: This week, Israeli military stepped up attacks in the West Bank and its naval forces continue to attack Palestinian fishermen in Gaza, meanwhile, Palestinians are closer than ever to a unity agreement in Cairo, these stories and more are coming up, stay tuned.

Let us begin our weekly report with Non-violent actions in the West Bank where harvesting olive trees becomes a task that needs international support and nonviolent intervention.

Bil’in
At least fourteen protestors were wounded in the village of Bil’in near the West Bank city of Ramallah Friday afternoon.

The residents of Bil’in accompanied by international and Israeli human rights activists marched following the Friday prayer towards the gate in the fence in an attempt to go to their land to harvest the olive trees.

Israeli troops operating at the gate prevented them and showered them with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas.

Four were moved to the hospital for treatment as their wounds were moderate, while the others suffered light injuries and were treated by field medics.

The protestors carried signs condemning the wall and fence Israel is building on the village’s land, while others carried ladders and tools they use to harvest the olive trees.

The olive harvest started in the early hours of the morning in the village; however, due to the wall the villagers could not harvest the trees behind the wall.

As a result of the construction of the wall in Bil’in, the village lost nearly half of its land. The Israeli high court ordered the army to remove the wall in a way that would allow the villagers to retrieve almost half of the confiscated land, however, the court ruling is still not implemented.

Ni’lin

Meanwhile, in the nearby village of Ni’lin, Israeli forces prevented Palestinian farmers from harvesting their olives.

At least 100 Israeli peace activists came to assist in the harvest in solidarity with the villagers of Ni’lin.

The presence of international and Israeli activists during previous harvest seasons has allowed many Palestinians to harvest the olives, especially in orchards where Israeli settlements or military basis were set up.

According to some of the peace activists, Israeli forces used tear gas and concussion grenades to disperse the farmers and their supporters who were heading to the olive orchards, however, no injuries were reported.


Al-Ma’sara

In the southern part of the West Bank, the Israeli soldiers dispersed international, Israeli and Palestinian activists who assembled in a protest against the wall in the village of Al-Ma’sara near Bethlehem on Friday afternoon.

The protest started after the Friday noon prayer in the village and headed towards the construction site of the wall.

However, Israeli troops halted them and prevented them from continuing towards the wall, and showered them with tear gas and concussion grenades. No injuries were reported.

The villagers of Al-Ma’sara and the neighboring villages have been organizing weekly protests in the past two years in bid to stop the construction of the wall on their land, which is the main source of income for most of the villagers.

For IMEMC.org this is George Rishmawi



Political Report

As Palestinian-Israeli peace talks are stalled, different talks are underway in the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The ongoing talks are intra-Palestinian that are meant to reach a settlement of current Palestinian division. Meanwhile, Israeli foreign minister in charge of the Israeli government, assured this week that Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations should continue.

IMEMC’s Jessica Jussly has more,,

Rival Palestinian factions in Gaza and the West Bank are currently meeting in Cairo under the patronage of Egyptian mediators, in order to sort out internal differences following more than a year of separation between both Palestinian regions.

The talks are focused on ending the rivalry between Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank, as Hamas sources said this week that an agreement on major points of standoff has been maintained.

Representatives of Fatah and Hamas have both confirmed that they will meet by the end of this month, preceded by a trilateral meeting involving Egyptian mediators.

The main points of conflict include reforming the Palestine Liberation Organization on national and a professional basis, reconstructing the security services in light of the 2006's elections results and returning the situation back prior to June of 2007.

The two parties formed a national unity government in February2007, after meeting in the Saudi Arabia city of Mecca. Four months later, fighting broke out in Gaza, resulting in Hamas's takeover of the coastal region and ejection of Fatah-allied security services from the Strip.

At the Palestinian-Israeli political level, Israeli foreign minister and chairwoman of the caretaker government, assured her Palestinian counterparts that the peace process will continue as planned in the Washington-sponsored Annapolis summit meeting in November of last year.

Her Palestinian negotiations counterpart, Ahmad Qurai (Abu Alla), said that any Palestinian-Israeli talks, excluding the status of the occupied east Jerusalem will not move forward.

Both sides have been negotiating over reaching a two-state solution by end of this year, in accordance with the outcome of theAnnapolis conference. However, commentators believe that such a deal is not possible due to the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert.

For IMEMC .. This is Jessica has


Gaza Report

As the truce deal in Gaza enters its fourth month, the Israeli naval forces continue to shoot at fishermen while on board their ships near the Gaza shores. Meanwhile, sources in Gaza warned this week of an Israeli military invasion of Gaza soon.

More with IMEMC’s Rami al-Meghari in Gaza

This week, the Israeli naval forces shot and wounded a Palestinian fisherman while on board his ship near the Gaza shores. The attacks towards the fishermen have been non-stop since an Egyptian-brokered truce deal between Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian factions came into effect in June of this year.

A Scottish international activist, who is still present in Gaza from the Free Gaza Boat, which broke the siege on August23, took footage of the Israeli naval vessels, while shooting at fishermen.

The assaults on Palestinian fishing boats come as Israel imposes a crippling blockade on the coastal region, since the Islamist Hamas party took over the area amidst factional fighting with Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in June of last year.

Meanwhile, this week the Israeli soldiers, manning the northern Gaza Strip checkpoint of Eritz, denied entry of a medical crew to Gaza. The delegation is made up of 9 Arab-Israeli doctors, who are supposed to conduct surgeries for stranded patients.

The Human Rights group, Physicians for Human Rights, condemned the Israeli denial of such doctors during this time when Israel continues to close the Gaza crossings'.

The local popular committee for breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza declared this week that the death toll of patients, who are unable to get medical attention from hospitals outside of the Gaza strip due to the crossings closure, has mounted to 247.

For other news, the spokesman for the Alqassam brigades, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas party in Gaza, Abu Obaida, warned this week of what he believed an imminent Israeli military invasion of Gaza.

The Hamas spokesman believed that underway Israeli military exercises around the eastern parts of Gaza are meant at invading the region, expressing Palestinian resistance factions' 'right to defend any Israeli attacks'.

Earlier this week, Israeli army spokesman, Avihai Der'ay, confirmed in a press statement that current army exercises are routine ones and have nothing to do with any army actions against the coastal territory.

On the internal level, the Hamas-led government halted arrest campaigns against supporters of the rival Fatah party, as national unity talks are underway in Cairo, with the purpose of wrapping up the division profile, once and for all .

For IMEMC.org, this is Rami Almeghari in Gaza.



West Bank Report

This week, the Israeli military stepped up attacks on the West Bank, mainly farm lands, amidst the olive picking season as the Israeli soldiers shot and wounded several residents.

IMEMC’s Mark Turner with the details

This week, the Israeli military tightened security measures imposed on the West Bank by closing the region completely under the pretext of Jewish holidays.

Also, Israeli troops attacked Palestinian farmers while working in their olive farms, erecting a fence around a three-dunum-width farm in the Tulkarem city.

Farmers in the Salfit city reported several Israeli military assaults while harvesting their olives, which is a main source of income for the West Bank population.

The Minister of agriculture, Mohammad al-Agha, warned of what he called ' a systematic Israeli assault on the Palestinian agricultural sector' due to the attacks on olive farmers.

Five farmers in the Qabatiya city complained to the Israeli magistrate court about Israeli settlers' unwillingness to evacuate an illegal random settlement block in the area.

The said settlement was supposed to be evacuated last year, given an Israeli government's decision.

In the meantime, the Israeli military stormed a number of West Bank cities, including Jenin, Tulkarem, Hebron and Bethlehem, rounding up more than a dozen residents.

12 residents were reportedly detained on several checkpoints in the West Bank, as Israel further restricted movement of Palestinians amidst Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur and Sokot.

This week in the city of Nablus, Israeli troops shot and wounded a number of Palestinian residents during clashes between locals and the Israeli soldiers.

On the other hand, Hamas said this week that the Fatah-allied Palestinian security services in the West Bank arrested 17 members and supporters of Hamas in several West Bank cities.

Hamas and Fatah governments have been trading arrests since Hamas took over Gaza in June of 2007 and Abbas outlawed the democratically-elected Islamist party. Abbas called Hamas seizure of Gaza 'a coup against legitimacy'.

Meanwhile this week, clashes broke out between dozens of Arab and Jewish residents in the Israeli-Arab city of Akka. Israeli police revealed that the clashes erupted when an Arab family, drove through a street where orthodox Jewish residents live in Akka, during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

For IMEMC.org this is Mark Turner


And that was just some of the news this week in Palestine. For constant update check out our website, www.IMEMC.org. Thanks for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. This week's report has been brought to you by Hussam Qassis and George Rishmawi