US Secretary Rice meets Palestinian officials to support Fayyad’s government, while Israeli military invasions continue in the West Bank. Meanwhile clashes between Hamas and Islamic Jihad erupted in the Gaza strip, but contained swiftly. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned.

Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine

Let's begin our weekly report with nonviolent action in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem against the wall and settlements. IMEMC's George Rishmawi has the details:

Bethlehem

The residents of Artas and Al Walajah villages located near the West Bank city of Bethlehem protested on Friday against the construction of the illegal Wall that is being built on land illegally appropriated from the local villages.

About 400 villagers, internationals and Israelis held on Friday morning a sit-in protest near the construction site of the illegal wall and on land scheduled confiscation for the purposes of building a sewage system for the nearby Israeli settlement of Efrat. The protest lasted for several hours and Israeli soldiers did not intervene, witnesses told IMEMC.

On Friday midday, protesters moved to the nearby Al Walajah village where Friday prayers were conducted on land scheduled for confiscation. After the prayers, the protesters marched along the planed path of the Wall, but were halted by a massive Israeli force who prevented them from proceeding any further. Protestors left, promising to return the following week.

In related news, the Israeli High Court on Thursday rejected numerous appeals against the route of the illegal wall in the area of Umm Salamuna, located between the southern West bank cities of Hebron and Bethlehem, deeming the illegal structure necessary for ‘security’ purposes. The High Court also lifted a temporary ban on the construction of the Wall in the area. The structure will now proceed along the rout originally planned. Residents of Umm Salamuna had petitioned the court to change the route of the Wall on the basis that the proposed route will annex approximately 280 dunums of Palestinian-owned agricultural land.

Sami Awad, the director of holy land trust, a local NGO, and one of the organizers of nonviolent resistance in the Bethlehem area commented on the ruling:


The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on July 9, 2004 declaring that the Wall stood to in direct contravention of international law and called to the Israeli government to halt its construction, dismantle the structure and compensate those persons adversely affected by its presence.

Bil'in
This week, Bil’in’s nonviolent demonstration was dedicated not only to stopping the wall, but also to removing the Israeli settlers who had occupied houses illegally built by the Israeli government on the land of Bil’in. The residents of the village accompanied by legislator Muhib Salama, and a number of International and Israeli peace activists, marched to the construction site of the wall carrying signs and banners calling for the destruction of the structure and the removal of the adjacent settlement of Metatriyahu.

Eyewitnesses told IMEMC that a large number of Israeli soldiers were waiting for the peaceful demonstrators on the way and installed a layer of barbed wire to prevent the demonstrators from reaching the construction site. As the protestors approached the barbed wire, the soldiers opened fire with rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas and sound bombs. Four people, later identified as Adam, Tamara, Yassin Mohammad, and Eyad Burnat, member of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, were wounded in the attack. A number of olive trees also caught fire and were badly burnt in the attacks.

For IMEMC.org, this George Rishmawi.

Rice meets Abbas, Saudi says it is wiling to attend peace negotiations

This week witnessed the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region, in addition to the declaration by the Saudi Arabian government that they are willing to attend to any future multi-party peace negotiations. IMEMC’s Bill McGrath has more.

The U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week met with high-ranking Israeli and Palestinian officials in what many commentators viewed as a public declaration of support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and an attempt to further isolate the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

During the meetings, Rice is thought to have pushed for the Israelis and Palestinians to begin final status negotiations on contentious issues such as the right of return for Palestinian refugees, future borders and the status of Jerusalem.

While Palestinian officials have voiced their willingness to discuss such issues, the Israeli administration remains reticent to tackle such concerns immediately, preferring instead to negotiate on ‘a declaration of principles’ – a framework that would outline the general shape of a future Palestinian state without discussing final status issues.

In a meeting with Rice in Jerusalem, Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert expressed his belief that the Palestinians are not yet in a position to implement any final status deal and as such, negotiations must proceed cautiously. Olmert also indicated that increased cooperation on security issues would be required for the Israeli administration to transfer control over parts of the West Bank to Palestinian security officials.

For his part, Abbas indicated that he was willing to work with Israel in agreeing a ‘declaration of principles’, as long as such negotiations lead to practical Israeli measures to improve the quality of life for Palestinians.

Olmert also reiterated his opposition to including Hamas in any peace talks, despite the fact that the movement was democratically elected in 2006 and led a coalition government before being deposed by Abbas last month.

Hamas, for its part, continued to assert the necessity of its role in negotiating a peace agreement. Ahmed Yusuf, a senior advisor to former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, stated that so long as Hamas were not involved, Abbas’ peace talks with the US and Israel were mere photo opportunities, adding that any negotiated settlement must be approved by the Palestinian people by means of a referendum in which Hamas must participate.

Hamas also accused Rice and the U.S. administration of duplicity in their seeming desire to establish a Palestinian state with Sami Abu Zuhri, senior spokesman for Hamas, suggesting that the real purpose of the visit was to exacerbate division in Palestinian society by supporting one political party over another.

Fouwzi Barhum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza spoke to IMEMC:



"Rice's visit was for security issues and not for diplomatic or political ones, she stated clearly that she would meet with the Israeli Prime minister and both agreed to find new mechanisms to channel funds Into Abbas's coffers, and in fact they agreed to send 8 million USD for those forces. Because that, we are not waiting for a positive political breakthrough that serves the Palestinians."

Mohamed Al Hurani, Fatah leader in the West Bank city of Ramallah, responded to Hamas’ accusations in an interview with IMEMC:



"The issue is that all talks were totally frozen, and at the same time Israel was attacking the Palestinians. Now there is a call for a meeting to resume the political process. All Palestinians must have a clear unified position that is aligned with the Arabic states and internationally friendly states like Russia and the EU."

Also at the meeting, Rice signed an agreement transferring about $10 million USD to Abbas to bolster his security forces. The funding, part of $80 million USD pledged by the US earlier this month, has been held up in the US Congress over concerns that the money could inadvertently reach other groups.

Rice has also used her visit to the region to push a US plan for multi-party peace negotiations. The U.S. administration hopes to include other Arab nations in the conference, including those that do not yet have peace agreements with Israel, in the negotiations.

In related news, in a move that is viewed as a major diplomatic breakthrough, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday voiced its willingness to attend the proposed conference. Commentators have been quick to suggest that Saudi participation has been motivated by the decision of the U.S. government to proceed with a $20 billion arms deal with the country, and by Israel’s seeming neutrality concerning the aforementioned deal.

For IMEMC.org, this is Bill McGrath.

In other news, President Abbas arrived in Russia on Sunday evening for a three-day visit. At the meeting Abbas is thought to have pushed for Russian support in the power struggle between his Fatah party and rivals Hamas.

Russia is the only member of the Middle East Quartet – which also includes the UN, the EU and the US – which has contact with both Fatah and Hamas.

While Abbas met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday evening in Moscow and was assured of Russian Support, the Hamas movement on Wednesday claimed that it had received an official invite to Moscow.
Speaking in a Palestinian magazine, Hamas legislator Khalil al-Haya indicated that Moscow had invited a Hamas delegation, reportedly to be headed by the exiled political leader Khaled Meshal, to Russia in the coming days, but refused to be drawn on the precise date.
Russian Foreign Ministry officials on Wednesday stated that they possessed no information regarding such a visit.
Elsewhere, a third group of Palestinians stranded at the Rafah border crossing have been granted passage into Israel in order to return to the Gaza Strip.
Speaking on Monday, Israeli officials stated that 457 Palestinians had entered the Erez crossing, from where they would be allowed to pass into the north of the region.
Of the approximately 6,000 people stranded at Rafah, it is estimated that 1,700 have now been permitted to re-enter the coastal region. The remaining Palestinians have been refused entry and their future remains uncertain.

The Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only link with the outside world, was closed after Hamas established control over the Gaza Strip. Since its closure, 28 innocent Palestinians have died while waiting to re-enter the region.

The Israeli attacks
The West Bank

During the week, the Israeli army conducted at least 26 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. During those incursions, Israeli troops kidnapped 20 Palestinian civilians, including 1 child. Thus, the number of Palestinians kidnapped by the Israeli army in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 1,695. IMEMC's John Smith has more:

Palestinian medical sources in Nablus, located in the northern part of the West Bank, reported on Thursday night that Israeli troops had shot and killed a senior commander of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad. One resident was injured and another kidnapped in the attack. Eyewitnesses reported that under-cover Israeli forces infiltrated the Al Daraj neighborhood in the Old City of Nablus and opened fire at Raed Abu Adas, 34, causing instant death.

Elsewhere, a Palestinian child from the village of Yabud, located near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, was struck by an Israeli military jeep late on Friday night. Local sources indicated that a number of military vehicles stormed the village shortly after midnight. Ala Abu Bakr, 13, was standing in front of his home when he was run over by an Israeli jeep. After soldiers hit the boy, they fled the scene and did not provide any medical assistance to the injured child. Medical sources stated that the boy sustained moderate to serious wounds and was transported to the public hospital in the city of Jenin for treatment.

In other news, an Israeli army probe has indicated a gross level of misconduct on the part of those soldiers who last week kidnapped one innocent Palestinian and shot another south of the West Bank city of Hebron. One officer and five soldiers embarked on an unsanctioned ‘undercover mission’, during which they kidnapped and tied-up one Palestinian taxi-driver and opened fired on another civilian who they claimed “looked suspicious”. The injured man was left for dead and the soldiers failed to report the brutal attack to their superiors.

Those soldiers involved initially claimed that one of their company had sprained their ankle and was unable to walk, at which point the officer claimed he commandeered the vehicle of a local Palestinian taxi-driver. The soldiers went on to state that they had tied up the driver after another Palestinian man approached the vehicle. Deciding the man was acting “suspiciously”, the soldiers opened fire, seriously wounding the man in the neck. The probe was later to find that the soldiers involved had lied, and that none of them had sprained their ankle as stated. Israeli army sources have indicated that harsh measures are expected against those involved, possibly including dismissal. Palestinian sources, however, have claimed that such a punishment is insufficient for what, in their opinion, amounts to attempted murder.

In related news, residents of a village near the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday accused the Israeli army of desecrating graves during a military invasion of the area. According to residents of the village of Merah-Bakar, Israeli forces invaded the village on Monday night, kidnapping two members of the Amar family and locking three children inside a car for six hours. During the invasion, members of the family reported hearing Israeli military bulldozers. After the invasion had ended, the family discovered that the bulldozers had been used to desecrate and destroy the family graves. A member of the Amar family indicated that some of the graves were so badly damaged that the remains of family members were visible.

Elsewhere, Israeli police and army troops forcibly removed around 30 Israeli right-wing settlers from the evacuated West Bank settlement of Homesh early Tuesday morning. Tuesday's attempt by the setters to reoccupy Homesh was the fourth in lest than two weeks. The former settlement was evacuated as a part of the disengagement plan in August 2005.

Last week, security forces removed several hundred demonstrators who were attempting to construct a building on the site of the ruins. Also last week, police removed a group of youths who had squatted in the area for two days, Israeli media reported.

For IMEMC.org this John Smith.

The Gaza strip
Israeli forces continued to attack the Gaza strip, with attacks this week leaving two Palestinian killed. IMEMC's David Johnson has more:

Two Palestinian civilians were killed and another three injured in an Israeli military offensive that targeted the town of Beit Lahyia in the northern Gaza strip on Wednesday morning. Witnesses reported that at least 30 Israeli military vehicles stormed the town from several directions and randomly opened fire on residents' homes. At the same time, military bulldozers uprooted trees and destroyed locally-owned farmland. The army also reportedly kidnapped a number of residents and transported them to an unknown location

Elsewhere, an Israeli spy plane fired several missiles at a Palestinian car driving on the main highway in Gaza City on Monday. Medical sources reported a number of injuries. Sources close to Islamic Jihad stated that the car belonged to resistance fighters from the movement.

Witnesses to the attack stated that three young Palestinian men were driving their vehicle on the highway when an unmanned Israeli plane fired several missiles at the car, seriously injuring the passengers who, nonetheless, managed to escape.

In other news, the Israeli army this week maintained its closure of all border crossings around the Gaza Strip. The siege has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian situation and has violated the economic and social rights of the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the rights to appropriate living conditions, health and education. It has also paralyzed most economic sectors. Furthermore, severe restrictions have been imposed on the movement of the Palestinian civilian population. As a consequence, at least 73% of the families in the Gaza Strip live below the poverty line, and unemployment has been estimated at 55%.

For IMEMC.org this is David Johnson

The civil unrest
Civil unrest continued throughout the West Bank and Gaza strip this week, with several incidents reported across the region. IMEMC's Rena Sahouri has more.

Two Palestinians were killed in Gaza City as Hamas and Islamic Jihad clashed on Thursday night.

Islamic Jihad claimed that a number of members of the organization were ambushed by Hamas gunmen, one of whom was shot in the head, another in the legs. Shortly after the incident, Fatah official Salah al-Amoudi was shot dead by unknown masked gunmen.

The incident followed the death of a member of the Hamas Executive Force on Wednesday night, during an attempt by the force to arrest civilians firing gunshots at a wedding celebration east of Gaza City. Members of Islamic Jihad intervened, creating a battle that resulted in the fatal shooting.


In other news, a conference of Independent Trade Unions in Palestine was held on July 27 and 28 in Ramallah. The goal of the conference was to establish a democratic coalition, ending the dominance of the two largest political parties, Fatah and Hamas over trade unions. It is hoped that trade unions can effectively address the deteriorating economic situation for Palestinian workers in both the West Bank and Gaza strip.

The conference was organized by the Democracy and Workers' Rights Center in Palestine. Mahmoud Ziadah, the director of the union's coordination office at the Democracy and Workers' Rights Center, spoke to IMEMC:



Currently, there are four competing labor federations in the Palestinian territories— three controlled by Fatah and one by Hamas, with executive appointments often made on a political basis. Union organizers hope to unify all trade unions under the umbrella of one federation based on democratic elections, not appointment by political factions.

In related news, the Palestinian governmental employees union decided on Monday to take the Palestinian government and Palestinian banks to court because of the government's failure to deliver employees' salaries according to the agreed-upon timetable.

The Palestinian Authority has been unable to pay employee salaries since the beginning of 2006, due to the US-led economic embargo imposed after Hamas won democratic legislative elections.

For IMEMC.org Bethlehem, this is Rena Sahouri.

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 Jane Smith and Ghassan Bannoura.