In the West Bank, Israeli forces kidnap at least 15 Palestinians in pre-dawn raids across the region. In the Gaza Strip meanwhile, the al-Qassam Brigades claim they will strike within Israeli territory should the policy of targeted assassinations continue. These stories and more coming up. Stay tuned.

The West Bank

The Israeli army invaded several parts of the West Bank on Tuesday morning, kidnapping at least 15 Palestinian civilians. Of those kidnapped, Palestinian security sources reported that nine were kidnapped from al-Arkka, near the northern West bank city of Jenin, with the remainder being abducted from Nablus, Qalqilia and Hebron.

Elsewhere, the Israeli army invaded the village of Bil'in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, kidnapping one international. Troops entered the village at around 1:00 am, surrounded the house of Iyad Bornat, head of the local Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, forced the residents out, and then ransacked the home. During the search, a Polish activist from the International Solidarity Movement was abducted after he attempted to prevent Israeli soldiers from attacking Bornat's family.

Official sources of the Palestinian police in Hebron announced on Tuesday that three police officers had been injured by unknown gunmen. Police sources reported that masked men opened fire on a police car in the Jabal Abu Ruman area of Hebron, and then fled the scene. The Palestinian police force increased its presence in the area in the aftermath of the attack.

The Gaza Strip

The Israeli Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz, on Monday ruled that the Israeli government should temporarily delay its plan to cut electricity to the 1.4 million residents of the Gaza Strip, but added that it was acceptable for Israel to cut Gaza off from the outside world.

Israel had been accused by a number of foreign governments and the United Nations of engaging in ‘collective punishment’ of the Palestinian people by cutting off essential supplies to the Gaza Strip.

A spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, on Tuesday stated that the group would strike inside Israeli territory should Israel not halt its policy of targeted assassination across the Palestinian territories.

The spokesperson, Sheikh Ahmed Hamdan, claimed that he had recently met with the leader of the al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip, Muhammad Daif, who told the Sheikh that the movement was ready to change its strategy from one of defense to one of attack..

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 John Smith and Ghassan Bannoura.