In the West Bank, the Israeli army kidnaps at least 25 Palestinians in a series of raids across the region. In the Gaza Strip meanwhile, Hamas-Islamic Jihad infighting leaves one dead. These stories and more coming up. Stay tuned.

The West Bank

Israeli military forces on Thursday morning attacked the northern west Bank cities of Nablus, Jenin and Salfit, ransacking homes and confiscating properties. In Jenin and Salfit, troops attacked and searched scores of residents' homes, searching for so-called 'wanted Palestinians.' No abductions were reported. In Nablus meanwhile, Israeli forces attacked two mosques near the old city, and kidnapped six Palestinian civilians.

Also in Nablus, one Palestinian was killed, and a number of others injured, when an explosion ripped through a derelict building on Thursday. The blast was caused by an unexploded Israeli device, thought to have been left in the building some time ago.

In the southern West Bank, Israeli troops attacked the Bethlehem and Hebron areas, kidnapping at least 19 Palestinians. In Hebron, troops attacked the town of Beit Omer, imposing a total curfew, occupying several homes, and kidnapping 19 civilians. Residents added that a number of homes were moderately damaged in the attack. Near Bethlehem meanwhile, Israeli troops attacked the village of al-Fourdess, located to the east of the city, sealed all routes in and out of the village, and demolished two homes, despite an ongoing court case regarding their legality.

The Gaza Strip

Israeli forces on Thursday morning invaded a northern Gaza Bedouin village, destroying civilian properties, and kidnapping scores of Palestinians. Eyewitnesses to the attack reported that the troops entered the village, attacked several homes, and confiscated and vandalized properties.

After invading several homes and establishing military posts within, Israeli bulldozers entered the area, razed many Dunums of Palestinian-owned land, and destroyed several roads. A large, but unidentified, number of Palestinians were kidnapped during the attack, among them Ziyad Abu Farya, Head of the local Council in the village.
The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, on Wednesday claimed responsibility for shooting two Israeli soldiers near the Kisufim junction in the southern Gaza Strip. Several hours later, various resistance factions, including the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the PFLP, the National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the DFLP, and the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced that they had fired a number of homemade shells at Israeli territory.
One Palestinian was killed and two others injured when mourners belonging to the Islamic Jihad group traded gun-fire with Palestinian policemen in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Witnesses told IMEMC that senior leaders of the two groups contained the incident.

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.