Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, endorsed a decision to allow flow of cash into Gaza banks. Meanwhile, Israeli military attacked two Palestinian cities. These news and more are coming up. Stay tuned.

Upon a request by Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, endorsed yesterday a decision to allow cash flows into Gaza banks.

The cash-strapped Palestinian banks in Gaza have been forced to shut down over the past weekend due to a lack of Israeli Shekel currency and U.S dollars. Israel has been imposing restrictions on the transfer of funds for the past two months.

The closure of banks has impacted thousands of households in Gaza amidst the major holiday of Eid Al adha.

In other news from Gaza, Israeli online Haaretz daily reported that Hamas's influential leader in Gaza, Mahmoud Alzahhar stated that his party is ready to release captured Israeli soldier, Gil'ad Shalit, once Israel has the courage to release Palestinian prisoners.

Alzahar's remarks came in the backdrop of prolonged Egyptian mediation efforts for a swap deal between Israel and the ruling Hamas party, as Israel has refused so far a list of 1400 Palestinian prisoners Hamas wants to see freed in a swap for Shalit.

Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees captured Shalit, who is an Israeli soldier, during a cross-border resistance attack on an Israeli army base in southern Gaza in June 2006.

Also in Gaza, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine along with the Saraya Alquds Brigades of the Islamic Jihad, declared joint responsibility for an armed clash with Israeli forces, to the east of Gaza city last night. No other sources verified this news.

In the West Bank, Palestinian security sources said today that a contingent of Israeli troops invaded the downtown area of Jenin city in the occupied West Bank under a barrage of heavy gun fire.

The sources added that scores of Israeli soldiers were deployed in main streets under a barrage of sound grenades, causing a state of panic among the local residents, especially children.

In related news, Israeli soldiers ransacked several Palestinian-owned homes in Nablus city, detaining at least six Palestinian residents from the Ma'adamma village, one of the city's suburbs.

Witnesses said that a number of Israeli armored vehicles swept into the village late Wednesday night, breaking into several houses and forcing the inhabitants outside amidst low temperatures.

In politics, Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, of the Ramallah-based government, voiced resentment over a European Union's resolution to upgrade the status of Israel's diplomatic ties with the EU.

Fayyad explained that this decision would leave a negative impact on Israel's commitment toward the implementation of rules of international humanitarian law as well as respect for human rights that were supposed to be involved in the Israeli-European partnership agreement.

Fayyad also denounced the move as contradictory to a previous EP ministerial council resolution that conditioned upgrading Israel's diplomatic ties with the EU contingent on Israel's compliance with their peace process obligations.


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