Independent Palestinian Legislator and head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege, Jamal El Khodary, stated on Tuesday morning that another ship carrying activists, physicians, university teachers and aid supplies is on its way to the Gaza Strip.
These stories and more are coming up, stay tuned.

Commenting on the Israeli threats to obstruct the ship, El Khodary said that Israel does not have any legal right to do so as the ship is sailing towards regional Palestinian waters, similar to the three previous ships.

He also added, that “the Israeli threats will not stop the Intifada of ships”.

As of Tuesday at 6:00pm, there is still no word on whether or not the SS Dignity was able to break the siege.

In other news, On Monday night, Israeli Army Minister, Ehud Barack, issued a decision to open the commercial crossings on Tuesday to let much needed humanitarian aid into the impoverished Gaza Strip.

Forty trucks carrying foods and other humanitarian aid will enter Gaza through the Karm Abu-Salem Crossing, while thirty other trucks carrying grains are to enter through the Al-Mintar Crossing. In addition, quantities of diesel and cooking gas are to enter the strip through the Nahal Oz Crossing.

Also today, eyewitnesses from the village of Mardah reported that two Israeli soldiers where harassing a group of young children playing in their neighborhood.

The two unnamed soldiers, for no apparent reason, began to shout and yell at the children, which scared the children. Hearing the terrified screams of the neighborhood children, Shaker Sulaiman, age 26, ran out to see what was happening. Israeli soldiers grabbed him, and started beating him. When his brother Mujahed, age 23, came to the location, the soldiers also beat him.

The two unnamed Israeli soldiers beat the two brothers in an Israeli military vehicle for several hours. Afterwards, the IOF unit released the two brothers, who suffered moderate injuries from the assault.

In international politics, last week, after being denied a vote altogether by EP Vice-President, Luisa Morgantini, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni, decided to do some more lobbying with the EP’s foreign ministers, but in particular Bernard Kouchner of France, who currently sits as the EU’s rotating president.

“At one point, Livni asked everyone else in the room to leave so that she could speak with Kouchner privately. During that conversation, the two agreed that there would be no linkage, but the EU would issue a separate statement stressing the need to continue the final-status talks.

Last week Morgantini declared, after suspending the vote to upgrade EU-Israeli relations, that:

“Finally this vote is positive for us Europeans, who are showing to ourselves and to the entire world that respect for human rights and the achievement of justice are not an abstract declaration of principles."

In light of Kouchner’s reversal of Morgantini’s decision, and the unanimous vote by all 27 foreign ministers of the EP, the European Union is now sending a slightly different message: That the rule of law and the application of justice, when applied to Israel, is indeed an “abstract declaration of principles”.


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 Justin Theriault and Husam Qassis.