The Israeli army kills three Palestinians in Gaza, and kidnaps 13 civilians in the West Bank, these stories and more coming up stay tuned.

The News Cast

Three Palestinians have been killed in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip, medics and media sources reported. Palestinians security sources said that early on Thursday farmer Hassan Abu Abed, 60, was shot dead by the Israeli army to the east of Qarrara town, in southern Gaza Strip.

Medics confirmed that Abu Abed was shot in the chest with a live bullet. Witnesses said that Israeli soldiers, manning the Gaza-Israel border line, opened fire at Abu Abed, killing him instantly.

Meanwhile, two Palestinian resistance fighters of the aL-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement, were killed and three others wounded in another Israeli air strike on a Qassam post on Gaza city's southern shores.

Dr. Moaqiya Abu Hasanin, chief of the emergency department at the health ministry said that one of the wounded was admitted to the ICU of the aL-Shifa hospital for severe wounds.

The Israeli army denies responsibility for killing the two Qassam operatives.

In the West Bank today a group of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian shepherds from Towani village, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday. Villagers told IMEMC that several boys and old women were grazing their family herds on village land near the Ma'oun Settlement, a group of settlers and Israeli soldiers attacked them and beat them.

Witnesses to the attack added that settlers stole some herbs gathered by the shepherds. Villagers called Israeli police who arrived at the area of the attack, they refused to press charges and told the villagers that if they want to file charges, they must go to the settlement. The Israeli army forbids locals entrance to the settlement.

On Thursday at dawn the Israeli army attacked several cities and towns in the West Bank and kidnapped 13 Palestinian civilians.

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. This report has been brought to you by Conscience Londres and Ghassan Bannoura.