Lead: On Thursday morning, Israeli troops detained three Palestinian residents from the West Bank village of Ni'lin, near Ramallah. Also today an Israeli military court sentenced a Gaza PFLP leader to a12-year-long imprisonment. These stories and more are coming up, stay tuned.

The News Cast
On Thursday morning, Israeli troops invaded the West Bank village of Ni’lin with a heavy barrage of gunfire. Clashes erupted between the soldiers and the locals, but no casualties were reported; however, three Ni’lin residents were detained.

Also on Thursday, an Israeli military court sentenced Ali al-Kafarna, a local leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Gaza to 12-years of imprisonment.

Al-Kafarna, of the northern Gaza Strip city of Beit Hanoun, was claimed wanted by the Israeli military during the first Palestinian uprising (Intifada) of 1987. Al-Kafarna moved to Syria, but returned to Gaza in 1995 upon the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority. Al-Kafrana was detained during an Israeli troops invasion into Beit Hanoun city in 2006.

At the political level, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, was quoted by the London-based Al-Hayat Arabic newspaper as saying that ' Hamas can never outlaw me and I am against the armed resistance'.

Abbas's remarks came after some Hamas officials in Gaza said Abbas will be an 'illegitimate president' as his term ends in January 2009.

Meanwhile, a special Israeli ministerial committee released a list of possible Palestinian prisoners for prisoner exchange. Israel is expected to swap these prisoners for an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, captured in Gaza since June 2006.

After a stalemate of several months following the Egyptian-mediated swap, Israel has agreed to half of the Hamas proposed prison exchange list in return for Shalit, Israeli media sources reported today

In June 2006, Hamas and two other Gaza factions managed to capture Shalit during a cross-border attack in the southern Gaza Strip. This attack was followed by ruthless Israeli army response under the now outgoing Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, who is expected to sign the newly-prepared list.

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 Rami Al-Meghari, and Gorge Rishmawi.