. Thus, the number of Palestinians kidnapped by the Israeli army in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 1,669. IMEMC's John Smith has more:

A Palestinian civilian was killed and his father kidnapped by the Israeli army on Thursday during an invasion of Taqua village, southeast of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank. The father was later released. The Israeli army stated that invading soldiers opened fire on a number of Palestinian youths as they stood in front of the local high school, killing Jihad Al Sha'er, 20, after he attacked the soldiers.

Palestinian medics working with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated that the army abducted the youth. When the body was later recovered by a Palestinian ambulance, the medics discovered that the boy had died from head wounds caused by Israeli forces. Khalil, Al Sha'er's father told IMEMC that Israeli soldiers shot his son in the head after brutally beating him.



An Israeli Army company has been suspended after members shot and seriously wounded an innocent Palestinian in the south Hebron hills on Thursday. The head of Israeli central command, Major General Gadi Shamni, ordered the suspension of the company after a military probe revealed numerous procedural failings in the relevant battalion and a failure on the part of the forces involved to report the attack.

The man, as yet unidentified, was seriously wounded at the Eshkolot checkpoint, located to the south of Hebron, when army forces apparently mistook him for a “wanted Palestinian” and opened fire. The victim was evacuated to an Israeli hospital for medical treatment.

In other news, Israeli settlers from the "Alon Moreh" settlement, located to the north of Nablus City, set fire to fields in the Dier Al Hattab and Salem villages near Nablus on Sunday night. Local residents reported to the Palestinian News Agency "WAFA" that the huge fire extended over an area of 150 dunums of olive fields, with fire trucks unable to reach the blaze after the Israeli army closed the area.


For IMEMC.org, this is John Smith


The Gaza strip

The Israeli army continued to attack the Gaza strip this week, killing eight Palestinians during ground invasions and air strikes on the coastal region. IMEMC's Ghassan Bannoura has more:

On Thursday afternoon, an unmanned Israeli drone fired two missiles at a car driving south of Gaza City, killing three men and injuring four. The deceased were identified as Khalil Daifi, Ahmed Abd Al-el, and Omar Al Khatib, leaders in the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad.

The air strike was the latest in Israel's policy of extrajudicial assassinations of suspected Palestinian resistance fighters in Gaza. On Tuesday, a similar air strike missed its target and hit a building, injuring five civilians, including two children. The policy has been condemned on multiple occasions by the United Nations as a blatant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory.

On Thursday, Palestinian medical sources reported that one Palestinian was killed and another three were injured during an Israeli military offensive. The attack targeted the village of Al Fukhari, near Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza strip. Odah Al Emor, the mayor of Al Fukhari, talked to IMEMC:



Also during the week, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli military forces on Sunday in two separate attacks which targeted the northern Gaza Strip.

Early on Sunday morning, two young Palestinians were killed as they approached the Gaza-Israel border fence near the former Israeli settlement Eli Nisai, near the town of Beit Lahiya. The al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, confirmed that the two fighters were planning an attack against invading Israeli military forces. Later that afternoon, two Palestinians were killed in Beit Hanoun when an Israeli gunship fired missiles at them.


For IMEMC.org, this is Ghassan Bannoura

Civil unrest

Civil unrest continued throughout the West Bank this week with several incidents reported across the region. IMEMC's Bill McGrath has more.

On Tuesday in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, Palestinian security forces arrested 13 men accused of being members of the Hamas-affiliated executive force. Ahmad Al-Hadar, the local commander, said that the men had confessed under questioning and would soon face charges in court. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas outlawed the force shortly after the Hamas takeover of the Gaza strip last month.

Hamas and Fatah supporters at Al Najah University clashed on Tuesday in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Hamas supporters handed out leaflets protesting the Israeli abduction of three Hamas leaders in the city earlier that morning. Fatah supporters tried to stop them, resulting in a confrontation that injured three students. The Al Najah administration closed the university to ensure the safety of its students, stating that the Hamas-affiliated students had broken the law by carrying out political activity on campus.

Also on Tuesday in Nablus, a group of unidentified masked gunmen attacked a local television station, causing significant property damage. The station, Afaq TV, was forced to go off the air after the attack. The station owner, Issa Abul Ize, said that his station had been attacked before by gunmen, but that damage from this attack exceeded that of any previous attacks.

For imemc.org, this is Bill McGrath

Conclusion
And that’s just some of the news this week in Palestine. For constant updates, check out our website, www.IMEMC.org. Thanks for joining us from Occupied Bethlehem, this is Charlie Chadwick.