13 killed as the Gaza strip this week saw the Israeli army intensify their attacks, while the Palestinians commemorate the eight-year anniversary of the second Intifada this week. These stories and more coming u[p stay tuned.

Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine

Lets begin our report with the nonviolent actions in the West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah.

Bethlehem

One hundred Palestinian villagers, alongside Israeli and international supporters, on Friday conducted a non-violent protest at the construction site of the illegal Israeli Wall that is destroying the village lands of al-Walaja. At Friday mid-day, the protestors gathered for prayers, shortly after which the demonstrators marched towards the wall's construction site, holding flags and banners calling for the Wall to be torn down.

Israeli soldiers surrounded the demonstration, marching with it, but not intervening in protest's progress. Protestors remained at the site for one-and-a-half hours, while speeches were delivered by local organizers, shortly after which the demonstration peacefully dispersed.

Bil'in

At the weekly non violent protest at the village of Bil'in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, nine civilians were injured due to Israeli army attacks on the protest. Villagers, Internationals and Israelis marched after conducting the Friday prayers in the village towards the wall which Israel is building on the stolen village land.

Regardless of the fact that the Israeli high court of Justice, at the beginning of the month, ruled that the section of the wall built in Bil'in is an illegal structure and should be removed. The Israeli army nevertheless attacked the civilian protesters with batons, sound bombs and tear gas injuring nine of them.

Political report

In political developments this week, US President Bush has reiterated his commitment to the two state solution and the upcoming peace talks. Elsewhere, Friday marks the eight-year anniversary of Ariel Sharon's visit to the al-Aqsa mosque, a controversial event which sparked the outbreak of the second Intifada. IMEMC's John Smith has more.


This week marks the eight-year anniversary of the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada. The uprising was sparked when Ariel Sharon, then leader of the Likud opposition, controversially entered the al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site. Palestinian officials were quick to condemn the visit as an act of provocation which Sharon knew would spark violence.

The day after Sharon's visit, riots broke out in the old city of Jerusalem and across the West Bank. By the end of the day, at least five Palestinians had been killed and countless more injured. Following these events, the Intifada quickly escalated, as did the Israeli response. By the sixth day of the uprising, at least 61 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces.

While the al-Aqsa Intifada never officially ended, it is estimated that at least 4,900 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the uprising.

Meanwhile, the issues underlining the outbreak of the Intifada remain unresolved, with Palestinian, Israeli and international leaders pushing for settlement on the basis of a two-state solution. U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday reiterated his commitment to such a format, telling gathered reporters that he believed the idea was "workable." His comments came during a joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, following a one-hour-long meeting between the two leaders.

While Bush made no reference to the upcoming Middle East peace conference, President Abbas sounded an optimistic tone regarding the summit and expressed his "faith and trust" in the conference to achieve real results.

Dr. Sa'eb Erekat, chief negotiator for the PLO, stated on Tuesday that Bush's statement reflected the true nature of the Palestinian position, which seeks a real political solution in the region. Erekat also assured the Palestinian people that the Fatah movement remained committed to and would continue to push for the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Meanwhile, the deposed Hamas cabinet on Tuesday urged Arab parties to boycott the upcoming summit, stressing the need to maintain a Palestinian national consensus on all concerns, and calling for national unity amongst the Palestinian people through means of dialogue and halt of mutual incitement. The cabinet also expressed concern over the recent arrests of Hamas members in the West Bank by the Ramallah-based caretaker government.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday declared that the Israeli army was "nearing an extensive operation the Gaza Strip." Speaking to army radio, Barak declared that while Israel intended to exhaust all its options before launching an all-out attack, the likelihood of an extensive operation in the coastal region was growing with each passing day.

Elsewhere, Matan Falna'I, the Israeli Deputy Defense Minister, on Friday announced that there would be no large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip before the upcoming Middle East Peace Conference, stating that while a major offensive would be delayed, daily attacks against the Gaza Strip would continue for as long as home-made shells were fired from the area.

In response to the seeming imminence of an invasion, Dr. Nizar Rayan, a senior Hamas official, on Friday warned that the movement had a force of "400 bombers," willing to fight and die for the coastal region.

In other news, Israeli media sources on Monday reported that four members of the Kadima Party, the ruling political body in Israel, had vowed to thwart any proposal to cede control of parts of Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority as part of a future peace deal. The report comes days after Israeli Vice-Premier Haim Ramon indicated his belief that Israel should withdraw from Palestinian areas of occupied Jerusalem as part of a comprehensive peace agreement with the PA.

The Israeli Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer on Tuesday announced that he would support the future release of imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi.

Speaking to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Ben-Eliezer stated his belief that Barghouthi represented the best chance for a future peaceful settlement, arguing that Israelis should not be alarmed by the prospect of his release. Marwan Barghouthi was imprisoned in 2002. He is currently serving five life sentences for alleged involvement in a series of attacks against Israel.

For IMEMC.org, this is John Smith

The Israeli attacks
The Gaza strip

The Gaza strip this week saw the Israeli army intensify their campaign, with air strikes leaving at 13 dead, among them one child. IMEMC's Rami Al Mughari reports:

Two Palestinians were killed and four others injured in Israeli military air strikes on the Beit Hanoun area of the northern Gaza Strip in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Medical sources said that Israeli planes fired rockets at a crowd of civilians, killing the two men and causing serious injuries to four others. The two dead were later named as Raji Hamdan and Mohammad Abu Rukba. A further two Palestinians later died of wounds sustained in the attack.

Seven Palestinians were killed and at least 20 others wounded in two separate Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. In southern Gaza city, an Israeli drone fired a missile on a jeep, killing four Palestinians, said to members of the Army of Islam group. Medics and witnesses told IMEMC that at least three other bystanders were injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, Israeli army artillery shelled Palestinian areas in the northern Gaza Strip, killing three and injuring at least 12 others, medics confirmed.

A further 2 were killed on Tuesday when an Israeli air strike targeted two members of the Hamas movement.

Israeli army tanks and armored vehicles reportedly invaded several hundred meters deep into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. The incursion took place near Beit Hanoun. No kidnappings or injuries were reported.

The latest incursion took place in four different axis of the city, amidst the residents’ fear of a large-scale Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military on Saturday night invaded an area east of Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip. After searching homes, troops kidnapped 45 residents. Several resistance groups exchanged fire with the invading forces.

For IMEMC.org this Rami Al Mughari in Gaza.

The West Bank

This week, the Israeli army conducted at least 33 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During those invasions, Israeli troops kidnapped 85 people, including 12 children. Thus, the number of Palestinians kidnapped by the Israeli army in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 2,042. IMEMC's Colin Bill has more:


Israeli forces this week kidnapped at least 85 Palestinians across different areas of the West Bank, with invasions reported in Nablus, Qalqilia, Jenin, Bethlehem and Hebron.

Palestinians on Friday commemorate the eighth anniversary of the second Intifada. During the intervening years, Palestinians have continued to be subjected to daily Israeli army attacks, restriction of movement and the theft of their land.

Palestinian official reports stated that since the year 2000, 4900 Palestinians have been killed due to Israeli attacks, in addition to a further 70,000 injured.

The Israeli army this week continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from Jerusalem, with thousands of Palestinians being denied entry to the city, despite previous promises to ease such restrictions over the holy month of Ramadan.

Also this week, Israeli settlers living in the West Bank in violation of international and humanitarian law continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property, with settlers this week attacking a Palestinian child in Hebron and 2 paramedics in Bethlehem. An Israeli settler also stabbed a Palestinian civilian in the al-Malha area, southwest of Jerusalem city.

For IMEMC.org this Colin Bill.



Civil unrest

In local news this week, one resident of Ramallah is killed by unknown gunmen. Elsewhere, journalists in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem staged a protest against a media clampdown over two home-made shells found near the city. IMEMC's Jane Sahouri has more.

Palestinian security forces on Saturday attacked a peaceful demonstration in the central West Bank city of Ramallah. The demonstration called for the release of Palestinians detained in PA prisons. A large number of security officers, supported by armored vehicles, surrounded the demonstrators in front of the al Bierah, after which they attempted to forcibly disperse them. Hamas parliamentarian Muna Mansour was among those who attended the protest.

Palestinian medical sources in the West Bank on Monday reported that Ali Sa’id Matar, a resident of Ramallah, died on Sunday of wounds sustained during an attack by unknown gunmen. No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.

A 24 year-old Palestinian policeman, Mohammad Abu Saleem, was shot on Wednesday morning by Palestinian Security officers as he attempted to cross a barrier near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Local sources reported that officers opened fire after the man refused to stop his vehicle. The man sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and was treated in a nearby hospital.

A number of Palestinian journalists on Thursday staged a sit-in protest in front of the PA headquarters in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. The demonstration was organized to protest the decision of security forces to prohibit journalists from taking photographs of the two home-made shells found in the nearby town of Beit Jala on Wednesday. Security reasons were cited by the Palestinian Authority as the basis for the decision.

For IMEMC.org, this is Jane Sahorui.

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 Louisa White and Ghassan Bannoura.